Kiora, the Crashing Wave2GU
Planeswalker — Kiora [M]
+1: Until your next turn, prevent all damage that would be dealt to and dealt by target permanent an opponent controls.
-1: Draw a card. You may play an additional land this turn.
-5: You get an emblem with "At the beginning of your end step, put a 9/9 blue Kraken creature token onto the battlefield."
[2]
So what do you guys think? My guess is that she'll find her way into some Bant shell where she'll function as a repeatable Explore with other utility. The two toughness hurts, but the real value here is the ability to quickly gain card advantage and ramp into threats. Her ultimate is just plain nuts, and her +1 does have some utility as well. Playing her turn 3 after a Sylvan Caryatid seems ideal.
As I said in the other thread, Kiora is much better than Jace in the Supreme Verdict decks. Her +1 is more usable, her -1 is more powerful, her ultimate is more deadly and more reachable.
The card seems a bit unimpressive, but still playable in decks playing simic colours (right now, only a BUG or bant midrange/control deck) She isn't compelling enough to play bant or BUG over Esper but shes definitely a card to watch and I predict she might be a sleeper hit
Also, she just made simic the best deck to play for block contructed, it was already really good before.
I don't think people are really respecting how powerful Explore is as a repeated effect. When the #1 thing you want to do in a control mirror is play lands getting to do that multiple times a turn while drawing cards is just overwhelming. Her other abilities are only ok in a control mirror but even so I can see her having a place there.
I think it goes without saying that her playability will be directly tied landscape of the meta post BNG. If aggro is extremely prevalent, she'll end up being a liability more often than not.
She's good but not game breaking IMO. We'll know more once we see more of BNG.
Looks trash. 4 Drop for a 3 loyalty planeswalker? -1 is only good ability. -5 is winmore and +1 is reliant on play against control decks that require a single threat or wincon. Elspeth and Assemble laugh at this card.
Ashiok is better, and we know how effective (s)he is.
Since there is a decent amount of weenie like decks in the format, Jace AOT will be better versus them due to his +1. The more creatures in the format, the better Jace will be. Kiora is awesome against midrange and control decks because she can blank their one fatty or explore to an advantage.
Looks trash. 4 Drop for a 3 loyalty planeswalker? -1 is only good ability. -5 is winmore and +1 is reliant on play against control decks that require a single threat or wincon. Elspeth and Assemble laugh at this card.
Ashiok is better, and we know how effective (s)he is.
I think you are underestimating her +1 ability. It might seem like a trash ability, but the reality is that you are in green, and that actually changes this ability pretty drastically.
Leading into her with things like Sylvan Caryatid and Detention Sphere allow her to give you the ability to fog most if not all damage from an aggressive strategy when you +1 her.
If she was straight blue, or even another color other than green, she would not have color staples like Caryatid pushing her +1 ability to be more than it appears to be. With even just a little inherent support by the color green, this walker might as well be a repeatable feeling of dread in the sense that she can start grinding out combat advantages on her own.
Her main problem is her competition with Jace, AoT. Many people have mentioned she'd be a lot better at 3cc. I think this would be broken on curve. Imagine T2-3 Kiora into T4 Supreme Verdict or Jace, AoT! Not a lot of creature or midrange decks could come back from that. Although I think a good start may be T2 Detention Sphere, T3 Kiora, T5 Jace, that actually sounds pretty brutal, I wonder how many explores you'd be able to get in after that for your first Sphinx's Revelation, LOL.
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Standard:
N/A
Modern:
Grishoalbrand / Grixis Death's Shadow / Jeskai Control / UW Control
Might be good in a supreme verdict shell but i think she'd play just fine in a creature-oriented build.
T1: yoked ox
T2: sylvan caryatid
T3: kiora, neutralize your opponent's best attacking creature, then caryatid and ox will be able to handle many other creatures on the board.
T4 and beyond: continue to build toward kraken tokens, or use plasm capture to power something large, or use explore ability and play elspeth, or armada wurm, etc...
Oh and if there's lots of fog effects in the deck then you'd only be a few turns away from turning on a kraken factory.
Since there is a decent amount of weenie like decks in the format, Jace AOT will be better versus them due to his +1. The more creatures in the format, the better Jace will be. Kiora is awesome against midrange and control decks because she can blank their one fatty or explore to an advantage.
She's good against some mid-range and Blood Baron, but sort of a dud against Aetherling and Elspeth.
The more i think about it, the more i like kiora. I think she might be good enough to make populate and detain cards worth playing, and the sequence that i proposed seems pretty strong if you're continuing into either of selesnya or simic creature strategies (or both).
Going with trostani and elspeth for example introduces the possibility of floods of creatures and lifegain, as well as making beck// call an interesting card choice.
I don't think kiora overlaps nearly as much with jace and supreme verdict as many people seem to have assumed, and her mix of abilities make her very multi-faceted.
Illinest , wouldn't a few fogs get you up to any planeswalker's ultimate? The only difference here being that the Fog you cast made Kiora's already great +1 useless by providing the same effect (plus a bit more for the turn)- Yet Fog is still hovering right around unplayable trash- except for in niche situations out of the SB.
Kiora is a solid card, if you can play blockers/removal up to when you cast her she should be golden- all of her abilities are pretty sweet- comparing to Jace- her +1 is generally stronger- being that it is better against the decks its good against (no Lingering Souls type card in standard- but plenty of decks looking to swing with Desecration Demons and Blood Barons)- and the Explore Ability is -1 rather than -2, so it is much more repeatable- and can even be stronger in some matchups.
Kiora becomes miles better if you can drop her on turn 3 with green acceleration, considering then her +1 is more likely to stop their only threat to her and the Explore becomes much more relevant early.
Another thing to consider about her- most pws you really have to work towards the ultimate- not in the case of loyalty but because their + ability doesn't do much and you are pretty much using it only to tick them up with some upside. Kiora's + ability neutralizes a threat- so she can build up to ultimate while still providing good worth every turn- I think this is an aspect of her many people are overlooking.
I think you are underestimating her +1 ability. It might seem like a trash ability, but the reality is that you are in green, and that actually changes this ability pretty drastically.
Leading into her with things like Sylvan Caryatid and Detention Sphere allow her to give you the ability to fog most if not all damage from an aggressive strategy when you +1 her.
If she was straight blue, or even another color other than green, she would not have color staples like Caryatid pushing her +1 ability to be more than it appears to be. With even just a little inherent support by the color green, this walker might as well be a repeatable feeling of dread in the sense that she can start grinding out combat advantages on her own.
Dsphere is blue white, not blue green, but I'm sure you know that. A planeswalker shouldn't need to have other cards to 'combo' with.
Planeswalkers that are considered the 'best' are all independent of requiring specific cards to interact with. Knight-Errant creates her own threats and buffs them. JtMS is an amazing control centerpiece with the ability to net you card advantage, set up or screw up draws, and in a tight spot act as a psuedo wincon. LotV acts as a more aggressive control card, with a board-affecting ult.
These three do not require them to be played with specific other cards, explicitly or implicitly. If I want a good planeswalker as a 4 drop in UG, I'll play Jace. Only reason she will see play is when Jace rotates, and even then not long I predict. Will depend on the colours of the new planeswalkers.
I think you are underestimating her +1 ability. It might seem like a trash ability, but the reality is that you are in green, and that actually changes this ability pretty drastically.
Leading into her with things like Sylvan Caryatid and Detention Sphere allow her to give you the ability to fog most if not all damage from an aggressive strategy when you +1 her.
If she was straight blue, or even another color other than green, she would not have color staples like Caryatid pushing her +1 ability to be more than it appears to be. With even just a little inherent support by the color green, this walker might as well be a repeatable feeling of dread in the sense that she can start grinding out combat advantages on her own.
She strikes me as very similar to Tamiyo, and we all remember how playable that was. The + locks down a creature, the - draws cards, and the ultimate wins the game after a couple turns. The only difference is the loyalty and CMC.
And like I said before, she seems absolutely brutal in a Sphinx's Revelation deck. +1 that makes the opponent overcommit into Verdict, -1 that powers up revs and digs you to more of them, ultimate that wins the game. You could even play her with protection on turn 5 (or 4 with Caryatid) by using the -1 into having 2 lands up.
I don't usually say that a single card renders something unusable in a format... but yeah, Lightning Bolt forces her out of modern almost entirely on it's own.
Scarth - Wrong- everything is relative- and using her with removal and blockers isn't a combo, its common sense and what you would do in the type of deck that wants her anyway. Comparing her to JTMS isn't really fare at all- as that card got banned in T2 and Modern and sees play in Legacy.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave 2GU
Planeswalker — Kiora [M]
+1: Until your next turn, prevent all damage that would be dealt to and dealt by target permanent an opponent controls.
-1: Draw a card. You may play an additional land this turn.
-5: You get an emblem with "At the beginning of your end step, put a 9/9 blue Kraken creature token onto the battlefield."
[2]
So what do you guys think? My guess is that she'll find her way into some Bant shell where she'll function as a repeatable Explore with other utility. The two toughness hurts, but the real value here is the ability to quickly gain card advantage and ramp into threats. Her ultimate is just plain nuts, and her +1 does have some utility as well. Playing her turn 3 after a Sylvan Caryatid seems ideal.
[THS|SOM|5TH] Devotion to Black
Terrible against red decks.
Can't wait to start collecting kraken tokens.
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Also, she just made simic the best deck to play for block contructed, it was already really good before.
Sexy Sig by mchief111 @ Rising Studios
EDH
G Isao
She's good but not game breaking IMO. We'll know more once we see more of BNG.
Also, her +1 seems to be too much of a double-edged sword. You're basically making one of the opponent's creatures a free chump blocker.
it would be wise to use the ability after combat?
Ashiok is better, and we know how effective (s)he is.
I think you are underestimating her +1 ability. It might seem like a trash ability, but the reality is that you are in green, and that actually changes this ability pretty drastically.
Leading into her with things like Sylvan Caryatid and Detention Sphere allow her to give you the ability to fog most if not all damage from an aggressive strategy when you +1 her.
If she was straight blue, or even another color other than green, she would not have color staples like Caryatid pushing her +1 ability to be more than it appears to be. With even just a little inherent support by the color green, this walker might as well be a repeatable feeling of dread in the sense that she can start grinding out combat advantages on her own.
N/A
Modern:
Grishoalbrand / Grixis Death's Shadow / Jeskai Control / UW Control
T1: yoked ox
T2: sylvan caryatid
T3: kiora, neutralize your opponent's best attacking creature, then caryatid and ox will be able to handle many other creatures on the board.
T4 and beyond: continue to build toward kraken tokens, or use plasm capture to power something large, or use explore ability and play elspeth, or armada wurm, etc...
Oh and if there's lots of fog effects in the deck then you'd only be a few turns away from turning on a kraken factory.
She's good against some mid-range and Blood Baron, but sort of a dud against Aetherling and Elspeth.
Going with trostani and elspeth for example introduces the possibility of floods of creatures and lifegain, as well as making beck// call an interesting card choice.
I don't think kiora overlaps nearly as much with jace and supreme verdict as many people seem to have assumed, and her mix of abilities make her very multi-faceted.
Kiora is a solid card, if you can play blockers/removal up to when you cast her she should be golden- all of her abilities are pretty sweet- comparing to Jace- her +1 is generally stronger- being that it is better against the decks its good against (no Lingering Souls type card in standard- but plenty of decks looking to swing with Desecration Demons and Blood Barons)- and the Explore Ability is -1 rather than -2, so it is much more repeatable- and can even be stronger in some matchups.
Kiora becomes miles better if you can drop her on turn 3 with green acceleration, considering then her +1 is more likely to stop their only threat to her and the Explore becomes much more relevant early.
Another thing to consider about her- most pws you really have to work towards the ultimate- not in the case of loyalty but because their + ability doesn't do much and you are pretty much using it only to tick them up with some upside. Kiora's + ability neutralizes a threat- so she can build up to ultimate while still providing good worth every turn- I think this is an aspect of her many people are overlooking.
Dsphere is blue white, not blue green, but I'm sure you know that. A planeswalker shouldn't need to have other cards to 'combo' with.
Planeswalkers that are considered the 'best' are all independent of requiring specific cards to interact with. Knight-Errant creates her own threats and buffs them. JtMS is an amazing control centerpiece with the ability to net you card advantage, set up or screw up draws, and in a tight spot act as a psuedo wincon. LotV acts as a more aggressive control card, with a board-affecting ult.
These three do not require them to be played with specific other cards, explicitly or implicitly. If I want a good planeswalker as a 4 drop in UG, I'll play Jace. Only reason she will see play is when Jace rotates, and even then not long I predict. Will depend on the colours of the new planeswalkers.
She strikes me as very similar to Tamiyo, and we all remember how playable that was. The + locks down a creature, the - draws cards, and the ultimate wins the game after a couple turns. The only difference is the loyalty and CMC.
And like I said before, she seems absolutely brutal in a Sphinx's Revelation deck. +1 that makes the opponent overcommit into Verdict, -1 that powers up revs and digs you to more of them, ultimate that wins the game. You could even play her with protection on turn 5 (or 4 with Caryatid) by using the -1 into having 2 lands up.