Oath is one of my favorite decks to play. So when my friend Korey came up with this list for Progenitus Oath, I got psyched. After we learned that the ‘pro everything’ hydra avatar was legendary (no running two), we settled on Magister Sphinx as his partner.
Disliking Impulse for not netting you any cards, he added Thirst for Knowledge instead. This added synergy in that Progenitus has that nifty DSC shuffle effect when he is discarded.
Oathing up Progenitus first means you have your opponent on a 2 turn clock, same as Hellkite Oath. If you hit Sphinx first the clock does become 3 turns, however having Lim-Dul’s Vault dig into Progenitus and placing him securely on top ensures you hit him first. Of course Brainstorming/Scroll racking him on top (if you happen to draw him) works too.
The Dynamic Duo
1 Progenitus
1 Magister Sphinx
Disruption
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Misdirection
4 Duress
4 Force of Will
3 Negate
Other Stuff
1 Lim-Dul’s Vault
1 Scroll Rack
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
3 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Lat-Nam’s Legacy
1 Brainstorm
4 Oath of Druids
1 Time Walk
1 Gaea's Blessing
1 Wipe Away
1 Echoing Truth
Mana
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
4 Forbidden Orchard
4 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Underground Sea
1 Bayou
2 Tropical Island
Sideboard
1 Volcanic Island
1 Trinisphere
2 Pyroblast
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Thoughtseize
2 Spawning Pit
2 Seal of Primordium
3 Tormod’s Crypt
Our meta seems to be highly diverse, but still light on Combo and heavy on Aggro. Which means lots of Oath fun for me!
30 People showed up to play for a Library of Alexandria!
Round 1: Clay with Tez
I believe this is the first time I have played against Clay. I have seen him play at the store before and he wrecked the field with a vicious Tez build.
Game 1: I Thirst and A-Call into heavy counter magic. He tries to get Tez through but the seeker finds the grave. An Orchard gives him a token, the Oath gives me two big guys who end the first game.
In: 2 Ancient Grudges, 2 Pyroblasts, 1 Volcanic Island, 1 Tormod’s Crypt
Game 2: My Duress grabs his counter. His Relic of Progenitus stares down my Oath, but an Ancient Grudge zaps it and the Voltaic Key he plays afterword. Oath ushers in the clean up crew.
2-0
Round 2: Trevor with Slaver
Trevor and I always have a fun match, usually full of laughs. He plays Belcher a lot and occasionally Slaver. This is one of those occasions.
Game 1: Holding an Orchard back, I tutor for Oath. Trevor Thirsts dropping Trike in his grave. I Orchard and Oath with Force backup. He can’t find an answer.
In: 2 Pyroblast, 2 Ancient Grudge, 1 Tormod’s Crypt, 1 Volcanic Island.
Game 2: This game is rather uneventful after I neuter his hand early with multiple Duresses then sit on Tormod’s Crypt. He gets stuck on 5 mana while holding up Sharuum and we time out.
3-0-1
Round 3: Jeremy with Painter
Jeremy has been playing here at the store long before me. We usually get paired up at most large events at the store. I remember the outcomes being a bit different though.
Game 1: I Duress him and he answers with Mana Drain!? Instead of just letting it go, I allow curiosity to get the best of me and return with a Force. He reveals a Thirst for Knowledge and a Merchant Scroll. With no Force backup, I get my Oath countered and then get the beat down.
In: 2 Pyroblasts, 1 Volcanic island.
Game 2: I mulligan down to these 6- Lotus, Mox Pearl, Magister Sphinx, Tropical, Fetch, and Duress. I’m thinking ‘If they don’t draw or tutor into counters I can maybe swing this.’ A 5 card hand could be a little better, but could be a whole lot worse. I keep. I fetch and grab Underground Sea. I Duress away his only Force, seeing Thirst and Grindstone. He plays a land. I rip a Sol Ring and proceed to hard cast Magister Sphinx turn 2! He Thirsts and looks for answers while I swing and bring Jeremy down to 5 life. He tries to Demonic Tutor which I Negate. He then plays and zaps the graves to draw a card. Pyroblast! Bye bye Magister…With Jeremy having no hand I get an Oath down easy and Mystical for Demonic. I plan to grab the Orchard I need to trigger Oath. He Grindstones the Demonic right into the grave. Frown. Town. I hear time called. Shrug and peel back the top card to see Forbidden Orchard! Wooh!
4-1-1
Round 4: Jason with Tez
Before I knew any better, I had thought that the name of Team Angry must have come primarily from this member. He is very funny but often seen choke slamming fools through tables!
Game 1: He leads with land, Mana Crypt, Tinker, with Force backup. On to game 2.
I consider that Jason has played Tez a lot lately and side accordingly.
In: 2 Pyroblasts, 2 Ancient Grudges, 1 Tormod’s Crypt, and 1 Volcanic Island.
Game 2: Mox, Orchard, Oath, go. Game 3?
Same board.
Game 3: He plays Voltaic Key early while I tutor up an Orchard. A well placed Negate keeps Vault off table. Time restriction would have turned this match into a draw had it not been for a Time Walk after I finally Oath.
6-2-1
Top 8
Quarterfinals: Alex with Hellkite Oath
This fella had on the greatest outfit ever! He was wearing a striped pink polo shirt, a rainbow wrist band, blue nail polish, and he was shuffling up pink sleeves. I never look forward to an Oath mirror match. This wasn’t my first and I came prepared.
Game 1: I give him spirit tokens early on while trying for Oath on first turn. A big Force of Will from Alex brings me to frown town as the token beat down ensues.
In: Spawning Pit and Seal of Primordium.
Game 2: I am able to give him a token after he plays Oath and he gets Progenitized.
Same board.
Game 3: We may have been able to finish the tourney inside the store if this game had not taken century. I mean I know Oath mirrors usually take a bit longer but whoa.
Alex tapped his Forbidden Orchard to play a first turn Duress, snatching my Vampiric Tutor out of my hand. I make an Oath trigger unlikely with my seal of primordium and spawning pit. This painfully long match finally ends with that one lonely spirit token beating his little heart out for the win!
Semifinals: Troy with R/G Beats
Troy makes an appearance once a month to play in our weekly games at the Do. He has been running Menendian’s R/G Christmas Beats lately. If he still is, this should be a good matchup.
Game 1: I tutor up a 2nd turn Oath with an Orchard token for Troy. Gg.
Troy doesn’t disappoint with the deck choice. I look but decide not to side.
Game 2: I Duress to see Deglamer, Moment’s Peace, Goyf and some other critters. I take Deglamer. The coast is clear for my Oath. Progenitus is flipped up, though I know he may not deal damage right away. Troy plays Goyf and friends. I end-of-turn Thirst, discarding Magister Sphinx. Goyf is pretty big until Gae’s Blessing shuffles the Sphinx back in. Progenitus tries to swing Troy plays a Moment’s Peace. I counter it then he flashes it back. No damage this turn. He draws and frowns. No answer but good game.
Finals: John A. with Fish
Our local fisherman; if it does not have Magus of the Moon, Back to Basics, or other mana denial tech, John isn’t interested. We play almost every week and John told me once that he hates Oath and always packs a vicious sideboard for it. I have only defeated John once with Oath and felt very lucky to do so. Let’s hope I have the same luck this time around.
Game 1: His Nullrod shuts me out of the game as I have no lands but a broken hand full of artifact mana. Goyfs do me in.
In: 2 Pyroblasts and 1 Volcanic island
Game 2: I open with Oath and back it up with Force. Magister Sphinx flips up and puts him at 10 life. He Krosan Grips my Oath before Progenitus can join the party, but the Sphinx alone was enough to put him away.
Game 3: I smile when I fan open a hand of Time Walk, Demonic Tutor, Force of Will, Forbidden Orchard, Polluted Delta, Wipe Away, and Mox Emerald. I draw another Force and play Polluted Delta. I tap and sac the Delta, running right into Stifle! I pause to think, then choose to Force the Stifle, removing Wipe Away. Stifle is countered and I fetch an Underground Sea. Then I play Mox Emerald and tutor for Oath. John plays Wasteland and zaps my Underground. Next turn I play Orchard into Oath, which meets his Force of Will. I win the counter war with another Force and place my Oath firmly on the table. John buys himself time to find answers as he stifles my oath triggers twice! However, as his mini Time Walks run out without finding the goods, Progenitus then Magister win me a Library of Alexandria!
Like I said, I always enjoy playing Oath, but now that enjoyment has reached new heights. I made a few play mistakes but the ridiculousness of Progenitus more than compensated. I truly believe my opponents inability to deal with him alone won me games. He is just a beast.
Many, many, many thanks to Korey Age for the badass deck. A big thanks to Josh Palmer for running events like this and keeping Vintage alive and thriving here in Louisville, KY, and thanks to Bobby and Tommy Graves for cheering me on in the finals, sorry John.
