Oathbreaker

[DrSeaMonster]

So. How about that new format? Members of my regular group have made a few decks between them, some a bit stronger than others. But it's a pretty new format and people are still trying to gauge the right power level that decks should be, I think.

I finally got around to making one for myself a couple days ago. It's Ral, Storm Conduit with Teleportal. It's a prowess and prowess-esque aggro deck. Kiln Fiend, Wee Dragonauts, lots of cheap instants and sorceries to grant unblockable or hexproof or some other minor buff. Haven't gotten it to the table yet but my testing with it has been promising. I used to have a 60 card deck with a similar strategy, and that one was always fun.

How does everyone else feel about Oathbreaker?

[WizardMN]

My group had discussed trying it at one point but I don't know that we ever got a consensus about it. For me, I really like the idea of the Signature Spell but I can see where it would become overpowered/obnoxious. But it seems like it could be fun; at least, at first.

My main gripe is actually that the format seems to be built around Planeswalkers. At one point, I thought you got to choose between a Legendary Creature *or* a Planeswalker but the official site says just Planeswalker. And I am not a fan of that. And it isn't a power level issue or anything like that; I just find Legendary Creatures to be more interesting to build around since there are so many.

The 60 card limit is definitely different, but I don't like or hate it; it is just a different facet of the format.

I think our group had even discussed adding a Signature Spell to a normal Commander deck to see how it played out which I think could be fun. But, it obviously isn't Oathbreaker.

I think if my group really wanted to try it out, I would be open to it. But my heart is still with EDH/Commander and I don't think I would ever stray too far from it.

[RainyDay]

I've played a few games of it, but it's hard to find other players near me, since it doesn't seem to be widespread just yet. There doesn't seem to be any official ban list, but my group agreed to stick to the commander banlist + the immortal sun (because playing a card that hoses all walkers feels against the spirit of a walker-based format). I've had pretty good luck with Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas+Tezzeret's Betrayal as a mix of artifact goodstuff and a sort of one-man-superfriends.

[WizardMN]

There is a banlist for the format here:

https://weirdcards.org/oathbreaker-ban-list

The cards banned here that are unbanned in Commander are:

• Ad Nauseam
• Doomsday
• Expropriate
• High Tide
• Lion’s Eye Diamond
• Mana Crypt
• Mana Geyser
• Mana Vault
• Natural Order
• Painter's Servant
• Primal Surge
• Saheeli, the Gifted
• Sol Ring
• Tooth and Nail

And, of course, it is worth noting the cards that are *not* banned in Oathbreaker but are in Commander:

• Braids, Cabal Minion
• Coalition Victory
• Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
• Iona, Shield of Emeria
• Karakas
• Leovold, Emissary of Trest
• Paradox Engine
• Prophet of Kruphix
• Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary

Since Painter's Servant, Iona, and Paradox Engine are recent changes to the Commander lists, I am not sure if Oathbreaker will follow suit on any of them. And the rest of the differences in the ban list (regarding cards not banned) make sense when you think about them since the majority are either because they would be too good as a commander, or working too well with the commander, or being too good against commanders. None of which Oathbreaker has to worry about

[goblin_chef]

My playgroup decided to try the format out a month ago or so. Our EDH games tend to take longer than expected most of the time. Oathbreaker really is much faster and promotes a more aggressive play style, at least for us, so we'll likely keep playing it when short on time. While it's vaguely similar to EDH, it's best to keep in mind that it is a different format, without emphasis on the social aspect of the game. I, personally, am not a fan of Planeswalkers, but after trying the format, I must admit it does have its pros.

The decks obviously come in various shapes and power levels. Though in EDH we often play intentionally sub-optimal decks, in Oathbreaker an arms race of sorts has started early on - I settled on running Sorin, Grim Nemesis/Vampiric Tutor, and though I am not running legendary Eldrazi to win on the spot, using Sorin's plus on a 6-7cmc card is still a pretty huge swing and getting to seven mana is not that difficult with a few mana rocks and a ridiculous amount of board wipes (which, incidentally, are the only thing keeping the Nissa Revane/Glimpse of Nature deck at bay, as that one can either produce 60+ combat damage or even combo out Legacy Elfball-style reliably by turn four).

Also, where should I post decklist threads for Oathbreaker? I thought that maybe I'd share my list(s) with explanations and a space for discussion, since I checked the new EDHRec section for Oathbreaker and, statistically, people's deckbuilding choices in Oathbreaker are downright criminal.

[TearsOfTomorrow]

I like the format on paper, gonna try my hand at it in the upcoming weeks. Any suggestions for a signature spell to use with Domri, Anarch of Bolas?

[DrSeaMonster]

I like the format on paper, gonna try my hand at it in the upcoming weeks. Any suggestions for a signature spell to use with Domri, Anarch of Bolas?

Atarka's Command would be a good option.

Clan Defiance, Ground Assault or even Domri's Ambush aren't bad, either.

[TearsOfTomorrow]

So, I put together two decks using cards I was originally playing in EDH, and they cam out pretty powerful. I'm going ahead and linking the decks here, as well as providing some basic insight on my mentality when building them. My goal in doing this is to spark a discussion that will hopefully encourage others to build and share lists of their own: if enough people dedicate their time to talking about this new format, and enough buzz is created around it, perhaps the format will actually gain traction, seeing more and more play IRL and getting its own subforum here. Nothing would make me happier than that, because this is an exceptionally fun format that really pleases me on so many different levels (that I'm fixated with planeswalkers also helps), and I really really want it to be successful beyond the mere "flavor of the month" stage. I want this format to be popular, let's make it popular!

Anyway, here is a basic aggro list starring Domri, Anarch of Bolas: as explained in the short description I wrote, the idea is to simply outpace the enemy, using the many options at your disposal to drop Domri on turn 2, using Lightning Bolt to kill the PWs that come out on turn 3, and then just put down lots of nasty threats and overrun the enemy. Domri is a beautiful design in his simplicity, contributing a lot to your offensive presence while potentially doubling as removal.

And here is a pure control build starring Liliana, Dreadhorde General. This list is a lot more streamlined (read: pricey), because I'm a long-time lover of all things black as well as a Liliana fanboy, so I had been accumulating a lot of big cards for mono black over the years. The idea is to deny the enemy their resources by attacking their hand and swiftly removing the creatures that do manage to hit the field: rituals/muck allow us to accelerate Liliana out as early as turn 4 (there's a specific combination of cards that can get her out by turn 3, but that's firmly in magical Christmas land territory). Once Liliana is out she does more or less by herself: she creates field presence, she gets rid of enemy threats, she draws us cards, and her ultimate is so powerful and so oppressive, it single-handedly scares opponents into not playing their own PWs, by which I mean that Liliana enters the field at 6 loyalty, has a +1 allowing her to immediately go to +7, has a bundle of 2 loyalty counters minimum sitting in the command zone, and her ultimate is a -9, so folks will be terrified to play their PWs only to have them fuel The Elderspell.

And scaring the opponent into not enacting their gameplan is a legitimate wincon. Although Josu and Grave Titan certainly helps. The deck also has an infinite combo, but it never actually comes up: that said, the individual combo pieces are still useful to me, so might as well keep them there.

So, thoughts on my decks? And I really wanna see your own!

[madmazda86]

I'm working on a Huatli walls deck - it seems like a fun opportunity to bust out some cards I've had kicking around for literally a decade, like a foil Wakestone Gargoyle. At the moment our playgroup are talking about Oathbreaker a lot and some people have built decks from cards they own, but nobody's actually playing it! As I need to actually buy some cards I've told people I'm not going to invest until I see people playing some actual games!

I think having a subforum would be nice instead of just a thread but understand this thread needs to be shown to be active first.

Regarding the Liliana deck above, I would just walk away as soon as somebody put the Elderspell on the table as their signature spell. That's just not the game I want to play. Tutors as signature spells, fine, but planeswalker destruction spells can just get %$#%.

[TearsOfTomorrow]

Regarding the Liliana deck above, I would just walk away as soon as somebody put the Elderspell on the table as their signature spell. That's just not the game I want to play. Tutors as signature spells, fine, but planeswalker destruction spells can just get %$#%.

I don't think that the kind of attitude, nor to mention language, you should be using if we want this topic to gain traction. I will make no comments on your mindset because the last thing I want is to start a fight that would only get this topic closed, but you really might want to reconsider your behavior.

That aside, here is a deck I built IRL today. It is essentially my old standard Approach deck adapted for Oathbreaker: Teferi, Hero of Dominaria was the star of that deck, and would have been the perfect oathbreaker here, but sadly when Approach rotated out of standard I sold him, ironically to buy the more expensive cards you see in this very deck (fetch, cryptic etc). Dovin is a decent replacement and he does cost one less mana, so overall I can't complain too much.
The idea is tremendously simple: cast/cycle a lot of stuff, so as to draw plenty of cards while filling your graveyard. Counter/remove stuff to keep the board as threat-free as possible. Put Dovin down only if doing so would leave enough mana open to protect him, and have him help with the drawing. Take advantage of the quickly filling graveyard to cast Treasure Cruise a couple times. Find Approach and win with that.

[madmazda86]

I don't think that the kind of attitude, nor to mention language, you should be using if we want this topic to gain traction. I will make no comments on your mindset because the last thing I want is to start a fight that would only get this topic closed, but you really might want to reconsider your behavior.

Well you did ask for thoughts on your decks. I see little point in avoiding calling a spade a spade - my immediate reaction was "NOPE" for the exact reasons I described. Like what the hell is the point of playing a nice wee format where you can have some fun with planeswalkers as commanders if they're just gonna get blown up by a Despark or the Elderspell on demand? I appreciate Oathbreaker is supposedly a faster format than commander but if I'm not even gonna be able to cast my planeswalker I like and built the deck around in the 4 turns or whatever it lasts, then... why bother? So yes, if you were to put that deck in front of me, I'd walk away. That's not the Oathbreaker I want to play.

By contrast your Domri and Dovin decks are way more interesting and seem like they'd be fun to play against Like I think there's definitely a conversation to be had about both Oathbreaker philosophy and signature spells.

Here's mine (first iteration):
https://archidekt.com/decks/139401#Huwalltli

[TearsOfTomorrow]

Still not as much as activity in this topic as I would like there to be! So here, have this Ajani list I came up with. The deck is all about ramping and going wide, creating an army of creatures to put the pressure on the enemy (as opposed to my Domri deck, which is more about putting down a limited amount of big, difficult to answer threats): signature spell White Sun's Zenith can either be used to help with this basic strategy or, if you get your ramp engine online and leave a crapton of mana open, you can cast it at instant speed in order to have a million of attack-ready tokens in your turn, which will probably end the game. And I mean, it's Ajani: ending the game with CAT TOKENS is a great flavor win.

Essentially, your creature-centric strategy is the first wave of attacks: if enemy removals manage to take it down, Zenith can give you easy access to a second wave.