Commander Legends might have been one of the most highly anticipated sets of the year, and it’s preview season recently came to a close! The set was designed for EDH, but it’s given Oathbreaker plenty of new toys as well, and I plan on covering the set’s highlights. To be more specific, I’ll be doing a Top 10 article for cards of each color, as well as one for multicolor cards. I’ll also being doing another Top 10 covering the remaining cards of the set along with the new cards exclusive to the Commander Legends preconstructed decks (plus my overall Top 10 cards from Commander Legends, of course). My Top 10s are based on 1) how strong I think a card will be in Oathbreaker, and 2) how many different types of Oathbreaker decks I expect the card to see play in. While I do try to be as objective as I can, these are ultimately just my own thoughts/opinions. With all that out of the way, let’s keep things moving with my Top 10 Black cards from Commander Legends!
#10: Szat’s Will
Szat’s Will certainly isn’t the strongest member of the “Will” cycle for Oathbreaker, but it still has its uses. Taking out each opponent’s highest-powered creature at instant-speed is certainly a handy effect to have access to, and the fact that this spell provides a plethora of chump blockers and/or sacrifice fodder (with a side of graveyard hate) definitely doesn’t hurt either. I do think that you’ll have to achieve both modes of this card in order to really get your mana’s worth, and its starting cost of five mana makes it a bit of a sketchy choice for a Signature Spell. Even still, I’m sure this spooky instant will find a modest number of homes for itself in Oathbreaker. Also, my goodness that art is awesome! And a little terrifying.
#9: Miara, Thorn of the Glade
Miara may not be the flashiest legend out of Commander Legends, but she does provide some solid value that can be utilized in a few different styles of decks. The most obvious home for this kind of card is in certain versions of elf tribal, and there’s definitely a fair amount of elf tribal support in black nowadays. On top of that, I could even see Miara popping up in some more generic sacrifice-based strategies as a piece of sacrifice fodder that replaces itself. The one mana + one life payment is a tad annoying, and I suspect that downside will keep Miara from seeing much widespread play in Oathbreaker, but she’s a fine new role player nonetheless.
#8: Elvish Dreadlord
Elvish Dreadlord is another new elf that I suspect will fit fairly well into both elf tribal decks and sacrifice-based strategies. In many ways, this card is actually very similar to Night Incarnate; it’s a five-drop three-power creature with deathtouch, and it has a light wrath effect upon dying. Now Night Incarnate doesn’t see that much play in Oathbreaker, but I suspect that this card’s synergy in elf tribal could cause it to be a bit more popular. Never underestimate the strength of a one-sided board wipe, even if it’s not a strict “Wrath of God” effect. This edgy elf can also net some added value from the grave thanks to that encore ability. I certainly wouldn’t call Elvish Dreadlord a new Oathbreaker staple in elf tribal or sacrifice strategies, but it’s still a fun new toy for those styles of decks.
#7: Elvish Doomsayer
Who would have thought we’d be seeing this many elves on the Top 10 Black cards list? Elvish Doomsayer doesn’t pack much in the way of raw power, but I think its death trigger provides some deceivingly solid value. In a four-person game of Oathbreaker, Elvish Doomsayer will be getting rid of three random cards upon death (assuming your opponents have any cards in hand to begin with). Discard strategies are already fairly popular in the format, with Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage being one of the most popular mono-black Oathbreakers. There are also a number of sacrifice-based decks that could cycle this two-drop in and out of the graveyard with relative ease. Elvish Doomsayer‘s power is pretty subtle, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this little elf popping up in a variety of Oathbreaker lists as a supporting card.
#6: Keskit, the Flesh Sculptor
Keskit may be one of my personal favorite cards from the entire set, and he certainly has a number of potential homes in Oathbreaker. Aristocrat lists and other more generic sacrifice-based decks could easily utilize this sort of card advantage machine, and even the small amount of self-milling can come in handy for builds that run a fair amount of recursion (which sacrifice-based decks tend to already do). I could also easily see Keskit slotting into existing artifact-centric strategies running black, alongside Oathbreakers like Tezzeret the Schemer and Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast. Keskit does require a lot of fuel in order to get going, but Oathbreaker lists that run a high amount of sacrifice fodder will want to consider finding room for this spidery fella.
#5: Nadier’s Nightblade
Nadier’s Nightblade is very reminiscent of other death-based drainers like Zulaport Cutthroat, with the exception that this three-drop elf only cares about your tokens (and not specifically creature tokens, interestingly enough). This kind of card clearly scales very well into a multiplayer format like Oathbreaker, and the incidental lifegain is a very real upside in the format as well. It’s also worth noting that this card doesn’t care how your tokens leave the battlefield, meaning that it will trigger off of exiling and bounce effects that target your tokens. Aristocrat lists that run enough token producers may want to consider running Nadier’s Nightblade, but I suspect it will mainly just be a very solid new addition to black token strategies in Oathbreaker.
#4: Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools
Okay, so instead of including the partner pairs of planeswalkers from this set on the multicolored Top 10, I’m just going to evaluate Tevesh Szat as a mono-black Oathbreaker here and discuss any partner possibilities when I cover Jeska in my Top 10 Red cards.
With that little disclaimer out of the way, let’s talk about Mr. Tentacles over here. There are two main ways I can envision people building around Tevesh Szat in Oathbreaker; the first way is by pairing him with The Elderspell with the goal of ending the game with that miserable -10 ability. The second way is by putting him at the head of an aristocrats deck, using him to provide sacrifice fodder or act as a sacrifice outlet as needed. Creating a pair of 0/1s isn’t a very flashy +2 ability, but that effect becomes much more powerful when those tokens are filling in as two pieces of sacrifice fodder. Having a +1 ability that basically just says “draw two cards” isn’t too shabby of an option either. I think Tevesh Szat will make a fine addition to black’s roster of Oathbreakers, and I could see him showing up in the 58 of a number of other lists.
#3: Nightshade Harvester
Nightshade Harvester was clearly designed with EDH—and it’s abundance of land-based ramp—in mind, but it seems like a pretty reasonable pickup in Oathbreaker as well. This four-drop elf does only come in as a 2/2, but that will change pretty quickly in most games; in a four player game, this card will be a 5/5 by the time your next turn starts if each of your opponents hit their land drops. That’s not even taking into consideration any land-based ramp your green opponents may have. Even if your opponents are capable of holding off this growing threat in combat, Nightshade Harvester will gradually whittle down their life total with their triggered ability. This card seems perfectly suited for aggressive/burn decks and group slug strategies, though it could also be argued that it’s generically strong enough to see play in most black Oathbreaker decks. (Though it is a pretty horrid topdeck in the late game.)
#2: Court of Ambition
Remember how I mentioned that mass discard effects scale well into multiplayer when I talked about Elvish Doomsayer earlier? Yeah, the same truth applies here with Court of Ambition. Even if you aren’t the monarch when this card’s trigger goes off, you’re still getting a reasonable amount of value; however, this card is kinda ridiculous if you do manage to keep the monarchy. This life loss effect doesn’t seem too intimidating in a format like EDH, but you have a lot less starting life to work with in Oathbreaker. The damage this card can deal will add up very quickly, whether that damage is to your opponents’ hands or to their life totals. Discard decks, group slug strategies, and even black burn lists could also easily utilize Court of Ambition to great effect, and it’s sure to be a powerhouse in any lists built to support it.
#1: Opposition Agent
Wow. For the second Top 10 article in a row, I’m talking about a pseudo-Notion Thief effect stapled to a three-drop flash creature at the number one spot on the list. Instead of preventing your opponent from drawing cards, Opposition Agent steals any and all tutor effects your opponents may play. This effect includes cards like traditional tutors, most forms of land-based ramp, and fetchlands. Yes, this card even allows you to play lands you exile with it, and no, Opposition Agent does not have to actually remain in play in order for you to have access to cards you exile with it. The actual power level of this card will likely be a little meta dependent; I imagine that tables with higher budgets—and therefore have easier access to more expensive tutor effects—will dread playing against this card in particular. I don’t think this card is quite bannable in Oathbreaker, but it is certainly a very strong addition to black’s arsenal of creatures in the format.
What are your favorite black cards from Commander Legends? Are there any black cards you’re particularly excited to try out in Oathbreaker? Make sure to tell me in the comments or on Twitter! My goal is to have my Top 10 Red cards from Commander Legends out tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that!
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