[Free Article] Blightsteel Colossus and the Golden Gun

[voltron00x]

This is sort of two articles in one.  First, a history of major Oath decks from July 2008 to present.  Second, a primer for a new Oath deck.  It's free, unless you want to send me $4

Tyrant Oath is capable of all sorts of nonsense once Oath has fired off... Simple folks, like me, want something easier. There have never been two different creatures capable of winning in one swing before; you could pretend there were, using two copies of Emrakul, but that cut off Tinker as a route to victory.

Today, we have that option. I present to you…

The Golden Gun

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/21057_The_Long_and_Winding_Road_Blightsteel_Colossus_and_the_Golden_Gun.html

[MagicMan]

Awesome List, for some reason I didn't think Dragon breath could equip to Emrakul. I assume it does cause its not a spell when it gets equipped from the graveyard but a triggered ability of the card? Anyway Awesome!

[voltron00x]

Awesome List, for some reason I didn't think Dragon breath could equip to Emrakul. I assume it does cause its not a spell when it gets equipped from the graveyard but a triggered ability of the card? Anyway Awesome!

Correct!

[Rico Suave]

The main thing that I didn't see mentioned in the article, or maybe I just missed it, was that this style of deck was possible before the printing of BSC.  You could build a deck with 2 Emrakuls and X number of Dragon Breath before this.

Of course, the problem was that your deck had to give up Tinker.  And that card is pretty good I hear, not just because it can find BSC now but also because it makes the rest of the deck better by completing Vault/Key or finding Lotus.

[AmbivalentDuck]

Could you go into more detail regarding your choice of Progenitus?

Also, while I'm sure it's been done before...the Dragon Breath math: A and B are critters, Cs are breaths.
ABCC
ACBC
ACCB
BACC
BCAC
BCCA
CABC
CBAC
CACB
CBAC
CCBA
CCAB

So, there's only a 50% probability of Breath attaching to the Oathed critter on the first Oath.  Abstractly, is this worth two truly dead slots?

[Elric]

Also, while I'm sure it's been done before...the Dragon Breath math: A and B are critters, Cs are breaths.
ABCC
ACBC
ACCB
BACC
BCAC
BCCA
CABC
CBAC
CACB
CBAC
CCBA
CCAB

So, there's only a 50% probability of Breath attaching to the Oathed critter on the first Oath.  Abstractly, is this worth two truly dead slots?

Indeed, if you have N creatures in your deck and D dragon breaths, by symmetry your chance to reveal a Breath before a creature is D/(N+D).  E.g., 3 Dragon Breaths and 2 creatures would be a 60% chance to reveal breath first.

Edit: Dragon Breath can be cast on BSC, too.

[Cruel Ultimatum]

Is there any reason why 1 bsc 1 emrakul is better then 2 bsc?

Also, you noted that bsc doesnt do anything the turn it comes into play if they have 2 spirit tokens, but if you dragon breathed it, then they will need 3 toughness most of the time.

edit:
 

Second, a primer for a new Oath deck.  It's free, unless you want to send me $4

sick dagger

[mistervader]

Emrakul has protection that BSC doesn't.

[Marske]

It's free, unless you want to send me $4 

This actually made me laugh out loud and have my co-workers look at me very strangely... well played good sir, well played.

[breed]

Nice article.

I really like the GG Oath list.

 

[voltron00x]

Could you go into more detail regarding your choice of Progenitus?

Also, while I'm sure it's been done before...the Dragon Breath math: A and B are critters, Cs are breaths.
ABCC
ACBC
ACCB
BACC
BCAC
BCCA
CABC
CBAC
CACB
CBAC
CCBA
CCAB

So, there's only a 50% probability of Breath attaching to the Oathed critter on the first Oath.  Abstractly, is this worth two truly dead slots?

Yes. You can also Vamp or LDV with Oath trigger on to find DB. And, you can hardcast onto BSC.

EDIT:  Progenitus is just b/c I want a third guy against Fish, and he usually wins that match-up.

[voltron00x]

The main thing that I didn't see mentioned in the article, or maybe I just missed it, was that this style of deck was possible before the printing of BSC.  You could build a deck with 2 Emrakuls and X number of Dragon Breath before this.

Of course, the problem was that your deck had to give up Tinker.  And that card is pretty good I hear, not just because it can find BSC now but also because it makes the rest of the deck better by completing Vault/Key or finding Lotus.

Mentioned briefly in the quoted section in the initial post above,  but worth repeating.

[BruiZar]

Hate to be negative, but I didn´t like the article. A lot of words for a simple list that was already on the forums. This article could be boiled down to

2 dragon breath
1 emrakul
1 BSC

Instead, you opted to write a 4551 word article about those 4 cards. Uninspiring, and time consuming.

Edit: the subtle attack against Smemmen´s $4 article displays a lack of character. If there is one thing you should learn, it is not to bash others, but to produce great articles yourself (something you clearly didn´t do this time.)

Edit 2: Every time a new card is introduced into an existing archetype, I don´t feel like having to reread several years of historical decklists. It is irrelevant.

[voltron00x]

Is there any reason why 1 bsc 1 emrakul is better then 2 bsc?

Also, you noted that bsc doesnt do anything the turn it comes into play if they have 2 spirit tokens, but if you dragon breathed it, then they will need 3 toughness most of the time.

edit:
 

Second, a primer for a new Oath deck.  It's free, unless you want to send me $4

sick dagger

One problem with BSC as an Oath target is that not only do you pass the turn w/out doing anything, but if they have, say, Bob and a Token, or two Tokens, if you don't have DB, you can't win the next turn, either. DB is a way around that.  I should've spelled that out a bit more clearly, but yeah, that's one argument for Dragon's Breath.

[voltron00x]

Hate to be negative, but I didn´t like the article. A lot of words for a simple list that was already on the forums. This article could be boiled down to

2 dragon breath
1 emrakul
1 BSC

Instead, you opted to write a 4551 word article about those 4 cards. Uninspiring, and time consuming.

Edit: the subtle attack against Smemmen´s $4 article displays a lack of character. If there is one thing you should learn, it is not to bash others, but to produce great articles yourself (something you clearly didn´t do this time.)

Edit 2: Every time a new card is introduced into an existing archetype, I don´t feel like having to reread several years of historical decklists. It is irrelevant.

Oh trust me, I'm a character...

Anyway,  I supported Steve elsewhere on this same forum, I'm obviously joking about the $4 thing.  If a guy who has made a career of ripping other people doesn't have thick enough skin to take a throwaway joke, then I'm not sure what to say.

Re: not wanting to read historical decklists, that's why God invented the scroll bar!   

[Mr. Type 4]

Someone had to write an article about BSC Oath, and Elias has always been involved in oathing.  Arguments that he went with the most obvious deck seem unfounded to me - i think the most obvious application is to just cut Sphinx of the Steel Wind (or whatever tinker guy) from Elephant Oath and just jam in BSC.  Noteably, I'm interested in hearing how much better or worse that would be as compared to what we have here.  

the problem with D-breath is that sometimes you dont Oath through it, and sometimes you draw it.  The drawing it part isn't too bad when you can cast it on your creature, but Erm doesn't allow that, so I'm sure that will lead to some frustrations.  this article mentions the issue of tokens blocking BSC, which is good to talk about, but I'm very interested in hearing about how often that messes you up.

the point of this article is to suggest a new Oath update and relate it to the recent history of the archtype, and I think on that level it's very successful. Wheather or not it's good enough to win a tournament is really beyond the scope here.

Not bad, matt.  Compared to your other work, I'd say this one is a about a 7 out of 10.  

[Joblin Velder]

I enjoyed it. Thanks for doing the work.

[Rico Suave]

Remember that Dragon Breath will not just give haste but it will also grant Fire Breathing.  This means if you attack with your Blightsteel and they block with their 2 spirit tokens, you can just pump it up using an Orchard and still one shot them.

[Demonic Attorney]

Give it a rest, guys. Some posts removed, no warnings for now. Negative feedback is fine, to a reasonable extent, but let's not try too hard to divert article threads into polemics against the author.

[CorwinB]

I found the article was great, including the historical evolution of Oath decks. I'm really not fond of BSC, but the attempt to capitalize on its brutal clock by reviving the Dragon Breath plan strikes me as very intriguing and at the very least worth trying as a shift from more combo-oriented Oath decks (Tidespout Tyran) or disruptive creatures (Elephant Oath).

[DubDub]

An avenue possibly worth exploring may be combining the Dragon's Breath and Sun Titan plans.

I'm thinking:
1+ Blightsteel and/or Emrakul
1 Sun Titan
2 Dragon Breath
1+ Pernicious Deed

Sun Titan triggers the Breath on it's own by being CMC = 6, or it's ETB/trigger-on-attacking can return the Breath attached to any creature you control (i.e. to provide firebreathing to BSC in case 2+ power of blockers exist and can't be removed).  The ability to return Pernicious Deed can help clear out blockers could be useful.  You get to go up to three creatures without losing Tinker.  Etc.

Sun Titan won't give you the one-shot effect unless you hit the Royal-Flush type situation of Oath up Sun Titan, reveal Dragon Breath and attach it, ETB trigger back Time Vault, attack and attack trigger back Voltaic Key.  That would be nutty.

Alternatively, Oath up Sun Titan, reveal Dragon Breath and attach it, ETB trigger back Deed, blow deed for 0-1 (clears out blockers without destroying Breath), attack and attack trigger back Deed, blow Deed for 2+ (kills your Oath if that's desireable).

[Mr. Type 4]

Remember that Dragon Breath will not just give haste but it will also grant Fire Breathing.  This means if you attack with your Blightsteel and they block with their 2 spirit tokens, you can just pump it up using an Orchard and still one shot them.

totally forgot the Firebreathing.  good point.

[Stormanimagus]

I'm curious as to why you think that Vault/Key fits into this deck? I mean, the plan A is pretty fool-proof right? I dunno. It seems like it could be wasted deck space if you ask me. The tutor package isn't as robust because you are playing the 4 oaths +4 victory cards (2 dudes and 2 D-Breath). Does it really come up that often as a win con? Just curious.

-Storm

[Gekoratel]

I feel like the burden of proof is on not playing Vault/Key in a blue deck rather than the other way around.  The tutor package in this list is the same as what most modern Jace Control decks are running (Myst, Vamp, DT, Tinker), his list even goes a step further with Gifts + Regrowth to make getting Vault/Key very easy.  Lastly he has Lim-Dul's Vault which is a card I don't like in the current metagame but which is very good at helping this along as well.  He's only running one more "blank" than Elephant Oath so I'm not really seeing your point.

[Stormanimagus]

I feel like the burden of proof is on not playing Vault/Key in a blue deck rather than the other way around.  The tutor package in this list is the same as what most modern Jace Control decks are running (Myst, Vamp, DT, Tinker), his list even goes a step further with Gifts + Regrowth to make getting Vault/Key very easy.  Lastly he has Lim-Dul's Vault which is a card I don't like in the current metagame but which is very good at helping this along as well.  He's only running one more "blank" than Elephant Oath so I'm not really seeing your point.

My point is that both Oathing into Emrakul or BSC is usually "win now." I assumed that TV/Key in Oath used to be about "Win Now" because Oath didn't have the consistent "Win Now" available to them post Oath and would constantly allow TPS to go off the turn after Oath triggers. Now that that is no longer a problem, I feel the Plan A of "Win now" with Oath should be reinforced and made more sturdy, and not diluted with a plan be like TV/Key. TV/Key is good when you:

a) Don't have a "win now" option already built in your deck

and/or

b) You run Jace + Confidant + Top or some combo of those

I don't think it necessarily fits everywhere, and I was a reluctant to even include it in Oath before it had a "win now" option. You see what I'm getting at? TV/Key is an easy to assemble combo that doesn't require abuse of the Storm mechanic and can "win now" when you assemble it 100% of the time (barring Null Rod or Needle or some such on the table). Does this deck really need those added 2 slots devoted to TV/Key when it can swing for 16 and annihilate 6 permanents or (basically a win now) or poison to death? This new iteration of Oath doesn't seem to need it is all I am saying.

-Storm

[Rico Suave]

Oathing into Emrakul or BSC invalidates the need to play Ancestral, Will, and a whole slew of other broken cards.  But we play those cards anyway because the deck is better off including them than not including them.

TV/Key is good when you:

Answer: when you want to win the game.

[Gekoratel]

In my opinion the reason of playing Vault/Key in Oath was never because Oathing by itself wasn't strong enough.  The reason to play Vault/Key is that it gives you another powerful line of attack.  For example your getting beatdown by a creature deck too quickly and Oath regardless of what creature you hit would be too slow, here having Vault/Key gives you a plan that isn't dependent on Oath.  Another example is if your opponent has Leyline of Sanctity rather than trying to setup Oath + Orchard + the 1-2 Nature's Claim in your deck instead you can assemble Vault/Key.  Also by running those 2 cards your just going to get free wins without even having to play Magic.  I agree you can't just jam Vault/Key in every deck for example its not good enough for TPS or Bob Tendrils but in a standard blue shell I will always be playing Vault/Key.

[voltron00x]

There's really rather little incentive not to play Key/Vault in a deck like this... I'm not sure what else to say about it.  Adding Regrowth to a deck with Gifts, Will, Mystical, Vamp, DT, LDV, and Tinker means that Key/Vault just lets you win games without playing Magic.

Jeff, in place of LDV, Intuition is another option that I think may be better than a 4th Preordain in some respects.  Obviously it can do all the usual things (find 3x Oath, 3x Orchard, 3x Fow, or set up Key/Vault), but its also a great way to make sure you have a DB in your yard when you Oath.  I probably should've mentioned that as an option in the article.

[honestabe]

Could you go into more detail regarding your choice of Progenitus?

Also, while I'm sure it's been done before...the Dragon Breath math: A and B are critters, Cs are breaths.
ABCC
ACBC
ACCB
BACC
BCAC
BCCA
CABC
CBAC
CACB
CBAC
CCBA
CCAB

So, there's only a 50% probability of Breath attaching to the Oathed critter on the first Oath.  Abstractly, is this worth two truly dead slots?

Are time vault/key worth their 2 dead slots?

a 50% chance of an instant kill seems mighty good to me

[Elric]

So, there's only a 50% probability of Breath attaching to the Oathed critter on the first Oath.  Abstractly, is this worth two truly dead slots?

Are time vault/key worth their 2 dead slots?

a 50% chance of an instant kill seems mighty good to me

Not related to your conclusion: a more comprehensive mode of analysis is to look at each Dragon Breath slot separately.  With one Dragon Breath and two creatures, it's a 1/3 chance of "instant-kill" for one "Dragon breath slot" (not really "dead.").  The second Dragon Breath moves this to 1/2, so it's worth 1/6 chance of instant-kill for the second "dragon breath slot."  The third DB gets you to 60%, so it's only worth 1/10 chance, and a fourth gets you to 2/3 chance, so it's worth 1/15 chance.