Distant Memories

Distant Memories sees essentially zero play in Legacy, Modern, or Vintage, where dedicated tutors like Demonic Tutor and Mystical Tutor exist without the opponent-choice clause and cost far less mana. In Commander, the four-mana price tag and the table-vote dynamic are both real problems — a savvy opponent will exile whatever you fetch the moment it matters, which is exactly when you need it most. The card finds its niche in self-aware Commander builds where the tutored target is so innocuous that opponents let it resolve, or in group-hug shells where the charade of giving opponents a choice is part of the game plan. Oathbreaker shares the Commander environment's political texture, so the same limited logic applies there.