Wizards of the Coast Officially Recognizes New MTG Format!

One of the biggest attractions to Magic: the Gathering for many of its players is how customizable of an experience the game offers. There are tens of thousands of cards to choose from and a handful of different formats depending on how you want to play. Commander is, by far, the most popular among these since it offers an extremely diverse card pool and allows you to play with a group of friends. Alternatively, you could play with the newest cards that MTG offers in the Standard format or play with cards from older days in the Legacy or Vintage format.

Either way, there are a lot of ways to play MTG, but not all of those ways are created by Wizards of the Coast themselves. Commander, for example, was originally a format created by players and not the game’s designers. The same goes for a new format that has been officially recognized by Wizards of the Coast as of yesterday. Welcome, Oathbreaker!

Welcome, Oathbreaker!

For those curious, Oathbreaker isn’t an entirely new format, but it was not official until recently. This format shares many similarities with Commander in the way it is constructed and plays, but there are some stark differences.

Like Commander, you have a sort of Commander card. However, this card can be any Planeswalker outside of the format’s ban list. This is a stark difference from Commander since you, instead, use Legendary Creatures in that format. For a Planeswalker to be your Commander, it generally needs a line of text at the bottom that states explicitly that it can be your Commander. Daretti, Scrap Savant is an example of this. Any Planeswalker off the ban list can be your Commander or Oathbreaker in the Oathbreaker format.

Secondly, alongside your Planeswalker is a Signature Spell. Like Commander, all of your cards need to match the color identity of your Oathbreaker, including your Signature Spell. This is a spell that can be cast as a Commander would as long as you have your Oathbreaker in play. Like Commander, you are able to return your Oathbreaker and Signature Spell to the Command Zone after they go to the graveyard and recast them for their original cost plus two mana.

Unlike Commander, you actually start with 20 life in the Oathbreaker format, which can lead to much quicker games. The card pool for this format is also the same as Commander, allowing any cards that would be Vintage legal (ban list in Vintage does not affect Oathbreaker, at least to my knowledge)

Deckbuilding

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Like Commander, Oathbreaker is a multiplayer Singleton format. This means that you cannot have more than one copy of a unique card in your deck. The only exception to this rule is Basic Land cards and cards that specifically state that you can run any number of the card in your deck, like Rat Colony. That said, you also cannot have cards on the ban list in your deck.

Unlike Commander, Oathbreaker is a 60-card format. This means that the total number of cards in your starting deck will be 58 since your Oathbreaker and your Signature Spell count towards your total. Also, remember that even though this is a 60-card format, it is still intended to be a multiplayer experience.

Sol Ring Banned!?

As mentioned previously, even though Oathbreaker has only been officially recognized by Wizards of the Coast recently, the format has actually existed since 2017. As such, for those who play the format, there is already a ban list in place to eliminate problematic strategies that had too heavy of a stranglehold on the format.

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One stark difference you’ll notice between Oathbreaker and Commander is that Mana Crypt and Sol Ring, two massive controversial super staples in the Commander format, are banned in Oathbreaker. Those who wrote up the ban list have left a bunch of criteria as to why cards ended up banned, and a specific column has been written in regards to why fast mana is problematic in Oathbreaker:

“Extreme early mana acceleration. This is typically permanent mana sources that produce more mana than they cost to cast. Limiting fast mana early in games is necessary given players have access to multiple spells in the command zone and decks are only 58 cards. Fast mana has the tendency to end games too quickly. Ban examples: Sol Ring , Mana Crypt and original Moxen.“

Besides this banned category, “Instant and Sorcery Cards that win the game with minimal work,” “Planeswalkers that interact too well as an Oathbreaker,” and “Cards that lead to unreactive game states or unmemorable games” are the main categories to consider when banning cards in Oathbreaker. You can read more about that here.

Official Oathbreaker Ban List

This is the full recommended ban list for Oathbreaker right now:

Cards with the “Conspiracy” card type. Click here to see those.
Cards that reference “playing with ante”. Click here to see those.
Silver-bordered cards
Ad Nauseam
Ancestral Recall Ancestral Recall Target player draws three cards.
Balance Balance 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 Biorhythm Each player's life total becomes the number of creatures they control.
Black Lotus Black Lotus {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color.
Channel Channel Until end of turn, any time you could activate a mana ability, you may pay 1 life. If you do, add {C}.
Chaos Orb Chaos Orb {1}, {T}: If this artifact is on the battlefield, flip it onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If this artifact turns over completely at least once during the flip, destroy all nontoken permanents it touches. Then destroy this artifact.
Cleanse
Crusade
Dark Ritual Dark Ritual Add {B}{B}{B}.
Doomsday Doomsday 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.
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 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 is put into a graveyard from anywhere, its owner shuffles their graveyard into their library.
Expropriate Expropriate 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 Falling Star 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 Fastbond 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, this enchantment deals 1 damage to you.
Gifts Ungiven Gifts Ungiven 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.
Griselbrand Griselbrand Flying, lifelink
Pay 7 life: Draw seven cards.
High Tide
Imprison
Invoke Prejudice
Jihad
Jeweled Lotus Jeweled Lotus {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color. Spend this mana only to cast your commander.
Library of Alexandria Library of Alexandria {T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Draw a card. Activate only if you have exactly seven cards in hand.
Limited Resources
Lion’s Eye Diamond Lion’s Eye Diamond Discard your hand, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color. Activate only as an instant.
Mana Crypt Mana Crypt At the beginning of your upkeep, flip a coin. If you lose the flip, this artifact deals 3 damage to you.
{T}: Add {C}{C}.
Mana Geyser
Mana Vault Mana Vault This artifact doesn't untap during your untap step.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay {4}. If you do, untap this artifact.
At the beginning of your draw step, if this artifact is tapped, it deals 1 damage to you.
{T}: Add {C}{C}{C}.
Mox Emerald Mox Emerald {T}: Add {G}.
Mox Jet Mox Jet {T}: Add {B}.
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby Mox Ruby {T}: Add {R}.
Mox Sapphire Mox Sapphire {T}: Add {U}.
Natural Order Natural Order 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 Painter’s Servant As this creature enters, choose a color.
All cards that aren't on the battlefield, spells, and permanents are the chosen color in addition to their other colors.
Pradesh Gypsies
Primal Surge Primal Surge 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.
Saheeli, the Gifted
Shahrazad Shahrazad 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.
Sol Ring Sol Ring {T}: Add {C}{C}.
Stone-Throwing Devils
Sundering Titan Sundering Titan When this creature enters or leaves the battlefield, choose a land of each basic land type, then destroy those lands.
Sylvan Primordial Sylvan Primordial Reach
When this creature enters, for each opponent, destroy target noncreature permanent that player controls. Search your library for up to X Forest cards, where X is the number of permanents destroyed this way, put those cards onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
Time Vault Time Vault This artifact enters tapped.
This artifact doesn't untap during your untap step.
If you would begin your turn while this artifact is tapped, you may skip that turn instead. If you do, untap this artifact.
{T}: Take an extra turn after this one.
Time Walk Time Walk Take an extra turn after this one.
Tinker
Tolarian Academy Tolarian Academy {T}: Add {U} for each artifact you control.
Tooth and Nail Tooth and Nail 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
Upheaval Upheaval Return all permanents to their owners' hands.
Yawgmoth’s Bargain Yawgmoth’s Bargain Skip your draw step.
Pay 1 life: Draw a card.

Common Questions

For any who may want to try the Oathbreaker format for themselves, here are a few extra things regarding the format that may help clear things up:

Any MTG card that refers to your Commander instead refers to your Oathbreaker in this format. Yes, that means Jeska’s Will Jeska’s Will Choose one. If you control a commander as you cast this spell, you may choose both instead.
• Add {R} for each card in target opponent's hand.
• Exile the top three cards of your library. You may play them this turn. works
Like Commander, cards that care about things ‘outside the game’ do not work in Oathbreaker
Two Oathbreakers may be used alongside the Partner mechanic
Oathbreakers are subject to the Legend Rule

If you want to learn more about Oathbreaker, you can find the official site here. Hopefully, you will find a chance to try out MTG’s newest official format!