Hydroid Krasis #4 – Top 12 MTG Cards of 2019

David
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since
1995

This card was #5 on my Top 12 list.

As a big fan of Unstable, I have devoted a disturbing amount of thought to noting the similarities between its factions and other parts of Magic. I guess since some things – like the colors of mana and the broad outlines of the color pie – are the same on every plane, it’s natural that other elements of evolution might follow. The Agents of S.N.E.A.K. are like a silver-bordered House Dimir, and the Goblin Explosioneers generate even more contraptions and explosions than the Izzet League. But there are times when it’s hard to believe that the Simic Combine isn’t already working with Crossbreed Labs. 

Hydroid Krasis is pretty much a black-bordered version of Hydradoodle – they both serve a similar role of being huge, somewhat custom-sized threats that are hard to stop. Being Simic-branded, Hydroid Krasis also has a couple of additional abilities that make it incredibly strong in black-bordered limited and constructed. Even a relatively small value for life gained and cards drawn can be frighteningly effective at either making a comeback or keeping you on top. As an early ramp payoff, it might even rival Primeval Titan, which is a really scary thought.

Constructed: 5/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 5/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5 

This card was 6th on my Top 12 list.

Oko and friends might have been the focus of the back half of the year, but everyone’s favorite Jellyfish Hydra Beast kept putting in work through all of 2019, which is plenty admirable. Especially when it’s also in Oko’s colors, which is nice.

Hydroid Krasis is quite absurd as a presence. It’s a large body with relevant combat keywords, in a color combination that has pretty reliable access to ramp, and it has a cast trigger that will go off even if it gets countered! As an example, if you cast Mister Biggles for 6 mana and it gets countered, you still get to draw 2 cards and gain 2 life…not ideal, by any stretch, but you’re still getting a reasonable rate of return for your mana. But adding in a 4/4 with flying and trample makes that investment a lot better, and the combination of its triggered ability, relevant combat abilities, and ruthlessly efficient death stroke makes Hydroid Krasis a must-run in any Simic or Simic-adjacent deck. It hasn’t had the legs of some of this list’s other cards in broader formats, but I can see it still putting in work in Modern if you need it to, since it’s a lot harder to fully counter its effect and the payoff is pretty nuts.

Constructed: 4.75
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.75
Multiplayer: 4
Commander: 4.5

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Hello Everyone and welcome back to Pojo’s Card of the Day!

We’re going over the top 12 cards of 2019 and while this one didn’t make my 12 it was certainly one of my favorites! It’s also one I picked up pretty early on in foil to go in my Powered Vintage Cube so that says something at least!

Hydroid Krasis is a beefy monster that for XUG, you get a fatty hydra that draws you half of ‘X’ cards and gains you half of ‘X’ life, rounded down.

I don’t know if you guys have seen this but it’s one in a cycle that was started with Sphinx’s Revelation.

Sphinx’s Revelation
Expansion // Explosion
Hydroid Krasis

I’m really excited for the UB one the next time Ravnica comes around! But that’s for a future review, let’s take a look at the Simic Version of Sphinx’s Revelation.

At the start it’s ability goes off whether or not it gets countered, a fair caveat given that it only draws half of X, but landing with a fatty boombatty 8/8 that draws you 4 cards is hardly an impossible feat with the amount of mana acceleration we’ve seen in Standard. It comboed incredibly well with Nissa Who Shakes the World, and it’s strong enough that it even saw it’s power tested in the new Pioneer format!

That being said, much like Sphinx’s Revelation, it’s not going to do much outside of slower formats like Standard and Pioneer where hitting critical amounts of mana is commonplace. In Modern and Legacy you want to be able to win the game off of 6 mana, not start the process of doing so!

In Limited this thing is a nightmare ballbuster because of how rare it is to get card advantage, being able to plop this down with the incredibly relevant abilities of Flying and Trample means that your opponent is going to have to work double time and hope they have a 5 mana kill spell ready just to eat one of the cards you used to give them a headache, and that isn’t counting the 3 or 4 you drew just from casting it!

Commander is also a place where you want to play this big ol jellyfish. In a format where every card is evaluated on how much bang you get per mana, and bigger splashier effects are the norm, being able to drop this for 14 and draw 7 cards should be an easy shot on turn 5 or 6 in a UG ramp deck.

This guy is even an all-star in Cube! Simic has gotten a LOT of support this year and it shows, this guy easily replaced Simic Sky Swallower in my cube, which made me sad cause I had just purchased the original foil dissension printing with the pretty watermark on it, but it’s definitely worth it. This guy comes down and delivers a beating, and where every card in Cube is usually just freaking gas, it’s easy to abuse this monster.

4/5 Constructed – The only thing holding it back here is that it’s not very good outside of the big green decks, and those are usually hindered in Standard.

5/5 Limited – Big mama jamma that draws cards… and flies. and tramples. and gains life. Five outta Five!

5/5 Commander – All the points in limited except the Green deck is going to be able to draw like.. what.. 5 to 6 cards every time?

4/5 Cube – Great for the Simic Deck, maybe splashable elsewhere but usually you want it as a big ol’ fatty for your Opposition Build.

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