Ok I might not be in love with everything in this set but oh boy there's some sweet cards
Sets (OTJ) Outlaws of Thunder Junction Previews
- Thread starter TrainmasterGT
- Start date
Jesus, the Big Score cards are literally just a pile of dream rectangles for my cube. And it's already at 720 so I'll have to actually make cuts!
Horrifying.
Horrifying.
As Rasmus says, such great cards, some of which are throwbacks to some of my favorites!
Geralf, the Fleshwright is almost a Blue Monastery Mentor.
Sandstorm Retriever is pretty clearly the Green Blade Splicer.
Bristly Bill, Spine Sower gives me big Luminarch Aspirant vibes.
Phantom Interference as a modal 2 mana counter is exactly what I am looking for.
Geralf, the Fleshwright is almost a Blue Monastery Mentor.
Sandstorm Retriever is pretty clearly the Green Blade Splicer.
Bristly Bill, Spine Sower gives me big Luminarch Aspirant vibes.
Phantom Interference as a modal 2 mana counter is exactly what I am looking for.
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Chris Taylor
Contributor
I love the big score frame, it looks sick on the lands
I don't love memory issues.lnd here, it might just be additive distraction since you need 3 seperate monocolor permanents to actually net mana, and even if you get there it's extremely fiddley
This is also a sweet little guy, nice channel ability
I don't love memory issues.lnd here, it might just be additive distraction since you need 3 seperate monocolor permanents to actually net mana, and even if you get there it's extremely fiddley
This is also a sweet little guy, nice channel ability
This is great! I may consolidate Necron Deathmark and Shriekmaw into this
This is also a sweet little guy, nice channel ability
Tarnation Vista has the broken look to it. Every time a land can add more than one mana without sacrificing itself, it can be dangerous.
Dom Harvey
Contributor
We've been nagging them to print a green Blade Splicer for years and the madlads printed one that's yet another crossover piece with a counters theme, you absolutely love to see it
Chariot is still the best in class IMO - leaves behind better stuff vs spot removal, easier to cast/splash, ceiling is higher. This card is also great though!
Chariot is still the best in class IMO - leaves behind better stuff vs spot removal, easier to cast/splash, ceiling is higher. This card is also great though!
Chris Taylor
Contributor
It feel you, but needing stuff in play does temper it a bit. This is closer to Nykthos than Ancient Tomb, and BOY is that condition harder.
Porque no los dos?
Nykthos is also known as a broken card
Dom Harvey
Contributor
In a format where you can build around it with a high density of specific triple-pip cards, the exact opposite of most Cubes
I just checked and the last one was 2 years ago in The Brothers’ War with Urza’s Workshop.
Before this we have to go back to 2019 with Castle Garenbrig in Throne of Eldraine.
Before this we’re back to Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx from original Theros in 2013.
I think it’s really spicy when Wizards print these. I look forward to what we can do with Tarnation Vista!
Before this we have to go back to 2019 with Castle Garenbrig in Throne of Eldraine.
Before this we’re back to Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx from original Theros in 2013.
I think it’s really spicy when Wizards print these. I look forward to what we can do with Tarnation Vista!
I was thinking this one might be good for my cube. It's not fast mana, but it can contribute to some bigger cards later. "Monocolored" is the big safety word on this one AND it comes in tapped. It can give +3 mana, but only if you have five or more permanents out in a five color deck. Seems pretty fair.
How strong is this? I really like its combination of early and mid-late game play, and it can counter some of the Spawn/Scion action I have going without blowing out aggro on turn 2-3, but it seems like such a solid body for that ETB.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
I think it's fine, solid but not broken. I know you're no universes beyond enjoyer, but Primaris Eliminator played great for me, and as you say this body is solid. I say give it a shot
Maybe don't buy a real copy tho, modern living end might want these, they might end up expensive given how hard vault cards are to open.
I think Ornery Tumblewagg is more of the Luminarch Aspirant of this set. I actually think it looks like a more fun card than Aspirant, too!
Bill Nye the Cactus Guy feels more like a land-synergy Tarmogoyf to me.
I missed the Tumblewagg, but that extra mana is rough! Siege Veteran is a lot worse than the Aspirant for example, even though that second line of text isn't nothing of that majestic mount.
Not sure I see the Tarmogoyf analogy for Cactus Bill. How do you figure?
Nothing special, but the life gain could add up. Probably barely better than the unremarkable Pristine Talisman, though. Would have been really cool as an ETB tapped Bloom Tender mana effect or something. Or even the Tarnation Vista mana effect without the 1 cost. They're encouraging multicolor, but played it too safe on this one.
This is definitely interesting. Pretty aggressive, weirdly supports both players ramping. Does this fit in an Eldrazi cube???
I bet this was nerfed during development because it gave you mana for each life you gained or whatever nonsense and they couldn't make it work.
Nothing special, but the life gain could add up. Probably barely better than the unremarkable Pristine Talisman, though. Would have been really cool as an ETB tapped Bloom Tender mana effect or something. Or even the Tarnation Vista mana effect without the 1 cost. They're encouraging multicolor, but played it too safe on this one.
Commander cards!
How close this is to a delightful card. The first ability only grabbing a Desert is a death sentence for this card, if not from a lack of viability then from an additive complexity standpoint. I really want this second ability in my Cube, bespoke token or not.
Crack a fetch land? Get a dude.
Self mill? Get a dude.
Pop a Horizon land? Get a dude.
Wasteland your opponents' triome? Get a dude.
I hate the "only once each turn" rider on many cards, but it's the worst here because it's not as though there's easy ways to go infinite here, so it's just extra text on an already long card.
Could have very easily been my favorite card in the set, but making my drafters' eyes glaze over like this is, as the kid's say, "not it"
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I've already seen arguments that this is better than Sun Titan for Cube and I probably agree? The difference between 3MV and 4MV is huge when it comes to power-level, especially these days. Besides, you'll be happier getting 5 life and an aerial attack out of this than the second pseudo-Helping Hand trigger in many scenarios. Not sure if I want to make that swap myself, but it's more than justifiable, and I'm glad this card exists. I'll never be upset about cards that love a fat graveyard having upside if they're stuck in the graveyard themselves, either.
I would prefer it to simply have Unearth instead of Encore to avoid one-off mechanics, but at least it's got reminder text here.
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Another card where the additive distraction is an absolute card ruiner. Would love this if it just copied spells once regardless of commanders...I would be so happy in general if they literally never referenced commanders on any Magic card again, even for Commander the format's sake. It'd be a slam dunk in many of our Cubes if its activated ability was playable in 1v1!
As is, it's still not terrible. We have enough Welkin Terns for power-interested Cubes these days via Faerie Mastermind, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, and even Copy Catchers (for those of us with exquisite taste) that it's easy to call this baseline "good", even if late 2010s mainstay and obvious analogue Baral, Chief of Compliance has only been able to hold on to his spot thanks to a recent Universes Beyond skin.
Just another frustration for me with the card as written. I even like the art!
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Pre-OTJ, I've only got 24 Outlaws in my list, and none are more than 4 mana. Still...I want the boys to be back in town. I adore big reanimation spells, and I think Thwart the Grave is a lot closer to playable in large power-interested and power-motivated lists than its given credit for. This is probably worse, but it's also easier to read and draft around.
I'll come back to this after I finish my first draft of OTJ inclusions, but this might be a pet card I can justify for a few sets.
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Now that's a Serra Angel!
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I love Dangerous Wager effects, and I feel like this one is the best we've gotten. It does a lot of different things for different decks, and is probably as close as I can get to justifying pet card Mercadia's Downfall in my Cube. I think I can find room for this, especially with the flexibility given from Plot.
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Desertion has made its way in and out of my Cube several times, and this addresses the issues I had with it. Not 100% sure it'll make the cut all the same, but this is a spicy card that will lead to some great stories and seems very fun.
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I want this in my Cube for purely selfish reasons. It's a much weaker but also much more interesting Craterhoof Behemoth that makes you work for it, almost a Riptidian version of the card. Will lead to better games and is not quite so impossible to overcome.
I imagine Earthshaker Giant, a card I cut for not doing enough, will be better in 80%+ of situations, so I think this a little too narrow for me, but again, happy to have this design. Funny name and flavor, too.
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Deeply tempted to make a new Cube just to play this card.
How close this is to a delightful card. The first ability only grabbing a Desert is a death sentence for this card, if not from a lack of viability then from an additive complexity standpoint. I really want this second ability in my Cube, bespoke token or not.
Crack a fetch land? Get a dude.
Self mill? Get a dude.
Pop a Horizon land? Get a dude.
Wasteland your opponents' triome? Get a dude.
I hate the "only once each turn" rider on many cards, but it's the worst here because it's not as though there's easy ways to go infinite here, so it's just extra text on an already long card.
Could have very easily been my favorite card in the set, but making my drafters' eyes glaze over like this is, as the kid's say, "not it"
---
I've already seen arguments that this is better than Sun Titan for Cube and I probably agree? The difference between 3MV and 4MV is huge when it comes to power-level, especially these days. Besides, you'll be happier getting 5 life and an aerial attack out of this than the second pseudo-Helping Hand trigger in many scenarios. Not sure if I want to make that swap myself, but it's more than justifiable, and I'm glad this card exists. I'll never be upset about cards that love a fat graveyard having upside if they're stuck in the graveyard themselves, either.
I would prefer it to simply have Unearth instead of Encore to avoid one-off mechanics, but at least it's got reminder text here.
----
Another card where the additive distraction is an absolute card ruiner. Would love this if it just copied spells once regardless of commanders...I would be so happy in general if they literally never referenced commanders on any Magic card again, even for Commander the format's sake. It'd be a slam dunk in many of our Cubes if its activated ability was playable in 1v1!
As is, it's still not terrible. We have enough Welkin Terns for power-interested Cubes these days via Faerie Mastermind, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, and even Copy Catchers (for those of us with exquisite taste) that it's easy to call this baseline "good", even if late 2010s mainstay and obvious analogue Baral, Chief of Compliance has only been able to hold on to his spot thanks to a recent Universes Beyond skin.
Just another frustration for me with the card as written. I even like the art!
--
Pre-OTJ, I've only got 24 Outlaws in my list, and none are more than 4 mana. Still...I want the boys to be back in town. I adore big reanimation spells, and I think Thwart the Grave is a lot closer to playable in large power-interested and power-motivated lists than its given credit for. This is probably worse, but it's also easier to read and draft around.
I'll come back to this after I finish my first draft of OTJ inclusions, but this might be a pet card I can justify for a few sets.
--
Now that's a Serra Angel!
--
I love Dangerous Wager effects, and I feel like this one is the best we've gotten. It does a lot of different things for different decks, and is probably as close as I can get to justifying pet card Mercadia's Downfall in my Cube. I think I can find room for this, especially with the flexibility given from Plot.
--
Desertion has made its way in and out of my Cube several times, and this addresses the issues I had with it. Not 100% sure it'll make the cut all the same, but this is a spicy card that will lead to some great stories and seems very fun.
--
I want this in my Cube for purely selfish reasons. It's a much weaker but also much more interesting Craterhoof Behemoth that makes you work for it, almost a Riptidian version of the card. Will lead to better games and is not quite so impossible to overcome.
I imagine Earthshaker Giant, a card I cut for not doing enough, will be better in 80%+ of situations, so I think this a little too narrow for me, but again, happy to have this design. Funny name and flavor, too.
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Deeply tempted to make a new Cube just to play this card.
Damn. The first half had me excited that this was Eldrazi-specific ramp.
@Onderzeeboot ?
Storm(ish) Draw a card won't matter for us, but this is cool to see.
New? token type. This one looks pretty decent.
What a let down. It costs 4 mana to be a narrow +1 to hand every turn? And it has no power? I don't even think Commander players want this.
Made me read the whole card before revealing it's Commander-only lol.
Love the design, but 5 is a lot. White custom of this for any card could be ok at 5.
Slow, but should be fine in any format that can support Loam levels of slowness.
Rumbleweed is 1-2 mana away from being sweet.
Quite a few cool Desert cards.
Some of these Outlaw cards have me looking at The Black Cube again.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
The Outlaw deck is such a letdown, but I am currently building an Aragorn the Uniter convoke deck, and this fits right in XD
Damn. The first half had me excited that this was Eldrazi-specific ramp.
Bounty Board could definitely be decent! The blue one doesn't do a whole lot in my cube, I don't think.
Did I mention have a Karador Desert Eldrazi deck already? Yeah, I think I might
Made me read the whole card before revealing it's Commander-only lol.
I know we complain about this all the time but why oh why must so many commander cards be 2 full paragraphs of text.
Man I wish Cactus Preserve was designed for 1v1 just because the art is sick. <---- succulents fan
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