Kiora, the Crashing Wave:Releasing the Krakens!

Kiora, the Crashing Wave:Releasing the Krakens!

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

One of my most favorites lines from a movie is "Release the Kraken!". In my magic experience there are two ways that I have been able to say it.

One is due to a an Activated Quest for Ula's Temple , which allows you to put a Kraken (among other things) into play. I had a mono blue deck that was just chock full of  Leviathans and Octopi. Enjoyed the beat down. Enjoyed saying "Release the Kraken!" more.

And the other would be my Mono Blue EDH deck that features Braids , Conjurer Adept as a commander. Where at the beginning of my upkeep I can also put a Kraken from my hand unto the battlefield. 

I relish saying that line and now with the new Planeswalker from Theros I have another way of getting more of these gigantic beasts.

Kiora , The Crashing waves images have been floating around the internet for some time and while there have been a lot of rumors about her ability nobody really knew which one. Many people thought that she would be another mono blue planeswalker. I guess we could put those rumors to rest now as well.

She sports the Simic colors of Blue and Green and by the looks of things this color combination has a lot of things going on for it for the coming set but I am most excited about this planeswalkers ultimate emblem ability. At the end of your turns you get to say "Release the Kraken!" and put a 9/9 Blue token!

Getting to that stage may be easier said that than and with a lot of permanent removal in the card pool plus burn spells things might not go far for Kiora.

So with mana cost of 4 mana and the opening stats of 2 loyalty counters , you could choose between the +1 or -1 depending on your needs at the moment.  

If you are facing a massive creature or at least a pesky creature that could kill off Kiora while you are still piling up her loyalty counters then use the +1 Ability that temporarily gives a mini shadow like effect.Ideally , for creatures you could use this ability on your second main phase because the effect will last until your next turn , the creature is considered unkillable by damage. Attacking on your turn might kill off creatures but if you use the ability before attacking you risk a creature staying there. 

As an added benefit since this ability targets permanents. Your target permanent cannot deal damage and at the same time no damage can be dealt to it. This is Kiora's defense. No Artifact could ping her for damage. If you are playing in a modern or EDH game planeswalkers like Chandra could not damage her. Lands like Mutavault or Blinkmoth Nexus are neutralized even when they become animated.

However she could still die to a well aimed Lightning Strike if you are not careful.So always have a counter ready or hope that your opponent doesn't have a burn spell handy.

The -1 ability combines the best of the Simic colors advantage. Card drawing and the ability to put more lands in play( 1 land to be exact). So you could draw a card and if it is a land you could use it right away. This might even give you the extra mana to use on a counter spell that you might have in your hand. 

For her ultimate ability (Which is the reason I got to writing this) , it only takes 5 loyalty counters to get it. An Emblem that gives you a mighty 9/9 blocker and a game finisher on the next turn. The thing is even if it dies , you could still get another one at the end of your turn. Getting to 5 counters seems easy , 3 turns is all it would take. Assuming that Kiora would not be the target of any permanent removal which every color is now sporting. Then again Blue always has strong counters ready for it.

I have been planning a Proliferate deck for awhile now and lately have been growing fond of the Simic. Kiora would fit right in there. 

In whatever case just being able to say "Release the Kraken!"at the end of my turns would be enough for me to look for this blue/green Planeswalker. Happy new year every one!Let us keep the brews coming this year.