Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel offers unique card advantage by allowing you to repeatedly reuse creatures with enter-the-battlefield effects. By bouncing creatures back to hand and replaying them, you can maximize on their abilities to keep your hand full and options open.

Resource Acceleration: In combination with partner commanders or other synergistic creatures, Livio can help accelerate your resources by protecting key pieces from removal and ensuring you maintain a strong board presence. While not a direct mana ramp, this strategic advantage can be just as impactful.

Instant Speed: Livio’s ability can be activated at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to respond to your opponents’ threats or actions right before your turn, thus protecting your creatures from imminent board wipes or unfavorable exchanges and allowing you to make the best tactical decisions on the fly.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel’s abilities do not directly involve discarding, yet building around him might necessitate additional cards for pairing, potentially straining your hand resources.

Specific Mana Cost: Livio’s activation cost demands white mana, which can be restrictive, requiring a commitment to white or a well-designed mana base in multi-colored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: His ability to exile another target creature you control is costly compared to other flicker or protection options, making his inclusion a considerable investment.

Reasons to Include Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel in Your Collection

Versatility: Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel offers flexible board control, allowing you to protect key creatures from removal or reset their abilities for repeated use, fitting well into decks that capitalize on enter-the-battlefield effects or require safeguarding of key pieces.

Combo Potential: This card can be a lynchpin in combo decks, particularly those involving blink strategies. Thanks to Livio’s ability to exile creatures and return them at a later time, you can set up powerful interactions and create endless loops with the right partners and combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where control and removal are prevalent, Livio provides a reliable means to preserve your important creatures, ensuring your strategy can withstand opponent’s attempts to disrupt your board, making him a worthy addition to decks facing such challenges.

How to Beat Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel

Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel presents a unique challenge in the world of Magic: The Gathering. This legendary creature excels at protecting key pieces on the battlefield with its blink ability. To successfully undermine Livio’s defence, strategic removal is essential. Spells like Path to Exile or Murderous Rider bypass Livio’s ability by targeting directly or forcing a sacrifice, rendering his protective capability null. Another approach involves sweeping effects; Supreme Verdict, for instance, doesn’t target and wipes the field clean without a chance for Livio to react.

Counterplay can also take the form of disruption. Use hand disruption spells like Thoughtseize to pluck Livio from your opponent’s grip before he can hit the board. If Livio has already been cast, continuously applying pressure forces the opponent to overextend resources to protect their creatures. This situation sets them up for a fall against well-timed board wipes or spot removal that can be more economically used once Livio’s ability has been activated. Manage your resources wisely and Livio’s sentinel watch can be brought to an end, allowing you to claim victory.