It is a nadir kraken, so it is the lowest kraken on the totem pole. The "you may pay 1" clause is less than optimal, but on the other hand if your opponent doesn't kill it then it both grows and spreads.
By the time you pay the full normal cost of a kraken it's a 6/7 with 4 1/1s in play, with potential to just... yanno, turn yer eot cantrips into counters and 1/1 tokens. Mono-blue aggro could probably use this pretty well tbh. t3 drop this, t4 pay for a token and leave counter mana up, opt on eot and tick up again, rinse repeat.
I'm going to have to profoundly disagree with the flavor not fitting. This is a kraken from the deeps. The 2/3 body isn't its actual body, and this is why it gets bigger and bigger and bigger. This is a kraken just exploring the surface. Testing it. From far below. The 2/3 body is just what little bit it's showing at the start. If you manage to remove that 2/3, you've driven the kraken back into the deeps. The longer the kraken explores the surface world, however, the more of itself it shows, including its tentacles. The more of itself it shows, the harder it is to drive back down into the deeps.
I think this card very, very successfully encapsulates a classic trope of many a story of such monsters of the deeps. Where you only see a hint of it, at first. However, as the narrative progresses, you begin to see more and more of the truth. First one tentacle grasps a person and pulls them under. Then, more and more tentacles slowly appear, wrapping around more people, around the ship, multiple ships, a whole fleet. As it rises to the surface more over the course of the story, the true danger lurking below grows more and more terrifying.
That's what this card appears to be going for. And for that reason, this card is chock full of flavor win, to me. And also might very well be playable in constructed? Heck, yeah.
I'm going to have to profoundly disagree with the flavor not fitting. This is a kraken from the deeps. The 2/3 body isn't its actual body, and this is why it gets bigger and bigger and bigger. This is a kraken just exploring the surface. Testing it. From far below. The 2/3 body is just what little bit it's showing at the start. If you manage to remove that 2/3, you've driven the kraken back into the deeps. The longer the kraken explores the surface world, however, the more of itself it shows, including its tentacles. The more of itself it shows, the harder it is to drive back down into the deeps.
I think this card very, very successfully encapsulates a classic trope of many a story of such monsters of the deeps. Where you only see a hint of it, at first. However, as the narrative progresses, you begin to see more and more of the truth. First one tentacle grasps a person and pulls them under. Then, more and more tentacles slowly appear, wrapping around more people, around the ship, multiple ships, a whole fleet. As it rises to the surface more over the course of the story, the true danger lurking below grows more and more terrifying.
I don't think anyone misunderstands what they were going for, it's clear what the intent was. The issue we have with the card is how well the flavor is captured by the mechanics.
For me, +1/+1 counters are flavorfully most commonly associated with growth, not always but frequently enough that adding +1/+1 counters registers more as a creature getting bigger/stronger/better armed/etc. For Nadir Kraken, this feels less like it's emerging from the deep, but that it's growing fatter on knowledge and growing tentacles ... which aren't mechanically part of the Kraken. There's a mechanical/flavor dissonance that clunks.
That's why I think it ought to have been printed with its mammoth stats with either -1/-1 counters or, since they typically don't do one offs of -1/-1 counters, a different counter that locks it true size/strength and gets removed by the same trigger. Honestly, even smarter would have been to make it an enchantment that has a big (8-12) number of counters on it and the trigger otherwise plays out similarly by creating Tentacles and when the last is removed you get a 10/10 Kraken token or something.
There were better ways of effectively capturing mechanically the incredible flavor you're describing.
I could overlook everything with the exception of the tokens not being Kraken Tentacle. A Whelming Wave shaving off a kraken's appendages just seems horrible and we lose the the investment mechanically as well.
I could overlook everything with the exception of the tokens not being Kraken Tentacle. A Whelming Wave shaving off a kraken's appendages just seems horrible and we lose the the investment mechanically as well.
Perhaps a "day zero" Oracle correction so that the tokens also have the kraken type? Incidentally, I always liked the wave because it removes well over 99% of all creatures in any format for only 4 mana.
I could overlook everything with the exception of the tokens not being Kraken Tentacle. A Whelming Wave shaving off a kraken's appendages just seems horrible and we lose the the investment mechanically as well.
Perhaps a "day zero" Oracle correction so that the tokens also have the kraken type? Incidentally, I always liked the wave because it removes well over 99% of all creatures in any format for only 4 mana.
id appreciate that if they do it. It’s already slotted in my sea monster deck regardless but I really do want an Oracle
Honestly I'm going to have to say good gameplay trumps flavor. Everything people have proposed is significantly worse gameplay just like how the logical amass mechanic would be insane in planeswalker.set Magic is a card game first and this is a card that's powerful and fun even if the flavor is a bit weird.Eldrain had the queen who's off as well but mechanically plays beautifully with devotion as does the cycle and the hybrid cards. Honestly, what's the point of spot on flavor if it's going to be seen once and head straight to the garbage box/collector binder?
Kraken tentacle is actually slightly better gameplay except it might be stupid with the serpent in the theme booster.I don't think the idea of the card was massive horde of unblockable 1/1s when the card gives you an unblockable 6/6 for 6. Its supposed to be strong but that's practically game over when it lands or the next turn. You want powerful cards, but that's not really going to have much interaction. Unblockable is neat when you might have one other big sea monster, though.
I, for one, like that it's a 3cc that starts off as a 2/3. Kraken themed decks are slow and needed some quickness to survive. Not to mention it interacts w/ a lot of different casual deck styles, like card draw, tokens, +1/+1 counters, and sacrifice (the tokens, of course).
Strange how many of the first responders here immediately point out the 2/3 body. It fills niches and I love the idea of independent tentacles breaking off and causing havoc.
The flavor and size makes sense to me. The primary terror-inducing features of a kraken are the tentacles. Without the tentacles, what is there to fear other than a floating gaping maw. And from that, a 2/3 floating mouth seems pretty good.
I like this one. It clearly shows that the power is derived from the tentacles. I do agree that they should have been creature - kraken tentacle. That would make much more sense and be a flavor home run for me.
I'm just asking for some more good Kraken & Friends cards in this set. This is one, at least. I am really praying we get something that makes the tribe worth playing.
I'm not sure how assigning creature type kraken to a bunch of 1/1s makes any more sense. The tentacles are tentacles, not krakens.
because the tentacles are not creatures independent of the kraken. They are kraken tentacles and should have the same benefits (As they are extensions of the creature) that the kraken body has.
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It is a nadir kraken, so it is the lowest kraken on the totem pole. The "you may pay 1" clause is less than optimal, but on the other hand if your opponent doesn't kill it then it both grows and spreads.
(I googled nadir)
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I think this card very, very successfully encapsulates a classic trope of many a story of such monsters of the deeps. Where you only see a hint of it, at first. However, as the narrative progresses, you begin to see more and more of the truth. First one tentacle grasps a person and pulls them under. Then, more and more tentacles slowly appear, wrapping around more people, around the ship, multiple ships, a whole fleet. As it rises to the surface more over the course of the story, the true danger lurking below grows more and more terrifying.
That's what this card appears to be going for. And for that reason, this card is chock full of flavor win, to me. And also might very well be playable in constructed? Heck, yeah.
I don't think anyone misunderstands what they were going for, it's clear what the intent was. The issue we have with the card is how well the flavor is captured by the mechanics.
For me, +1/+1 counters are flavorfully most commonly associated with growth, not always but frequently enough that adding +1/+1 counters registers more as a creature getting bigger/stronger/better armed/etc. For Nadir Kraken, this feels less like it's emerging from the deep, but that it's growing fatter on knowledge and growing tentacles ... which aren't mechanically part of the Kraken. There's a mechanical/flavor dissonance that clunks.
That's why I think it ought to have been printed with its mammoth stats with either -1/-1 counters or, since they typically don't do one offs of -1/-1 counters, a different counter that locks it true size/strength and gets removed by the same trigger. Honestly, even smarter would have been to make it an enchantment that has a big (8-12) number of counters on it and the trigger otherwise plays out similarly by creating Tentacles and when the last is removed you get a 10/10 Kraken token or something.
There were better ways of effectively capturing mechanically the incredible flavor you're describing.
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Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
Perhaps a "day zero" Oracle correction so that the tokens also have the kraken type? Incidentally, I always liked the wave because it removes well over 99% of all creatures in any format for only 4 mana.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
Strange how many of the first responders here immediately point out the 2/3 body. It fills niches and I love the idea of independent tentacles breaking off and causing havoc.
They have done it before like that, a fact to which Hostage Taker will attest.
I like this one. It clearly shows that the power is derived from the tentacles. I do agree that they should have been creature - kraken tentacle. That would make much more sense and be a flavor home run for me.
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because the tentacles are not creatures independent of the kraken. They are kraken tentacles and should have the same benefits (As they are extensions of the creature) that the kraken body has.