While they are not all too common, creature-type batches can do a lot of work in MTG. By bringing together often underserved creature types, batches can facilitate entire new archetypes. Thanks to this, it’s incredibly exciting for MTG players when a new batch is created by Wizards once in a blue moon.
Following the release of Outlaws of Thunder Junction, there has been a lot of attention on creature-type batches. Rather unexpectedly, but undeniably flavorfully, Wizards created the Outlaws batch for this set. Bringing together the Assassin, Mercenary, Pirate, Rogue, and Warlock creature types, Wizards united a colossal cavalcade of creatures under one banner.
While Outlaws were fitting for Outlaws of Thunder Junction, this 950+ card-strong batch is arguably unneeded. The same can’t be said for a hypothetical fan-favorite batch that has been a long time coming; Sea Creatures. At long last, it seems this highly anticipated batch is now one step closer to being reality, and larger than expected too!
Under the Sea
Despite not being an official batch, Sea Creatures have long been an established theme in Commander and MTG. Typically these decks run no shortage of aquatic life, however, there are a few key creature types. While the exact contents of each Sea Creatures deck will vary, the main types are Krakens, Leviathans, Octopuses, and Serpents.
Recently, Wizards of the Coast has identified and slightly sated the demand for the Sea Creature Typal archetype. In Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Wizards released Runo Stromkirk, finally uniting these creatures under one Commander. From here, Wizards has gone on to release two more Sea Creature Typal Commanders, but one key detail is missing.
Even on the more recently released Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep, this unofficial batch has yet to be named properly. In theory, this isn’t too big of an issue since there are now multiple Commanders supporting the archetype. That being said, the actual creature types in this almost official batch are still sorely lacking.
Outside of Serpents, there are very few Sea Creatures to choose from when building a deck around this theme. With just 16 Kraken, 6 Leviathan, and 6 Octopus, Serpents are left doing much of the heavy lifting. This could all change, however, if Wizards of the Coast finally created this long-awaited batch.
If, or rather when, Sea Creatures become a proper batch under one name or another, they should receive more support. Ideally, this will mean Lords providing blanket buffs and various synergistic abilities, as we’ve seen with Outlaws.
While expanded Sea Creature support is certainly exciting, Wizards may go in a different direction to increase support. Rather than explicitly creating new cards to further the archetype, Wizards could expand the batch itself.
A Whale of a Good Time
On Blogatog, recently MTG’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater, has been discussing the hopefully not entirely hypothetical Sea Creatures batch. This was prompted by Tumblr user Genericprincess explicitly asked if Wizards had plans to finally create this long-awaited batch. Responding to this question, Mark Rosewater simply stated “It’s on the table. Batching has mostly been pretty popular.”
From this statement, it seems there’s a very real possibility Sea Creatures will finally get batched in the future. When this happens, there’s a chance that this batch could include even more creature types than expected. Following a question from Tumblr user Ssriceboat, it seems even Whales could be included in this batch!
For better or worse, Rosewater didn’t confirm outright that Whales would be included in this hypothetical batch. Instead, turning the question back around, Rosewater asked their community “If we did sea creatures, would people like Whales added?” Responding to this question, the prevailing opinion was an almost unanimous “No,” however, there is nuance to consider.
While Whales may be out, there are nonetheless countless options for what a Sea Creature batch could include. Already, cards such as Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep have been created that include Merfolk alongside everything else. Alternatively, for a different direction, Wizards could feasibly include Fish or Sharks in a Sea Creature Batch.
Unfortunately, the future is very much undecided when it comes to the creation of this batch in MTG. Playing it safe and sticking with the existing core quartet may be the safest option. That being said, if Wizards includes more creatures, then there will naturally be more support. Sadly, it seems there’s no clear right answer, so we’ll just have to wait and see what Wizards creates.
Floundering Into the Future
Even without a guarantee from Wizards, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before this batch is created. Given the repeated demand from players, there’s more than enough reason to make this a Commander precon, at least. The only question left, really, is when this batch will appear in the future of MTG.
Sadly, unless Duskmourn: House of Horror has a particularly large overflowing pool, MTG players may be waiting quite some time. Looking ahead at the 2025 release calendar for MTG, no set appears to be an ideal fit for this theme. Sadly, this may result in an awfully long wait until 2026 at the earliest to finally see this long-awaited batch.
Thankfully, while Sea Creature Typal may not appear as a Limited archetype for quite some time, one-off cards offer a faster solution. Potentially appearing as early as Bloomburrow, there’s no reason a future legendary creature couldn’t codify this batch earlier than expected. Sadly, while this is entirely possible, there’s no guarantee it will happen anytime soon.
At the end of the day, we’re just going to have to wait and see what the future holds. Given the desire for this creature-type batch, we can only hope that it appears sooner, rather than later.
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