Honestly, if you were playing Magic back in early 2016, you probably have some weirdly specific trauma regarding a certain 2/1 creature with haste. It was a strange time. Magic the Gathering Oath of the Gatewatch didn't just add some new cards to our binders; it basically lit the modern format on fire and changed how Wizards of the Coast thought about "colorless" mana forever. We went from fighting Eldrazi on Zendikar to watching those same Eldrazi colonize every single competitive tournament for months.
It was wild.
The set was meant to be this epic team-up moment. You know, the "Avengers Assemble" of the Multiverse where Gideon, Jace, Chandra, and Nissa finally decided to stop running and actually start a club. They called it the Gatewatch. It sounds a bit cheesy now, but at the time, players were genuinely curious about how a small group of recurring protagonists would handle a world-eating threat like Ulamog and Kozilek. What we actually got was a mechanical experiment that went a little too far.
The Diamond Mana Controversy and the Eldrazi Winter
Let's talk about the big elephant in the room: the ${C}$ symbol. Before Magic the Gathering Oath of the Gatewatch, "colorless" was just a lack of color. You used any mana to pay for it. But then Wizards introduced the diamond symbol, representing specific colorless mana. You couldn't just tap a Forest for it anymore. You needed a Wastes, or a Pain Land, or a Mind Stone.
People freaked out.
Some thought it was a sixth color. It wasn't, but it functioned like one. This change was supposed to make the Eldrazi feel "alien." It succeeded, but it also broke the game's internal economy for a bit. If you look at the Pro Tour for this set—specifically Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch in Atlanta—it was essentially an Eldrazi mirror match. Six of the top eight decks were Eldrazi builds.
It was called the "Eldrazi Winter."
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Why? Because of cards like Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher. These weren't just big monsters; they were hyper-efficient threats that came down way too early thanks to older cards like Eye of Ugin and Eldrazi Temple. The new "colorless matters" mechanic meant these decks now had access to hand disruption and 5/5 tramping haste creatures that were nearly impossible to kill profitably.
Two-Headed Giant and the Multi-Player Push
Wait, did you actually play the Prerelease for this set? If you did, you probably remember it being a bit different. Wizards pushed Two-Headed Giant (2HG) hard. Like, really hard. Magic the Gathering Oath of the Gatewatch was specifically designed to be drafted and played in pairs.
Mechanics like Surge were the proof.
Surge let you cast spells for a cheaper cost if you or a teammate had already cast a spell that turn. In a 2HG game, this was absolute gas. In a normal 1v1 game? It was... okay. It was fine. But it felt a little clunky. You’d find yourself holding a Reckless Bushwhacker, praying you had a 0-mana artifact or a cheap cantrip just to get that extra value.
Then there was Support.
Support was another team-centric mechanic where you'd put +1/+1 counters on other creatures. Again, great when you have a buddy across the table, but a bit lackluster when you're flying solo. This focus on multiplayer was a bold move, and while it made for a unique Prerelease experience, it’s one of the reasons the set feels a bit "segmented" when you look back at it.
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The Lore: Does the Gatewatch Actually Matter Anymore?
We have to mention the story. This was the moment the "Jacestice League" began. The set featured "Oath" cards—Legendary Enchantments like Oath of Gideon or Oath of Nissa—that gave you bonuses for having Planeswalkers.
Technically, the lore was cool. Ulamog and Kozilek were trapped in a leyline ring and then Chandra basically nuked them with the entire mana reserve of the planet. It was a "Michael Bay" ending to a story that had been building since the original Rise of the Eldrazi.
But for some players, this was the beginning of the end for "flavor variety." For the next few years, every set was about these same five or six people. If you liked Jace, you were winning. If you were tired of seeing his face on every booster box, you were probably pretty annoyed by 2017. Looking back in 2026, the Gatewatch era is viewed with a mix of nostalgia and exhaustion. We miss the clear stakes, but we don't necessarily miss the "protagonist syndrome" that infected the game's narrative for half a decade.
The Chase Cards: What’s Still Worth Digging For?
If you stumble upon a dusty box of Magic the Gathering Oath of the Gatewatch today, what are you actually looking for? Surprisingly, the value has held up in weird places.
- Thought-Knot Seer: Still a staple in Modern and Legacy Eldrazi decks. Taking a card from a literal god-slayer’s hand never gets old.
- Eldrazi Displacer: A Commander powerhouse. If you can generate colorless mana, you can flicker anything. It’s a combo machine.
- Chandra, Flamecaller: For a while, she was the queen of Standard. Now, she's a solid inclusion in "Big Red" Commander decks.
- The Full-Art Lands: These were a huge selling point. Zendikar is famous for its panoramic, full-bleed basics, and the ones in Oath—especially the Wastes—are still sought after by people who want their decks to look "clean."
And let's not forget the "Zendikar Expeditions." These were the ultra-rare lottery cards. Getting a foil, full-art Mana Crypt or a Scalding Tarn was like winning the lottery. It was the first time Wizards really leaned into the "Masterpiece" style of card distribution. It changed the way they sold sets forever.
Why it Still Matters Today
You might think a set from nearly a decade ago wouldn't have much impact on Magic in 2026. You’d be wrong.
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The introduction of the colorless mana symbol paved the way for how "energy" and other specialized resources were handled later. It taught the design team a lot about "free" mana. They realized that when you make a tribe (the Eldrazi) that can be cast using lands that tap for two mana, you have to be very, very careful with the power level of the lower-cost spells.
They weren't careful enough with Oath.
But that's part of the charm. Magic is a game of risks. Sometimes those risks result in a balanced, beautiful environment like Kaldheim or Innistrad. Other times, you get Magic the Gathering Oath of the Gatewatch, where an entire format gets taken over by spaghetti monsters from the blind eternities.
How to Play with These Cards Now
If you're looking to integrate Oath of the Gatewatch into your current playstyle, don't just shove everything into a deck.
- Check your mana base. If you want to run Reality Smasher or Eldrazi Displacer, you need at least 10-12 sources of colorless mana. Pain lands (like Shivan Reef) are your best friends here because they provide colors and the diamond mana you need.
- Commander is the home for the "Oaths." Most of the Oath cycle cards are actually quite good in "Superfriends" decks (decks centered around Planeswalkers). Oath of Teferi (from a later set) combined with the ones from this set makes for a disgusting amount of value.
- Respect the Surge. If you're playing a deck with lots of 0-mana artifacts (Moxen, Baubles, etc.), cards like Fall of the Titans can actually be game-enders.
The set was a pivot point. It was the moment Magic decided to be a "character-driven" brand. It was the moment the game's mechanics got significantly more complex in terms of costs. And, for better or worse, it gave us some of the most powerful, "broken" cards in the modern era of the game.
If you’re building a cube or looking to spice up a colorless Commander deck, diving back into this set is a must. Just... maybe leave the Eye of Ugin at home if you want to keep your friends.
Next Steps for Players:
If you want to experience the flavor of this era without the 2016 price tag, look into picking up the "Wastes" full-art basics for your colorless decks. They remain some of the most visually striking lands in the game's history. Also, if you're a Commander player, take a second look at Eldrazi Displacer—it’s one of the few cards from that era that has only gotten better as more "Enter the Battlefield" triggers are printed every year.