Oh boy, it has been a LONG time, but I’m finally back to writing articles—sort of, anyway. My neck and shoulder still aren’t quite at 100%, so my articles are most likely going to be popping up pretty sporadically for at least the next month. Even still, I really miss writing about Oathbreaker, so I wanted to at least put out a little bit of content for the time being. Lucky for me, recent previews have offered me the perfect opportunity!
Modern Horizons 2 previews will be starting on Monday the 24th, and previews for Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms aren’t going to really kick off until the end of June. Even still, we’ve gotten a couple dozen previews collectively between the two sets in recent weeks. Today I’m just going to be giving my first impressions on a handful of the previews I personally find the most interesting for Oathbreaker, in no particular ranking order.
Urza’s Saga
Let’s start off with the weirdest preview, shall we? Urza’s Saga is certainly a unique new card, to say the least. Seeing an enchantment land is strange enough, but this card is a saga on top of all that. To make matters even more unusual, this card primarily cares about artifacts rather than enchantments—which is very on flavor for an Urza-themed card, but is also a little odd to see stapled to an enchantment. As far as Oathbreaker is concerned, there are definitely at least a few potential homes for this spicy number. Artifact decks are already fairly popular in the format, and Urza’s Saga can fit into any of these decks as a colorless inclusion. I find myself particularly drawn to this card’s second chapter, though the potential strength of tutoring with the third chapter shouldn’t be underestimated. I’ll admit I’m not exactly 100% sure as to how powerful this card will prove to be, but I do expect many Oathbreaker players will have fun trying to figure out how to best capitalize on this strange new saga.
Thrasta, Tempest’s Roar
Every once in a while, WOTC shows us all a card that looks like it was practically built with Oathbreaker in mind—and Thrasta is most definitely one such card. I’m not sure how common “Trample over planeswalkers” will come to be in future sets, but I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more of this keyword. Although this sort of effect isn’t quite as powerful as a card like Questing Beast, it’s still quite the boon to stompy decks since it allows one to pressure an opponent’s Oathbreaker and life total simultaneously. The trample, haste, and temporary hexproof stapled to Thrasta also gives you a near 100% guarantee that you’ll be able to get in at least one really good hit with this dino. The biggest barrier to entry for Thrasta is definitely their high mana value, but there are also ways around this obstacle. I look forward to trying out this card in new Selvala’s Stampede lists, ramp decks, and other similar strategies.
Bruenor Battlehammer & Drizzt Do’Urden
As I expected, it seems at least a few of the Companions of the Hall will be making an appearance in the Forgotten Realms set, and I’m not disappointed with the results. These two cards clearly weren’t designed with Oathbreaker specifically in mind, but there are definitely still a few potential homes for them in the format. Bruenor is clearly a perfect fit for Boros equipment strategies along with the likes of Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients. Drizzt Do’Urden, on the other hand, is a bit more open-ended in its design. The ranger’s—and yes, that is a new creature type—last ability could definitely slot well into a +1/+1 counters deck, of which there are plenty in Oathbreaker. It’s also worth noting that particular ability triggers on any other creature dying, not just creatures you control. All that being said, I think Drizzt also comes at a solid enough rate that I could see him doing well in most creature-based strategies. I, for one, am especially excited to try him out alongside Tamiyo, Field Researcher and her powerful +1 ability.
On a more personal note, it does truly touch my heart to see these two characters show up in an MTG set. Drizzt Do’Urden was my introduction to the Forgotten Realms as a fantasy setting (“Homeland” was my first Drizzt book), and it definitely sent me down a D&D rabbit hole that greatly fueled my creativity as a child—and still does to this day, if I’m being totally honest. I understand not everyone is too excited to see MTG sets centered around settings outside of the MTG multiverse, and I feel that way to an extent as well; however, if this sort of thing is going to be happening in the future, I’m at least happy to see it happening with a thematically similar setting like Forgotten Realms.
Lolth, Spider Queen & Dakkon, Shadow Slayer
Among all of these other exciting cards, we’ve also already received two new Oathbreakers! Lolth, Spider Queen is a new mono-black planeswalker with an ultimate ability that’s potentially very easy to reach. Her static ability makes it easy for her to accumulate a high amount of loyalty in a short amount of time, particularly when paired with free repeatable sacrifice outlets; however, the strength of this static ability is somewhat balanced out by the fact she has no other abilities that net her loyalty. The 0 ability is certainly solid, though a bit riskier in a 20-life format like Oathbreaker. Her -3 ability seems perfect for an aristocrats or tokens build, or just about any deck running Skullclamp, for that matter. Lolth’s emblem is perhaps the strangest part of her card, but I could see it packing quite the punch in Oathbreaker. As I mentioned, players don’t start the game with that much life in this format, so any easy way to speed up a clock holds potential. I don’t expect Lolth to become as popular of a “combo” Oathbreaker as other available options, such as Professor Onyx or Narset, Parter of Veils; however, I have no doubt that plenty of Oathbreaker players will have a ball trying to bust this card wide open.
Although I was hoping to see planeswalkers in new three-color combinations, I’m still pretty happy to see Esper’s Oathbreaker roster being expanded a little bit. Dakkon, Shadow Slayer definitely feels like a different sort of Oathbreaker than Aminatou, the Fateshifter. Somewhat similar to Lolth, Dakkon has the potential to reach his “ultimate” ability very quickly since his starting loyalty is dependent on your land count (a feature that’s meant to be reminiscent of his predecessor card, Dakkon Blackblade). The combination of this -6 ability and Dakkon’s +1 ability make him an excellent candidate for a reanimator list, particularly one built around high-value artifact creatures. That being said, the ability to surveil 2 every turn could work well in most any self-mill strategy, whether it be zombie tribal or a more goodstuff variant. The -3 ability does feel a tad random, but I’ll never say no to free spot removal options. Overall, I’m reasonably excited to see how Dakkon does in Oathbreaker, though I suspect he’ll ultimately prove to be a little less popular than Aminatou and her blinking shenanigans—but hey, maybe that’s just my personal bias talking.
Well, that’s all on these sets for now! It will probably be at least a few weeks before I’ll be able to have another article ready, but worry not—I am still planning on writing! My ultimate goal is to gradually work my way to a bi-weekly schedule for article uploads. As for my typical Top 10 seasons for new sets, I likely will not be able to sustain such a series anymore due to the very large amount of writing it requires; however, I do still plan on writing articles covering cards from new sets. I’ll most likely wind up writing one article on new Oathbreakers, a second on new Signature Spells, and a third on generally solid new cards for the format.
Until then, I would love to hear about how y’all have been enjoying Oathbreaker lately! Did any cards from Strixhaven especially tickle your fancy? What else are you hoping to see in the next couple of upcoming sets?
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 began writing content about a year ago. 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