Magic: The Gatheringis at least partly responsible for inventing and codifying many of the CCG genre’s core tenants, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still have a few aces up its sleeve. The newest crossovers and sets have done a lot to bring even more attention to the game.Magic: The Gathering’s forthcomingOutlaws of Thunder Junctionset is proof of that.
Outlaws of Thunder Junctionis a follow-up to theMarch of the Machinestoryline, which focused on longtime antagonists, the Phyrexians, and their invasion ofMagic: The Gathering’s multiverse. In the wake of that event, a rift known as Omen Pass appeared, creating gateways allowing denizens from across the ‘Verse access to a previously obscured plane. This opened the door to themes and concepts that had long been on the minds of designers but unable to be realized until this point—chiefly, the idea of a Wild Western-styledMTGnarrative and set.Outlaws of Thunder Junctionembraces this through a bevy of fresh spins and more than a few surprises. Game Rant attended a preview event where WotC showed off these cards ahead of the set’s full release.
Outlaws of Thunder Junctionreleases globallyApril 19, 2024.
Outlaws of Thunder Junction’s plot is very much in the spirit of a traditional Western tale, beinga classic “big score” heist job. Featuring previously seen villainous characters from acrossMTG’s multiverse and editions, as well as completely new ones,Thunder Junctioncenters on these bold (and mainly criminal) adventurers searching for powerful relics and treasures hidden away in a secret vault on a formerly abandoned plane. Designers referencedOcean’s Elevenand similar works as inspiration, andOutlaws of Thunder Junctionrevolvesarounda gang banding together to pull off a massive crime. Led by Oko, originally debuting inThrone of Eldraine, it follows his scheme to gather a posse composed of both newcomers and longtime fan-favorites in altered guises, befitting the duplicitous nature of the narrative. Figures like Tinybones, Fblthp, and Rakdos appear with updated roles and abilities tailored to the framework.
Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction New Mechanics
Outlaws
The termoutlawapplies to and affects five specific creature classes grouped together under a “bucket batching” inThunder Junction:Assassins, Mercenaries, Pirates, Rogues, and Warlocks. These have been seen earlier across the breadth ofMagic: The Gathering’s other sets, and the new related cards and abilities in this set geared towards them were stated to be fully compatible with any previous and future ones of the listed types.
Crimes
Representing an intrinsic activity of the outlaws,crimesare defined inThunder Junctionas “any spell/ability that targets an opponent or their permanents, spells, or graveyard.” Upon this condition being met, additional and usually beneficial effects are triggered. The condition itself is broad and largely easy to fulfill, designed so purposefully, to keep with the idea of dastardly deeds occurring left and right in the lawless realm.
Vault Treasures/Big Scores
In lore, Thunder Junction is a plane that formerly served as a Fomori hideout where the race concealed some of their most powerful items in an elaborate vault, which is the target of the overarching heist. Thesebig scorecards embody legendary artifacts and feature some extremely powerful abilities.
Breaking News
This is a bonus sheet set, all of which are ‘crime’ spells, and will include regular versions available in both Collectors and Play boosters. The textured foil treatments will be exclusive to Collectors packs.
Plotting
Plot cards represent players’ role of a criminal mastermind planning the perfect job inOutlaws ofThunder Junction’s “world of scheming.“Plottingoffers game-impacting rewards for meticulously mapping out a series of moves to set up “big, explosive turns.” These can potentially changeMagic: The Gathering’s standard dynamicsand timing in possibly chaotic ways, even taking seasoned players a moment or two to understand and efficiently employ.
Spree
Adjacent in spirit toMagic: The Gathering’s existing kicker mechanic,spreesare modal choice cards that enact various bonus options for extra costs, granting additional effects and versatility for a range of situations.
Mounts and Saddling
One component that was stated to have beenrequested byMagic: The Gatheringplayers"for decades” ismounts and saddling. Acting as a sorcery, players can tap any number of creatures they control with power X or greater (X varying by specific card) for cards with the saddling ability, which the tapped creature then “mounts” to produce synergies and other bonuses.
Special Guest and Other Cards
Introduced inThe Lost Caverns of Ixalan,special guestsare a class of reprints and will be found in Play and Collector boosters.Outlaws of Thunder Junctionalso promises fans further intrigue in the form of certain returning characters, likeplaneswalker Jacein a new incarnation, among others. Elsewhere, players will find some tongue-in-cheek cards, such as Holy Cow, with the designers discussing wanting to inject more fun and flavorful inclusions along with the grittier elements.
Commander Decks, Bounties, and Jailbreaks
Outlaws of Thunder Junctionwill release with astandard set of four themed Commander decks. However, unique within it, bounties consist of an optional subset of rules with a Western twist.Bountiescomprise a shared deck of specific cards between all players, with a minimum of six, though the designers recommend using all twelve for maximum added flavor and in-game antics. Bounty conditions are revealed and can be met after the starting player’s third turn, after which any player can reap the rewards if they’ve met the requirements. If unclaimed after each turn, bounties increase up to a maximum of four levels, each providing more advantageous effects. Once all are claimed, a “jailbreak” occurs, and the bounty pile is reshuffled with the process repeating through the course of the duel.
With all these elements and more,Outlaws of Thunder Junctionlooks to hold a treasure trove of exciting and fresh takes on itsMagic: The Gatheringmeets Wild West world for fans, when it launches later this Spring.
