Yuck! Like the other commenters have said... 6 is alot of mana to pay for a creature with a huge drawback. I understand that blue isn't supposed to be big-creature heavy, but this is just silly.
Posted By:
DJcopydog
(8/31/2009 3:59:28 PM)
Have to keep perspective of what the game was like in Sea Serpent's day, and particularly the state of blue at the time. Any blue fatty of the day were both expensive to cast and had a serious drawback - Leviathan, Polar Kraken, you name it. Most people's blue creature-based decks were almost invariably built around merfolk, not big beaters, although they may have been in there as finishers.
If you like the flavor of islandhome, you can build a deck around it. There are several blue spells (e.g. Spreading Seas and abilities (e.g. that of Reef Shaman that can give an opponent an island. High Tide and Saprazzan Skerry for a bit of mana acceleration in a traditionally slow color. Instead of Sea Serpent, use Vodalian Serpent which with kicker is 1/1 stronger than this for the same CMC. The counters can be proliferated too.
Who knows, you might... (see all)
Posted By:
jfre81
(7/27/2011 2:43:48 PM)
This card isn't THAT bad. Now, hear me out. It at least DOES something. It isn't wood elemental or sorrow's path or elvish pathfinder.
In the casual blue islandwalk deck this is clearly supposed to be in, given that blue isn't the colour of medium sized big dudes (or it wasn't), he is just a 5/5 for 6 with no real drawback. He's still a very bad card and he wouldn't make the cut because there are lots of better cards which do the same thing like harbor serpent
BUT he really shouldn't be rated 0.5
So I'm giving him a 1 :
Posted By:
Baconradar
(10/22/2011 5:34:39 AM)
I have been to the ends of the oceans. I have heard the roar of the great waterfall pouring down off the edge of the earth. I have reached impossibly deep from the impossibly low ocean floor to get at that blue mana.
I have put Sea Serpent in a deck and won games.
I am not immensely proud of that.
Posted By:
Kryptnyt
(3/26/2012 9:49:23 PM)
Ian Miller sure likes to sketch dragons, drakes and sea monsters.
Posted By:
LunarAvenger
(3/30/2012 3:03:01 PM)
I love the Sea Serpent, he is so cute. 5/5!
Posted By:
Tsuribachi
(6/18/2013 9:54:05 AM)
Am I the only one who likes Islandhome? Sure, almost all creatures which display it sucks, but the mechanic in itself is quite nice and flavourful, yes?
Posted By:
Tiggurix
(6/11/2010 4:58:27 PM)
It's a shame Wizards wasted such an iconic fantasy name on one of their worst creatures in the game...
Posted By:
madformedusa
(10/2/2009 3:33:25 AM)
Landhome cards have always bugged me since they really make no sense.
Technically speaking, a blue mage is not actually sitting in the ocean or on an island during a duel. He's wherever the battle is, which could be anywhere and is not in any way defined in the game. The Islands he calls upon to summon creatures are merely the source of his mana, but they could be on entirely other planes. The Sea Serpent shouldn't care at all who has Islands... and don't get me started on how randomaly applied the Landhome ability is! Argh!
Posted By:
Radagast
(7/20/2011 7:43:15 PM)
This card should have been, (5)
Legendary Serpent 7/7 Islandwalking, Trample, All basic Lands become Island's in edition to it's other type.
If it was that people would be saying things like, "Man this is a staple in my blue decks." or "I was in a local tournament and we where drafting 10'th Edition packs and I pulled a Shivan Dragon and a Sea Serpent!"
Posted By:
John-Bender
(11/23/2009 9:35:44 PM)