Oakenform MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Oakenform’s permanent +3/+3 boost can be a game-changer, forcing opponents to react or risk being overwhelmed.
  2. While not instant-speed, the aura’s immediate presence on the field can dictate the pace of the game.
  3. It enhances green decks’ aggressive nature, but be mindful of its higher mana cost and potential vulnerabilities.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +3/+3.

"When the beast cloaks itself in the mighty oak, what good is a bow? When the oak wraps itself around the snarling beast, what good is a hatchet?" —Dionus, elvish archdruid


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Oakenform might not directly allow you to draw additional cards, but by enhancing a creature substantially, it forces your opponent to deal with a new threat, possibly consuming more than one of their resources to handle it. This can indirectly lead to card advantage as your opponent may need to use multiple cards to overcome the boosted creature.

Resource Acceleration: While Oakenform itself doesn’t produce additional mana or tokens, it accelerates your resource in terms of board presence. By augmenting a creature’s power and toughness, you effectively get more combat capacity for the mana invested, allowing you to apply pressure and potentially close out games sooner.

Instant Speed: Oakenform is an aura that operates at sorcery speed, which means it must be cast during your main phase. However, this grants the benefit of immediate impact, empowering your creatures before the combat phase and ensuring that the boost influences your game plan without delay.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To cast Oakenform, players do not need to discard, but the card itself can be a potential liability in hand. If dealing with an opponent’s discard-forcing strategy, having Oakenform in hand can result in an involuntary discard, especially since its situational usefulness limits its immediate playability.

Specific Mana Cost: Oakenform requires one green mana, making its integration into multicolor decks potentially more challenging. Decks that are not heavily green may find it difficult to guarantee the necessary mana consistently, which could delay or prevent the card’s casting when needed.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For three mana, there are numerous alternatives that might present greater flexibility or additional effects beyond the +3/+3 stat boost Oakenform provides. Given the dynamic state of the game where board presence and tempo are crucial, investing three mana for an enchantment that offers no immediate board impact or protection against removal can be a significant drawback.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Oakenform grants a significant power boost with its +3/+3 buff, allowing even the smallest creatures to become substantial threats. It’s a natural fit for green-based aggressive or midrange decks that aim to outsize opponents quickly.

Combo Potential: The Aura’s ability to beef up creatures works wonderfully with strategies that exploit large power and toughness values or require formidable creatures to activate synergistic abilities.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature combat is crucial, Oakenform can turn the tide by making your creatures outclass others in battle, forcing opponents to deal with an unexpectedly stronger threat on the board.


How to beat Oakenform

Oakenform represents an aura card in Magic: The Gathering that can drastically alter combat dynamics. It bestows a creature with a significant power and toughness boost, making it a more formidable opponent. To deal with this threat effectively, players should consider utilizing removal spells that can unmake the union between creature and enchantment. Spells like Naturalize are a perfect countermeasure, as they can directly destroy enchantments like Oakenform, regardless of the buff it provides.

Another strategy lies in countering the aura before it even touches the battlefield. Spells with counter abilities, such as Negate, are excellent tools to intercept Oakenform during casting. If the aura has already settled, reach for your board wipes; supplanting the entire field can reset the balance, removing any advantages accrued by Oakenform’s empowering aura. Remember, focusing on enchantment removal and counter strategies helps ensure that your opponent’s creatures remain manageable, preserving your chances of emerging victorious on the battlefield.

In summary, while Oakenform can seem daunting by buffing creatures beyond their normal limits, strategic use of targeted removal, enchantment control, and well-timed counters can neutralize this advantage, keeping the playing field level. By understanding and applying these tactics, you can maintain dominance over any creature that becomes overly strengthened by an aura such as Oakenform.


Cards like Oakenform

Oakenform shines as a solid choice for players looking to enhance creature strength in Magic: The Gathering. It’s in a league with other creature buff spells such as Titanic Growth. Both function to increase a creature’s power but Oakenform has the advantage of being a lasting enchantment providing a permanent +3/+3 boost, as opposed to the temporary +4/+4 until end of turn that Titanic Growth offers.

Delving into the depths of MTG’s vast library, Giant Growth is another analogous option with an instant speed ability that gives a creature +3/+3 until end of turn but lacks the permanence of Oakenform. Then consider Blanchwood Armor, which not only boosts a creature’s stats but scales with the number of Forests you control, potentially outpacing Oakenform’s fixed enhancement in a dedicated green deck.

In essence, while variations like Giant Growth and Titanic Growth offer quick, short-term advantages, the enduring nature of Oakenform’s buff makes it a commendable pick, especially for strategies keen on building a single, formidable threat on the battlefield.

Titanic Growth - MTG Card versions
Giant Growth - MTG Card versions
Blanchwood Armor - MTG Card versions
Titanic Growth - Magic 2012 (M12)
Giant Growth - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Blanchwood Armor - Urza's Saga (USG)

Cards similar to Oakenform by color, type and mana cost

Kudzu - MTG Card versions
Wanderlust - MTG Card versions
Thelon's Chant - MTG Card versions
Maddening Wind - MTG Card versions
Cycle of Life - MTG Card versions
Dense Foliage - MTG Card versions
Hall of Gemstone - MTG Card versions
Fecundity - MTG Card versions
Familiar Ground - MTG Card versions
Momentum - MTG Card versions
Ancestral Mask - MTG Card versions
Broken Fall - MTG Card versions
Verdant Field - MTG Card versions
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Howling Moon - MTG Card versions
The Dragon-Kami Reborn // Dragon-Kami's Egg - MTG Card versions
Squirrel Nest - MTG Card versions
Alpha Status - MTG Card versions
Lifegift - MTG Card versions
Kudzu - Limited Edition Beta (LEB)
Wanderlust - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Thelon's Chant - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Maddening Wind - Ice Age (ICE)
Cycle of Life - Mirage (MIR)
Dense Foliage - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Hall of Gemstone - World Championship Decks 1998 (WC98)
Fecundity - Urza's Saga (USG)
Familiar Ground - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Momentum - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Ancestral Mask - Eternal Masters (EMA)
Broken Fall - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
Verdant Field - Prophecy (PCY)
Lure - Tenth Edition (10E)
Food Chain - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Howling Moon - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
The Dragon-Kami Reborn // Dragon-Kami's Egg - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Promos (PNEO)
Squirrel Nest - World Championship Decks 2002 (WC02)
Alpha Status - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Lifegift - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Oakenform MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2010 and Welcome Deck 2016, 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 Oakenform and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Oakenform Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2009-07-17 and 2019-07-12. Illustrated by Wayne Reynolds.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12009-07-17Magic 2010M10 1972003normalblackWayne Reynolds
22016-04-08Welcome Deck 2016W16 152015normalblackWayne Reynolds
32017-04-15Welcome Deck 2017W17 252015normalblackWayne Reynolds
42018-07-13Core Set 2019M19 1912015normalblackWayne Reynolds
52019-07-12Core Set 2020M20 3412015normalblackWayne Reynolds

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Oakenform has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

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