[premium article] Sun Titan Oath

[matt_sperling]

My first article for StarCity, discussing an Oath deck I built with Intuition, Scroll Rack, Loam, Sun Titan, etc.  Let me know what you think.

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/20024_Sun_Titan_Oath.html

(one thing I forgot to mention in article is Library, which I just barely cut for the 3rd Sea, which seemed necessary.

[voltron00x]

Why do you think this Oath deck is better positioned than the current alternatives?

EDIT:  I really liked the opening sentences of this article, by the way.

[matt_sperling]

Why do you think this Oath deck is better positioned than the current alternatives?

EDIT:  I really liked the opening sentences of this article, by the way.

I don't view it as a "positioning" issue because the matchup by matchup "decks you tend to be strong against" and "decks you tend to be weak against" are going to look pretty similar.  In other words, this Oath deck doesn't get edge vs Tezz by shaving edge against MUD, or whatever the case may be.  Rather, I think it just plays a little better overall which gives you some edge everywhere.   

Another example: while I find that Intuition improves the deck a great deal, it doesn't help only in some matchups and not in others.  Its just overall going to perform a little better than Jaces 3-4 (or whatever) as you try to assemble and protect Oath against all the decks. 

[Smmenen]

First of all, just wanted to spam the boards and say that this article is yet another reason to get SCG Premium (shameless plug), and a good promotion of Vintage, so keep that up.  

As long as Oath has existed, there has been the desire to find the ultimate Oath creature that would win the game more efficient and effectively than what has been used before.   We can call this the 'ultimate creature' panacea, the idea if that we could just find the right oath creatures, we'd be fine.  

In that vein, we've see many creature progressions over time, and breaks in that progression for different strategies.  Back in the day, people used to use cards like Spike Weaver and Morphling, then my team innovated Spirit of the Night and Akroma (with sb Pristine Angel), which later evolved into Hellkite Oath, broken up by Tyrant in the Gush era, and most recently we've seen Iona, and then Iona + Terastodon.  

While this is an important evolution, I don't think the fundamentals of the deck have really changed at all.  By that I mean that the fundamental structural limitation on Oath is 1) finding, 2) resolving, and 3) triggering Oath of Druids. Nothing in the card pool has changed that fundamental limitation in quite some time (arguably Orchard or Ponder was the last).  The restriction of Brainstorm has only made that constraint more limiting.   And the printing of Nature's Claim, and its heavy use, only makes (3) more difficult.   In that respect, I'm not sure that this is an improvement on other lists.  

While 1 creature Oath lists sometimes seem like an improvement, and greater focus, I think their drawback and liability is not to be underestimated: that is, naturally drawing the sole creature, or having your creature untimely removed.   For example, you only half a dozen cards or so, not enough to really get the bonus, and someone plows the Titan.  Or, you oath up your whole library, enough to get the bonus, and someone plows your Titan, but counters Reclamation, or resolves Null Rod, etc.  It's not that any one of these things is likely to happen, but if you add up the sum total of everything that can go wrong, it's definitely nontrivial.   It's not that it's particularly likely, for example, that you'll draw Sun Titan in an otherwise excellent hand, and can't seem to put it back very quickly, but it's that plus all of the other things that could go wrong that make me wary of one creature oath lists.  

I see alot of vulnerabilities in your list, despite your excellent attempts to find answers for them.   Now that this is out there, it will be interesting to see if people try it, and if they do, how they fare.  

Incidentally, I went back to my M11 set review, to make sure I mentioned Sun Titan, only to discover some relief:

Sun Titan

It has some niche applications in both Oath and Dredge, since it can find Time Vault or Bazaar of Baghdad, and put it directly into play, to dredge the rest of your library, sacrifice it to Cabal Therapy or Dread Return, and do it all again, if need be. It’s Vintage playable, and will likely see some play.

[Marske]

@Sperling,
Great read, good article and nice to see SCG has another writer that's also intersted in doing a Vintage piece (and opening your articles series with one to boot!)

Having played against this deck I can say it has some unforseen angles of attack and some interactions can really get people by surprise. That being said, I'm pretty sure this is going to be the same as the "workshop" builds discussion. As in this is just another way to look at Oath. I do find several interactions very interesting and Intuition is quite strong. I'm very interested in seeing you do more of these types of articles on Vintage, as you got the ears of a different crowd then Menendian and Elias have. You got the T2 players.

Ps.
I want my damn rematch at PT Paris without rushing through the games....

[voltron00x]

I'm always happy to see Intuition get play, as I love the card.  It's also interesting to consider that playing Sun Titan by no means forces you to play only 1 Sun Titan (as Iona does), nor does it exclude you from playing Iona in the board or Dons (as suggested in the article).  

This is a cool deck.  It has some neat interactions.  I don't think its where I want to be right now only because Oath isn't where I want to be right now.  But absolutely this is something I plan on testing when people get bored of casting Trygons in game 1.

[2nd_lawl]

 But absolutely this is something I plan on testing when people get bored of casting Trygons in game 1.

Wont happen, at least not anytime soon.

[Cyberpunker]

I am afraid of running too many blanks in Oath because it already runs 3-6 blanks (3-4 creatures + KeyVault). Running Intuition is just too dangerous already. Same reason why I do not like Jace in Oath.   

[matt_sperling]

The deck is fundamentally an Oath deck, this is very true.  Many weaknesses remain weaknesses, just as many strengths have survived my tweaks.  That said, I think Oath is a tier 1 deck, and if you can tweak a tier 1 deck to make it better, you might just win the next tourament. 

Playing vs. Marske this weekend in his native Netherlands, he had 2 Force of Will, a Mana Drain, a gifts ungiven, and 2 other cards in his hand), that's 6 cards in his hand for the mathematically challenged.  He had Library of Alexandria out with 4 other lands as well.  I cast Intution main phase, and it was fairly obvious at this point in the game that I had counters in my hand as well (FoW and/or Pierce), just from the number in my deck and the way the game played out.  Marske chose not to counter the Intution, having never played vs my deck, but having played vs several other decks with Intuition that do things like grab 3 copies of a certain key spell like Oath.  Well, I got Life from the Loam, Strip Mine, and Thoughtseize.  This guaranteed that the Library would not be active next turn no matter what happened, and it allowed me to just dredge Loam every turn until all Marske's lands were gone. 

The little things matter in Vintage, and so does having something the other guy isn't prepared to deal with.  The above anecdote isn't proof that I've improved the list, but all the things this deck can do add up, and the things its given up to get there (Tinker for Robot, etc) aren't all that missed.  If I had a nickel for every time I've tinkered and lost in the last few months, well, I'd have several nickels. 

Thanks for the interest from everyone, I hope my advice to try the deck out and have fun with it at least, is being taken to heart.

[nataz]

then my team innovated Spirit of the Night and Akroma (with sb Pristine Angel)

to be fair you guys cribbed that creature combo from some random at a meandeck open, but sure - your team was wildly successful at the following SCG.

[Cyberpunker]

I like the Intuition for the Loam lock. It's something to keep in mind and its new too! Do you have concerns with it being too slow though?

[conboy31]

Oath decks have used it in the past:
http://www.deckcheck.net/deck.php?id=8213
http://www.deckcheck.net/deck.php?id=15981

Probably more lists are out there floating around.

Conceptually, my approach for oath as of late has been a focus on alternative win conditions and resiliance for when oath does not resolve or trigger.  I wandered to a 5-2 19th finish at gen con with 4 creatures, oath, tinker, show and tell, jace, crucible + strip + wasteland.  I am still working out how to get proper filtering and selection with so much going on.

I did enjoy Iona combo oath (vroman), so this Sperling list will probably also be entertaining.

[hitman]

I'm the Platinum Oath player and I can attest to the strength of Intuition in Oath.  I've never played the deck without it and never been sad to see it.  After hearing Sperling's Loam lock story, it reminded me of a time I cast Intuition and my Drain Tendrils opponent didn't counter it either.  Since he had a better draw engine and a more robust counter-package, I got the Loam lock since Drain Tendrils doesn't play Ritual and they usually have to have Lotus or two Seas in play to cast Tendrils (at least at the time).  I proceeded to just Strip Mine his lands every turn until he couldn't do anything.  Intuition gives Oath such a degree of versatility.  The last time I played Oath, I actually played Eternal Witness because I think that effect is so powerful in Oath.  Sun Titan is a straight-up improvement.  I wouldn't cut Iona and only play one creature.  I think Oath is fundamentally a control deck if built properly because the "win" is so slow.  You have to be able to control the game until your slow win conditions can do their job.  Iona is a great creature to fill this role while still applying pressure.  Anyway, nice article and nice decklist. 

[Marske]

@Sperling,
Regarding our match, It probably would be the correct play to Force the Intuition regardless even if you grab 3 copies you're obviously telegraphing having protection or something similar. I just really wanted to see what you where going to do with it and it cost me dearly. That being said, I don't think I necessarily should have lost the games that I lost as there where numerous mistakes made (like not stopping an obvious tutor in Intuition) and knowing you're on Oath and going for ETW as a kill (without Time Walk or a way to capitalize) That being said, we were pressed for time (no excuse mind you) and I'd love to do a rematch and take some time to actually battle it out.

On the list itself, like I said before, it does have some unique avenues of attack which is a good thing. This doesn't make it "better" or "worse" then other lists because you have the surprise factor on your side (which is arguably the biggest factor in Vintage as most decks are so close in power level)