If there is one thing, I have learned from playing for years, it is that some cards never truly go out of style. Enter The Kraken - a beast of the sea, a legendary tank, and one of my absolute taunt tanks in high-mana battles. Do you want a damage sponge that soaks up damage? A monster that forces opponents to throw everything at it while your backline is capitalizing on facing an onslaught. The Kraken is your monster.
The Kraken
The Kraken has been one of my go-to tanks in Wild League for as long as I can remember playing. I often pair the Ruler of the Seas and Crustacean King - a combo that has carried me through some of the toughest fights. For a chunky 12-mana cost, you get:
- 14 Health
- 3 Armor
- 4 Melee Damage
- 4 Speed
At Level 3, The Kraken gains Taunt, Demoralize, and Enrage, making it an absolute nightmare for opponents. But if you have the money to max it out, you will also unlock Retaliate.
How The Kraken Wins Battles
The beauty of The Kraken lies in its enrage ability, which is triggered when it takes damage. And guess what? Taunt ensures it takes ALL the damage. Once that happens, its speed and melee damage increase to 6-speed and 6-melee damage -- a devastating force that destroys everything in its path. With Demoralize, The Kraken debuffs -1 melee damage off the opposition and instantly weakens the damage it receives and therefore making it much harder for them to take it down.
Look, I am not saying The Kraken fits into every single match - 12 mana is heft. But in high-mana games (especially 99-mana cap battles), this thing shines. If you can afford to stack your team with healers, armor repair monsters, and magic damage dealers, The Kraken becomes immortal.
The Kraken In Action - Battle
I recently had an awesome battle where The Kraken and its supporting cast of backline monsters were able to destroy the opposition.
My team:
- Summoner: Alric Stormbringer (+1 magic damage)
- Tank: The Kraken (obviously)
- Secondary Tank: Prismatic Energy (magic tank)
- Support: Musa Saline (Shatter ability to remove armor)
- Damage Dealers: Ruler of the Seas (team speed buff)
- Healers: Mermaid Healer + Swamp Spitter (armor repair + heal)
The opponent came in with a higher-level Earth team, featuring the overpowered Quora Towershead and two Martyr monsters (which boost nearby allies when they die). I thought this was going to be an uphill battle.
But here is what won me the battle:
- Kraken absorbed everything. Literally, all attacks were directed at him thanks to Taunt.
- Enrage turned him into a monster. Once he took damage, he started hitting like a truck and one-shot the enemy tank.
- Sustained healing kept him alive. Even with Noxious Fumes dealing -2 health per round, my healers kept him standing.
- Quora Towershead never got a chance to dominate.
The Downsides (Because No Card is Perfect)
Of course, The Kraken is not invincible. Here is where you need to be careful:
- Magic damage is a big weakness. It has no Magic Reflect and takes full hits from magic monsters.
- Expensive to level up. A maxed Kraken will run you $129, and even a single BCX is $9. Not cheap!
- Not as effective in low-mana battles. Due to its high mana cost, your team composition will be severely limited and therefore have an ineffective strategy.
Final Thoughts
Listen we all get it, newer, shinier cards come out all the time, and people forget about the OGs. But The Kraken is still one of the best high-mana tanks in Splinterlands. When played right, it can soak up insane amounts of damage and become a melee wrecking machine with Enrage. So, if you have got The Kraken sitting in your collection gathering dust, dust it off and throw it into battle. Trust me, you will be glad you did.
What is your favorite underrated Splinterlands card? Drop a comment and let us discuss!
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