Kiora, the Rising Tide

 

 "The Sovereign of the Abyss"
Once a ruler of the deep oceans, Kiora's domain stretched across vast underwater kingdoms. She was not just a guardian of the seas but also a cunning tactician, using the vast resources of the abyss to maintain her power. When the tides of battle turned against her, Kiora sought to harness the ancient magic buried in forgotten shipwrecks. However, this power came at a cost—her connection to the sea was irrevocably altered, binding her fate to the threshold of her power.

In her quests, Kiora forged an alliance with Scion of the Deep, a leviathan-like octopus. This ancient creature obeys her every command but demands the sacrifice of memories—represented by discarding cards in gameplay.

1. Card Advantage & Graveyard Synergy

The first phase is leveraging Kiora’s "draw two, discard two" ability to accelerate through your deck while setting up your graveyard for Threshold.

• Key Cards:

  • Careful Study, Faithless Looting: Cheap card draw and discard.
  • Frantic Search: Untap lands while fueling the graveyard.
  • Champion of Wits: Another Merfolk that plays well with card draw/discard mechanics.
  • Tolarian Winds: Refresh your hand and turbocharge your graveyard.

• Enablers:

  • Underworld Breach: Convert milled cards into powerful spells.
  • Tormod, the Desecrator: Create zombie tokens whenever cards leave the graveyard.
  • Deep Analysis: A card advantage spell you can cast directly from the graveyard.

2. Achieving Threshold

Threshold is critical for Kiora’s Scion of the Deep ability to activate. Aim to quickly reach 7 cards in your graveyard by the mid-game.

• Graveyard Fillers:

  • Entomb: Tutor key cards directly to the graveyard.
  • Stitcher’s Supplier: Mill cards when it enters and dies.
  • Satyr Wayfinder: Fill your graveyard while fetching lands.
  • Mulldrifter: Draw and sacrifice for added synergy.

• Threshold Enhancers:

  • Tideforce Elemental: A Merfolk synergist for board control.
  • Dread Return: Cast from the graveyard to reanimate a strong creature.
  • Perpetual Timepiece: Mill yourself and recover key cards.

3. Summoning the Scion of the Deep

Once Threshold is achieved, Kiora can summon her massive 8/8 blue Octopus token. This token can act as a game-ending threat or a powerful blocker.

• Token Enhancers:

  • Parallel Lives, Doubling Season: Double the number of Octopus tokens created.
  • Deepglow Skate: Double the power and toughness of Scion tokens.

• Synergistic Support:

  • Rite of Replication: Copy Scion of the Deep for overwhelming power.
  • Conjurer's Closet: Blink Kiora to reuse her draw/discard ability and summon additional Scion tokens.

4. Controlling the Battlefield

While building your graveyard and preparing for Threshold, maintain control of the game with a mix of counters, removal, and bounce effects.

• Control Package:

  • Counterspell, Force of Will: Keep enemy threats off the board.
  • Pongify, Rapid Hybridization: Cheap removal for problematic creatures.
  • Cyclonic Rift: Reset the board when opponents go wide.

• Board Wipe Synergy:

  • Whelming Wave: Return non-sea creature threats while preserving Kiora and her Octopus tokens.
  • Flood of Tears: Reset the board while allowing you to replay Kiora.

5. Win Conditions

Kiora's Octopus tokens are significant threats, but the deck also features secondary win conditions for versatility.

• Primary Win:

  • Overwhelm opponents with Scion of the Deep tokens, especially when paired with Doubling Season or Rite of Replication.

• Secondary Win:

  • Thassa’s Oracle: Win via a near-empty library after aggressive milling and self-discard.
  • Laboratory Maniac: Another win condition when your deck runs out.
  • Lorthos, the Tidemaker: Dominate the late game by locking down enemy permanents.

---

Thematic Synergies

To enhance the flavor of the deck while staying competitive:

• Use sea creature-themed cards like Tidal Kraken, Sphinx of Foresight, and Kraken of the Straits.
• Include Kiora, Master of the Depths as a planeswalker companion, symbolizing Kiora’s influence over the sea.