In my last “Mana Clash” article, I took a quick look at a few different ways to build a tribal deck in Oathbreaker (linked here). This week’s topic is a bit narrower in focus, and it’s all about one of my favorite things to do in MTG: sacrificing creatures for value. As always, I’ll be taking a look at three different decklists in this article, all with different Oathbreakers/Signature Spells.
The Archetype
Aristocrat decks, named after cards like Cartel Aristocrat and Falkenrath Aristocrat, are one specific kind of sacrifice-based strategy. These decks typically aim to sacrifice a high quantity of creatures, most often pairing them with pingers/drainers like Goblin Sharpshooter or Zulaport Cutthroat. Although the exact makeup of these decks can vary from list to list, aristocrat strategies are primarily made up of three core roleplayers: sacrifice fodder, sacrifice outlets, and sacrifice payoffs. Balancing these three categories can be the trickiest part of building an aristocrats deck. In my experience, it’s typically best to have more sacrifice fodder than anything else. After that, I usually prioritize finding room for sacrifice outlets (particularly free and/or repeatable ones), then worry about filling in my payoffs.
Aristocrat strategies have a couple of upsides going for them in Oathbreaker specifically, one being that the archetype translates over into multiplayer pretty well when it comes to power level. Certain sacrifice payoffs, like Blood Artist and Falkenrath Noble, may not always prove to be quite as effective as they are in 1v1 formats due to their targeting restriction; however, there are a number of other options that can function much better in multiplayer, such as Vindictive Vampire and Zulaport Cutthroat. All in all, it can be surprisingly easy for an aristocrats player to kill the rest of the table in a timely manner. Many aristocrat decks also run various forms of life drain effects, and incidental lifegain has always been pretty strong in Oathbreaker. There’s also no shortage of Oathbreaker/Signature Spells that pair well with this particular archetype.
With that being said, this archetype certainly has its weaknesses, like any other style of deck. Aristocrat lists are almost always very reliant on built-in synergies, typically those based around sacrificing their own creatures. The downside to building a deck this way is that the whole machine can quickly grind to a halt if one of the pieces gets messed with. In the case of aristocrats, the parts that are typically the most vulnerable are the sacrifice payoffs. If their sacrifice payoff is removed from play, or if a card like Rest in Peace hits the field to prevent death triggers, then an aristocrats player can be left pretty much dead in the water. The same situation can happen if an aristocrats player has filled their board with fodder but is missing any way to actually sacrifice their own creatures. These weaknesses are another reason that properly balancing sacrifice fodder, sacrifice outlets, and sacrifice payoffs is so important in this archetype.
Now that we’ve gone over the general archetype, let’s look at the specific builds I have prepared for today.
Build #1: Sorin Aristocrats
Decklist: Sorin’s Vengeful Aristocrats
Orzhov colors are one of the most traditional color pairings for aristocrat decks, and I’m not sure if any orzhov Oathbreaker fits into aristocrat strategies better than Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord. Sorin’s static ability is pretty strong in Oathbreaker, and it does pair well with cards that deal direct damage to your opponents; however, his -X ability is even more helpful for this specific deck. Being able to reanimate some low-cost sacrifice fodder may not seem like a particularly exciting effect, but this kind of ability can net an aristocrat player a lot of extra damage and lifegain over the course of a game. Victimize, this list’s Signature Spell, is helpful to this deck for similar reasons, though it will usually be a bit more potent than one activation of Sorin’s -X ability.
- Sacrifice Fodder: Since we’re trying to cause as many death triggers on our side of the board as possible, almost every piece of sacrifice fodder in this list creates an extra creature token upon death. Afterlife creatures like Imperious Oligarch, Ministrant of Obligation, and Tithe Taker are particularly helpful in this department. Doomed Traveler, Hunted Witness, Martyr of Dusk and many other creatures can fill the same role, even if they don’t have a fancy named mechanic stapled to them. If those options weren’t enough for you, we’ve also got Elenda, the Dusk Rose around to create an absurd number of 1/1 vampires. We can also drain our opponents out a bit more directly, when necessary, with creatures like Serrated Scorpion and Vindictive Lich.
- Sacrifice Outlets: Woe Strider, Viscera Seer, and Yahenni, Undying Partisan are definitely this list’s best instant-speed sacrifice outlets since their abilities are both free (mana-wise) and repeatable. We can also use Grafted Wargear as a functional sacrifice outlet when necessary, though it is restricted to sorcery-speed. Priest of Forgotten Gods is another very strong sacrifice outlet thanks to the sheer amount of value you can net from just one activation. I also count Plaguecrafter as another sacrifice outlet for this deck since we can easily reanimate it with our Oathbreaker/Signature Spell. We can even use some of our lands to fuel our sacrifice shenanigans thanks to Phyrexian Tower and Westvale Abbey/Ormendahl, Profane Prince (though the latter also doubles as a win condition/payoff).
- Sacrifice Payoffs: Blood Artist and Zulaport Cutthroat will both help us drain our opponents out of the game, as will the Orzhov-affiliated Cruel Celebrant. The still-recently-printed Bastion of Remembrance is an enchantment that’s similarly helpful, especially in a multiplayer format like Oathbreaker. We can also turn extra death into extra cards with Grim Haruspex, Skullclamp, or Erebos, Bleak-Hearted. If that isn’t enough, we can get even more uses out of our sacrifice fodder thanks to Luminous Broodmoth‘s triggered ability.
Build #2: Vraska Aristocrats
Decklist: Vraska’s Living Death
While there’s nothing wrong with good old-fashioned value, this list leans a bit more towards to combo-y end of the deck-building spectrum. Aristocrat decks can sometimes end games seemingly out of nowhere, and that is this deck’s #1 goal. Vraska, Golgari Queen is my Oathbreaker of choice here, but the real key to this strategy is the Signature Spell: Living Death. After filling your graveyard and sacrificing your entire board, Living Death can reanimate your whole graveyard and let you win the game in one giant blaze of undead glory. Taking out the rest of the table simultaneously is often easier said than done, and this particular strategy does require a fair bit of set up; however, with enough death triggers and drain effects, anything is possible in the world of graveyard value.
- Sacrifice Fodder: As with the first deck, sacrifice fodder that produce extra bodies will make it easier to knock out our opponents. Blisterpod, Brindle Shoat, Carrier Thrall, and Discordant Piper are just a handful of creatures that fill that role for this list. Haunted Dead creates a token as soon as it hits the board, and its activated ability can help us fill up our graveyard even faster. Most of our other sacrifice fodder help fill our graveyard by milling ourselves, like with Glowspore Shaman, Mire Triton, Satyr Wayfinder, and Stitcher’s Supplier. Most of these creatures don’t provide as much immediate value as our token generators and drainers, but playing them will payoff as soon as we resolve our Signature Spell.
- Sacrifice Outlets: Since we’re looking to combo off, having access to free + repeatable sacrifice outlets is even more important for this deck than it is for most aristocrat lists. We’re accordingly running the ever-efficient staples like Woe Strider, Viscera Seer, and Yahenni, Undying Partisan, as well as Carrion Feeder. In lieu of these options, we can also use a mass-sacrifice enabler like God-Eternal Bontu to refill our hand and hit our opponents for a lot of damage. Erebos, Bleak-Hearted is typically regarded as more of a “payoff”, but he can also be used to sacrifice creatures at a slower rate if necessary. He can even target our own creatures with his ability, so we can potentially kill off two of our creatures with one activation (a weird thing to be excited about, but notable nonetheless).
- Sacrifice Payoffs: Having access to an assortment of creatures that can drain our opponents out will help ensure that we can win right after casting Living Death. This list is running the usual Blood Artist and Zulaport Cutthroat, as well as Vindictive Vampire and Syr Konrad, the Grim (have fun keeping track of all those triggers). On top of those options, golgari colors allow us to use Poison-Tip Archer, a creature that will drain each of our opponents whenever any creature dies. Bastion of Remembrance can’t be brought back by our Signature Spell, but it will be just as helpful when combo-ing off if we can resolve it earlier in the game. We’re also packing good old Gray Merchant of Asphodel, even though they aren’t really a sacrifice payoff. If our sacrifice-based drainers won’t end the game on their own, then this zombie will almost certainly finish the job given the sheer number of creatures we’ll be reanimating.
Build #3: Saheeli Aristocrats
Decklist: Kuldotha Aristocrats
Aristocrat strategies traditionally run black for access to more efficient sacrifice outlets and powerful sacrifice payoffs, but there are a few other ways to build this kind of deck. Red, while not quite as effective/efficient as black in this regard, does have access to a number of “death pingers” and sacrifice outlets. I even went over a gruul-colored aristocrats list in a previous Domri article! This time around I wanted to try building aristocrats with Saheeli, Sublime Artificer and, oddly enough, the final list turned out to be almost entirely mono-red. As for a Signature Spell, I settled on Kuldotha Rebirth since it 1) works well with Saheeli in general, and 2) it provides us with even more sacrifice fodder to work with. Red’s array of sacrifice payoffs is still fairly limited, however, so I’m also running a number of other ways to turn our abundance of creatures into extra damage to our opponents:
- Sacrifice Fodder: Saheeli can net us plenty of sacrificial tokens over the course of the game, but the 58 of this list has no shortage of fodder to spare. Myr Sire, Perilous Myr, and Servo Schematic are all great cards to sacrifice to Kuldotha Rebirth, and Loyal Apprentice can add to our artificial array of sacrifice fooder even further. Mogg War Marshal nets us a few extra tokens, and Anax, Hardened in the Forge can create even more tokens with his handy triggered ability. If that isn’t enough, we can repeatedly add more bodies to the board with Chandra, Acolyte of Flame and Tibalt, Rakish Instigator. I also count Claim the Firstborn as “sacrifice fodder” since we can use it to steal and sacrifice one of our opponent’s creatures. Last, but certainly not least, is Reef Worm, the only blue card in this list besides Saheeli herself. This little guy can create a hilarious number of hilariously large creatures (even more so if we manage to make a copy of it with Saheeli’s activated ability!)
- Sacrifice Outlets: The best sacrifice outlet we have access to in red is definitely Goblin Bombardment, though Weaponize the Monsters can do a half-decent impression of it when needed. Aside from that, our only free, repeatable sacrifice outlets are Grafted Wargear and Bogardan Dragonheart. Blood Aspirant usually functions best as a sacrifice payoff, but it can be a slower sacrifice outlet if necessary. Hobblefiend is a bit more mana-efficient, and it can become a real threat in a deceivingly short amount of time. This list also runs a handful of one-time sacrifice outlets like Heartfire, Shrapnel Blast, and Indomitable Creativity. The last of these is my personal favorite, even if it isn’t quite as splashy here as it would be in a dedicated polymorph strategy.
- Sacrifice Payoffs: Red may not have access to any draining effects, but it does have plenty of pingers! Hissing Iguanar and Spiteful Prankster can selectively deal out damage whenever any other creature dies (opponents’ included), and their damage can really add up when they’re copied by Saheeli’s activated ability. Goblin Sharpshooter functions a bit differently from those two, but it will often be just as effective at closing out games. If that isn’t enough, we can also use the “dragons” mode on Outpost Siege to add more fuel to the fire. We’re also running other pingers like Impact Tremors and Purphoros, God of the Forge, and all of these damage dealers get a lot more dangerous when Torbran, Thane of Red Fell is in play. Given this list’s artifact subtheme and Saheeli’s servo tokens, I’ve also opted to try out Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge as an additional finisher.
Shared Cards
Here’s a quick overview of what notable cards each of the lists share with each other.
- Sorin & Vraska: Spark Harvest, Bastion of Remembrance, Phyrexian Tower, Blood Artist, Carrier Thrall, Doomed Dissenter, Grim Haruspex, Massacre Girl, Plaguecrafter, Vampire Hexmage, Vindictive Lich, Viscera Seer, Woe Strider, Zulaport Cutthroat, Erebos, Bleak-Hearted and Yahenni, Undying Partisan
- Sorin & Saheeli: Grafted Wargear
- Sorin, Vraska & Saheeli: Skullclamp
Eat The Rich
Even though I’ve gone over a fair number of sacrifice-based lists before on this blog, I never actually thought to write an article focusing on them until about a week ago. I ultimately decided to focus on aristocrat strategies specifically, and I had a lot of fun exploring the archetype through the lenses of various color combinations. Tackling Izzet(ish) aristocrats was particularly challenging, but I’m very satisfied with how the list turned out.
Have you played any aristocrat decks in Oathbreaker? What planeswalker do you/would you play and build an aristocrat deck around? Make sure to share your thoughts and brews with me in the comments or on Twitter!
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