It pays to be the baddies for once... in Magic: The Gathering's Outlaws of Thunder Junction

The world of Magic: The Gathering meets the Western genre as the new set Outlaws of Thunder Junction hits stores on 20 April.

Set on the frontier plane of Thunder Junction, a brazen group of Magic: The Gathering’s most wanted villains from all over the Multiverse, led by the infamous ringleader Oko, attempts to pull off a heist to gain access to the relics in an ancient vault.

With the new set, crimes are now… cool, and the new keywords in the set Committing a Crime, Outlaws, Plot, Saddle, and Spree reward you for potentially doing bad things.

Committing a Crime

The first keyword is technically not something brand new, but you commit a crime by either targeting your opponent, a spell or ability your opponent controls, a permanent your opponent controls, or a card in your opponent's graveyard.

All of the actions above are things players will inevitably do in a normal game, but committing a crime now rewards you with additional benefits.

Perhaps you have a Nimble Brigand (our preview card!) on your battlefield as well as a Bovine Intervention in your hand. You can target and remove a problematic artifact or creature on your opponent’s battlefield, and now Nimble Brigand cannot be blocked.

This is handy because you now get to draw a card when Nimble Brigand deals combat damage to your opponent, and voila, card advantage!

Remember, committing a crime triggers the moment you target something that belongs to your opponent, so even if Bovine Intervention gets countered, you will still have committed a crime. Neat.

Outlaws

Outlaws is the next keyword which just specifically refers to a certain group of undesirables in Thunder Junction.

Permanents with the creature type Assassin, Mercenary, Pirate, Rogue, and Warlock are Outlaws, and it is important because new cards like Shoot the Sheriff specifically targets non-outlaw creatures.

Can I also just point out Shoot the Sheriff is such a thematic card for the set?

Plot

The next new keyword Plot is an interesting one, because it allows you to exile a card for its Plot cost, and then cast it for free only on any of your later turns.

Take a card like Brimstone Roundup. It is turn 3, and you have three mana. You can exile Brimstone Roundup for its Plot cost at sorcery speed (i.e. only during your main phases) instead of casting it for two mana because you have a spell in ysour hand which you can cast next turn with four mana.

During your next turn, you cast Brimstone Roundup for free as a sorcery again. You then play your four mana spell, and since this is now your second spell of your turn, it triggers Brimstone Roundup and you get a 1/1 red Mercenary creature.

If you have cast Brimstone Roundup normally on turn 3, you would not have got a 1/1 Mercenary creature if you play a four mana spell the next turn (because you only have four mana and no second spell to cast).

This is what an efficient use of mana can look like in two turns, and the best part is… you can cast Brimstone Roundup on any of your later turns, so your opponent is always second-guessing.

Do note that when you Plot a card, you exile it face-up. That means your opponent can see and read the card you have plotted.

When you cast a plotted card from exile, it can only be cast at sorcery speed. It can also be interacted with since you have to cast and put the spell on the stack. So, don’t always be sure that your opponent will let you get away with casting a spell for free!

Saddle

The fourth keyword Saddle in this list is an activated ability, and you will mostly find it on creatures with the creature type Mount.

Saddle always comes with a number after it, and you activate Saddle on a creature as a sorcery by tapping any number of creatures you control with total power N where N is the number indicated after Saddle.

In the case of Ornery Tumblewagg, you will have to tap any number of creatures you control with a total power of 2, and when you do so, Ornery Tumblewagg is now considered to be saddled until the end of your turn.

When Ornery Tumblewagg attacks, it now allows you to double the number of +1/+1 counters on a target creature because it is saddled. If Ornery Tumblewagg already has a +1/+1 counter on it, you can double the counters with the trigger, and it is now a 4/4 big boy when it attacks.

Spree

The last keyword Spree is an additional cost that can be found on some instants and sorceries in this new set.

Take the card Final Showdown for example. Final Showdown on paper costs one mana to cast, except that you have to at least choose one of its three mode, and pay its associated cost in order to play a card that has Spree on it (i.e. you cannot cast Final Showdown for just one white mana and have it do nothing).

If you pay an additional one generic mana, you can either have all creatures lose all abilities until the end of turn, or you can choose to give one of your creature indestructibility.

If you pay an additional three generic mana and two white mana, you can instead choose to destroy all creatures.

If you pay an additional five generic mana and two white mana, you can choose all three modes. So, you now have an indestructible creature, all creatures lose all abilities, and you can destroy all creatures.

Just a note, if you choose all three modes, the modes will resolve in order listed on the card. That means all creatures lose all abilities until end of turn, before you choose a creature you control to gain indestructible, and finally destroy all creatures.

Your opponents will also be unable to interact as the modes resolve, so if you want to interact with a spell that has Spree, you have to do so when the spell is on the stack.

As long as you have the mana, you can choose as many modes as you want, but you cannot choose the same mode twice. If you happen to cast a spell with Spree for free, you must choose at least one mode and pay its cost.

The mana value of a card with Spree such as Final Showdown is always its mana cost (so, just one for Final Showdown), even if you pay an additional eight mana and choose all three modes.

New Showcases

The new set Outlaws of Thunder Junction is a little unique in the sense that players can find an additional two smaller sets The Big Score and Breaking News in this set, which means players have more cards to collect!

Cards from the Breaking News bonus sheets are all thematic reprints, and all 65 of them can be found in a unique Breaking News treatment in all boosters. Players can also open a textured foil version in Collector Boosters.

Cards in The Big Score can also be found in a normal treatment, Vault frame or a raised foil treatment. All 30 cards in The Big Score are mythic rare, since they are literally big scores.

There are also seven cards in Outlaws of Thunder Junction with borderless treatments (borderless Oko is twice as rare as the other borderless cards), and Special Guests make a return with 10 cards.

Last, Oko and his motley crew are wanted in the plane of Thunder Junction, and of course every member of Oko’s villainous team can also be found with a Wanted Poster treatment.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction will be available as Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Commander Decks, Prerelease Packs, and Bundles.

Jay is a content creator who likes to hoard vintage photographic lenses, and loses too often in Dota 2 and Magic: The Gathering after work.

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