Let No Joyful Voice Be Heard

Commander / EDH Battlecruiser Control Kraken Leviathan Multiplayer Ramp Reanimator Serpent Theme/Gimmick UB (Dimir)

Octrate

Land (36)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Cephalid Coliseum
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Fetid Pools
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Ice Tunnel
• 1x Mystic Sanctuary
• 1x Otawara, Soaring City
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Port of Karfell
• 1x River of Tears
• 1x Shipwreck Marsh
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 8x Snow-Covered Island
• 4x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 1x Sunken Ruins
• 1x Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Underground Sea
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x Watery Grave

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip
• 1x Black Market Connections
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Unfulfilled Desires

Creature (22)

• 1x Dauthi Voidwalker
• 1x Vohar, Vodalian Desecrator
• 1x Obsessive Stitcher
• 1x Sea-Dasher Octopus
• 1x Archaeomancer
• 1x Ertai Resurrected
• 1x Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Venser, Shaper Savant
• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x Gyruda, Doom of Depths
• 1x River Serpent
• 1x Serpent of Yawning Depths
• 1x Spawning Kraken
• 1x Hullbreaker Horror
• 1x Scourge of Fleets
• 1x Striped Riverwinder
• 1x Waker of Waves
• 1x Archon of Cruelty
• 1x Kederekt Leviathan
• 1x Sphinx of the Second Sun
• 1x Stormtide Leviathan

Instant (13)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Otherworldly Gaze
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Resculpt
• 1x Fierce Guardianship
• 1x Force of Negation
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Deadly Rollick
• 1x Fact or Fiction

Commander (1)

 ^Flip

Artifact (13)

• 1x Everflowing Chalice
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Midnight Clock
• 1x Skyclave Relic
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Helm of the Host
• 1x Gilded Lotus

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Persist
• 1x Stitch Together
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Windfall
• 1x Whelming Wave
• 1x Time Spiral
• 1x Sea Gate Restoration  ^Flip
• 1x Temporal Trespass

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Maybeboard

Creature (4)

• 1x Glasspool Mimic  ^Flip
• 1x Noxious Gearhulk
• 1x Wrexial, the Risen Deep
• 1x Archipelagore

Artifact (1)

• 1x Liquimetal Torque

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Reanimate

Land (4)

• 1x Castle Vantress
• 1x Faceless Haven
• 1x Mutavault
• 1x Tyrite Sanctum

Instant (4)

• 1x Infernal Grasp
• 1x Pull from Tomorrow
• 1x Disallow
• 1x You Find the Villains' Lair

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"Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake... the Kraken!"

After taking a bit of time off, I've returned to the game with a fresh state of mind. Lo and behold, for from the briny oblivion of the sea stirs terrors beyond human comprehension. And, I finally wrote a Primer for it too! With a few playtests under this belt, I can finally speak for this deck as to its strengths/weaknesses. So, let's talk.

The Commander

Runo Stromkirk

Crimson Vow brought us the long awaited Runo Stromkirk, progenitor of the Stromkirk vampires on Innistrad. Even considering his past as a sea-priest of nephalia, it was nonetheless surprising to see him as a dimir-colored sea-monster commander. Krakens, Leviathans, Octopuses, and Serpents have long existed in magic, yet never really lived to be more than a fun theme for casual settings. Runo and his dark god, Krothuss, came to try and change that. Runo's entire purpose is to set the stage for Innistrad's Doom. Once the stage is set, Runo steps aside so that Krothuss can rise and start slamming sea-monsters everywhere. So, you might be wondering...

Why Play Runo?

The main points for me to mention to prospective builders of such a deck are as follows:

1. You like Krakens.
2. You like Leviathans.
3. You like... you get the rest, I'm sure.
4. You like Dimir reanimator.
5. You don't mind having to try a Davy Jones impression every time you put a eight-legged sucker puncher into play.
6. You want to play with some control.

Contrarywise, you may not like playing Runo if:

1. You have trouble with keeping track of different clone copies irl. (Seriously, its a handful. I almost wish I had eight arms or something)
2. You don't like having a slightly underdeveloped early game.
3. You want to play cEDH (I just don't think Runo is the way to go here, honestly).
4. You don't want to jump through the big hoop to get your commander to transform.
5. You have thalassophobia.
6. You don't like Krakens, Leviathans, Octopuses, and Serpents (why are you here?)
7. You think Octopi is the only correct way to refer to plural Octopuses.

However, let's say you're like me and you only like getting tickled ten times for pun's sake, and that you're invested in the idea of building with Runo and Krothuss.

How to Play

So, here's the main gameplay. First, you gotta get some early game ramp going, and then you gotta get Runo to flip. It's sometimes exceedingly simple or at other times it can be real pain in the butt. Early game flips are easier, as most of your opponents may still be trying to get ready or they aren't as worried about Krothuss. So, most of the time here's how the gameplan can shape up.

And let's say that Runo isn't sticking on the board all that well. Fortunately, Dimir has many reanimator and control options that can allow you to crawl back into the game as it goes on. And, of course, there's a few combos that can function with or without Krothuss that we can take advantage of.

All in all, this list is pretty well rounded, only occasionally stalling out. I wouldn't mind adding more draw at some point, but for now I'm statisfied.

Early Game

So, like many other decks, you'll want to try and ramp up as quickly as you can. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Dimir Signet... are all pretty standard choices that I'm sure many of you would agree with. There are dozens of mana rocks out there, so go buck wild with whatever strikes your fancy. For me, I like Midnight Clock and Skyclave Relic as rocks with a dual purpose. But hey, if you like and have the ability to play Mana Crypt or Mana Vault, go for it. I do encourage you to try Everflowing Chalice as it is a rock with a purpose (that we'll get to in time).

Early game is also when we'll be casting our Sensei's Divining Top, Otherworldly Gaze, Frantic Search to manipulate the top of our deck. We also have some convenient beasties like River Serpent, Striped Riverwinder, or Waker of Waves. Their purpose in here is entirely to get cycled into the yard so that Runo can return them to the top of the deck for easy flip access. Once we have secured the top of our deck or have a big beastie in the graveyard, it's time to summon Runo and try to kick off the midgame.

Mid Game

Assuming Krothuss is here and you're stabilized, you've officially hit the mid game. If you're still having trouble here, Toxic Deluge, Fierce Guardianship, and other controlling cards can help you claw your way back in. Alternatively, you can always Persist, Animate Dead, or Necromancy a big beastie, like Hullbreaker Horror, to get some meat on the board.

But, let's be optimistic and say that we're good and stable. From here, we simply need to either Reanimate a big kraken we discarded, cast a fair sized kraken, or make non-legendary clones of Krothuss. Then, we simply attack and get value.

Late Game

So, we've been swinging. We've kept control of the board. We're threatening lethal damage! Great, it's late game.

Best ways to finish people off are by copying Hullbreaker Horror, Spawning Kraken, Gyruda, Doom of Depths, and other powerful cards. Sometimes we want ETBs, like with Archon of Cruelty. Other times we want strong static effects, like with Serpent of Yawning Depths. But out of all the ways to finish a game, none is more satisfying than copying non-legendary versions of Krothuss, Lord of the Deep himself. Picture it. Ninety-six copies of Krothuss turning someone into absolutely mincemeat. It's truly glorious. For this reason, we run with Helm of the Host as a finisher card. Temporal Trespass is a way for us to turn fodder into an extra turn to finish up the game faster (and I'm even considering Nexus of Fate). Finishing a game is where this deck can shine.

Card Choices

I'm considering adding a section here. Might just do so soon!

Combos

There are a handful of combos I’ve found! But, who knows, there could be more. If I missed something, or if you think there's one that should be in the deck, let me know!

1. Animate Dead + Kederekt Leviathan = 2 mana symmetrical Cyclonic Rift effect. It’s pretty good! But not quite as good as
2. Kederekt Leviathan + Necromancy = Three mana symmetrical crift… but at instant speed!
3. Everflowing Chalice + Hullbreaker Horror + Sol Ring = Infinite Colorless. Copy the Horror with Krothuss and you can bounce everything at sorcery speed. Throw in any other mana rock to make infinite colors too.
4. Archaeomancer + Whelming Wave = Bounce all non-sea-monsters, continuously! It’s slow and clunky, yes, but so is the entire deck!
5. Helm of the Host + Krothuss, Lord of the Deep = SO MANY KRAKENS. Also, feel free to try Sakashima of a Thousand Faces or Spark Double. Any effect that removes the legendary status is an A+.

Thanks for giving the deck a look over! I'm still working it out, as no deck is ever truly complete. Feel free to comment, updoot, or whatever suits your fancy. And remember kids, Lord Cthulhu is always watching.

Top Ranked	Achieved #46 position overall 2 years ago Achieved #39 position in Commander / EDH 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Leviathan 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Serpent 2 years ago
Date added	3 years
Last updated	1 year
Key combos	Kederekt Leviathan + Necromancy Animate Dead + Kederekt Leviathan Archaeomancer + Whelming Wave Everflowing Chalice + Hullbreaker Horror + Sol Ring Helm of the Host + Krothuss, Lord of the Deep
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 58 - 0 Rares 10 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.67
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U, Copy Clone, Elemental 4/4 UR, Kraken 9/9 U, Shapeshifter 3/2 C, Treasure
Folders	Other People's Decks I Like, We Love a Good Theme, Tribal Dinos, Cool decks, proxy deck options, U, Random Stuff, EDH Decks, Building, TTS Decks