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Magic: The Gathering’s Oathbreaker is a format that has a lot in common with Commander, but with a greater focus on planeswalkers. Instead of a legendary creature, you choose a single planeswalker to be your oathbreaker alongside a signature spell that planeswalker loves to cast.
Related:Magic: The Gathering – Mono-Red Commander Staples Guide
Oathbreaker is also an eternal format, meaning you may use almost every card Magic has ever printed. The exceptions are a list of banned cards that appear below. Read on to learn more about Oathbreaker and what cards can’t be played in this exciting multiplayer format.
What Is Oathbreaker?
Oathbreaker is acasual multiplayer formatthat tries to evoke Magic’s traditional backstory of powerful planeswalkers battling for supremacy. Only, instead of the player being the planeswalker, this time youchoose an existing planeswalkerto build a deck around.
Oathbreakerdecks are 60-card singletonswith onePlaneswalker designated as the oathbreaker. Your oathbreaker also gets a “signature spell” that exists alongside it in the command zone. Just like in Commander, your deck can only use colors that are part of your oathbreaker’s color identity.
Otherwise, the rules are largely the same as a standard Magic game.For the full rules, check outthe official site.
Oathbreaker Banlist
There areseveral categoriesof cards that arebannedin Oathbreaker. Those include:
Below are otherbanned cardsin Oathbreaker. For more information, check out theofficial Oathbreaker banned list here.
Chaos Orb
Artifact, two generic
One generic mana, tap: If Chaos Orb is on the battlefield, flip Chaos Orb onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least once during the flip, destroy all nontoken permanents it touches. Then destroy Chaos Orb.
Ad Nauseam
Three generic, two black, Instant
Reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. You lose life equal to its mana value. You may repeat this process any number of times.
Balance
One generic, one white, Sorcery Each player chooses a number of lands they control equal to the number of lands controlled by the player who controls the fewest, then sacrifices the rest. Players discard cards and sacrifice creatures the same way.
Biorhythm
Six generic, two green, Sorcery
Each player’s life total becomes the number of creatures they control.
Channel
Two green, Sorcery
Until end of turn, any time you could activate a mana ability, you may pay 1 life. If you do, add one generic mana.
Doomsday
Three black, Sorcery
Search your library and graveyard for five cards and exile the rest. Put the chosen cards on top of your library in any order. You lose half your life, rounded up.
15 generic, Legendary Creature — Eldrazi
This spell can’t be countered.
When you cast this spell, take an extra turn after this one.
Flying, protection from spells that are one or more colors, annihilator 6
When Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is put into a graveyard from anywhere, its owner shuffles their graveyard into their library. 15/15
Expropriate
Seven generic, two blue, Sorcery
Council’s dilemma — Starting with you, each player votes for time or money. For each time vote, take an extra turn after this one. For each money vote, choose a permanent owned by the voter and gain control of it. Exile Expropriate.
Falling Star
Two generic, one red, Sorcery
Flip Falling Star onto the playing area from a height of at least one foot. Falling Star deals 3 damage to each creature it lands on. Tap all creatures dealt damage by Falling Star. If Falling Star doesn’t turn completely over at least once during the flip, it has no effect.
Fastbond
One green, Enchantment
You may play any number of lands on each of your turns.
Whenever you play a land, if it wasn’t the first land you played this turn, Fastbond deals 1 damage to you.
Gifts Ungiven
Three generic, one blue, Instant
Search your library for up to four cards with different names and reveal them. Target opponent chooses two of those cards. Put the chosen cards into your graveyard and the rest into your hand. Then shuffle.
Four generic, four black, Legendary Creature — Demon
Flying, lifelink
7/7
High Tide
One blue, Instant
Until end of turn, whenever a player taps an Island for mana, that player adds an additional blue mana.
Jeweled Lotus
Artifact
Tap, Sacrifice Jeweled Lotus: Add three mana of any one color. Spend this mana only to cast your commander.
Library of Alexandria
Land Tap: Add one generic mana. Tap: Draw a card. Activate only if you have exactly seven cards in hand.
Limited Resources
One White, Enchantment
When Limited Resources enters the battlefield, each player chooses five lands they control and sacrifices the rest.
Players can’t play lands as long as ten or more lands are on the battlefield.
Lion’s Eye Diamond
Discard your hand, Sacrifice Lion’s Eye Diamond: Add three mana of any one color. Activate only as an instant.
Mana Crypt
At the beginning of your upkeep, flip a coin. If you lose the flip, Mana Crypt deals 3 damage to you.
Three generic, two red, Sorcery
One generic, Artifact
Mana Vault doesn’t untap during your untap step.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay four generic mana. If you do, untap Mana Vault.
At the beginning of your draw step, if Mana Vault is tapped, it deals 1 damage to you.
Natural Order
Two generic, two green, Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice a green creature.
Search your library for a green creature card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
Painter’s Servant
Two generic, Artifact Creature — Scarecrow As Painter’s Servant enters the battlefield, choose a color. All cards that aren’t on the battlefield, spells, and permanents are the chosen color in addition to their other colors. 1/3
Primal Surge
Eight generic, two green, Sorcery Exile the top card of your library. If it’s a permanent card, you may put it onto the battlefield. If you do, repeat this process.
Two generic, one blue, one red, Legendary Planeswalker — Saheeli
+1: Create a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token.
+1: The next spell you cast this turn costs one generic mana less to cast for each artifact you control as you cast it.
−7: For each artifact you control, create a token that’s a copy of it. Those tokens gain haste. Exile those tokens at the beginning of the next end step.
Shahrazad
Two white, Sorcery
Players play a Magic subgame, using their libraries as their decks. Each player who doesn’t win the subgame loses half their life, rounded up.
Sundering Ttian
Eight generic, Artifact Creature — Golem
When Sundering Titan enters or leaves the battlefield, choose a land of each basic land type, then destroy those lands. 7/10
Five generic, two green, Creature — Avatar
Reach
When Sylvan Primordial enters the battlefield, for each opponent, destroy target noncreature permanent that player controls. For each permanent destroyed this way, search your library for a Forest card and put that card onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle.
6/8
Time Vault enters the battlefield tapped.
Time Vault doesn’t untap during your untap step.
If you would begin your turn while Time Vault is tapped, you may skip that turn instead. If you do, untap Time Vault.
Tinker
Two generic, one blue, Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice an artifact.
Search your library for an artifact card, put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
Tolarian Academy
Legendary Land Tap: Add one blue mana for each artifact you control.
Tooth and Nail
Five generic, two green, Sorcery
Choose one — • Search your library for up to two creature cards, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle. • Put up to two creature cards from your hand onto the battlefield. Entwine 2 (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)
Trade Secrets
One generic, two blue, Sorcery
Target opponent draws two cards, then you draw up to four cards. That opponent may repeat this process as many times as they choose.
Four generic, two blue, Sorcery
Four generic, two black, Enchantment
Skip your draw step.
Pay 1 life: Draw a card.
Next:MTG – Combos From Lord Of The Rings: Tales Of Middle-earth
