Of course, a lot of people like Shard Phoenix as well. I really do not like the Weaver at all, since I've gotten my head kicked in that way against WW and sligh. It has to stay in play in order to be effective, and heavy burn, or a well timed S.to.P will ensure that it does not.
Last night I tried the Hydra for the first time. It was awesome! It massacred the weenies, and sent massive burn straight to the dome. I think you will need at least 3 Powder Kegs if you play with the Hydra as it does not slay the dorks as well as the Hellion, but I think it is great against Ophidian decks that do not have good answers for unlimited, uncounterable damage, especially when it turns into one of those agonizing Morphling vs. Morphling standstills.
And then there is the Hellion. I like it a lot, but you do not want some 4cU to bless their libraries back in, as they get a Morphling to replace their Wall of Blossoms. Obviously, this makes it a better idea to just keep the Oaths in your hand, as well as the Hellion. But dead cards are not at all fun. The Hellion is definetly very good against most weenie decks, but it can't eliminate River Boa. Spike Weaver is clearly the one to beat here, but the Hydra can neutralize it for a while, by tapping it during their upkeep until you find a S.to.P.
The Weaver is great against the Rock and his Millions, Reanimator, and opposing Morphlings. I would definetly main deck it if those decks were popular in the metagame, but otherwise it stays in the sideboard.
What do you think? I think that we all can agree that the other two creatures should always be Morphling and Spike Feeder.
Feeder is really only necessary if you face a fair amount of burn. Sligh took a horrid downturn at the beginning of the season, and is barely starting to pick up a little. Whether or not you play it also depends on your mana base and whether you can hardcast it early on if it's in your hand. If you don't play it, you can just save a slot and get along fine off of only 2 creatures. Morphling should always your closer in any control oath variant. In the anti-rush slot, I really like weaver better than the other two. You can lose a hydra to a swords as easily as a weaver (although it usually can kill a guy or 2 before you lose it). Niether the crater hellion nor the hydra can kill pro-red guys or big old fat things effectively, which sucks. Also, in morphling standoffs, one of the best ways to win is to make a super superman with spike tokens.
the better solution to ancient hydra of course is triskelion because you dont have to pay the mana
Unfortunatly, nobody around here has figured out that Sligh is not really viable anymore, so the Feeder is just insurance that I don't get burned out in the first game, I hate losing to someone who justs has more burn spells than you have counters for. After sideboarding Cop:Red, the fourth Powder Keg and Misdirection come in,so the feeder really is no longer as necessary as it was. But it wins game one, and it trades with Muscle Sliver, etc, so it is never really useless.
Yes, I'm very familiar with the Spike-Morphling stategy, but I was just thinking it would be good to be able to burn them repeatedly while you're setting that up. It isn't really necessary, but I like the versitilty of the Hydra.
Yeah, Triskellion is probablly a better idea, but the Hydra can do up to 5 damage, for major card advantage. Personal Preferance.
Yeah, Sligh is so dead it only made Top 8 at GP Houston.....
With a good deal of the former top decks going down to Miracle Gro or Super Miracle Gro, Sligh can make a comeback. Think of the fact that Trix is now dead and that the Rock is going away as well. Your replacing those match ups with one where you should win the 1st game and which even after Sb is 50/50. Sligh is cheap ($) and has the ability to win any match up just off pure speed. It will always be around at the PTQ's.
Oh and to anwser your question, personally I like Ancient Hydra and Spike Weaver.
i have been playing 1 blood fire colossus 1 shivan helkite and 2 spike feeders in the oath deck
the clossus covers most things even morphlings and
crator hellons
Shivan Hellkite requires a heavy commitment to red, so I'm not sure how many people are willing to do that.
The Colossus is great, but I tend to be low on life by the time it gets out and don't have 6 points to spare.
I think I'd rather use the Hellion over something like the Colossus.