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Let No Joyful Voice Be Heard

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

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Land (36)

Enchantment (5)

Creature (22)

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Commander: foil Runo Stromkirk  Flip

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Sorcery (10)

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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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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Updates Add

The Waves Are Everchanging — May 17, 2022
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First update since inception. At some point, I suppose I will make a description. In the meantime, here we go.

———

OUT >>> IN:

  1. Icebreaker Kraken >>> Archon of Cruelty - Yes, I am forsaking a kraken for a non-kraken. Yet, while the Icebreaker has a home in several Krothuss decks, I truly think that Archon might be worth a test or two.

  2. Deep-Sea Kraken >>> Spark Double - Similar to above, I want to try and see if I can enable a better early game by changing out some late game beat sticks for utility.

  3. Tainted Isle >>> Otwara, Soaring City - Strong utility land over a semi-color land? Sure.

  4. Vile Entomber >>> Venser, Shaper Savant - Entomber is nice and all, but I’m hoping to have a Runo trigger off before turn 5. Venser is an old friend that I can never say no to.

  5. Liquimetal Torque >>> You Find the Villains' Lair - A slightly faster deck can always use a strong utility card. Still, I’m sad that I’ve taken out the potential Resculpt target enchantment…

  6. Baleful Strix >>> Dauthi Voidwalker - Baleful is fine, but Dauthi is nuts. I could use some anti-aristocrat tech. We’ll see how it plays with a few games.

  7. Graveshifter >>> Obsessive Stitcher - Graveshifter may be a good card to come back to later on, but for now, there’s not enough targets to justify its inclusion at the moment. Stitcher is a solid looter that can enable some nice early game reanimation.

  8. Mesmerizing Benthid >>> Glasspool Mimic  Flip - The benthid is cute, but it’s probably a little too cute. It could also easily make a comeback just because I really like Octopuses. The Mimic is a nice utility land. Clones have a place in this deck.

  9. Junk Winder >>> River Serpent - Junk Winder has been useful exactly 0 times in my games. I think we can do better. River Serpent is almost a second copy of Striped Riverwinder, and Riverwinder is really good.

  10. Heartless Summoning >>> Persist - As we take steps to a more reanimator friendly build, Heartless Summoning may be ready to sit the rest out. Still, it’s a really good and cool card. Persist is self explanatory.

  11. Flood of Tears >>> Dihada's Ploy - Too many fieldwipes, perhaps. So we’re throwing in efficient and instant-speed draw.

  12. Pull from Tomorrow >>> Windfall - More mana efficient, even if there’s a chance it could help an opponent.

  13. Swamp >>> Takenuma, Abandoned Mire - Self explanatory, I presume.

  14. Damnation >>> Flooded Strand - I need more lands and less board wipes. Damnation could always return, but we’ll see.

  15. Tyrite Sanctum >>> Cephalid Coliseum - The good ole’ Tyrone’s sanctum has its place in several decks, but this isn’t one of them. I put it in mostly because turning Krothuss into a God was a flavor play. Cephalid Coliseum is an old favorite of mine. I still tend to run it in basically all my blue decks.

  16. Infernal Grasp >>> Deadly Rollick - I tend to be very commander focused, so playing a free version of a powerful removal spell is what I think I’ll tend to do. If I still need more removal, Grasp will be the first to return.

  17. Wayfarer's Bauble >>> Necromancy - Less ramp, more reanimator. Note, Necromancy is reaaaaaally good with Kederekt Leviathan… 3 mana Cyclonic Rift? Even if it hits me, I’ll take it, please.

  18. Disallow >>> Fierce Guardianship - A test for now. If I end up missing the utility, Disallow could return. Guardianship doesn't really need much explanation.

———

Still looking for room to add Reanimate.

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37% Casual

63% Competitive

Revision 32 See all

(1 year ago)

+1 Demonic Tutor main
+1 Reanimate main
Top Ranked
Date added 2 years
Last updated 1 year
Key combos
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, cool decks i discovered, Building
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