Sea monsters are some of the coolest creatures in Magic. While a ton of them can't (or won't) be cast outside of the kitchen table (I'm looking at you, Polar Kraken), they're just such iconic, larger-than-life creatures. They really remind me of the creatures that got me so hyped as a kid learning how to play Magic. You had no idea the OG Leviathan wasn't good. All you knew is that it was this huge 10/10 creature with trample that you wanted to windmill slap against your friends.
Well, the sea monsters today will be a little more playable, thankfully. We'll include Krakens, Leviathans, Octopuses, and Serpents that have all left an impact on me or the game at some point. Interestingly enough, all the Serpents in Magic refer to sea serpents, and not snakes. And all the cards that were previously Cephalids have been changed to Octopuses. So no more Cephalids, which is sad, because they were cool. I guess they still have cephalid in their names, at least.
The more you know....
Let's begin!
Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait
If you're a Commander player, I assume you're familiar with this guy. Personally my experience with Aesi is from various Cubes. There's a reason Aesi still hovers around $10. Aesi is basically a Tatyova, Benthic Druid on steroids. Sure, you don't gain a life with the land drops, but you are able to play an additional land on each of your turns, which means Aesi is letting you draw an additional two cards per turn. I mean, have you ever cast a Mulldrifter? This is like that, but every turn. And that doesn't even include any additional land drops you're able to make with ramp spells or fetch lands!
Elder Deep-Fiend
As a lifelong Eldrazi fan - well, you know, the life of the Eldrazi anyway - Elder Deep-Fiend is the GOAT. This guy was tapping down everything in Standard when it was legal. While he doesn't see as much play these days, this guy was Top 8'ing Pro Tours in the Temur Emerge deck, where he was emerging from creatures like Matter Reshaper, Primal Druid, and Shaman of Forgotten Ways. That meant that, unlike most of its contemporaries, this Octopus would typically only cost three to four mana and provide a cool bonus when it was cast as well!
Gyruda, Doom of Depths
We would have also accepted Gigan, Cyberclaw Terror. Gyruda was another card that was the centerpiece of multiple decks in Standard, Pioneer, and Legacy, each time fueling some sort of busted combo. The goal is usually to put a bunch of even-cost clones in your deck - such as Phyrexian Metamorph, Spark Double, Phantasmal Image, etc. - which, when cast, allow you to consistently copy Gyruda and loop its ability over and over, eventually giving you a dominating board presence of numerous 6/6 Gyruda clones.
Hullbreaker Horror / Pearl Lake Ancient
If you couldn't tell by now, most of the cards on this list were the centerpieces of either combo or control decks. Hullbreaker Horror and Pearl Lake Ancient were both a part of the latter. These two happen to have a lot in common, outside of being sea monsters. They both cost seven mana. They both have flash. They both can't be countered. And they both have an ability that lets you return them to your hand to protect them. The Pearl Lake Ancient even has prowess, so we could say that both creatures are capable of achieving 7/8 status!
Koma, Cosmos Serpent / Koma, World-Eater
I absolutely love Koma, Cosmos Serpent. Technically I love both Koma's, which includes the newer Koma, World-Eater, but I think it's widely accepted that the Cosmos Serpent is the better of the two legendary serpents. That being said, one is a 6/6 and one is a much, much larger 8/12. Neither can be countered, which means there have been four creatures on this list that aren't able to be countered. I will admit, the ward 4 on the World-Eater is pretty nice, but I do think the consistency and bonus abilities of the Cosmos Serpent put it over the top. At a certain point you only need to be so big, and a 6/6 is plenty good enouh.
Thing in the Ice
Thing in the Ice is basically a half Kraken, since it's only a Kraken on the back. Even so, it's been an awesome force to be reckoned with in decks that like to play a ton of fast, cheap spells in order to start attacking with an early Awoken Horror. That being the case, you can still see Thing in the Ice palling around with Arclight Phoenix occasionally in Pioneer from time to time.
Unruly Krasis
As far as I know, this card has had no real impact on any formats. In fact, it skipped Standard, and is not even legal in Pioneer or Modern due to the fact that it was released in the Ravnica: Clue Edition supplemental set. Despite that, it's been a great card in my Cube, in the Magic Online Cubes, and I have to assume in Commander.
But honestly, none of that matters. The real reason I included it is because it's a Shark Octopus Lizard. And that's just awesome.
Yorion, Sky Nomad
This is easily the most impactful card on this list. Yorion is an absolute metagame defining creature that was omnipresent in Standard when it was legal, and has been banned in Modern due to how easy it was as a card to just play for free in your sideboard. This was basically the entire issue with companions in general. The restrictions they had just weren't strong enough to balance out the free card they provided to players. This is exactly why Jegantha was just banned in Modern as well. Until Yorion is also banned in Pioneer, I assume it will continue to be a regular, top-tier strategy there.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!
Frank Lepore