When To Play Thassa's Oracle

Understanding Thassa’s Oracle

What Does [[Thassa’s Oracle]] Do?

• Mana Cost: [[symbol:u]][[symbol:u]]

• Type: Creature – Merfolk Wizard

• Stats: 1/3

• Effect:

  • When Thassa’s Oracle enters the battlefield, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put one on top and the rest on the bottom in a random order.

  • If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game.

Breaking Down the Effects:

1. Pseudo-Scry: Allows minimal deck manipulation, but this is rarely the reason to include Thassa’s Oracle in a deck.

2. Win Condition: Enables a direct win if your library is empty or has very few cards.

The card is almost always included for the game-winning potential, not its pseudo-scry ability.

When to Play Thassa’s Oracle

[[Thassa’s Oracle]] shines as a win condition when combined with effects that exile or empty your library. Here are some common combos:

Efficient Combos:

1. [[Thassa's Oracle]] + [[Demonic Consultation]]:

   • Cost: [[symbol:u]][[symbol:u]] + [[symbol:b]]

   • Description: Name a card not in your deck with Demonic Consultation to exile your entire library. Then resolve Thassa’s Oracle to win.

   • Why It’s Good: Compact, resilient, and mana-efficient (3 mana total).

2. [[Thassa's Oracle]] + [[Tainted Pact]]:

   • Cost: [[symbol:u]][[symbol:u]] + [[symbol:1]][[symbol:b]]

   • Description: Use Tainted Pact to exile your library incrementally, then win with Thassa’s Oracle.

   • Why It’s Good: Slightly less efficient but [[Tainted Pact]] is more versatile than [[Demonic Consultation]].

3. [[Thassa's Oracle]] + [[Doomsday]]:

   • Description: Create a library of 5 cards that guarantees a win with Thassa’s Oracle.

   • Why It’s Good: Offers flexibility but requires more setup and mana.

4. [[Thassa's Oracle]] + [[Paradigm Shift]]:

   • Cost: [[symbol:u]][[symbol:u]] + [[symbol:1]][[symbol:u]]

   • Description: Exile your library and replace it with your graveyard, then resolve Thassa’s Oracle.

   • Why It’s Good: Straightforward combo with minimal board setup.

5. [[Thassa's Oracle]] + [[Thought Lash]]:

   • Cost: [[symbol:u]][[symbol:u]] + [[symbol:2]][[symbol:u]][[symbol:u]]

   • Description: Use Thought Lash’s ability to exile your library and win with Thassa’s Oracle.

   • Why It’s Good: Effective but requires specific setup.

Key Characteristics of These Combos:

• They all reduce your library size to 0 without granting access to the cards you exiled.

• [[Thassa's Oracle]] is essential because it provides a reliable way to close the game when your library is empty.

When NOT to Play Thassa’s Oracle

Why Skip Thassa’s Oracle?

If your game-ending combo involves infinite mana and the ability to access all cards in your deck, you don’t need Thassa’s Oracle. Including it in these cases wastes a slot that could be used for cards with more utility.

Examples:

1. [[Urza, Lord High Artificer]]:

   • Strategy: Generate infinite mana and use Urza’s ability to pseudo-draw your entire library.

   • Why No Oracle? With access to your deck, you can win using cards with utility beyond being a win condition.

2. [[Omnath, Locus of Creation]]:

   • Strategy: Generate infinite mana with [[Emiel the Blessed]] and [[Dockside Extortionist]], then draw your deck.

   • Why No Oracle? Use cards like [[Underworld Breach]] or a spell loop with [[Eternal Witness]] for a win condition.

Key Considerations for Including Thassa’s Oracle

When It’s a Good Choice:

• You have a compact library-exiling combo.

• Your deck can reliably assemble Oracle and its combo pieces with minimal resources.

When It’s a Bad Choice:

• Your strategy involves drawing or pseudo-drawing your deck.

• Your deck uses combos that provide access to exiled or milled cards.

• You rely on high card quality and can’t afford “dead cards” outside of the win condition.

Summary

• Play [[Thassa’s Oracle]] if your deck reduces your library size without giving access to exiled or milled cards. It’s a compact and efficient win condition in these scenarios.

• Skip [[Thassa’s Oracle]] if your deck generates infinite mana or accesses its entire library, as you can win with cards that offer value beyond just being a win condition.

By understanding [[Thassa’s Oracle]]’s strengths and weaknesses, you can determine whether it belongs in your cEDH deck—or if you’re better off using other cards. Happy brewing!