MTG Salvation

In a multiplayer Commander Jeskai deck with an equipment sub-theme (7 equipment), would you rather have Oreskos Explorer or Tithe in your deck?

Tithe if it's a Shu Yun deck
OE otherwise

You can blink Explorer. I mean, if it's just three players, I'd go with Tithe (which will always get me 1 and usually get me 2), but that and Shu Yun or Narset are the only times I can think of when I'd prefer Tithe over Explorer.

Given that it's equipment based, Explorer. It can carry stuff.

OTOH, a Jeskai equipment deck probably has Sunforger, which can tutor up Tithe. (Not to mention any red or white counterspells, like Counterflux, Render Silent, Suffocating Blast...) Tithe can tutor up Mistveil Plains to put whatever Sunforger target you want back into your library. Jeskai equipment probably has Puresteel Paladin and Leonin Shikari, too, negating the two biggest downsides of Sunforger, the high equip cost and equip being sorcery speed.

Tithe is also guaranteed to get one Plains, while Explorer might not be able to get any if the board is balanced (or you're ahead)

No Sunforger in my deck. Here are the equipment I use:

Sword of the Animist
Umezawa's Jitte
Sword of Feast and Famine
Sword of Fire and Ice
Sword of Light and Shadow
Sword of Vengeance
Batterskull

Generally speaking? Oreskos Explorer.

Every deck is going to have different synergies to take into account, but creatures with ETB abilities tend to be more useful than sorceries. Sure, Tithe always gets you a Plains, and it will often get you two where as the Explorer might only get you one, but generally the Explorer will be more useful. It's a body to attach equipment to, a body to attack and block with, and it's likely much more easy to recur with something like a Sun Titan than Tithe will be.

Weathered Wayfarer

100% of the time, the correct answer is Tithe, every time.

Quote from 3drinks »

100% of the time, the correct answer is Tithe, every time.

I'm with 3drinks on this one. I'll run Explorer sometimes but it's in addition to Tithe, not instead of. The upsides of instant speed, lower CMC, and guaranteeing at least one plains in hand are much more significant than ease of reuse or a body for equipment.

You can run tithe as most of a land, depending on how heavy white you are. The explorer takes up a slot in your deck list. Also, the mana cost difference is very important. Tithe is a much better card.

If you don't have a Tithe, now's the time to get one before they keep going up.

I would say both if you can. It depends on how much recursion you're runnning for creatures -- if it's a lot, Oreskos Explorer might be better.

I concur with 3drinks and Weebo. If I had to run one or the other, in almost every situation I would pick Tithe. Not that the Explorer sucks, but he's no Tithe.

I currently run Tithe in 7 decks, the Explorer in none. I have run the Explorer but ended up cutting it for something or other. I don't think I've ever ended up cutting Tithe from a deck.

And holy crap, Tithe is getting pricey.

The people saying they choose the one body over tithe have obviously never played with tithe or else they'd know why it's a foolish decision. The fact that all you need is a fetch (or wasteland) to ensure you get two W/x duals is so over the top.

Having a body isn't a bad thing. I don't know how many time I've killed someone with a Faerie Rogue token equipped with a Sword or a Batterskull, but it's got to be well past a dozen by now. But in core function, these two cards are just not equally reliable.

Quote from JWK »

Having a body isn't a bad thing. I don't know how many time I've killed someone with a Faerie Rogue token equipped with a Sword or a Batterskull, but it's got to be well past a dozen by now. But in core function, these two cards are just not equally reliable.

Oh for sure, it's not the act of having a body that's bad (though I'd play KotWO well before this guy too), it's the ease of getting two duals for just W that I was after.

There is something to be said for actually putting the lands on the battlefield as well, à la Knight of the White Orchid or Kor Cartographer. Yeah, Kor Cartographer's expensive (It costs 1 more than Wood Elves, and you only get +1/+0 out of the deal.), but if you're not in green, that's what ramp spells look like.

Quote from 3drinks »

The people saying they choose the one body over tithe have obviously never played with tithe or else they'd know why it's a foolish decision. The fact that all you need is a fetch (or wasteland) to ensure you get two W/x duals is so over the top.

This is a really good point.

EDIT: I didn't think through my original answer long enough. In retrospect, I'm changing my answer to Tithe.

For a single mana, Tithe will almost always give you two Plains back. Oreskos Explorer's body, while not irrelevant, isn't as valuable as getting a guaranteed Plains. Sure, it's possible for Oreskos Explorer to get just as many Plains as Tithe (and sometimes more), but it's much easier to get two Plains with Tithe than it is to get two or more Plains with Oreskos Explorer. And even when Oreskos Explorer draws just as many Plains as Tithe it still costs 1 more, with only a 2/2 body to show for the effort. Overall, I believe Tithe is the better card now.

Quote from 3drinks »

The fact that all you need is a fetch (or wasteland) to ensure you get two W/x duals is so over the top.

Good point. I didn't think of casting Tithe in response to cracking a fetch land.

Since I brought it up, note that trick with a crack land can also be done with the Boom half of Boom//Bust (target the crack land then respond to your spell with your activation), making that the most efficient non-Sinkhole LD spell of all time.

Quote from Celerus »

Quote from 3drinks »

The fact that all you need is a fetch (or wasteland) to ensure you get two W/x duals is so over the top.

Good point. I didn't think of casting Tithe in response to cracking a fetch land.

And that's something Explorer couldn't "cheat with" since it can't be a response.

I run Ash Barrens in all my decks. Just an easy turn-one play to fix colors and start filling the grave for other stuff.

Should I be thinking of Tithe in the same way (trading a “tougher” cost for flexibility in what I can grab)?

Quote from MRdown2urth »

Should I be thinking of Tithe in the same way (trading a “tougher” cost for flexibility in what I can grab)?

Yes.

You're running all the signets already?

Quote from 3drinks »

And that's something Explorer couldn't "cheat with" since it can't be a response.

Unless you can cast Oreskos Explorer at instant speed.

Quote from robot »

You're running all the signets already?

I'm not running any signets.