The colossal denizens of the deep inMagic: The Gatheringoccupy a strange design niche. They often have large stats, high mana values, and since they’re usually blue creatures, andblue isn’t supposed to get large creatureseasily, they often come with drawbacks. That’s a lot working against them, but not enough to turn Commander players away from giant sea creature decks.
Krakens, Leviathans, Octopuses and Serpents, despite being different creature types, are usually lumped together on the same support cards. ‘KLOS,’ as some players call the grouping, has received deliberate support over the years, with multiple commanders dedicated to these oceanic beasts.Merfolksometimes get lumped into this category too, but they’re small fish by comparison.
10Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
Teach A Human To Fish
Kinnan’s more of an all-purpose big-creature-loving commander than one that’s specifically in tune with KLOS (Krakens, Leviathans, Octopi, and Serpents) creatures. However, Kinnan brings two things to the table:
Be warned though, Kinnan has a bounty on his head. This is a well-known commander, viable in competitive Commander even, so don’t expect your opponents to shrug it off. Get yourmana accelerantson board first, then cast Kinnan; don’t run him out exposed on turn two.
9Jalira, Master Polymorphist
Not Your Average Sea Creature Commander
Jalira’s puts a unique spin on this strategy and masks your true intent… at least until the first Kraken of Serpent hits the battlefield. This commander takes some deckbuilding finesse though.
The goal is to fill your deck with nothing but KLOS creatures, then find creative ways to get tokens on board to feed Jalira’s ability. Invasion of Segovia is a perfect example: It creates Kraken tokens, so it’s already synergistic, and it makes fodder for Jalira, but it’s not a creature card, so this otherwise subpar hit won’t ever be the card you find with Jalira’s ‘polymorph’ ability.
8Morophon, The Boundless
Always In The Conversation
The everyman typal legend, Morophon, the Boundless houses any creature type that doesn’t have a specific legendary creature dedicated to it already. The problem is, Morophon supports only one type at a time, so that means cutting some letters out of KLOS.
Another issue: There’s a grand total of six non-blue creatures with the KLOS typings, so Morophon’s cost reduction and flexibility as a five-color commandermostly goes to waste. It does mean you have unlimited access to typal support across all colors though, so it’s not a complete wash.
7Slinn Voda, The Rising Deep
Will The Real Slinn Voda Please Stand Up?
Slinn Voda’s probably not your first choice for a sea creature commander given how expensive it is just to cast. That’s eight mana minimum,ten with kickerif you want it to have any real impact on the game. Imagine it dies or gets countered; you’re looking at 12 mana the second time you cast it from the command zone.
That being said, if a kicked Slinn Voda does resolve, it usually puts the KLOS deck in an overwhelming winning position.That is, unless you got paired up against Merfolk, since Slinn Voda shelters them with the rest.
6Koma, Cosmos Serpent
Don’t Worry, It’s Just My KLOS Koma Deck…
Koma’s sacrifice ability synergizes with Serpents specifically, but calling Koma a ‘sea creature commander’ is a bit misleading. It’s technically true, but Koma’s such a self-contained powerhouse of a creature that any synergies with it are more or less moot.
You might run a few extra Serpents in your Koma deck, but Koma builds its own army of tentacled terrors without assistance. Since Koma triggers on every player’s upkeep, you’ll make four Koma’s Coils per turn cycle in a four-player game, and being uncounterable andindestructibleon a whim almost always makes it the scariest creature in play.
5Brinelin, The Moon Kraken
An Elf Druid’s Best Friend
Brinelin doesn’t advertise itself as a KLOS commander, but the reward for casting high mana value spells seems like a nod to the fact that Brinelin’s a Kraken and other sea creatures tend to be expensive to cast. This would be questionable on its own, but thankfully Brinelin’s good at making friends.
Brinelin’s most common partner is Gilanra, Caller of Wildwood, a mana dork that also cares about casting expensive spells. This unlikely duo combines your KLOS creatures withgreen’s ample ramp options, making it easier to cast your expensive creatures ahead of curve.
4Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle
A Real Snoozer
Four-mana 12/12 that double-ramps? Seems reasonable. Thankfully the slumber counters keep it in check for a few turns. It only takes five spells to release the Kraken, after which it’s two hits or a single double-strike trick away from killing a player with commander damage.
Affectionately dubbed ‘Eric Matthews’ by players, Arixmethes fits the mold of a KLOS deck perfectly. It’s great when the commander shares the creature type your deck cares about, and the mana bump it provides helps cast those over-priced Octopuses and Leviathans, which in turn get Arixmethes closer to waking up.
3Kenessos, Priest Of Thassa
Thassa’s Right-Hand Scry-Guy
WotC kind of knows the sea creature archetype isn’t really that good, that’s why all of its support cards are pushed on power level. Take Kenessos, for example, who can put them directly into play for a reasonable mana investment. This would be a much less believable card if it saidDragonorDemonon it instead.
Kenessos also has the distinction of being one of the few “Scry commanders” in Magic. Improving your Scry effects makes the activated ability more consistent, but also just amplifies your ability to dig through your deck at no extra cost.
2Runo Stromkirk//Krothuss, Lord Of The Deep
Big Set-Up, Huge Payoff
Runo’s in a weird spot since it’s none of the relevant KLOS creature types itself, isn’t particularly good on its own, and adding black doesn’t give you access to any additional KLOS creatures of note. You’d much rather have Krothuss in your command zone withoutjumping through all the hoops, but you’ve gotta go through Runo first.
Of course, you don’t even need to run the sea creature gambit for Krothuss to work, it just pays you off immensely if you do. Notably, tokens created by Krothuss don’t go away, so those extra Leviathans and such are there to stay.
1Kiora, Sovereign Of The Deep
Desparked Kiora, As On-Theme As Ever
Inthe events of March of the Machine, many of Magic’s favoriteplaneswalkers lost their sparksand become ordinary beings. Bad news for them, good news for anyone who wanted to play their favorite planeswalker character as the commander of their deck.
Kiora’s always been associated with Krakens and Octopuses, but Sovereign of the Deep is the first Kiora card that can go in the command zone, at least in regular Commander. It’s also quite the reward for leaning into the theme, cascading each sea creature you cast from your hand into [hopefully] another from your deck.
