Optimized Vivien, Mono-Green in Oathbreaker

Posted on March 17, 2020

Green players are used to outsizing their foes with bigger creatures, but with an Oathbreaker pair of Vivien, Champion of the Wilds and Heroic Intervention you can also outmaneuver them. In my previous Vivien article, I pontificate on the political power of playing at the speed of flash. This week I'm working on tuning my list, as well as offering alternatives builds: Hydra Tribal and budget.

I'm returning to this archetype because I love its trickiness and resilience. Playing it feels like being a jaguar lurking in the treetops. Your foes can't quite see what you're about, and they're afraid to enter the jungle. Then you can pounce at instant speed, maul your foes, and leap away to safety with Heroic Intervention.

Heroic Intervention is a Green staple in multiplayer and at its best in this decklist. That said, it's expensive. If you don't own one, you could substitute Inspiring Call, which is wonderful with Hydras. I suggest you splurge on the rare spell. Vivien, Champion of the Wilds is only a few dollars, and those two cards make up most of the expense of this budget list.

The deck is as simple as this:

1 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds

1 Heroic Intervention

22 Forest

1 Tranquil Thicket

1 Beast Within

34 good creatures you already own

That's right. Though we will spend time discussing optimal cards for this strategy, don't think you need them to have fun in multiplayer. If you ever battled with a Green Stompy deck, simply add one of each of those cards to whatever is in your trade binder, and you should be good to go. Don't forget any excellent artifact creatures you may have, such as Wurmcoil Engine, Duplicant, Steel Hellkite, or Platinum Emperion. They can mitigate Green's weaknesses and increase survivability in this wild format.

The only problem with these artifact creatures is they don't add devotion to our Nylea Gods, but that's fine. Not every list has to play them. Earlier this month I brewed an Elfball version. This Oathbreaker locket (the pair of planeswalker and signature spell) is strong enough that you can't go far wrong, if you keep the creature count high, around thirty.

I enjoy thinking about optimal builds for decks, but if you don't, no need to sweat it. Even if we succeed in finding the best cards overall, they won't be the best in every situation. I chose Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig for my list, but in some games Steel Leaf Champion will be better. So many good Green cards have been printed that any in the top 500 will likely serve you well enough.

The creatures least replaceable may be the mana dorks. Some are clearly more powerful and efficient than others. Even so, the four one-mana elves in my "optimal" list are common, and beyond them, there are many reasonable ones at 2 mana. Also, remember that playing the best cards doesn't guarantee you victory in multiplayer. Often I'll get a fast start with multiple accelerates, only for the table to correctly assess me as the biggest threat and form an alliance to take kill me first.

If Vivien reaches the mid game in a reasonable position, she can often maneuver herself to a win. This is a top-tier strategy. I wrote an article Oathbreaker All-Stars #1. Vivien is of similar quality.

Vivien | Oathbreaker | AE Marling

Artifacts (1)
1 The Great Henge

This list combines the best parts of the previous Vivien decks. It plays fewer dinosaurs and more elves, including the supreme Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary. I want to have as many of these potent creatures as possible. Casting them at instant speed with Vivien and protecting them with Heroic Intervention will give you the best chance to capitalize on their raw strength. And speaking of busted elves, Selvala, Heart of the Wilds was reprinted in Mystery Boosters. Take this opportunity to buy one.

I also added Platinum Angel. I figured that we are better at protecting her pristine grace than at disrupting combo decks or stopping an army led by Huatli, the Sun's Heart with Tower Defense.

What I did not add were tutors to find her, or any other creature the situation demands. You could play Worldly Tutor (take out Priest of Titania) and Fauna Shaman (in place of Duskwatch Recruiter). The tutors add consistency but also set you up for tempo loss and or card disadvantage. A common play pattern would be to Worldly Tutor on turn one for Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary. If an opponent has an answer for the elven ambassador, you're down two cards. If they don't, you likely will win. That's not the sort of play pattern I'm excited by. To me, drawing creatures off Recruiter or Vivien's -2 is more fun. I prefer more uncertainty. Not to mention I am already playing the best Green tutor.

If you go for more tutors, you should consider additional situational creatures, such as Bane of Progress and Prowling Serpopard.

Now let's examine a few more cards that are staples in Commander that I considered for Oathbreaker. Again, any of these would be fine for a budget version of the deck, but I am having fun trying to optimize.

Avenger of Zendikar: This mainstay is necessary in Commander to gain enough creatures with enough power to kill all your foes with their forty-point life totals. Going so over the top isn't necessary in Oathbreaker. Also, in a deck with only twenty-two lands and zero Rampant Growth effects, I wanted to avoid land-based synergy in favor of creature synergy.

Verdict: Cut!

Karametra's Acolyte: In general I wanted devotion, but I'm uncertain we need to go as big as Karametra's Acolyte. This was a tough one.

Verdict: Cut!

Courser of Kruphix: This goodstuff card has additional synergy with Vivien's deck manipulation, and the centaur comes with two pips. But I didn't think it was stronger than other riskier cards which are lower risk in this deck.

Verdict: Cut!

Soul of the Harvest: This and other card-draw Green staples from Commander aren't essential in Oathbreaker. It takes fewer resources to win when your opponents start at twenty. Also, Vivien, Champion of the Wilds can help us draw cards, and the signature spell is like a ninth card in our starting hand.

Verdict: Cut!

Priest of Titania: The deck plays multiple incidental elves. Yeva, Nature's Herald even has pointy ears. The Priest seemed like a reasonable choice. The trouble was, that card rightly scares other players to death. They will treat her like a much greater threat than she actually is in this deck. I could have reached for another three-mana dork, like Shaman of Forgotten Ways, but the deck wants more two-drops.

Verdict: Replace with the less threatening but still good Leafkin Druid.

Triumph of the Hordes: Please don't play this card in Oathbreaker. It has caused enough grief in Commander. And when your opponents start at 20 life, Overrun is almost always better. And with Vivien, we want our finishers in creature form.

Verdict: Cut!

Hydra Omnivore: This card is much stronger when you cast it during the end step and can immediately untap and attack. In general, I dislike cards that harm multiple opponents at once, as it's bad politics, but I cannot deny this hydra's power.

Verdict: Play it in Hydra Tribal.

Hydras | Oathbreaker | AE Marling

Artifacts (1)
1 The Great Henge

If two heads are better than one, how great will Hydra Tribal be? At the least, I expect it to be great fun. Your opponents will be even more scared to attack you, lest they cut off one head just for two more to grow back.