Low Cost Tactics

[Nikelaos]

ancient kraken pretender with 2 astral and 2 fire, from the start it can take out weakly defended water provinces and once you research all oyu need for it to cast luck, ethereal and ultimately pheonix pyre it becomes a force to be reckoned with, heck just give it an amulet of the fish and teleport it on enemy armies, with all it's attacks and surviveability it just needs some reinvigoration (lots of ways to get that cheaply) and it can rip early armies to shreads alone.

[Starshine_Monarch]

2 astral is a good way to get your Kraken Mind Duelled though. Try just sending him in with a couple of cheapy mages to buff him. Body Ethereal, Luck and, if you can get an air mage underwater, Gift of Flight can be cast on other units at a distance. Saves the Kraken from Mind duel and gives him an extra turn to two to attack. The Kraken's so huge on HP too that you might not even need Phoenix pyre, letting you pour points into your Dominion for 2+ Awe.