Thassa’s Oracle
Thassa’s Oracle
When this creature enters, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put up to one of them on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. (Each {U} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.)
feels one of the many problem children of the format alongside cards such as
Cyclonic Rift
Cyclonic Rift
Return target nonland permanent you don't control to its owner's hand.
Overload {6}{U} (You may cast this spell for its overload cost. If you do, change "target" in its text to "each.")
or
Yawgmoth’s Will
Yawgmoth’s Will
Until end of turn, you may play lands and cast spells from your graveyard.
If a card would be put into your graveyard from anywhere this turn, exile that card instead.
. It was clearly designed for the higher-powered Commander Pods in mind, but is it simply too good for the singleton format overall?
For two Blue mana, the Merfolk does quite a bit. Not only is it a clear upgrade on the once favored Labratory Maniac, but it offers a streamlined ‘win the game’ clause for little effort. Alongside
Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
When Uro enters, sacrifice it unless it escaped.
Whenever Uro enters or attacks, you gain 3 life and draw a card, then you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield.
Escape—{G}{G}{U}{U}, Exile five other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its escape cost.)
, it’s one of the most powerful cards to come from Theros Beyond Death.
Case For Banning Thassa’s Oracle
In constructed, the card saw a ban in Historic due to the printing of
Tainted Pact
Tainted Pact
Exile the top card of your library. You may put that card into your hand unless it has the same name as another card exiled this way. Repeat this process until you put a card into your hand or you exile two cards with the same name, whichever comes first.
which created a miserable metagame for the MTG Arena-exclusive format. Going further,
Inverter of Truth
Inverter of Truth
Devoid (This card has no color.)
Flying
When this creature enters, exile all cards from your library face down, then shuffle all cards from your graveyard into your library.
was met with a similar fate due to the power of the Merfolk Wizard, combined it created one of the best Pioneer strategies since the format’s birth. But instead of banning
Thassa’s Oracle
Thassa’s Oracle
When this creature enters, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put up to one of them on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. (Each {U} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.)
, Wizards of the Coast B&R decided to ban the Mythic Eldrazi instead.
It can pub stomp casual Commander tables if players aren’t aware and it’s not a fun experience in a Commander Pod. Using cards such as
Demonic Consultation
Demonic Consultation
Choose a card name. Exile the top six cards of your library, then reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a card with the chosen name. Put that card into your hand and exile all other cards revealed this way.
allows you to win the game easily and as the Merfolk Wizard is in Blue, you have interaction to protect it too. Also, the card became the catalyst for the ban of
Flash
Flash
You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. If you do, sacrifice it unless you pay its mana cost reduced by {2}.
since it paired incredibly well with
Protean Hulk
Protean Hulk
When this creature dies, search your library for any number of creature cards with total mana value 6 or less, put them onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
in the format.
This week, the Canadian Highlander Committee upgraded the points on
Thassa’s Oracle
Thassa’s Oracle
When this creature enters, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put up to one of them on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. (Each {U} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.)
from 2 points to 7. In Canadian Highlander, you have a max of 10 points to work with when constructing your deck, but this can also include cards such as the Power Nine. The reason a point system works for Candian Highlander is to offer diversity and not play the same broken thing every time, since it is a 1v1 format. [tootlips]Thassa’s Oracle[/tooltips] is now on the same points as Ancestral Recall[/tootlips], Time Vault,
Black Lotus
Black Lotus
{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color.
, and
Time Walk
Time Walk
Take an extra turn after this one.
. This should give you an indication of how highly valued the card is within that format. Granted, Canadian Highlander plays differently to Commander, but you have to respect the thought process given it’s a singleton format.
Read More: Best Upgrades for MTG’s Spirit Squadron Commander Deck
But What About Coalition Victory?
Interestingly, the Rules Committee (RC) are often against ‘win the game’ clauses especially those that require minimal effort to pull off. For example,
Coalition Victory
Coalition Victory
You win the game if you control a land of each basic land type and a creature of each color.
is on the current Commander ban list as there is a case for giving five-color strategies a ‘win the game’ clause. If we’re looking at an 8 mana spell that can easily work, surely
Thassa’s Oracle
Thassa’s Oracle
When this creature enters, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put up to one of them on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. (Each {U} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.)
should be in the conversation too?
Either way,
Thassa’s Oracle
Thassa’s Oracle
When this creature enters, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put up to one of them on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. (Each {U} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.)
is a powerful card that presents a miserable play experience for those who don’t care for combos in Commander. Especially when CEDH can bleed into casual Commander which was the case for
Flash
Flash
You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. If you do, sacrifice it unless you pay its mana cost reduced by {2}.
, which eventually saw a ban on acknowledgment from the Commander Rules Committee. What do you think? Is the Merfolk Wizard too good?
Read More: The 10 Best Magic: the Gathering Infinite Combos in Commander