Oath of the Gatewatch

Oath of the Gatewatch is the 69th Magic expansion, and the second and last in the Battle for Zendikar block. It was released in January 22, 2016. Oath of the Gatewatch is a small expansion.

Set details
Oath of the Gatewatch contains 184 cards (70 Common, 60 Uncommon, 42 Rare, 12 Mythic), but there are only 183 functionally different cards. However, because of the full-art and regular versions of the Wastes (twice), collectors view this as a 186 card set. Small sets are now enlarged to facilitate the new draft structure (2 boosters of the second set / 1 of the first set). The set includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. The expansion symbol of the set seems to be a stylized representation of Kozilek's brood, but it also has similarities with hedrons, usual for Zendikar sets. The set features two Planeswalker cards Chandra, Flamecaller and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar.

Oath of the Gatewatch is all about teamwork. It was designed to support Two-Headed Giant better than any other set in Magic history at the time. The name Fall of the Eldrazi was considered for Oath of the Gatewatch.

Storyline
Four planeswalkers (Gideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar and Nissa Revane) join forces in their battle against the Eldrazi titans Ulamog and Kozilek and the demonic planeswalker Ob Nixilis. They become the Gatewatch, a team with a lasting commitment to protect the people of the Multiverse from threats that no one else can handle. The six cards that represent the pivotal moments in the storyline are: Kozilek's Return, Remorseless Punishment, Call the Gatewatch, Bonds of Mortality, Fall of the Titans and Zendikar Resurgent.

Marketing
Oath of the Gatewatch is sold in 16-card boosters (the 16th card being a marketing card), five intro packs and a fat pack. The series of clash packs is discontinued. This is the first small set to feature four different pieces of art on the boosters. These depict the four members of the Gatewatch as featured on the partial Oath-cycle: Gideon, Jace, Chandra and Nissa.

The set features the full-art lands from Battle for Zendikar (complete with the original expansion symbol). The Oath of the Gatewatch fat packs also have full art basic lands. Like the other non-full-art basics, non-full-art Wastes are featured in the intro packs.

Zendikar Expeditions
Zendikar Expeditions are all premium foil cards with a special Zendikari frame and a separate expansion symbol. Thus, they are not part of the set. Zendikar Expeditions include all new art set on Zendikar and appear slightly more often than premium mythic rares. These cards are playable in limited and formats where they're already legal. 25 Expedition cards appeared with Battle for Zendikar (the 5 new battle lands, 10 shock lands and 10 fetch lands ) and 20 more cards in Oath of the Gatewatch (10 filter lands and 10 assorted lands with resonant flavor for Zendikar ).

Prerelease
Two-Headed Giant was central to the prerelease experience. Prerelease events took place on January 16–17, 2016. The Prerelease format was be Sealed (4 Oath of the Gatewatch/2 Battle for Zendikar). Each pair of players received two prerelease packs that they could use after the event as a take-home deck box. Inside each Prerelease box, there are four Oath of the Gatewatch booster packs and two Battle for Zendikar booster packs, a spindown life counter, and a randomized, date-stamped premium promo card, drawn from any rare or mythic rare in the set.

Promotional cards

 * Prerelease: a stamped card that can be any rare or mythic rare from the set.
 * Launch promo: Endbringer</c>
 * Game Day: full-art Immolating Glare</c>
 * Game Day (Top 8): full-art Jori En, Ruin Diver</c>
 * Buy-a-Box: Goblin Dark-Dwellers</c>

Tokens

 * 1)  1/1 Eldrazi Scion with "Sacrifice this creature: Add ." for Abstruse Interference</c>, Birthing Hulk</c>, Scion Summoner</c>, Sifter of Skulls</c>, Vile Redeemer</c>, and Warping Wail</c>
 * 2)  1/1 Eldrazi Scion with "Sacrifice this creature: Add ."
 * 3)  1/1 Eldrazi Scion with "Sacrifice this creature: Add ."
 * 4)  1/1 Eldrazi Scion with "Sacrifice this creature: Add ." reprint from Battle for Zendikar
 * 5)  1/1 Eldrazi Scion with "Sacrifice this creature: Add ." reprint from Battle for Zendikar
 * 6)  1/1 Eldrazi Scion with "Sacrifice this creature: Add ." reprint from Battle for Zendikar
 * 7)  3/3 Angel with flying for Linvala, the Preserver</c>
 * 8)  2/2 Zombie for Drana's Chosen</c>, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet</c> and Null Caller</c>
 * 9)  3/1 Elemental with haste for Chandra, Flamecaller</c> (The token card has no Haste keyword however.)
 * 10)  X/X Elemental for Seed Guardian</c>
 * 11)  0/1 Plant for <c>Nissa, Voice of Zendikar</c>

The following named tokens were released with Battle for Zendikar:
 * 1)  2/2 Knight Ally for <c>Allied Reinforcements</c>
 * 2)  1/1 Kor Ally for <c>Captain's Claws</c> and <c>Oath of Gideon</c>
 * 3)  8/8 Octopus for <c>Crush of Tentacles</c>

Themes and mechanics
The set introduces the colorless mana symbol. It is used for cards that depict Kozilek's brood lineage of Eldrazi. With Wastes, the set also introduces the first typeless basic lands. Wastes are twice as common as a normal common in boosters. The colorless mana symbol is found, together with generic mana symbols, in the mana cost of some spells, such as <c>Endbringer</c> (unlike generic mana costs, it cannot be paid with colored mana), and also replaces numbered colorless mana symbols such as in abilities that produce mana in Oracle text for all cards (for example, <c>Ashnod's Altar</c> now produces  rather than ).

There are three new named mechanics:
 * Surge [cost] (You may cast this spell for its surge cost if you or a teammate has cast another spell this turn)
 * Support N (Put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to N target creatures.)
 * Cohort, an ability word for activated abilities requiring tapping the ally creature and another ally.

To express the theme of "Planeswalkers forming a team" with game mechanics, R&D also created cards that encourage the player to use multiple planeswalker cards.

Landfall is reused, but in a very minor capacity. It only appears on <c>Embodiment of Fury</c> and <c>Embodiment of Insight</c>, originally envisioned as a cycle. Likewise, white and blue each have an uncommon creature (<c>Wall of Resurgence</c>, <c>Cyclone Sire</c>) that essentially has the awaken mechanic. Technically the mechanic only works on instants and sorceries, so it had to be spelled out in the rules text.

Cycles
Oath of the Gatewatch has three complete cycles and two partial cycles:

Pairs
Oath of the Gatewatch has one mirrored pair.

Reprinted cards

 * <c>Bone Saw</c>, first printed in Conflux
 * <c>Mighty Leap</c>, first printed in Magic 2011 and last seen in Magic Origins and for the first time in an expert-level expansion.
 * <c>Negate</c>, first printed in Morningtide and last seen in Magic Origins.
 * <c>Netcaster Spider</c>, first printed in Magic 2015 and last seen in Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Kiora and for the first time in an expert-level expansion.
 * <c>Unknown Shores</c>, first printed in Theros.

Common to Uncommon

 * <c>Grasp of Darkness</c>, first printed in Scars of Mirrodin.
 * <c>Strider Harness</c>, first printed in Scars of Mirrodin.

Functional reprints
The allied color taplands are functional reprints of the taplands which appeared in Invasion and were reprinted in 8th Edition. The reason behind this was that the original cycle mentions locations in Dominaria, and the more generic name meant that these cards could be reprinted in any set.
 * <c>Meandering River</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Coastal Tower</c>.
 * <c>Submerged Boneyard</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Salt Marsh</c>.
 * <c>Cinder Barrens</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Urborg Volcano</c>.
 * <c>Timber Gorge</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Shivan Oasis</c>.
 * <c>Tranquil Expanse</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Elfhame Palace</c>.


 * Using different subtypes
 * <c>Affa Protector</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Standing Troops</c>.
 * <c>Canopy Gorger</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Alpha Tyrranax</c> and <c>Tusked Colossodon</c>.
 * <c>Makindi Aeronaut</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Concordia Pegasus</c> and <c>Territorial Roc</c>.

Notable cards

 * <c>Bonds of Mortality</c> and <c>Fall of the Titans</c> depict the same scene. In the first card Nissa and Jace weaken the Eldrazi Titans, Ulamog and Kozilek. In the second one Chandra and Gideon take them both out.
 * <c>General Tazri</c> is a legendary ally creature with a color identity of all five colors, very well suited for Commander players.
 * <c>Hedron Alignment</c> is an alternate-win card. Ken Nagle designed it in the very first Great Designer Search and it took eight years to make it to print.
 * <c>Inverter of Truth</c> became a crucial piece of a Pioneer combo deck upon the printing of <c>Thassa's Oracle</c> in Theros Beyond Death.
 * <c>Jori En, Ruin Diver</c> is the first Red (and Blue) Merfolk since <c>Razorfin Hunter</c> in Apocalypse.
 * <c>Stone Haven Outfitter</c> is the first card to refer to “equipped creatures” without being an equipment itself or being the creature that is equipped too, while the term “enchanted creatures” was used since Legends.
 * <c>Wastes</c> is the first basic land without a subtype.

Modern Eldrazi Decks
<c>Thought-Knot Seer</c>, <c>Eldrazi Displacer</c>, <c>World Breaker</c>, <c>Eldrazi Mimic</c>, <c>Matter Reshaper</c>, <c>Endless One</c> and <c>Reality Smasher</c> are seven powerful cards with the Eldrazi creature type. Combined with previous cards from Battle for Zendikar (<c>Eldrazi Skyspawner</c>, <c>Drowner of Hope</c>, <c>Eldrazi Obligator</c> and <c>Wasteland Strangler</c>) as well as the two Eldrazi tribal lands (<c>Eye of Ugin</c> and <c>Eldrazi Temple</c>) these cards created were the foundation for a strong deck archetype. This archetype dominated the Modern metagame at Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch and led to the event known as "Eldrazi Winter" which ended with the ban of the Eye of Ugin.

Even with Eye of Ugin's ban, the majority of these cards are still played in the decks Bant and Tron Eldrazi. The backbone of the deck is also present in Legacy and Vintage formats, due to the addition of two more double-colourless lands in <c>City of Traitors</c> and <c>Ancient Tomb</c> and powerful artifact lock spells.

Banned and Restricted cards

 * <c>Reflector Mage</c> was a tempo card for the draft archetype that had minor upside compared to a standard Man-o-War effect, but when ported into constructed it became much more frustrating to play against, especially within the <c>Collected Company</c> shells. Despite not being a dominant force in the Pro Tour after the rotation, it was banned in January 2017.
 * <c>Inverter of Truth</c> was a Mythic Rare playing in unusual design space but received little attention as to its application. While combinations with <c>Laboratory Maniac</c> were possible, Modern was far too fast to have such a thing work out. However, with Pioneer keeping the blue Delve spells and War of the Spark and Theros Beyond Death bringing two Maniac effects in <c>Jace, Wielder of Mysteries</c> and <c>Thassa's Oracle</c>, the combo kill was now very consistent and was also backed by a strong control shell. Inverter was banned in August 2020 to open the format up.

Preconstructed decks
Oath of the Gatewatch has five intro packs. There are no clash packs or event decks.