Oath of Lieges MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Key Takeaways

  1. Oath of Lieges accelerates land plays, bolstering your mana resources for more substantial plays.
  2. Its unique ability can rebalance the game, but may also offer aid to opponents.
  3. Counterplay strategies include land destruction and library search restrictions.

Text of card

During each player's upkeep, if that player controls fewer lands than target opponent, the player may search his or her library for a basic land card and put that land into play. The player shuffles his or her library afterwards.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Oath of Lieges provides a strategic advantage by potentially granting extra land plays. This can be critical in games where maintaining or expanding your resources can dictate the pace and outcome of the match.

Resource Acceleration: The ability to put lands onto the battlefield directly from your library not only thins the deck to improve subsequent draws but also ramps up your mana resources. This can lead to faster deployment of high-cost cards and enable powerful combos.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, the enchantment activates during the upkeep phase which allows for unexpected shifts in board state outside the usual sorcery speed land drops. This can catch opponents off guard and requires them to plan for multiple scenarios.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Oath of Lieges can force a discard when you’re unable to meet its trigger conditions, which means it could potentially cost you valuable cards from your hand if you’re ahead on the battlefield and can’t satisfy its requirements.

Specific Mana Cost: This enchantment requires both a white mana and generic mana, which makes it less flexible for decks that aren’t based around white or that have a strict mana base, potentially limiting the kinds of decks that will include it.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that involves two mana, there are options available in the game that offer similar or better ramp benefits at a lower cost. This sometimes makes Oath of Lieges a less attractive option for players looking to optimize their mana curve.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Oath of Lieges offers a unique ability to balance land drops among players. This card can be a boon to various deck types, particularly in multiplayer formats where ensuring land progression is crucial for all players involved.

Combo Potential: With Oath of Lieges, you can enable landfall triggers more consistently or exploit the ability to ensure you hit your land drops when constructing strategies that revolve around land-based synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where land destruction or stax effects can impede progression, Oath of Lieges helps mitigate these strategies by providing players an alternative way to obtain lands. This makes it a relevant counter-play card in certain metagames.


How to Beat

Oath of Lieges is an intriguing enchantment in Magic the Gathering with the unique ability to level the playing field by allowing players who are behind on land to search their deck for a basic land card and put it into play. This card has the potential to dramatically alter the course of a game by helping players who are lagging in mana production catch up. However, there are strategies to counteract its effects and maintain the upper hand.

To beat Oath of Lieges, consider employing land destruction tactics or cards that limit the ability to search libraries, such as Stranglehold, Ashiok, Dream Render, or Aven Mindcensor. These cards prevent the triggered ability of Oath of Lieges from resolving effectively. Another method is to focus on ramping up your own land drops to ensure that the Oath’s condition isn’t frequently met, thus neutralizing its advantage-giving ability. Keeping a close eye on the land count between you and your opponent can be crucial when playing against this card.

Negating or capitalizing on Oath of Lieges’ ability allows you to stay ahead of your opponent. A balance between disruption and resource acceleration can hold the key to outpacing the compensation Oath of Lieges offers to your rivals and securing victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

Oath of Lieges is a multifaceted card in MTG, providing land balance that can shift the tides of a game. This enchantment can enable a catch-up for those lagging in mana, and when strategically implemented, it can support an array of deck types, especially in multiplayer scenarios. With such versatility and combo potential, it’s worth considering for decks that seek to control the land progression on the battlefield. Interested in optimizing your gameplay and utilizing the unique abilities of Oath of Lieges? Dive deeper with us to unlock its full potential and bolster your MTG arsenal for both competitive and casual play.


Cards like Oath of Lieges

Oath of Lieges is a unique enchantment in MTG that brings an interesting twist to land balance. Its closest counterpart is the Land Tax, a staple that likewise ensures players aren’t mana deprived. Both cards offer strategic land retrieval, but Oath of Lieges extends this boon to all players who are land-poor, potentially changing the dynamics among competitors.

Exploring similar territory, Journeyer’s Kite allows a more controlled approach to land acquisition, empowering the user alone to search for basics on-demand. While Oath of Lieges depends on the land count of the opponent, Journeyer’s Kite gives individualized and repeatable land fixing. In contrast, Ghirapur Orrery pushes deck design in a broader sense, rewarding all players each turn with extra land drops, much like Oath of Lieges democratizes land access, but it also accelerates hand deployment with its additional draw effect when lands are scarce.

Although Oath of Lieges plays an egalitarian role in equalizing mana bases, this can be a double-edged sword – bolstering not just your position, but also that of opponents. When considering resource balance cards, Oath of Lieges remains a definitive choice for those keen on shaping the game’s resource flow, reflecting its sui generis nature within MTG.

Land Tax - MTG Card versions
Journeyer's Kite - MTG Card versions
Ghirapur Orrery - MTG Card versions
Land Tax - Legends (LEG)
Journeyer's Kite - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Ghirapur Orrery - Kaladesh Promos (PKLD)

Cards similar to Oath of Lieges by color, type and mana cost

Blessing - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Red - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Black - MTG Card versions
Island Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: White - MTG Card versions
Crusade - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Blue - MTG Card versions
Hallowed Ground - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Artifacts - MTG Card versions
Serra Bestiary - MTG Card versions
Energy Storm - MTG Card versions
Ward of Lights - MTG Card versions
Gossamer Chains - MTG Card versions
I'm Rubber, You're Glue - MTG Card versions
Absolute Grace - MTG Card versions
Serenity - MTG Card versions
Mageta's Boon - MTG Card versions
Seal of Cleansing - MTG Card versions
Absolute Law - MTG Card versions
Sacred Ground - MTG Card versions
Blessing - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Circle of Protection: Red - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Circle of Protection: Black - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Island Sanctuary - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Circle of Protection: White - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Crusade - Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret (DDF)
Circle of Protection: Blue - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Hallowed Ground - Ice Age (ICE)
Circle of Protection: Artifacts - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Serra Bestiary - Homelands (HML)
Energy Storm - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Ward of Lights - Mirage (MIR)
Gossamer Chains - Visions (VIS)
I'm Rubber, You're Glue - Unglued (UGL)
Absolute Grace - Urza's Saga (USG)
Serenity - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Mageta's Boon - Prophecy (PCY)
Seal of Cleansing - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Absolute Law - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Sacred Ground - Seventh Edition (7ED)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Oath of Lieges MTG card by a specific set like Exodus and The List, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Oath of Lieges and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Oath of Lieges Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1998-06-15 and 1998-06-15. Illustrated by Mark Zug.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11998-06-15ExodusEXO 111997normalblackMark Zug
22020-09-26The ListPLST EXO-111997normalblackMark Zug

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Oath of Lieges has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Oath of Lieges card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2004-10-04 Because the “search” requires you to find a card with certain characteristics, you don’t have to find the card if you don’t want to.
2004-10-04 The land card enters the battlefield under the current player’s control.
2008-08-01 Shuffling the library is part of the optional effect. The player only shuffles if they chose to search.
2009-10-01 The ability can only target an opponent of the current player.
2009-10-01 The targeted player controlling more lands than the current player is a part of the targeting requirement. A player can’t be targeted by this ability unless it’s true, and the ability doesn’t resolve if it’s no longer true at that time.

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