Cute pink Kraken face? It's a baby, but I need an art upgrade before I let you promote this to core.
sir_dwar
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
An excellent turn 1 drop for blue control!
Donovan_Fabian
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(5 votes)
I like it, just needs an ability like.. ummm.. idk whats a good ability for a 1 drop. Maybe tapping like wall of frost, or some sort of card draw. Actually what would have been great is have this synergize with lorthos by making him at least slightly easier to get onto the field.. maybe sacrifice 2-3 of them to reduce its mana cost or something to that affect, so you could actually use the affect it has when it comes into play. I like the art though.
Volcre
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
It's actually quite funny that this thing doesn't have defender. Not a bad 1 drop for limited. Not even Scythe Tiger can get through it.
Oleander
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(14 votes)
This card can block, yes, but has no place being in what is supposed to be an "Expert" level set. Sets outside of the core edition shouldn't have miserable vanilla creatures like this, instead, they should have delightful, exotic, utilizes-the-set functions. If it had some effect that allowed it to actually do something, like, I dunno, a 5 or 6 cost ability that turned it into something worthwhile, it would be worth time and consideration, but as it stands now, it's incredibly boring in a set that should interest the player with every card printed.
BentMorality
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(7 votes)
well, to begin with- "Expert Set" labels are long gone. WotC isn't really trying that route anymore, which is smart because it just scares off new players. that was just a few years of categorization that you probably need to let go.
but ill plop this bugger down. he helped me a lot at the pre-release, and he gave me something to put some super cheap equip on until i had something that really needed it.
RobinHood3000
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(10 votes)
I like it - great for blue control, as has been said. Locks down the ground early against aggro, which keeps those Vampire Lacerators and Scythe Tigers from getting through early, which can mean a dangerous drop in tempo/life for the opponent.
And I agree with Bent - not every card should have an awesome or interesting ability, that's just poor card design. The combination of power, toughness, and cost here offers enough interesting gameplay possibilities as it is.
Stalled in last weeks FNM, ended up attacking with the little one with a scope equipped just to scare up lands. Defender on him would have lost me a game
kittyspit
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
i love this bolt proof blocker, 1U for a 0/4 is definitely welcome in my deck!
love the art too ^^
Alex123321
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
talk about an ossum card that has a cute touch to it
MrPink343
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
People are underestimating this card. A 0/4 on turn one puts up a tough-to-breach defense for the first few turns, particularly in Standard and Limited.
PaladinOfSunhome
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(4 votes)
This card is awesome. A 0/4 for U may not seem like much, but it's awesome in any pump up deck. Need I say more?
4.5
f_fivefiftyseven
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(5 votes)
Its, to simply put it, a really good card. It slows down your opponents attacking creatures, and since it only costs one, you could theoretically get 2 or three of them out early in the game. In a draft I was playing Red-Blue, and I sat behind a wall of these guys while waiting for my Zektar Shrine Expeditions to proc, and I beat my opponent down with 4 elementals, one turn at a time. It's usefull because it slows down the game, giving you time to get your slower cards online. Plus, if a common is generating this much talk, its gotta be worthwhile.
Guntz1092
★☆☆☆☆ (1.4/5.0)(6 votes)
pay an extra blue for shroud and an extra 1 colorless for +1/+0 and you got a Calcite Snapper
c0ncept
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
This little guy is completely underrated for the most part. I'm glad to see some people appreciate its usefulness.
BrutalJim
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
A blue Steel Wall, but without defender. I like it.
Tezz
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
ophidian eye doesnt work with this guy because he has 0 power right??
AXER
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
KRAAIKEN !!
Eved
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(8 votes)
Works well with cards that have Ninjutsu. Most people don't even bother blocking the 0/4. Until they find out you have Ninjas in your deck that is.
ZombieSnail
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Just adorable and really cool. A welcome sight in zen limited, and the lack of defender is awesome in that it moves further away from the whole stupid wall theme and makes the little guy twice as useful.
Richard_Hawk
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
wow, this is one of the standard 4.5/5 cards that fit well with any deck. even for aggresive decks, having one of these out can save you a turn or two, but with 4 toughness its pretty darn good. and no defender? How about Inside Out on this bad boy?
its creature type "kraken" is just fair warning that if this appears in a deck, there are probably bigger plans for this guy than being there to block.. my rating: 2/5
PS: on a scale to 5, zero is unplayable, 2.5 is what's to be expected, and 5 is a must have. This guy deserves a 2. Not great on it's own, but far from unplayable.
More like a Derrick Zoolander "Blue Steel" wall without defender.
Zoah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
First thought when looking at the art: "I want one!"
Seriously though, aside form being very cute... This is the best one drop wall I know. Except without defender it's not a wall, it's better. (a bit of an obscure upside but oh well) A pity I don't have many places for him... All of my decks are so restrictive of the type.
Another thing to note: this guy is ten cents at ABU games and is the third best rated blue one-drop in the game thus far. (At least according to this site.) Also, unlike it's two superiors (Vedalken Certarch and hedron crab) it is modular. Available for any deck. No mill required, no artifacts required.
dragonking987
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
aww its storm crows little brother.
Sleazebag
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
I use this card in my Grand Architect deck. Excellent one drop that blocks the two first turns then taps for 2 mana on my third, letting me drop a wurmcoil engine or a steel hellkite :)
T1: Kraken Hatchling T2: Etherium Sculptor T3: Grand Architect, tap all 3 blues and get 6 mana (+1 mana cost reduction from the sculptor), drop any artifact that costs 7 CMC or less.
HairlessThoctar
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Considering the general formula for vanilla dudes:
Casting cost = Power + Toughness / 2
This guy is above the curve!
SoulShatterer
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Buff little blocker for U that can't be Lightning Bolted or Shocked, doesn't die to chumps, and if a guy running black wastes a Doom Blade on it....HAH, they just wasted a DB on a 0/4.
jfre81
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Better than a 1/1 blue one-drop vanilla weenie like Merfolk of the Pearl Trident (perhaps even in a Merfolk deck). I like the idea of throwing cheap equipment on him in the early stage of the game.
MaizeRage47
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(12 votes)
RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!! Umm boss? Due to cutbacks we could only get a baby Kraken... RELEASE IT ANYWAY!
JFM2796
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is my go-to drop in my mono blue control deck. This is a 1 drop that can hold off a Bloodbraid Elf and live to tell the tale! I want to see a reprint in M13. Its strange though, a playable vanilla creature. Very rare.
@f_fivefiftyseven According to that logic, Mindless Null is "worthwhile".
No one expects a Kraken/Leviathan/Octopus/Sea Serpent deck.
No one...
MacBizzle
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
As far as people calling it cute, that's not an eye on the right side of its head. That's a gaping maw of razor sharp teeth.
As far as all the people that were docking it on not being flashier, yeeeah, this is actually one of the few playable vanillas. The way I look at it, WotC has to cost cards fairly by their P/T and Abilities. If there's no power and no abilities, then they've given it as much toughness as they can, and 4 is amazing for a one-drop. Only thing better I could hope for would be a 0/5 for U that actually comes with the defender that was intended. If your opponent's running red, he should attack it with a raging goblin and THEN bolt it, cause this little puppy seeks to undo red's advantage- early game speed. The red deck won't have enough staying power when you can save all of your mana for Cancels. This little puppy has saved me more times than I can count when I'm running Ancient Depths.
Look at it this way- Phantasmal Bear is a 2/2 for 1 (so converted P/T of 4, just like Kraken Hatchling). Now, calculate out Phantasmal Bear's god-awful target-sacrifice ability against Kraken Hatchling's non-existent ability. Is this card really so bad?
Thomas_204
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I don't care, it's adorable and at least somewhat useful.
drpvfx
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Jeez, this little guy is better than many walls, and he doesn't even have Defender!
A *very* good creature for U.
(pun intended).
Ideatog
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(7 votes)
Combos with white wine and clarified butter.
oienarst
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(2 votes)
@ Hairless Thoctar That formula is far too generous to vanillas. A 4/4 for six is not on the curve. Are Grizzly Bears, Hill Giant, and Craw Wurm above the curve as well? Even if you meant Cost = (Power + Toughness) / 2, that's still not enough. A 6/6 for six or a 1/1 for one is a bad creature too.
If a creature's only ability is attacking and blocking, it needs exceptional power and toughness to keep up with creatures of the same cost with actual abilities such as flying. In fact, if the power or toughness don't exceed the CMC, there's almost certainly a french vanilla with the same P/T and cost anyway. I like the numbers Cost = Power*0.4+Toughness*0.25, which I got in part by looking at cards like this and Elite Vanguard, putting Kraken Hatchling squarely on the curve.
3/5 for blocking on the ground up to turn 4, and for being 0 toughness without defender, which is cool and sometimes useful.
Kryptnyt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
T1 KH T2 SLAM BONESPLITTER, SWING! The turns beyond create themselves; all number of Jittes and Swords come to mind. Your opponent is left helplessly staring at the Punishing Fire in his hand and the Grove of the burnwillows on his board... because he only made it to three mana this game, thanks to your Wastelands.
Ryjhan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
this is going to be in lots of simic decks as an evolve enabler.
Comments (48)
Forget about Fugitive Wizard, i want that pet in the next core set :D
It's no fog bank but whatever.
but ill plop this bugger down. he helped me a lot at the pre-release, and he gave me something to put some super cheap equip on until i had something that really needed it.
And I agree with Bent - not every card should have an awesome or interesting ability, that's just poor card design. The combination of power, toughness, and cost here offers enough interesting gameplay possibilities as it is.
Anyway, one of the more solid one-drops I've seen in a while, and definitely something needed by defensive blue decks.
love the art too ^^
4.5
PS: on a scale to 5, zero is unplayable, 2.5 is what's to be expected, and 5 is a must have. This guy deserves a 2. Not great on it's own, but far from unplayable.
Why? Because I can.
More like a Derrick Zoolander "Blue Steel" wall without defender.
Seriously though, aside form being very cute... This is the best one drop wall I know.
Except without defender it's not a wall, it's better. (a bit of an obscure upside but oh well)
A pity I don't have many places for him... All of my decks are so restrictive of the type.
Another thing to note: this guy is ten cents at ABU games and is the third best rated blue one-drop in the game thus far. (At least according to this site.) Also, unlike it's two superiors (Vedalken Certarch and hedron crab) it is modular. Available for any deck. No mill required, no artifacts required.
T1: Kraken Hatchling
T2: Etherium Sculptor
T3: Grand Architect, tap all 3 blues and get 6 mana (+1 mana cost reduction from the sculptor), drop any artifact that costs 7 CMC or less.
Casting cost = Power + Toughness / 2
This guy is above the curve!
Umm boss? Due to cutbacks we could only get a baby Kraken...
RELEASE IT ANYWAY!
@f_fivefiftyseven According to that logic, Mindless Null is "worthwhile".
2nd Turn: Ponder (to see da future)
3rd Turn: High Tide + Polymorph to combo into an Inkwell Leviathan or Stormtide Leviathan.
No one expects a Kraken/Leviathan/Octopus/Sea Serpent deck.
No one...
As far as all the people that were docking it on not being flashier, yeeeah, this is actually one of the few playable vanillas. The way I look at it, WotC has to cost cards fairly by their P/T and Abilities. If there's no power and no abilities, then they've given it as much toughness as they can, and 4 is amazing for a one-drop. Only thing better I could hope for would be a 0/5 for U that actually comes with the defender that was intended. If your opponent's running red, he should attack it with a raging goblin and THEN bolt it, cause this little puppy seeks to undo red's advantage- early game speed. The red deck won't have enough staying power when you can save all of your mana for Cancels. This little puppy has saved me more times than I can count when I'm running Ancient Depths.
Look at it this way- Phantasmal Bear is a 2/2 for 1 (so converted P/T of 4, just like Kraken Hatchling). Now, calculate out Phantasmal Bear's god-awful target-sacrifice ability against Kraken Hatchling's non-existent ability. Is this card really so bad?
and he doesn't even have Defender!
A *very* good creature for U.
(pun intended).
That formula is far too generous to vanillas. A 4/4 for six is not on the curve. Are Grizzly Bears, Hill Giant, and Craw Wurm above the curve as well? Even if you meant Cost = (Power + Toughness) / 2, that's still not enough. A 6/6 for six or a 1/1 for one is a bad creature too.
If a creature's only ability is attacking and blocking, it needs exceptional power and toughness to keep up with creatures of the same cost with actual abilities such as flying. In fact, if the power or toughness don't exceed the CMC, there's almost certainly a french vanilla with the same P/T and cost anyway. I like the numbers Cost = Power*0.4+Toughness*0.25, which I got in part by looking at cards like this and Elite Vanguard, putting Kraken Hatchling squarely on the curve.
3/5 for blocking on the ground up to turn 4, and for being 0 toughness without defender, which is cool and sometimes useful.
T2 SLAM BONESPLITTER, SWING!
The turns beyond create themselves; all number of Jittes and Swords come to mind.
Your opponent is left helplessly staring at the Punishing Fire in his hand and the Grove of the burnwillows on his board... because he only made it to three mana this game, thanks to your Wastelands.