Posted in: Card Games, Games, Magic: The Gathering, Tabletop, Wizards of the Coast | Tagged: card games, commander, deck tech, EDH, magic, Magic: The Gathering, MagiKids, MTG, Oathbreaker, OBK, Tabletop, WeirdCards, wizards of the coast, WotC

"Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded" Deck Tech – "Magic: The Gathering"

Magic: The Gathering is full of different formats – some that make certain cards better, and some that make cards worse. Today, we are shining a spotlight on Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded, a card which is infamously known to many, many players as the "worst Planeswalker card ever". However, we will be doing this through the lens of Oathbreaker, a format created by a Magic-based charity known as WeirdCards.

What's important about Oathbreaker is that this format makes Tibalt really, really good.

Yes, Tibalt, a planeswalker who has been tested again, and again, and again, by so many players enamored by his overall aesthetic, which is, honestly, really cool in my humble opinion (as well as others!). Many players gave up quickly when they realized that drawing into a random discard is pretty terrible. You know, for the most part. Tibalt became something of a meme among players – some among them who practically prayed (and sometimes still pray) that the Planeswalkers in future sets never be as bad as he is.

Enter Oathbreaker, a format that revolves not just around Planeswalkers playable as pseudo-Commanders, but also the Signature Spell which the Planeswalker will bring along.

At this time, Tibalt was actually hailed as being a good Oathbreaker. How can this be so? Simply put, Tibaly still isn't a very good Oathbreaker, just as he isn't a terribly good card. However, the Signature Spell which is open to the Tibalt player can be cast at any time as long as the player has the mana and controls Tibalt. At two mana, he finally has a purpose, and that is to speed out the Signature Spell which, in the case of the deck I'll be covering, is Burning Inquiry.

Ah well, it could be worse and he could be Jace, the Living Guildpact.

The Deck, and Notable Inclusions

Some credit goes to Paul Toal, the player whose deck I was allowed to adapt for this format.

So, as my introduction implies, the deck means to speed out Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded, so as to filter your deck (and frustrate others) via Burning Inquiry. The deck powers out a Planeswalker-based package in mono-red (because Tibalt needs friends). Here are some important cards that help make this deck's power crank up to eleven.

Burning Inquiry, Goblin Lore, and Faithless Looting – These pieces are the best filters we have for the deck that won't necessarily remove your entire hand from ready use. An Honorable Mention goes to Magus of the Wheel for the same reason as these; the Magus doesn't have haste, so he's a bit slower than one would want.

Hollow One and Glint-Horn Buccaneer – The payouts of this deck, Hollow One comes into play very easily and Glint-Horn Buccaneer is able to curve from playing a turn-two Tibalt.

Planebound Accomplice – This card enables you to use any of your Planeswalker cards before you are forced to discard them to Tibalt, Inquiry, or other such cards. Granted, your new Planeswalkers leave play immediately at the end of the turn, but it's often well worth it. Extra kudos to this card for being repeatable in a single turn, not having to need to tap to summon a Planeswalker. The best option I can think of not speeding out with Planebound Accomplice would have to be Chandra, Acolyte of Flame, since repeating that zero-loyalty ability is great for Tibalt.

Conclusion

All in all, Tibalt, the Fiend Blooded is an Oathbreaker who has been outclassed as of the release of the Modern Horizons set, in that Wrenn and Six is another two-mana Planeswalker with no real downside (and who uses Tibalt's colors, no less). Having said that, Wrenn and Six is a card that weighs in financially at $77-plus per copy. Thankfully Oathbreaker is a Singleton format, but if people are worried about the format dying, between both two-mana Planeswalkers, Tibalt takes the cake.

If you want an iconic, meme-worthy sort of Oathbreaker for your mono-red Magic: The Gathering deck, look no further than Tibalt. He's sure to be the life of the party!

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