In my previous “Brainstorming” article, I went over a brew revolving around Calix, Destiny’s Hand and Rampage of the Clans, which you can find here. I always like to see what kinds of brews and card recommendations pop up in response to these articles, and I saw one interesting Calix deck after posting a few weeks ago. Reddit user SamohtGnir showed me a “Calix Good Stuff” build, and you can find the decklist here. Their build leans a bit more on the auras side of the enchantments spectrum, but it runs a number of generically strong enchantments as well. I also had never heard of Nomad Mythmaker or Lashknife Barrier before seeing this decklist, so thank you for introducing me to some spicy cards, SamohtGnir!
For this week’s article, we’re going low to the ground. White has proven to be a pretty strong color in Oathbreaker, and I’ve been having more fun brewing white decks than ever before. I’ve especially enjoyed toying around with various flavors of mono-white weenies, and I think I’ve finally settled on a build that I am (mostly) happy with.
The Oathbreaker & Signature Spell
There’s a variety of strong Oathbreaker options when it comes to building mono-white weenies, but I ultimately settled on Gideon Blackblade for this particular list. Lifelink, vigilance, and indestructible are all very relevant keywords in Oathbreaker, even if only used on offense. On top of giving one of our other threats an additional keyword on each of our turns, Gideon Blackblade on his own functions as a threat that is nearly invulnerable during our combat steps. Only having a converted-mana-cost of three certainly doesn’t hurt either.
White weenie strategies also have a number of effective Signature Spell options to choose from, and I’ve opted to try out Brave the Elements for my build. As a mono-white list, this deck is only running white creatures, and granting protection from a certain color to all of our creatures can be advantageous in numerous ways. On top of protecting our creatures from various types of removal, Brave the Elements can also be used to make our creatures virtually unblockable against mono-colored and two-colored decks.
The fact that Brave the Elements only costs one mana also means that it can be cast early in the game if necessary, and it’s very possible to cast this Signature Spell two or three times in a single game. If the flexibility of protection wasn’t strong enough on its own, Brave the Elements also has the advantage of being an instant, giving us the option to use it offensively or defensively as we see fit. It’s also worth noting that because of Gideon Blackblade‘s static ability, Brave the Elements will also give Gideon protection whenever it’s cast on our turn.
The Deck
Decklist: Gideon Braves the Elements
Just like any other white weenie strategy, this deck is looking to go wide and low to the ground, then overwhelm our opponents by making our little creatures into more serious threats. Gideon’s +1 ability is one example of how we can support our creatures, but Gideon can’t actually turn our creatures into larger threats. It’s for this reason that this deck is running an array of cards that add a bit of beef to our board, in addition to giving our creatures even more keywords.
The biggest downside to playing this type of strategy is the lack of card advantage. Overextending into a board wipe with no way to recover can leave a white weenie deck dead in the water; fortunately, white does have some means of counteracting this weakness. There are plenty of white spells that are capable of protecting our board from removal, and our Signature Spell is just one example of this type of protection. The more resilient our board is, the more difficult it will be for our opponents to put us down on cards.
Now that you have a general idea of what this deck is trying to do, let’s look at some of the specific card choices.
- The Support: Our primary threats in this deck are nontoken creatures, so cards like Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit and Always Watching are the just the type of cards we’re looking to use to beef up our board. Other support cards like Taranika, Akroan Veteran and Silverblade Paladin are here to increase our damage output by pairing up with our smaller creatures. Elspeth, Knight-Errant‘s +1 abilities make her another popular Oathbreaker choice for this archetype, and she’s equally effective in the 58 of this list (I particularly enjoy giving Gideon +3/+3 and flying until end of turn). Although Loyal Unicorn doesn’t actually make our creatures larger, the in-combat protection it offers makes our creatures almost as invulnerable as Gideon himself. This list is also running a handful of auras and equipment that can be shifted to various threats as needed, such as Grafted Wargear, Gryff’s Boon, and Shadowspear.
- The Staples: Even though we’re already running Brave the Elements as our Signature Spell, we’re going to want to have some redundant ways to grant our creatures protection. Mother of Runes and Giver of Runes are two repeatable ways to protect our creatures, and the ability on Cliffside Rescuer is uniquely flexible and powerful, even as a one-off effect. This deck is also playing a few “hatebears”, like Eidolon of Obstruction and Thalia, Heretic Cathar, to give our smaller threats a bit more time to do their damage. I also mentioned earlier that this type of strategy doesn’t have access to very much card advantage, but there are still a few options. Bygone Bishop is an effective flying threat that can accrue a few clue tokens over the course of a game, and Skullclamp offers us a bit of insulation in the face of opposing removal. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is both a way to gradually refill our board and a very viable threat on his own.
- The Spice: Gideon Blackblade‘s ability to give one of our creatures vigilance coincidentally synergizes very well the exert mechanic. When given vigilance, Gust Walker becomes a solid two-drop flyer and Glory-Bound Initiate becomes quite the large lifelink-ing threat. Gideon also synergizes very well with a card that is almost never seen in Oathbreaker: Tome of Legends. Once Gideon hits the field, we’ll be attacking with him pretty much every turn, making Tome of Legends into a cheap and repeatable source of card draw. I’m also trying out a few other ways to give our creatures evasion. Trailblazer’s Boots will make the equipped creature virtually unblockable since almost every Oathbreaker deck runs some number of nonbasic lands. Odric, Master Tactician is a card that I usually see more often in EDH, but his attack trigger is undeniably powerful. Being able to control how an opponent blocks would be a strong ability in any context, and this type of ability becomes even more impactful in a multiplayer format built around planeswalkers. Finally, I’m also running snow-covered lands as an excuse to play Frostwalk Bastion. Admittedly, this particular card choice may be “incorrect”, seeing as how Frostwalk Bastion turns into a colorless creature that won’t be protected by Brave the Elements. Still, having a “creature” that avoids sorcery-speed removal can come in handy, and there are only so many options for creature-lands in mono-white. My personal preference just so happens to be Frostwalk Bastion.
The Brainstorming
I’m pretty satisfied with this list, but I can’t help but feel it could use a little more tweaking. Before I started playing Oathbreaker, I was never much of a mono-white weenies player, so there could definitely be some blindspots with my card considerations. I’ve managed to come up with a decent number of other possible inclusions, though I’m admittedly unsure as to what exactly I should try out next. In addition to discussing some other possible inclusions for the list, let’s take a look at the current inclusions that I’m most skeptical of, previous inclusions that I cut from the list, and the cuts that I may end up putting back in the list.
- Inclusions I’m skeptical of: There are only three current inclusions I’m especially unsure of at the moment. Dauntless Bodyguard is undoubtedly one of the best Savannah Lions out there, though I’m not wholly convinced this list really needs the effect it offers. It’s also a little awkward that Dauntless Bodyguard is a one-drop that we’ll pretty much never want to actually play on turn one. I have similar reservations regarding Unbreakable Formation, though I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m underestimating this card. Unbreakable Formation isn’t particularly exciting as a three-mana instant-speed way to make our creatures indestructible, but it could be very devastating when used offensively. Odric, Master Tactician is a card I’ve never actually tried out in Oathbreaker before, so I’m a little worried it will fall short of the mark; however, I also wouldn’t be surprised if Odric is just one of those cards that perform better on an actual board state than it does in a vacuum.
- Cards I cut: My first draft of this list had Accorder Paladin in the two-drop slot, though I eventually replaced it with Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit. This deck relies primarily on nontoken creatures, so the permanent bonus offered by Anafezna is a bit more appealing to me. I also previously ran Benalish Marshal as another anthem-effect, but the restrictive mana cost turned me away. The mana-base in this list has a handful of colorless-only lands so paying three white mana for one threat can be a real cost, even if the deck is mono-white. I’ve also tried out Duelist’s Heritage and eventually replaced it with Silverblade Paladin. I could be underestimating the political potential of Duelist’s Heritage, but I think I still prefer to run a double strike enabler that can also attack and block on its own.
- Cards I may try again: I cut Sunhome Stalwart from the first iteration of this build, mostly since there aren’t many creatures in this list it can reliably buff with its mentor ability. If I ever decide to run more ways to make my creatures larger, I may consider trying it out again. I also took Tithe Taker out of the list, though I could be underestimating the fallback value of its afterlife trigger. Soltari Champion is an evasive threat I tried out early on, but I eventually replaced it with Daybreak Chimera. If I’m ever looking to add another evasive threat, I’ll probably try the Champion out first because of its sweet attack trigger. Faerie Guidemother is another evasion enabler I’ve toyed around with a few times, and I will likely try it out again. Swiftfoot Boots is one of the first cuts I made to the list since it doesn’t actually buff our creatures or make them more evasive; however, I could definitely be underestimating the power of having access to hexproof and haste in mono-white.
- Other considerations: As it turns out, there are a lot of strong card options for white weenie strategies. Consul’s Lieutenant, Serra Avenger, and Knight of the Holy Nimbus are all two-drops I’ve considered running for their various keywords and abilities. I have also considered getting even more value out of Gideon’s keywords by running Odric, Lunarch Marshal, though I’m a little worried it might turn out to be too much of a “win more” card. If I’m ever looking for more keyword-related redundancy, Ajani Steadfast could be a very strong choice. Endless Atlas and Dusk / Dawn are cards I’m keeping an eye on, given the deck’s lack of card advantage. This list also doesn’t run very much direct interaction, so finding room for Sword of Sinew and Steel might be a good idea. Finally, the oddest card I’ve considered adding to the list is definitely Oracle en-Vec, by far. I’ve never seen this card in action before, but I’m curious to see what kind of chaos it could contribute to a multiplayer game.
The Hero Ravnica Needs
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the wide array of options for mono-white aggressive strategies in Oathbreaker. Although I prefer this kind of build of mono-white weenies, there plenty of different flavors of this strategy out there. For example, a while back I found an Oathbreaker article written by A. E. Marling that included a mono-white list of his built around Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Faith’s Shield (article link here).
Have you tried brewing mono-white in Oathbreaker yet? Can you think of any other cards that could be considered for this list? Send me your brews/suggestions in the comments or on Twitter, and I’ll highlight my favorite responses at the beginning of my next “Brainstorming” article!
About the author: My name is Alex Enders. I am a college student that’s been playing MTG for almost eight years, though I only recently began experimenting with writing content. My personal formats of choice are Oathbreaker, EDH, and draft. My other interests include music, education, and most things nerdy. You can find me on Twitter (@AAAEnders) or email me at aenders2112@gmail.com