The preview season for Commander Legends finished up a while ago, and now the Commander Legends Top 10 season is finally coming to a close! As always, I’ve done a Top 10 article for cards of each color, as well as one for multicolored cards from the set. This last installment is going to cover the remaining cards from the set, as well as the new cards printed in the Commander Legends preconstructed decks. At the end of the article I’ll also include my overall Top 10 cards from Commander Legends. With all that out of the way, let’s wrap things up with this concluding Top 10 for Commander Legends!
Dishonorable Mention
For those that may not have heard, Jeweled Lotus has already been banned in Oathbreaker, which is why it hasn’t earned a real spot on this list. I won’t go into much detail about the sheer absurdity of this card here, other than to say that Jeweled Lotus would most likely function as a better Dark Ritual in Oathbreaker more often than not. If you would like to read more about the Oathbreaker Rules Committee’s decision, the ban announcement is linked here. I, for one, wholeheartedly agree with this decision. As bad as it feels to have to preemptively ban a card, I would still rather see this happen than let a bunch of Oathbreaker players spend a lot of money on this card for their own decks, only to have it later be banned. If you and your playgroup still really want to try playing with Jeweled Lotus, I’d highly recommend proxying it up for a few games “Rule 0” style.
#10: Staunch Throneguard
This first inclusion on the list isn’t any powerhouse, but it’s still a nice little common. As I’ve said before, vigilance is one of the strongest keywords in Oathbreaker, so it’s bound to get my attention whenever I’m reading a card. Staunch Throneguard comes with additional upside of replacing itself almost immediately thanks to the monarch mechanic (which just so happens to be my favorite multiplayer mechanic). I could see this type of card showing up in budget blink builds and colorless ramp strategies, and maybe even in a toughness-matters list or two. At being only a 2/5 for five mana, Staunch Throneguard certainly won’t become an Oathbreaker staple, but it’ll still be a fine option for certain budget-friendly decks.
#9: Bladegriff Prototype
This next card on the list is . . . well, it’s a bit of a strange one. Bladegriff Prototype is a colorless creature that comes with a neat political tool in its triggered ability. If any of your opponents prove to be gracious enough to accept three damage, you can team up with that opponent to take down any nonland permanent from another opponent (which could include an opposing Oathbreaker, most notably). As for the cons of this card, I’m not particularly in love with its size compared to its mana cost. 3/2 seems like an oddly specific choice for this card’s power and toughness, and it will unfortunately leave Bladegriff Prototype vulnerable to most forms of spot removal. Even still, I’m a fan of political shenanigans as a whole, and I have no doubt that this card will lead to some interesting gameplay stories at certain tables.
#8: Horizon Stone
Horizon Stone is a card that I’m fairly excited for in EDH, but not quite as hyped for in Oathbreaker. Ramp certainly has its uses in our format, but this kind of ramp does take a while to get going. Although this artifact may look like a five-drop, I’d try to avoid playing it without any extra mana to potentially store up with its effect. The one home in Oathbreaker I could see this card showing up in fairly regularly would be colorless lists alongside Oathbreakers like Ugin, the Ineffable. These types of lists already tend to run a fair bit of costly ramp, and Horizon Stone would be right at home there. Outside of those types of decks, I’m not really sure where to expect Horizon Stone to show up, but I look forward to seeing players find different ways to get creative with this card in Oathbreaker.
#7: Guildless Commons
A colorless Karoo land was not on my shortlist of cards I expected to see in Commander Legends, but I’m not complaining! One of the appeals of the two-colored lands like Boros Garrison and Golgari Rot Farm is the added mana fixing, and Guidless Commons doesn’t come with that benefit; however, there are ways to take advantage of these kinds of lands for their added mana production. This card’s colorless color identity also gives it the perk of being able to go into any Oathbreaker deck. I’m admittedly a bit unsure how many decks there are in Oathbreaker that can easily capitalize on this particular effect, but I’m sure Guildless Commons will be a welcome addition to those decks.
#6: Commander’s Plate
Commander’s Plate is another perfect example of an EDH card that does not translate over into Oathbreaker very well. This equipment was clearly designed with voltron-style Commander decks in mind, particularly ones that focus on piling equipment onto a player’s general. This style of deck simply does not exist in Oathbreaker; although there are a handful of planeswalkers capable of becoming creatures, having to re-equip this card every turn doesn’t seem appealing (as I understand it, even this “equip commander” ability can only target creatures, but feel free to correct me if I’m mistaken). Even still, equipment-centric strategies in Oathbreaker could still make use of this card since most builds look to circumvent equip costs entirely. +3/+3 and protection from certain colors is certainly a strong effect to have on an equipment, especially if you can get around the equip cost of this one-drop artifact. I also think it’s kind of cute how Commander’s Plate will give the equipped creature protection from all colors when used in a colorless deck. The fairly narrow applications of this card kept it this far down on the list, but I’m sure Commander’s Plate will still be a fine addition to dedicated equipment decks.
#5: War Room
I would say that, on average, card advantage isn’t quite as important of a commodity in Oathbreaker as it is in EDH; that being said, the kind of card draw that War Room provides can certainly have its uses in our format. Aside from likely becoming a new colorless staple, I could see this land showing up in any mono-colored aggressive lists that may have trouble keeping up in the late game. Obviously a mono-white weenie deck would rather kills its opponents in the early game, but not every game is going to go so ideally. I expect that mono-white and mono-red aggressive lists would get the most use out of this kind of card since black, blue and green usually don’t struggle much in the card advantage department. Overall, I expect this card to see more play in EDH than in Oathbreaker, but it will still be a fine addition to a number of Oathbreaker lists.
#4: Trench Behemoth
And here we have our first new card from the Commander Legends preconstructed decks! Seven mana is definitely on the pricier side of the mana curve for most Oathbreaker lists, but I suspect that this kraken could make for a strong addition to decks running a high amount of ramp—specifically land-based ramp. Aside from Trench Behemoth‘s ability to strong-arm (er, tentacle?) opponents into attacking, this card’s power comes from something I missed on my first read through; Trench Behemoth‘s activated ability untaps it, on top of giving it hexproof. In other words, this 7/7 kraken has built-in protection and pseudo-vigilance, and you all know how I feel about vigilance by now. Trench Behemoth will most likely only see play in ramp-heavy lists, but expect this card to be a fairly strong newcomer to that archetype.
#3: Wyleth, Soul of Steel
Wow, we just got Akiri, Fearless Voyager one set ago, and now this! As a card advantage engine, Wyleth definitely has the higher ceiling, and he even comes with trample; however, Wyleth does have their drawbacks as well. For one thing, Wyleth’s ability only cares about the equipment and auras that are attached to Wyleth, whereas Akiri will trigger off of any of your equipped creatures. This little difference also means that Wyleth won’t be able to draw you cards immediately unless you equip/enchant them and give them haste on the turn they hit the board. Even still, I’m sure these minor downsides won’t stop Wyleth from quickly becoming a staple in Boros-colored equipment/aura decks in Oathbreaker.
#2: Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait
Listen, I know cards like Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath already exist, but I swear Aesi is the most Simic card to ever Simic. The worst thing I can say about Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait is that they’re a 5/5 for six mana, which is technically a lackluster rate by Simic standards; however, Aesi’s abilities more than make up for this minor shortcoming. This card is land ramp and card draw all packed into one big sea monstrosity, and although six mana is a bit on the high side for Oathbreaker, it’s still far from unreasonable. Ramp/landfall lists will certainly want to look into picking this card up, as will decks of the “sea monster” variety (aka Whelming Wave decks).
#1: The Enemy-Colored “Battlebond” Lands
Finally! I’ve been waiting for this cycle of lands to be completed since the ally-colored set was released in Battlebond. Truthfully, there isn’t much to say about these lands that isn’t already obvious. I like mana fixing, and these kinds of lands are perfectly suited for multiplayer formats like Oathbreaker and EDH. It’s true that they don’t come with basic lands types, like traditional dual lands; however, that small downside won’t stop these lands from quickly becoming Oathbreaker staples. I play lands like Spire Garden and Morphic Pool in any decks that I can, and I expect to do the same with their enemy-colored counterparts.
Now that I’ve gone over all of these new cards, it’s time for my overall Top 10 cards from Commander Legends for Oathbreaker:
*insert drumroll*
- 10: Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
- 9: Magus of the Order
- 8: Coastline Marauders
- 7: Sphinx of the Second Sun
- 6: Court of Bounty
- 5: Jeska’s Will
- 4: Hullbreacher
- 3: Opposition Agent
- 2: Akroma’s Will
- 1: The Enemy-Colored “Battlebond” Lands
That’s it for the new cards! What are your favorite cards from Commander Legends? Are there any new cards you’re particularly excited to try out in Oathbreaker? Make sure to tell me on Reddit or on Twitter!
This is my last article for the week, but I’ll be back next week with more Oathbreaker content!
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