This is my Kiora deck devoted to MTG's only Merfolk Planeswalker, her powerful sea monster allies, and their Battlefield for Zendikar against the mighty Eldrazi Titans. Kiora is my favorite Planeswalker in the lore. She's a Merfolk. She's a trickster. She's a bit arrogant. And she is confident in her ability to protect her home and her loved ones.
A woman after my own heart, truly.

Along the way, she tricked a Plane into her worship, duped both Ajani Goldmane and Elspeth Tirel into helping her find the massive Kraken, Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle, stole the God-Weapon the Bident of Thassa, also known as Dekella, and faced-off against Thassa, God of the Sea, herself, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, and, most recently, assisted the Gatewatch with defeating Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God on Ravnica.

“Long after the land has given up the last of its secrets, there will still be mysteries in the depths of the sea.” —Kiora

The early-game is almost always low impact. Playing lands and ramp spells are all you really care about during those first 3-4 turns. Always cast your Commander as soon as possible (the earliest is turn 2, with a Sol Ring on turn 1, but typically turn 3), allowing you early access to mid-game mana several turns before your opponents.

By the mid-game, you should have access to as much as 10-12 mana, while most people are sitting at 6-8. This is where you can begin deploying impactful monsters and/or interacting with the board to set up for an attack with Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle.

IMPORTANT: Keep in mind, when you cast a spell, you MAY remove a slumber counter. Sometimes, as a form of pseudo-protection, you may want to leave a slumber counter on your Commander until you can set up an attack into an opponent with no blockers/who cannot block, or some other high value spell.

Typically, you will be able to aim Commander damage at your biggest threat while sending other creatures after priority number two. The deck has a lot of flexibility in being able to wipe boards because you will be building up enough mana to replay your stuff very quickly. A lot of the times, the wipes will be one sided. Keep a watchful eye on other people's board states and manage their tempo to keep them even further behind.

In the mid-to-late stages of the game, if you aren't getting through with Commander damage, it may be time to switch up your biggest threat by casting some big, scary Eldrazi Titans, just like the ones that Kiora fought, including Emrakul, the Promised End / Kozilek, Butcher of Truth / Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger.
First thing is first, Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle is a land as it enters the battlefield, so it can be tapped for mana the same turn that it enters the battlefield (if you can untap it). To assist with this, and enable big mana for other big spells, we have a generous and flavorful untapping package; Kiora's Follower / Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner / Kiora, Master of the Depths / Voyaging Satyr can all untap your Commander / Simic Growth Chamber / Temple of the False God / Lotus Field. Once Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is on the field with some devotion, you can transition to tapping your Shrine for even MORE mana each turn.

Next, slumber counters, Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle enters with five slumber counters on him, and requires you to cast spells to remove them. He is not a creature as long as he has slumber counters on him. This limitation can make the gathering wave easy to see coming, so waiting to remove the last counter can sometimes lead to huge advantages with proper timing. Spells like Prime Speaker Zegana / Rishkar's Expertise / Return of the Wildspeaker and Traverse the Outlands will see your Commander while removing the final counter, and combo very well with other cards in the deck, such as Chasm Skulker and Tatyova, Benthic Druid.
Being a Kiora-inspired deck, we've opted to run every Kiora Planeswalker card:

Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner: Cast the turn before your Commander to enable big mana with added benefit of turning your impactful creatures into cantrips. Can give a creature pseudo-vigilance or untap lands that make more than one mana -- very versatile.

Kiora, Master of the Depths: Similar to the previous Kiora, except she can untap Kiora's Follower and Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle at the same time, or you Commander once he's a creature and another ramp land, such as Lotus Field / Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx / Simic Growth Chamber / Temple of the False God. You will rarely use her minus ability. Her ult will win the game if it goes off, but most people will only let you get a few turns of value out of her.

Kiora, the Crashing Wave: Mostly for flavor, but her minus ability comes in very handy, and sometimes bubbling any permanent an opponent controls can be handy. Ult is purely flavor.
This deck has a VERY high average CMC, so, to make up for that, we need a lot of ramp:

Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle: This is guaranteed ramp stapled onto your Commander. ETBs AS A LAND!! Access to this kind of ramp in the Command Zone is really what enables the high mana cost of this deck.
Explore: Sorcery speed put a land into play and cantrip, enables turn 3 Commander.
Farseek: Can grab Breeding Pool, enables turn 3 Commander.
Growth Spiral: Instant speed put a land into play and cantrip, perfect turn 2 card.
Kiora's Follower: This devoted worshipper allows us to untap a land each turn, with several targets for more than one extra mana each turn with lands like Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx / Lotus Field / Simic Growth Chamber / Temple of the False God and, of course, our Commander.
Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner: Same as the Follower above, with the added value of drawing us cards.
Kiora, Master of the Depths: Can untap a land and creature for double the untapping shenanigans.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave: Her minus ability lets you play an extra land, and is usually the mode selected.
Mox Tantalite: The nice this about this Mox is that it suspends for free, then when our Commander is on the battlefield it comes out to remove a slumber counter AND provide ramp alongside our Commander's ramp.
Myriad Landscape: This land replaces itself with two basics, slow but reliable.
Nature's Lore: Another Farseek, enables a turn 3 Commander.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: Probably the best land in the deck, capable of making 7+ mana with just a few creatures on the battlefield. When paired with the deck's untapping outlets it can really accelerate your board state/position.
Plasm Capture: This counterspell is really good at slowing down an opponent while acting as the proverbial springboard for yourself at the same time. Starting your first Main Phase with 5-8 extra mana is not unheard of when you play this card.
Rampant Growth: Puts a basic onto the battlefield, enables a turn 3 Commander.
Sapphire Medallion: Not land, but does enable turn 3 Commander, especially impactful late game when you are casting several blue spells per turn.
Sol Ring: This is the strongest card you can have in your opening hand. Enables a turn 2 Commander.
Tempt with Discovery: This ramp spell can grab between one and four nonbasic lands that really make this deck run. Popular options to grab; Alchemist's Refuge / Dark Depths / Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx / Temple of the False God / Thespian's Stage.
Thespian's Stage: Copy any land that taps for 2+ mana and use the Stage as an accelerator until you can swallow them whole with a Marit Lage token after you play Dark Depths.
Thought Vessel: Enables turn 3 Commander, with added utility.
Traverse the Outlands: Putting 12 lands onto the battlefield will always give you an enormous advantage, pair it with Tatyova, Benthic Druid to also draw 12 cards and gain 12 life, or Island matters cards like Engulf the Shore / Scourge of Fleets.
Voyaging Satyr: Same as Follower, but can only untap lands.
Wilderness Reclamation: Untapping all your lands each turn is pretty like having a super Kiora's Follower. Tap out calling to the ocean's monstrestities and still have mana to interact on other people's turns. Pair with Leyline of Anticipation / Alchemist's Refuge to basically have two turns worth of mana every turn.
Zendikar Resurgent: Green staple for most EDH decks, perfect for a deck like this that needs big mana. Thematic value teaming up with the Gatewatch to protect Zendikar.
Removing slumber counters means we always need cards in hand:

Ancestral Vision: 1 mana to draw 3 cards in our format is kind of a no-brainer, but the added benefit of removing a slumber counter after the suspend is up makes it so this is almost never a dead card.
Bident of Thassa: Flavor add, but also can draw you 2-4 cards on your turn pretty easily.
Hydroid Krasis: Card draw and lifegain on cast trigger, so even if someone counters this spell, you will still gain some kind of advantage.
Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner: Play a juicy fish, do a splash, get a card. Cantrips keep your hand full.
Kiora, Master of the Depths: Her minus ability can put a land and creature into your hand, with a couple of ways of recycling your graveyard.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave: Her minus ability let's you Explore at least twice, helping you keep a full hand while ramping.
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth: Late game bomb that refills your hand, may be cast more than once per game.
Mosswort Bridge: While not typically card draw, this land typically lets you cheat out something very impactful with an easy enough prerequisite for activation. Definitely card advantage.
Mystic Remora: Baby version of Nezahal, draw cards whenever your opponents cast noncreature spells, also a very cheap spell for removing counters from Arixmethes.
Nezahal, Primal Tide: This is probably the best draw spell that you can play. It's Mystic Remora all grown-up, with no upkeep costs, removes your hand limit, and has built in manaless, instant speed protection.
Prime Speaker Zegana: Possibly on-par with Rishkar's Expertise with her potential to be replayed off a bounce spell to draw cards more than once. This will usually draw you 13 cards and leave behind a beef 13/13 Merfolk body.
Return of the Wildspeaker: You will rarely need to get through 3 extra damage on the few creatures you happen to be swinging, so this spell is perfect for drawing a bunch of cards before your turn starts and making some big plays. Like Prime Speaker Zegana / Rishkar's Expertise, this card will still see whatever your strongest creature is even if someone removes an even stronger creature in response to you casting this spell.
Rishkar's Expertise: Probably the second best draw spell because you get a free spell after the card draw and it can be the fifth spell cast to turn your Commander into a creature. The fact that you get to cheat something out after drawing so many cards is what always drowns the opponent in your advantage.
Stormsurge Kraken: Basically just Infiltration Lens, but with Hexproof on the back of a giant Kraken.
Tatyova, Benthic Druid: This card provides amazing incremental advantages, but she lacks the protection of cards like Nezahal, Primal Tide and the bounce potential of cards like Prime Speaker Zegana. Best paired with ramp spells like Traverse the Outlands.
Zendikar Resurgent: Doubles your mana, AND cantrips your creature spells. Keeps the waves coming.
Essentially our "enablers", this is how we plan to break through with our creatures:

Angler Turtle: Taunts your opponents into swinging all their blockers. They will be hesitant to swing at you since your creature(s) are huge, and this thing has Hexproof, opening up the field to easy Commander damage.
Bident of Thassa: Similar to the Turtle above, but it's an activated ability. Point the ability at someone during their turn to remove their blockers from stopping your sea creatures attack. Also provides card advantage.
Breaching Leviathan: Taps and locks down all nonblue creatures for a turn, typically clearing the way for massive swings. Pairs well with the deck's many bounce spells, allowing for a good amount of control over your opponent's creatures.
Elder Deep-Fiend: Tap down four permanents at instant speed. Typically used to clear blockers before the turn starts to get through for Commander damage, but also useful for choking someone out of mana, if you need to.
Kiora Bests the Sea God: This Saga tells the tale of Kiora's time on Theros. Perfect for opening up someone to Commander damage, and stealing treasures that we desire. Hexproof tokens are nice, too.
Lorthos, the Tidemaker: Pay on attack to tap down eight permanents, clear out blockers for easy damage, or lock lands so the opponent is choked on mana.
Serpent of Yawning Depths: The deck's equivalent to cards like Archetype of Imagination. Standard evasion enabler on a decent size body.
Shipbreaker Kraken: This already sizeable Kraken can become a 10/10 and lock down four target creatures for as lock as she remains on the battlefield, great for clearing the lanes for Commander damage, as well as turning off problematic tap abilities.
Thassa, God of the Sea: The God of the Sea, herself, capable of giving your Commander just the boost he needs to swim through those pesky blockers. Thanks to Indestructible, your opponents will really have to dig to answer this enabler.
This section goes over our different board wipe options for disrupting tempo:

Crush of Tentacles: A very useful board wipe for interrupting the table's tempo. It hits everything indiscriminately, if played in the early game when you've only been ramping, you can clear the board to get free Commander damage in on the opponent of your choice, hopefully leaving behind a nice 8/8 Octopus for you to block / interact with.
Cyclonic Rift: Blue EDH staple, hold this spell until you need it because it's one of the few instant speed board wipes, unless you have Alchemist's Refuge / Leyline of Anticipation.
Engulf the Shore: Another instant speed board wipe, it checks Islands and toughness so it's perfect for this deck. Typically a one sided clear.
Kederekt Leviathan: Probably my favorite board wipe in the deck as it enables you to pick up and reuse board wipes / card draw on other creatures, even if the card is countered, thanks to Unearth.
Scourge of Fleets: Engulf the Shore on a creature, but it only hits your opponents.
Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep: Another one-sided board wipe on a creature.
Thing in the Ice  : A ticking time-bomb for others to watch. Play it early then proceed to cast instant and sorcery spells to remove counters from it and your Commander, time it right you will ramp into an open board for two large Leviathan to swing in to. Also pairs well with Chasm Skulker.
Whelming Wave: Another one-sided board wipe at sorcery speed.
Every adventurer needs their collection of tools for all kinds of various interaction/situation:

Alchemist's Refuge: Enables flash on all your nonland cards, meaning you can cast more instant speed board wipes, or deploy your creatures before your turn starts to get around summoning sickness.
Counterspell: Blue EDH staple. Hold to counter spells that effect your immediate board position.
Emrakul, the Promised End: This massive beater allows you to mindslave someone for a turn before giving them an extra turn if you manage to cast it from your hand.
Foil: There are 15 Islands in the deck, hold one for a free counter. Use to protect board position.
Ghost Quarter: Commander staple, take out a problematic land or another land that destroys lands so you can safely cast your Arixmethes.
Heroic Intervention: This is THE protection spell for this deck, giving all of your permanents indestructible and hexproof for the turn.
Imprisoned in the Moon: Flavorful entrapment of Emrakul, the Promised End (though Kiora was not involved in that), plus one of the best lockdown spells for problematic Commander creatures/Planeswalkers.
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth: Shuffles graveyard into the library and forces sacrifice on attack.
Krosan Grip: There is always at least one problematic Artifact/Enchantment. This removal spell will take out any combo piece, effectively preventing some players from winning the game that turn.
Leyline of Anticipation: Allows you to answer a lot more things at instant speed, pair with Wilderness Reclamation to basically have two turns each trip around the table.
Mystic Sanctuary: Basically Archaeomancer on a land. Pairs well with the other 14 Islands in the deck, and with the 12 Instant / 10 Sorcery spells in the deck. Draw more cards, ramp more, or just return countermagic and keep holding your board position.
Narset's Reversal: This is a trick Kiora picked up on Ravincia, in War of the Spark. This silver bullet is perfect for making those game winning instant/sorcery spells your opponents play our own spells.
Pact of Negation: Guaranteed to protect you from any spell that threatens the board/game, and with the ramp available in this deck you will always be able to pay the upkeep cost.
Plasm Capture: Use this counter to disrupt a player's tempo, and ramp for your next turn. Try to save for a spell that is 5+ CMC.
Reality Shift: One of the best single target removal spells in the game. Save to remove combo enabling creatures from the game.
Sanctum of Ugin: Sacrifice this land after casting any of the following to fetch any of the others; Elder Deep-Fiend / Emrakul, the Promised End / Kozilek, Butcher of Truth / Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger.
Song of the Dryads: Similar to Imprisoned in the Moon, this Aura is perfect for locking down problematic Commanders or turning any other threatening permanent into a harmless, colorless Forest.
Thought Vessel: Reliquary Tower but on a mana rock.
Tolaria West: Tutors out whatever nonbasic land you need, popular targets include Alchemist's Refuge / Dark Depths / Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx / Thespian's Stage. Also capable of grabbing 0 CMC cards like Ancestral Vision / Mox Tantalite / Pact of Negation.
Kiora's Friends:

Kiora's Follower: Tricked into worship! Used to tap your Commander multiple times for mana, or tap for mana, and attack in the same turn. Transitions into untapping Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx / Lotus Field / Temple of the False God / Simic Growth Chamber.
Prime Speaker Zegana: A perfect friend for Kiora and her creatures, Zegana draws strength from the strength of others and loves to assist fellow ocean-dwellers. Draws you tons of cards.
Tatyova, Benthic Druid: Here to accompany several Benthic sea creatures, this pleasant Druid that will reward Kiora for putting lands into play. Single-card engine.
Voyaging Satyr: Drawn together by their desires to explore, this Druid helps to untap the Isle himself, as well as Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx / Lotus Field / Temple of the False God / Simic Growth Chamber.

Kiora's Foes:

Emrakul, the Promised End: The boogeyman of the Titans, with this big baddie looming in the wings, Kiora will never forget the dangers these baddies brought to her homeland of Zendikar. Cause chaos by mindslaving opponents into open hostilities while you wait to crush your foes with this otherworldly Octopus.
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth: The original big nasty version of Kozilek from the first Zendikar block. Kiora faced off against this monster riding on the back of Lorthos, the Tidemaker. Card advantage on the back of one of Magic's most iconic beaters.
Thassa, God of the Sea: They fought for control over Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle. Thassa may have prevented the theft of her favorite Kraken, but not the theft of her God-Weapon, Dekella. Flavor add and unblockable utility.
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger: Rounding out the list of Kiora's rivals is the third Titan, Ulamog, previously thought to be a Merfolk deity by the name of Ula. This horrifying tentacle monster will remove some threats upon cast, and leave behind an even bigger threat.

Kiora's Confiscated Creatures:

Angler Turtle: A big scary turtle with Hexproof. Typically used to clear blockers so you can finish off your opponents.
Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle: As the centerpiece of Kiora's fight with Thassa, it is only fitting that this creature be the Commander for a Kiora tribal theme deck. Ramp in the Command Zone is also one of the strongest things you can do, and really enables this deck's high casting costs.
Breaching Leviathan: This monstrous Leviathan cost Kiora's attention with her ability to drown her opponents's creatures in the breaching waves, while clearing the path for sea creatures from all over the Multiverse.
Chasm Skulker: Upon seeing a massive Squid burst into many smaller ones, Kiora recruited this growing threat into her family of deep sea-dwellers.
Dark Depths: Beneath the depths, frozen in ice, awaits our most fearsome sea creature, the infamous, Marit Lage. Sink mana into removing counters or copy with Thespian's Stage before your turn to get people with this massive flying avatar out of nowhere.
Elder Deep-Fiend: Kiora and the Eldrazi do not get along, but this one is clearly an Octopus, and any creature of the sea is hers to tame! Instant speed tap down permanents.
Kederekt Leviathan: Another Leviathan that specializes in making waves. Extremely flexible due to Unearthing with Haste, making this one of the most unsuspecting cards in the deck.
Hydroid Krasis: This creepy Ravnician mutation found its home in Kiora's arsenal due to its sheer terror and versatility. A gift from the Simic Combine. Draws cards, gains life, flies, big X spell.
Lorthos, the Tidemaker: Kiora and this Octopus fought together during the Battle of Zendikar, and he's back to help lockdown permanents and give you a clear channel to swim through.
Mesmerizing Benthid: This loyal Octopus is accompanied by a couple of Illusion that will make our opponents think twice about declaring attackers at us.
Nadir Kraken: This ominous Kraken grows larger over time and brings friends to the party.
Nezahal, Primal Tide: The only Dinosaur in the deck. This embodiment of blue mana will lead you to victory with the card advantage that it gives and it's resilience.
Scourge of Fleets: This Kraken is looking to swallow our opponents whole, bouncing only their creatures while ours remain free to attack.
Serpent of Yawning Depths: One of the multiverse's most daunting Serpents, he clears the waters for all the sea's creatures to attack. A precious addition to Kiora's collection.
Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep: Said to be as big as Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle, this Leviathan is one of the most expensive casting costs in the deck after it has been kicked, but the one-sided board wipe is perfect slowing the developing battlefield and allows for massive attacks.
Shipbreaker Kraken: A big Kraken with enough strength to pull even the mightiest ships to the sea floor. 6/6 that becomes a 10/10 and clears the way for attacks.
Stormsurge Kraken: The most loyal Kraken, this Hexproof Lieutenant is hard to remove and can provide great card advantage when opponents can't afford to take 7 damage.
Thing in the Ice  : A ticking time-bomb, frozen in ice, free the Horror, and watch him blow away all (non-Horror) creatures.
While I have put a lot of time, effort, and, frankly, money, into this deck, I have tried to keep it "casually competitive" and on-theme. Meaning I purposely shy away from infinite combos like Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle + Pemmin's Aura / Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle + Freed from the Real, and from non-sea related ways to victory such as Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle + Overwhelming Stampede / Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle + Dragon Throne of Tarkir / Archetype of Imagination in favor of more flavorful / sea-based evasion as described in the "Ensnare Their Forces" and "Wash Them Away" sections.

I enjoy playing this deck because it let's me play big splashy monsters while having the ability to interact with everyone's boards and swing through when I am ready to. You could easily make this super combo-y, or stomp-y and finish games very reliably and frequently, but this build is more about letting people start to get going and becoming the Archenemy. It challenges you and everyone else at the table to interact or lose the game.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my deck. Please upvote if you enjoyed it!

"I will never run out of new oceans to explore or new sea-dwellers to embrace as my own." —Kiora

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97% Casual

Competitive

Revision 11 See all

(4 years ago)

Top Ranked
Date added 5 years
Last updated 4 years
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

14 - 0 Mythic Rares

43 - 0 Rares

16 - 0 Uncommons

9 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 4.38
Tokens Emblem Kiora, Master of the Depths, Emblem Kiora, the Crashing Wave, Illusion 0/2 U, Kraken 8/8 U w/ Hexproof, Kraken 9/9 U, Manifest 2/2 C, Marit Lage, Octopus 8/8 U, Squid 1/1 U, Tentacle 1/1 U
Folders Autumn's Decks, New Deck Ideas, Real Fun EDH, UB Sea Creatures, slime, I Wish i had this, simic, Decks to keep an eye on
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