Shatter the Oath is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Destroy target creature or enchantment. Create a Wicked Role token attached to up to one target creature you control. (If you control another Role on it, put that one into the graveyard. Enchanted creature gets +1/+1. When this token is put into a graveyard, each opponent loses 1 life.)
Complete guide
Shatter the Oath is a versatile black sorcery from the Wilds of Eldraine set that serves as both a removal spell and a way to buff your own forces. It allows you to deal with problematic creatures or enchantments while rewarding you with a Wicked Role token to pressure your opponent's life total.
Breaking Down the Sorcery
When you cast Shatter the Oath, you choose one target to destroy—either a creature or an enchantment. Additionally, you may choose up to one target creature you control to receive a Wicked Role token. This token is a colorless Aura that provides the enchanted creature +1/+1 and triggers a 1-life loss for each opponent when it hits the graveyard.
Step-by-Step Resolution
First, the spell attempts to destroy the primary target (the creature or enchantment). Second, if you selected a creature you control for the Role, the Wicked token is created and attached to it. If the first target becomes illegal (for example, if it gains Hexproof), but the second target is still legal, the Role is still created. However, if all chosen targets are illegal, the spell fails to resolve entirely.
Managing Your Roles
Under the Role rules, a creature can only have one Role controlled by the same player at a time. If you attach a Wicked Role to a creature that already has a different Role you control, the older Role is immediately put into the graveyard. This specifically triggers the Wicked Role's 'death' ability if the Wicked Role is the one being replaced.
Strategic Timing
Because this is a sorcery, you should use it during your main phase to clear blockers or remove an oppressive enchantment like a pillow-fort piece. The Wicked Role is best placed on an evasive creature to maximize the +1/+1 buff, or on a creature you expect to trade in combat to ensure the life-loss trigger occurs sooner rather than later.
Interaction examples
Wicked // CursedYou cast Shatter the Oath targeting an opponent's creature and a creature you control. The opponent's creature is destroyed. Your creature receives a Wicked Role token. Your creature is now slightly stronger, and if it dies later, your opponent will lose 1 life due to the Role's triggered ability.
DamnationIf you have a creature enchanted with a Wicked Role and then cast Damnation, both the creature and the Role are put into the graveyard. The Wicked Role's ability triggers as it moves to the graveyard, causing each opponent to lose 1 life.
Living DeathIf you cast Living Death while you have a creature with a Wicked Role on the battlefield, you sacrifice that creature. The Role is put into the graveyard, triggering the life loss. Then, all creatures return from the graveyard. This is a great way to squeeze extra damage out of your enchantments before a mass transition of the board state.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Shatter the Oath
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If you don't choose a second target for Shatter the Oath or that target is illegal as the spell resolves, the Wicked Role token won't be created.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Roles are colorless enchantment tokens. Each one has the Aura and Role subtypes and the enchant creature ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If a permanent has more than one Role attached to it controlled by the same player, each of those Roles except the one with the most recent timestamp is put into its owner's graveyard. This is a state-based action.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If two or more Roles controlled by the same player become attached to a permanent at the same time (perhaps due to an effect such as that of Doubling Season), that player chooses which one to keep and which are put into their owners' graveyards.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
A permanent can have multiple Roles attached to it if each one is controlled by a different player.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
Some spells and abilities that create Role tokens require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. The Role token won't be created.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
In rare cases, a spell or ability might attempt to create a Role token enchanting a permanent that it can't legally enchant (because of an ability like protection from enchantments). In such cases, the Role token isn't created.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Hexproof and shroud won't prevent a Role from becoming attached to a permanent if the ability creating that Role attached to that permanent doesn't target it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
Cards in the Wilds of Eldraine main set create six different Role tokens: Cursed, Monster, Royal, Sorcerer, Wicked, and Young Hero. A seventh Role token, Virtuous, is created by Ellivere of the Wild Court, the commander of the "Virtue and Valor" Commander Deck.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Related cards and tokens
Legal formats
Commentaires
- Sois le premier à commenter cette carte.
Read next
Meta decks with Shatter the Oath
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.