Zendikar Rising preview season has finally come to a close, and now I’ve also reached the end of my review of the set for Oathbreaker! To be more specific, I’ve done a Top 10 article for cards of each color, as well as one for multicolor cards. 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 finish things off with my Top 10 cards from the rest of Zendikar Rising, as well as my overall Top 10 cards from the set for Oathbreaker!
#10: Base Camp
Base Camp doesn’t hold a candle to Cavern of Souls or Unclaimed Territory, but a tribal land is a tribal land. Although I’m still not convinced the new “party” mechanic has any legs in Oathbreaker, I still like how it has brought along a lot of incidental tribal support cards like this new land. I’m always a fan of easily accessible color-fixing, even when it comes with this kind of restriction. The fact that Base Camp comes into play tapped and is limited to the four party tribes has kept it this low on the list, but it’s a fine addition to those tribal archetypes, if a bit unexciting.
#9: Skyclave Relic
As far as manaliths go, Skyclave Relic isn’t too shabby. This new-and-improved Darksteel Ingot has the potential to skyrocket your mana ahead once you reach six mana, which is a bit on the high end of the curve for most Oathbreaker decks. That being said, many colorless decks already look to run a high amount of artifact-based ramp regardless of whether they’re a dedicated artifact strategy or an eldrazi stompy list. I suspect Skyclave Relic won’t end up seeing much play outside of colorless decks, and possibly some other artifact-heavy lists, but it is still an neat new mana rock.
#8: Crawling Barrens
There have been various colorless creature-lands printed throughout MTG’s history, and Crawling Barrens is the latest addition to that list. The most interesting part of this card to me is that you don’t have to actually animate it with its ability; you can simply pay 4 mana to put two +1/+1 counters onto the land. In other words, this creature-land will become a bigger creature every time you activate (and choose to animate) it. The two most likely homes for this card in Oathbreaker are 1) dedicated +1/+1 counter decks, for obvious reasons, and 2) colorless lists, which typically run a very high number of utility lands. Crawling Barrens is certainly no Mutavault, but that won’t stop it from seeing a modest amount of play in Oathbreaker.
#7: Lithoform Engine
Talk about a flashy mythic! Lithoform Engine reminds me a little bit of The Chain Veil, another four-drop artifact that can let you double-up on your Oathbreaker’s loyalty abilities. The Chain Veil has proven to not be very powerful in this format, but I think Lithoform Engine has a bit more potential. As long as you have the mana for it, this artifact can let you double-up on just about anything; again, if you have the mana for it. Lithoform Engine does require quite a bit of mana to get going, and there are only so many Oathbreaker decks out there that can consistently support this kind of card. Colorless decks and other ramp strategies won’t have too much trouble paying the costs, and other artifact-centric lists may be able to justify running it. I don’t think this card is quite as powerful as it appears on the surface, at least as far as Oathbreaker is concerned, but it’s also not the kind of card you’ll want to let your opponents keep in play for very long.
#6: Enigma Thief
Wow, it’s been a hot minute since the last time a new card with prowl was printed. Enigma Thief is a bit on the pricier side for Oathbreaker, as far as its mana-cost, but its enter-the-battlefield is pretty well-designed for a multiplayer setting. This sphinx rogue is no Cyclonic Rift by any means, but it does have one upside that Cyclonic Rift does not have; Enigma Thief can be blinked for repeated value, meaning that it pairs particularly well with Oathbreakers like Aminatou, the Fateshifter and Venser, the Sojourner. Being a 5/5 flyer comes with its own perks as well, especially in a format built around planeswalkers. I’m assuming that Enigma Thief isn’t actually going to be played for its prowl cost very often in Oathbreaker, but it brings plenty of value to the table even at a hefty seven mana.
#5: Trove Warden
Anyone that follows this blog closely probably already knows that I love me some creature recursion, and Trove Warden offers a very interesting form of recursion that squarely fits in white’s slice of the color pie. This good kitty can get back any kind of permanent as long as it has a CMC of 3 or less, similar to other white cards like Sevinne’s Reclamation and Sun Titan. It is worth noting that Trove Warden has to specifically die in order to net you that recursion, which is a bit of a weakness. Even still, any deck running instant-speed sacrifice outlets won’t have any trouble triggering this card, and I could easily see a white/black aristocrats deck utilizing this sort of effect. Oh yeah, and Trove Warden is a 3/4 with vigilance, so you can use it to attack and block too if you want. I’ll be curious to see where this feline friend ends up seeing play in Oathbreaker, outside of the obvious graveyard-centric strategies.
#4: Geode Rager
Everyone, say hello to Disrupt Decorum on . . . legs? Those are legs, right? Regardless, Geode Rager is angry, and it’s here to make the rest of the board mad too! As far as stats go, six mana for a 4/3 with first strike is admittedly not very exciting; however, this card makes up for that weakness with its unique landfall effect. Never underestimate the power of turning all your opponents against each other, especially when you can do so repeatedly. Geode Rager‘s ability does limit you to only goading one opponent per trigger, but there are plenty of decks that won’t have much trouble getting multiple landfall triggers every turn. Certain effects, such as fetchlands, can even let you trigger this creature at instant-speed! I’ll admit that I’m not 100% sure what exact archetypes will be able to find room for Geode Rager, but I’m sure a political card like this won’t have too much trouble finding a home in Oathbreaker.
#3: Myriad Construct
Myriad Construct is . . . such a strange card. This creature is the kind of card that you’ll probably want to be able to consistently pay the kicker cost for. Seven mana is a lot of mana, but by time you reach that much mana in a four-player game, your opponents will likely have a lot of nonbasic lands in play; and by a lot, I mean significantly more than three. Probably closer to three per opponent. The latter half of Myriad Construct is the half that most intrigues me. That triggered ability is clearly meant to serve as a kind of insurance policy against getting your construct Hero’s Downfall-ed, but it also leaves open the option to target it with your own spell to net a ton of tokens. It’s also worth mentioning that this ability only triggers off of spells, not abilities, and you will only get the extra tokens if Myriad Construct is targeted by a spell. I can’t say for sure how many different decks will want to run the Zendikari Iron Giant, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what wacky Oathbreaker brews get built around this strange card.
#2: Foresaken Monument
*whistles* Now here’s a flashy artifact I can get behind! Forsaken Monument is pretty much everything a colorless player could ever want. As I’ve said, colorless decks are typically looking to ramp more than most lists, and this artifact will give any colorless strategy a lot more fuel to work with. The lifegain trigger will also provide a nice buffer while the colorless deck sets itself up, and that static +2/+2 buff will . . . well, it probably won’t be all that necessary given how big those decks tend to go, but it certainly doesn’t hurt! I could also definitely see this kind of card popping up in other artifact-heavy strategies, especially with Oathbreakers like Saheeli, Sublime Artificer that can easily go wide. Forsaken Monument is definitely my personal favorite artifact from Zendikar Rising, and I’m simultaneously looking forward to running it and dreading having to play against it.
#1: The Modal-Double-Faced Dual Lands
This new partially-complete set of dual lands is simple, yet effective. They’re technically not “true dual lands” since 1) they don’t have any basic land types, and 2) they can only tap for one color of mana once they hit the field (though they still have dual-colored identity for the purposes of deck building restrictions). Even still, having a land that can fill one of two roles will always be handy, especially since these lands come into play untapped. There’s nothing game-breakingly powerful about these lands, but they’re definitely going to be showing up in a lot of multicolor Oathbreaker decks; in fact, I expect the most common reason for someone to not run these lands whenever possible will simply end up being due to budget restrictions.
Now that I’ve gone over all of these new cards, it’s time for my overall Top 10 cards from Zendikar Rising for Oathbreaker:
*insert drumroll*
- 10: Felidar Retreat
- 9: Inscription of Abundance
- 8: Glasspool Mimic
- 7: Nighthawk Scavenger
- 6: Leyline Tyrant
- 5: Skyclave Apparition
- 4: Forsaken Monument
- 3: Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients
- 2: Nissa of Shadowed Boughs
- 1: The Modal-Double-Faced Dual Lands
That’s it for the new cards! What are your favorite cards from Zendikar Rising? Are there any new cards you’re particularly excited to try out in Oathbreaker? Make sure to tell me in the comments or on Twitter! I’ll be taking a one-week break as my shoulder continues to recover, and then I’ll be back to my normal routine with one article every Friday!
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