Unlocking the Vault #19: Oath Primer

Oath of Druids has long been one of the best strategies in Classic. It’s also generally accepted that Oath is one of the best strategies in “unpowered” environments. Over the years, Oath has gradually gotten stronger as the creatures to cheat out have gotten better. This trend will continue as long as Wizards keeps pumping out new and better fatties. Here’s a brief history on the archetype.

History of Oath

Oath was printed back in the early days of Magic. Exodus was the last set I played with before putting the game away for several years (picking back up in Time Spiral Block). Back then, Oath was a decent card, but had nothing quite like the power level it enjoys today. When first released, the creatures were not nearly as powerful and provided little utility. Because the game was still growing, nearly every strategy in the day was simply aggressively-creature-based or extremely control-oriented (with a few notable exceptions) as very few true combo decks were running around. The storm mechanic was years away from being developed. Perhaps the best combo deck at the time was based around Squandered Resources and Cadaverous Bloom?

With creatures seemingly everywhere, there was usually a good chance to trigger Oath and power out a cheap “fatty”. Needless to say, most of the abnormally large creatures of the day had such incredible drawbacks that they made Oath somewhat underwhelming. Creatures these days put all of those old ones to shame!

Over the years, combo decks such as Trix, Fruity Pebbles, and the like, edged Oath to a fringe strategy. When the storm mechanic was introduced, that, in many ways, was the nail in the coffin for Oath. Oath was no match for creature-less combo decks.

It wasn’t until Kamigawa block that Oath rebounded from the trash pile. Wizards printed a seemingly innocuous “rainbow” land, Forbidden Orchard, which would give your opponent a 1/1 spirit token as a drawback. On the surface, Orchard would have appeared to be just another in the long line of City of Brass-style rainbow lands, but the drawback to Orchard just happened to be the missing piece that Oath decks needed to compete with creature-less combo strategies. Orchard provided an uncounterable, fool-proof method to power up Oath, and it was an instant hit with the Vintage community as soon as this was discovered.

Kamigawa block also introduced a few new large utility dragons to support the strategy, though Darksteel Colossus and Platinum Angel were perhaps the best creatures available, as they could also be Tinkered into play. In successive sets, Oath continued to evolve as more and more Oath targets were introduced, including Tidespout Tyrant, Blazing Archon, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Terastodon, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Sun Titan, and most recently, Blightsteel Colossus.

How it Works

Oath of Druids is, in many ways, a one-card combo. Granted, you need your opponent to have more creatures in play than you do during your upkeep, but by itself, all you need is an Oath in play to reap the benefits. As previously mentioned, this becomes much easier if you can get a Forbidden Orchard into play, which will give your opponent the creatures necessary to power up Oath.

As an Oath player, your goal is simple. Cast Oath as quickly as possible, protect it for at least one turn, and drop a fatty into play. Without access to Moxen, Lotus Petal is the best mana accelerant available to cast Oath on Turn 1 (Mana Crypt is a close second). The nut hand consists of Oath, Petal, Orchard, and some countermagic and/or disruption to protect Oath.

From there, the rest of the game depends on the creature package chosen to compliment Oath. Some builds are more aggressive in beating down with hasty fatties. Others are more controlling and look to lock up the game with Voltaic Key-Time Vault before beating down with their creature of choice, or using Jace, the Mind Sculptor‘s ultimate ability.

Why Oath in Classic?

Oath decks are infamous for their ability to draw the one or two cards that the pilot wants to have remain in his library: creatures. Once drawn, your creatures are unlikely to be hard to cast due to their large casting cost(s) and can become dead in your hand. Two cards (for the most part) have the ability to get those creatures back into your library so that Oath can do its magic: Brainstorm and Jace.

What separates Classic from Vintage is the fact that Brainstorm is unrestricted. During the time that Brainstorm was unrestricted in Vintage, Oath decks could always rely on a way to consistently return those unwanted fatties back to the pilot’s library.

Classic still enjoys that privilege, and as a result, Oath is one of the top decks in the format. Adding Jace only makes things easier, though Blighsteel Colossus and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn can be discarded, and their secondary abilities will return them to your library. Unfortunately, if you have to start with just a couple of cards in hand, getting up to eight cards can be near impossible without the help of Gush.

Oath Decklists

Several different Oath decks have appeared over the years, and here is a look at what they would look like in today’s Classic environment (though not all are represented, especially without Power):

Sun Titan-Oath decks would try to assemble Voltaic Key-Time Vault through Titan’s graveyard recursion ability. Since Oath of Druids conveniently puts the revealed non-creature cards into your graveyard before Titan’s ability triggers, finding the lock pieces is fairly simple. If you had one already in play, or perhaps in your hand, things would often end on the first turn that Oath was triggered.

The downside to the deck is twofold: variance and removal. Winning through Vault-Key is not an easy proposition when your opponent can be packing artifact removal. Also, it was far too unreliable, especially if you manage to reveal Titan among the first few cards on an Oath trigger, never hitting any of the necessary components to assemble Vault-Key.

Tyrant-Oath is not nearly as powerful as its Vintage counterpart. Access to Moxen provides a great source of power, as you can add the mana while you bounce a pair of them to build up a storm count for a “lethal” Brain Freeze or Tendrils of Agony. For Classic purposes, you’ll have to make do with a Lotus Petal in combination with a Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, and/or Mana Vault to get things going. Another factor to consider is the clock. MTGO players don’t have the luxury of creating “infinite” loops as conveniently as the paper world does. There is an awful lot of clicking involved in this deck, which can either take too much clock for a tournament setting, or result in a misclick along the way.

Elephant-Oath decks were successful in breaking through stalled board states, most commonly found when playing against Workshop decks. Once Oath hit the table, Terastodon could clear the table of Spheres and then beat down with a 9/9 Elephant. One could also blow up their own lands to create 3/3′s of their own! But until the metagame shifts back to one dominated by Prison Workshop decks, Elephant Oath will remain on the sidelines.

With the printing of Blightsteel Colossus, Oath decks could now win with one single attack. The moniker “GG Oath” emerged from the deck’s ability to end the game on the spot with the help of Dragon Breath. Some have even named the deck “Golden Gun”. Either way, the deck evolved into a consensus powerhouse. Paired with Emrakul, “One-Shot the Robot” became the brawn for the most aggressive Oath deck ever built, capable of winning on Turn 2 with help from Petal and Orchard (Turn 3 without the Petal).

In the future, Oath will need to evolve continually. Cards like Grafdiggers Cage will continue to be printed, and Oath will need to adapt to survive. With Cage in mind, there are perhaps two Oath decks that could see continued success. Show and Tell Oath, or ShOath for short, is an obvious choice to deal with Cage. Here is a typical ShOath list going forward to deal with the Cage:

Notice the package of Claims and Missteps. Between Force and Misstep, the hope is that Cage never hits the board. If by chance Cage manages to hit the board, either by losing a counter war or not having any counters in hand, Claim is there to mop up the troublesome artifact. Additional ammunition should be included in the sideboard for Games 2 and 3. No matter what, though, the deck is built with a Plan B in mind by using Show and Tell. Even in the event that Cage is in play and you have an active Oath, a Show and Tell in hand is still okay. Since you can activate the Oath under the effects of a Cage, it will in turn be a sort of Worldly Tutor for the next fatty in your deck, which can be drawn and cheated into play with Show and Tell. In the ultimate dream scenario, you can still Channel for ~15 mana to hardcast Emrakul, assuming you have the life available.

The other post-Cage Oath deck I want to discuss is built around Laboratory Maniac. Since Cage cannot prevent Oath’s triggers, if you reveal a Maniac, it is simply placed back on top of your library and thus into your hand on your draw step, exactly like the example above. The non-creature cards revealed this way end up in your graveyard. Maniac’s reasonable casting cost of 1 blue and 2 colorless mana should be within reason to hardcast from your hand. If it can survive the turn, then the next Oath activation should clear the rest of your library of cards, since your only creature is already in play, and you will win on the following draw step.

It’s also possible to pair cards like Demonic Consultation with a Maniac-Oath deck to help power out the win condition on the turn it enters play. Consulting after the Oath triggers Maniac into play and before your draw step (naming any card that’s not in your deck) allows you will win the game on the spot.

Here is a recent version of the deck that I’ve been messing around with. I haven’t fine-tuned the deck, but it does work as advertised.

Match-up Analysis

Workshop Decks: The one thing that Oath has going in its favor against Workshop decks is that nearly all Workshop strategies require winning in the red zone, and thus lots of creatures. There are very few removal options for a Workshop deck, only Duplicant and Phyrexian Metamorph (to legend-rule out any legendary creatures), though Sculpting Steel on a Blightsteel could be considered removal.

If losing the die roll, Oath decks need to concern themselves with early Spheres, especially on Turn 1. Workshop decks probably have only one game plan against Oath, besides sideboard hate, and that is to lock them out using Spheres and Wasteland.

Like many match-ups, getting Oath out at any cost is pivotal. Workshop likely won’t have any enchantment removal pre-board, so keep that in mind. Cage is a possibility to be seen in the maindeck of some Workshop decks, so be cognizant of that fact.

Post-board, Workshop can bring in hate cards such as Jesters Cap, Witchbane Orb, Leyline of Sanctity, and, of course, Grafdiggers Cage.

Delver and Various Fish Decks: In this matchup, Oath again has the upper hand, as (generally) the only means of winning for Fish decks involves the red zone and thus lots of creatures. Fish decks will be packing Wastelands and countermagic to keep you off your goal of landing an Oath. Make sure you have adequate countermagic and mana to win counter wars fighting to land Oath. Also, keep your fetch lands available until absolutely necessary, and play Orchard only when you are ready to cast and fight for an Oath. Winning on the stack is imperative!

Beyond winning on the stack, Fish decks are the most likely candidate for maindeck Cages. Make sure you use your Missteps and Claims wisely! Also, watch out for Swords to Plowshares on your non-Emrakul Oath targets.

Post-board, if you didn’t see Cage in the maindeck, be prepared to see if in Games 2 and 3. Other hate cards can include Leyline of Sanctity, Gilded Drake, Sower of Temptation, Seasinger, Preacher and perhaps enchantment removal. In rare cases, even a Surgical Extraction could be useful to rid your deck of Blightsteel and Emrakul should they manage to get them in the graveyard with a Phantasmal Image.

Storm Decks: Perhaps the most difficult matchup for Oath, Storm decks are like kryptonite, as they are usually creature-less. Beyond that fact, Storm decks can win just as quickly as a Turn 1 Petal/Orchard/Oath combo.

Pre-board, the only way to trigger Oath is to get an Orchard online. Use tutors if you need to. If you can’t manage to find a way to get an Oath and Orchard on the table within the first three turns, it’ll likely be too late. If you have any maindeck hand disruption, it could buy you a turn if lucky enough to hit one of their key cards such as a tutor, Dark Ritual, or another accelerant. Misstep is a key card to prevent a Turn 1 on-the-draw blowout via Rituals. Force can be used similarly, but should be saved for Rituals and Yawgmoth’s Will.

Post-board, you should have some access to Mindbreak Trap and/or Flusterstorm if you built your sideboard properly. Aside from that, you can bring in some Dredge hate such as Leyline of the Void to turn off Yawg Will.

Affinty Decks: Much like the Fish matchup, oath generally has the upper hand here. The one thing Affinity has going for it is its voracious speed. It’s quite possible that getting an Oath on the board might not be fast enough to affect the outcome.

Skullclamp is perhaps the only 1-casting cost card in Affinty decks (assuming they don’t maindeck Cage) that Misstep can do anything with. Fortunately, Clamp is a card that needs to be dealt with immediately, so Misstep is not truly a dead card. Save your Forces for other problematic cards such as Lodestone Golem and Arcbound Ravager. If you can control the board early and land an Oath, you should be okay.

Post-board, you should have some sweepers such as Firespout or Pyroclasm to deal with the early onslaught of artifact creatures. Affinity decks will probably have Cage in the board, if not in the maindeck, so Misstep should be left in for Games 2 and 3. If you don’t have a full set of Nature Claims in the maindeck, you should bring them in from the board as well.

Blue Control/Tinker Decks: Tinker-based Blue Control decks will be very creature-light. Orchard is going to be a key factor in this matchup. Likewise, winning the stack is going to likely determine the winner of the match.

Jace is going to be the biggest problem for Oath decks, as bouncing your fatties to your hand is the last thing you want as an Oath pilot. Keep a back up Brainstorm available just in case they manage to land a Jace so that you can shuffle your fatty back into your library. Maindeck, your only Jace answers are going to be countermagic and your own Jace to planeswalker rule theirs out of play.

Post-board, any and all countermagic should be brought in, especially Pyroblast and/or Red Elemental Blast as they can act as a 1-mana Vindicates for any Jaces that do hit the table.

Dredge Decks: Oath decks don’t particularly have an advantage or a disadvantage in this matchup. As Dredge will largely ignore anything that its opponents do in Game 1, Oath decks will simply need to get Oath on the board as early as possible. Orchard is not necessarily required even though Dredge decks will rarely, if ever, hardcast their creatures, but they do need creatures in play in order to cast Dread Return, so Oath should be easy to trigger. Once on the board, there is little Dredge decks can do to a large creature like Emrakul or Blightsteel. Their only hope is to overrun you before you can attack.

Post-board, you will obviously have access to a package of Dredge hate, and naturally, landing and protecting that hate will be the key to the match. Leyline of the Void is your best asset, so protect it from Nature’s Claim and bounce spells with your countermagic. You shouldn’t have to worry about Cage in this matchup, for obvious reasons.

Bears Decks: Bears decks have largely been built to beat two decks, Workshop and Oath. As such, there are many cards in Bears decks that can easily keep Oath off its game plan. Qasali Pridemage and Leonin Relic-Warder are the two biggest problems for Oath decks. Other problematic cards include Leonin Arbiter, Aven Mindcensor, and Path to Exile/Swords to Plowshares. Gaddock Teeg will keep you from casting Gush, Jace, and most importantly, Force. Karakas could also be a major thorn if playing with Emrakul or another legendary creature. In an environment with lots of Bears decks running around, packing your own Wastelands can help deal with a Karakas

Despite all that opposition, it is manageable to win this matchup. Winning the die roll and landing a Turn 1 or Turn 2 Oath is the best way, though not foolproof, thanks to the Relic-Warder and Pridemage. Misstep is nearly a blank card unless they run Aether Vial (same goes for Spell Pierce, so Forcing Teeg, Qasali, and Relic-Warder is critical.

Post-board, sweepers will certainly help even out the match a little bit. Make sure to let your Bears opponent over-extend himself before casting your board sweeper to prevent him from mounting a quick comeback, especially if you can manage to rid him of a Qasali and/or a Relic-Warder, preferably one that is hiding an Oath!

Mirror Match: The mirror match is very awkward. Both players are angling to get an Orchard on the board first to power up an Oath. In many ways, the player that draws the most Orchards should win the game. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that. Jace and Vault-Key are probably the only difference makers.

Post-board, any and all countermagic should be brought in and siding out 3 of your Oaths is important; no need wasting your mana to help your opponent get an oath on the board! Like the pre-board matchup, try to get Orchard online as soon as possible, and look for a Jace or a quick Vault-Key to break the stalemate.

Wrap-up

Despite the presence of Grafdiggers Cage, Oath decks are still in a position to claim a top spot in the Classic metagame. As long as Wizards is pushing creatures through development and largely keeping ridiculously powerful cards like Yawg Will from seeing print, Oath will be able to evolve according to any shifts in the metagame.

Oath decks are for players that like to win and want to use some of the most casting cost-prohibitive creatures ever printed. In the Classic format, when undecided what to play for a tournament, Oath is almost always a good choice.

For my next primer, I’d like to put up a vote to see what my readers would like me to cover. Here are the choices:

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