Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Decks: Are They Worth It?

Last updated on April 18, 2024

Vihaan, Goldwaker | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

Wow, Outlaws of Thunder Junction spoiler season was messy, wasn’t it? Between the chaotic main set, the Breaking News bonus sheet, repurposed “The Big Score” cards, and Special Guests, it felt like literally everything was coming to Thunder Junction booster packs (including 50+ commanders!). And with an entire set of Commander precons, the set feels even more crowded beyond all that.

Thankfully, the Wild West’s four Commander decks are [mostly] their own separate thing, complete with a different set symbol and set code. But are they worth your money? Let’s check these decks out and break down their strategies, reprint value, and the newcomers they bring to Magic.

Right this way, my friends.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck Bundle - Includes All 4 Decks (Quick Draw, Desert Bloom, Grand Larceny, and Most Wanted)

• SADDLE UP FOR A WILD RIDE—Join a crew of deadly desperados, plot brazen heists, and defeat your rival outlaws in the frontier world of Thunder Junction
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCING 40 COMMANDER CARDS—Get all 4 Outlaws of Thunder Junction decks for a total of 40 never-before-seen Commander cards, with 10 in each deck (including 2 Traditional Foil Legendary Creatures, 1 of which is Borderless, in each)
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—All 4 Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Decks; each 100-card deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$135.56

Buy on Amazon

What Are the Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Decks?

Veyran, Voice of Duality | Illustration by Mathias Kollros

Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander consists of four preconstructed Commander decks tied to the themes and mechanics of the Standard-release Outlaws of Thunder Junction set. It’s the Wild West of Magic! And I mean that literally, not just in the sense that we get 4-mana 8/4s with upside these days.

Just to be clear, the Commander offerings have their own distinct set symbol and set code (OTC), though they incorporate elements of the main set (OTJ).

Each OTC precon includes the following:

• 100 total cards.
• 10 New-to-Magic cards.
• 2 foil borderless legends (with this set, they’re moving away from the foil etched display commanders).
• 1 2-card Collector booster Sample Pack. These include a foil Breaking News uncommon and one foil or non-foil rare/mythic Booster Fun card.
• 10 Double-sided tokens (with Bounty Card rules on the back).
• 1 Life Counter, Deck Box, and strategy insert.

Notably, there’s a “Bounty” mini-game inserted into these Commander precons, though it’s completely optional whether you engage with it or not. The double-sided tokens have “bounties” on the back, which grant players bonuses as they meet certain conditions. We won’t get into the details here, but it could be a nice wrinkle to add to your precon vs. precon matches.

For Value/Fun

For Competitive EDH

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Most Wanted (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Quick Draw (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$35.02

$41.74

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

For Value/Fun

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Most Wanted (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$35.02

Buy on Amazon

For Competitive EDH

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Quick Draw (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$41.74

Buy on Amazon

I’m going to get this out of the way upfront: These are some of the weakest EDH decks we’ve seen in a long time. They almost unanimously offer strong, new cards mixed in with tons of reprints that haven’t been particularly competitive in a while. That’s perfectly fine if you intend to play these precons against one another, or if you’re going to do a full deck overhaul anyway, but the fact that Wizards is pumping out 20+ Commander precons per year is really starting to show some wear. Murders at Karlov Manor Commander proved that precons can still hit pretty hard, but these are some of the least exciting decks I’ve reviewed in a while.

That said, they’re significantly more beginner-friendly than some of the most recent line-ups. Let’s see if we can dig and find more positives out of these decklists.

Most Wanted

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Most Wanted is a () “outlaws” deck wrangled by everyone’s favorite betrothed vampire, Olivia, Opulent Outlaw. The new “outlaw” batching term refers to rogues, assassins, mercenaries, pirates, and warlocks, which makes this a mish-mash typal deck combining those five different creature types. There have been some complaints about the flavor and fan service elements of Thunder Junction, but it makes sense in the context of this deck.

The alternative commander is Vihaan, Goldwaker, which highlights the deck’s secondary Treasure theme. This seems like a pretty powerful Treasure payoff that still rewards you for playing outlaws. Honestly, both Olivia and Vihaan seem like viable commanders to lead this ragtag team of troublemakers.

The overall strategy is a little bit unfocused; you want to play outlaws and make Treasure tokens, but most of the outlaws in the deck are just doing their own individual things in a way that doesn’t feel very synergistic. That means it’s one of those decks that’s very reliant on the commander pulling everything together, which Olivia does nicely. This plays out more like a “good stuff” deck and feels a bit loose at times, but the individual power level of cards is high enough. I’m just a little weary of games where you’re holding cards like Witch of the Moors and Captivating Crew and wondering what in tarnation you’re supposed to be doing.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

I consider all these precons weak. However, a weaker out-of-the-box precon can definitely make up for the power of its cards by offering great reprint value. We’ll see if that’s the case here.

All the usual caveats apply. I’m excluding new-to-Magic cards in the value breakdown due to the uncertainty of pre-release prices associated with those cards. Additionally, any big-ticket reprints here have the possibility of tanking in price, especially for cards that are receiving a first-time reprint.

Most Wanted includes 12 cards in the $2-$5 range, four cards in the $6-$10 range, and two cards currently sitting above $10. That’s a pretty good showing, especially considering Academy Manufactor is such an important staple in Commander right now. Command Beacon and Breena, the Demagogue are the two most expensive reprints, and there’s a decent selection of semi-valuable lands like Fetid Heath and Blackcleave Cliffs.

I’m going to keep harping on this point until it changes, but once again we’re seeing absolute bare minimum mana bases from these decks. They’re functional, but they include almost no utility lands and skimp out on including any heavy-hitting staples. How are we still putting Tainted Peak in precons? Would it hurt to have one Triome per deck, Wizards?

The new-to-Magic cards are the standouts from these decks, really putting the reprints to shame. I’ll be sure to highlight a few from each individual precon. Most of the big-hitters here are outlaw-specific and therefore too narrow to become format staples, but I really think Vihaan, Goldwaker has a shot at becoming a popular new Treasure commander. We Ride at Dawn also has some universal appeal as generic legendary support with bonus mercenary text.

Sol Ring received the same new art in all these decks. Impulsive Pilferer also received new art in Most Wanted, and Desolate Mire received its first in-universe art after debuting in the Fallout precons.

The Verdict

Most Wanted gets “cool points” for its unique outlaw theme, and the way it weaves a Treasure deck in there feels organic and rewarding. It has a lot of room for customization given the huge swath of creatures that count as outlaws, and the individual card quality and reprint value gets a thumbs up from me. I can’t really ignore the fact that I’m seeing things like Mistmeadow Skulk and Hex in a 2024 precon, but at least cards like that make upgrading the deck a whole lot easier. Solid, overall.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Most Wanted (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• CRIME ALWAYS PAYS—Amass treasure and hire fierce outlaws to overpower your foes with this Red-White-Black deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards (one of which is Borderless!)
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Most Wanted Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$35.02

Buy on Amazon

Grand Larceny

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Grand Larceny (the precon, not the crime) is a () “theft” deck. We’ve seen these before, and the only truly unique thing about this one is that it’s flavored as a “saboteur” strategy, that's to say rewarding you when your creatures deal combat damage to a player. Gonti, Canny Acquisitor runs the show, essentially drawing cards from your opponents’ libraries as your creatures make contact with their faces. Gonti also cheapens spells you’ve stolen from your opponents, something we haven’t really seen before.

You could also run the alternative commander, uh, Felix Five-Boots. It basically doubles your saboteur effects, though it’s in clear second place to Gonti for the purposes of playing out of the box. This deck has some terrible cards like Slither Blade and Triton Shorestalker, which are only justifiable if Gonti’s there to make them useful. Swapping Gonti for Felix might be a rootin’ scootin’ good time, but the rest of your deck suffers under Felix’s watch.

Otherwise, this is standard theft-faire, and not entirely unique in any meaningful way. Steal cards from your opponents and hope they’re better than the odd assortment of cards in your deck. Pro tip: I know it’s the Wild West, but be sure to return anything you “borrowed” from your opponents at the end of the game.

It’s playing a bunch of bangers from early Commander days that don’t feel up to snuff in modern Magic, things like Diluvian Primordial and Silent-Blade Oni. It’s operational out of the box against other precons, but you’ll definitely feel the age of these cards if you port it over to the average Commander pod.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

This deck misses the mark on power level, and I’m afraid to say it falls short on reprint value as well. There are seven cards in the $2-$5 range, and two more in the $5-$10 range. No big-money card to speak of here, which is maybe on-theme for a deck that has to steal anything of worth from someone else.

Notably, Mind's Dilation is the most expensive reprint here, and as much as I love that card, I’d be lying if I said it was highly competitive. Also be aware that a lot of the reprint value is tied to dual lands like Darkslick Shores and Underground River. It’s cool to see some Standard-viable lands in a Commander precon, but those lands will likely lose a bit of their value once they rotate from Standard.

To be fair, this deck invites some juicy newcomers to the fold, hopefully with stabilizing price tags that can make up for the rest of the deck’s weak offerings. Heartless Conscription is a really cool new black board wipe. Sure, it’s 8 mana, but it lets you cast all the creatures that it exiles over time (yours included!). Smirking Spelljacker is an incredible counterspell-creature, letting you Spelljack something right off the stack. Tower Winder’s not amazing, but I like the Command Tower shoutout. Finally, Felix Five-Boots isn’t the preferred commander for the precon, but it’s got potential as the five-footed lead of a deck built entirely around it.

Brainstealer Dragon, Extract Brain, and Fallen Shinobi received new art in this deck. Overflowing Basin and Viridescent Bog got the MTG art treatment here as well.

The Verdict

I hate to say it, but Grand Larceny is a miss for me. Not a complete bust, of course, but it’s dragged down by a theme we’ve seen plenty of times before, poor reprint quality, and the inclusion of some questionably weak cards. I love a lot of the new-to-Magic cards here, but I can’t see cards like Stolen Goods and Plasm Capture in a modern-day precon and recommend it to players in good conscience. There’s also something to be said about the polarizing opinions surrounding theft decks. It fits some players’ playstyles perfectly, and others absolutely loathe it as a strategy. Make what you will from that, but I’m going to have to settle on a pass for this precon.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Grand Larceny (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• WHAT’S THEIRS IS YOURS—Steal cards from your friends, then defeat them with all the shiny spells you’ve stolen with this Black-Green-Blue deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards (one of which is Borderless!)
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Grand Larceny Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$41.72

Buy on Amazon

Quick Draw

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Contrary to popular belief, drawing very quickly doesn’t change how good your cards are. Quick Draw is a () spellslinger deck, and if I was saying that out loud, you’d note a very specific lack of enthusiasm in my voice as I said it. This deck packages 10 new Magic cards with every generic Izzet spells payoff you’ve seen in every other spell-based deck for the past 10 years. If you’ve ever bought a UR precon, you probably already own 50% of this deck. In case you can’t tell, I’m not a fan.

Facilitating your flurry of spells is Stella Lee, Wild Card. Stella does a stellar job of showcasing the storm elements of the deck, rewarding you for multi-spelling by letting you copy one of your spells each turn. The passive impulse draw is nice, too. While the backup commander, Eris, Roar of the Storm is certainly the weaker of the two box legends, it’s way more interesting since it requires some deliberate deck-building choices. Never underestimate a commander with cost reduction, especially one that spits out free 4/4s. That said, Stella’s the clear winner out of the box.

Strategically, this is a spellslinger deck with storm finishers. That means casting as many spells as possible in a given turn and finishing up with a big Elemental Eruption. There aren’t that many actual storm cards, but the point is just rattling off instants and sorceries.

This deck is also incredibly redundant. There are multiple Young Pyromancer-type creatures with different costs and stat-lines, and a few Guttersnipe-style cards as well. Between cards with similar effects and the mass of cantrips and draw spells at your disposal, I expect this deck to play out in a similar way nearly every game.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

I’m not jazzed about the strategic elements of this deck, but it’s a winner for reprint value. There are eight cards in the $2-$5 range, five in the $5-$10 range, and two $10+ cards. Those two big-ticket cards are Bloodthirsty Adversary and Veyran, Voice of Duality, which aren’t the most universally played cards in the format, but I’ll take them.

The best part about the reprint value here is that most of it is concentrated in format staples. You’ll get copies of cards like Pongify, Vandalblast, Propaganda, Arcane Denial, and more, which makes this a great pick-up for anyone who might be starting out their Commander journey. If they don’t like the way the deck plays out, they’ll at least have plenty of quality cards to put into their next deck.

Crackling Spellslinger is a huge standout here. Instead of relying on some generic storm finisher, Spellslinger lets you build your own storm card. Players are going to have a lot of fun with this one. Pyretic Charge also feels like it’ll slot into a bunch of different decks, from go-wide token decks to ones that just empty their hand quickly.

Guttersnipe received new art here, and Ferrous Lake got its first non-Fallout art.

The Verdict

I’m really uninterested in UR spellslinger decks at this point. This feels like a rehash of Strixhaven’s Prismari Performance precon with new Thunder Junction cards, and a couple of new cards isn’t going to make me forget how generic this deck feels. The storm elements are a nice touch, but not enough to make this precon feel unique. Reprint value saves it, and the new cards steal the show, but you can only throw this archetype at me so many times before I start to just shrug it off. It’s a good pick-up for new players, but it offers very little for invested players, especially ones who already have good Izzet spells decks.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Quick Draw (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• HERE COMES A SHOWDOWN THROWDOWN—Become the quickest draw in Thunder Junction, casting multiple spells per turn, and duel your friends with a Blue-Red deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards (one of which is Borderless!)
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Quick Draw Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$41.74

Buy on Amazon

Desert Bloom

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

I really wanted to like Desert Bloom, but the desert payoffs are so few and far between that this just ends up being another landfall deck. It’s a () deck helmed by Yuma, Proud Protector (bonus points for trans representation!), who happens to be one of your only notable desert payoffs, and not that compelling of a payoff if you ask me.

Kirri, Talented Sprout is the alternate commander; it’s cute, but ultimately not that powerful either. It’s fun to see a typal legend that ties plants and treefolk together thematically, though. Yuma’s definitely your best bet out of the box.

This is a pretty standard landfall deck, with an emphasis on putting lands in and recurring lands from your graveyard. It has plenty of self-mill and recursion, with the endgame resting on cards like Avenger of Zendikar and Omnath, Locus of Rage. Unfortunately, the desert package feels very secondary to everything else. There are a handful of cards that reference deserts, but nothing that really changes the way you’ll play or pays you off that much for focusing on deserts. Sorry, but we’re just not going to win the average game of Commander with Ramunap Ruins.

I also want to emphasize that the overall card choices for this deck are weak. Avenger and Omnath are past their prime, and there are so many low-tier set-up cards like Eccentric Farmer, Crawling Sensation, and The Mending of Dominaria. This deck just doesn’t have the stabilizing power to spend this much time casting do-nothing enchantments and hoping for the best.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$

The reprint value in Desert Bloom isn’t impressive. It has four cards in the $2-$5 range, three in the $5-$10 range, and Ancient Greenwarden as a $13 hit. Almost everything of note here is a landfall-oriented card, so don’t expect too many format staples outside of Oracle of Mul Daya and Chromatic Lantern, which is in this deck for some reason?

My big gripe here is that there’s not a single land in the deck worth more than a dollar. I’d expect my landfall deck to have notable lands, but this deck somehow has the least desirable mana base of the entire OTJ precon line-up. Greenwarden’s a nice pick-up, though.

Thankfully we’ve got some awesome new cards to sow some positivity into this review. The two commanders are both interesting in their own rights, but take a look at Angel of Indemnity. Sun Titan’s been showing its age (it’s also in the deck, by the way), and Angel of Indemnity feels like the next evolution of that type of card. Embrace the Unknown is an altogether cool card, art and all, and Rumbleweed has a lot of potential in lands decks as a giant Overrun effect.

Wreck and Rebuild and Sunscorched Divide received their first in-universe arts in this deck.

The Verdict

This deck fails on two fronts: It’s not powerful enough out of the box to compete with the average Commander deck these days, and it’s not interesting or rewarding enough to warrant digging up old desert payoffs from Amonkhet block. The desert tagline misses here, and “lands matter” isn’t an exciting enough fallback to make this deck stand out. Recurring lands from the graveyard instead of getting them from your deck is only so different when your payoffs are still just cards like Avenger of Zendikar and Scute Swarm. The reprint value’s also mid at best, and the notable reprints are very landfall-specific. This deck should’ve persuaded people to scavenge up their old deserts and desert payoffs, but it doesn’t give anyone a compelling enough reason to do that. I’m sorry, but I do-si-don’t want anything to do with this deck.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Desert Bloom (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• BRING LIFE TO THE DESERT—Discard Land cards, then rejuvenate them for a lively victory with this Red-Green-White deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards (one of which is Borderless!)
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Desert Bloom Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$31.94

Buy on Amazon

The Best Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck

For Value

Most Wanted? More like Most Value. This deck narrowly beats Quick Draw on reprint value, owing mostly to a welcome Command Beacon reprint and a smattering of decent dual lands in the mana base. Remember that the prices of new-to-Magic cards weren’t considered for financial analysis, so individual deck values could shift if any of the new cards really take off.

Somehow a deck named Grand Larcney – you know, the act of stealing money and things of value – comes in last place in terms of reprint value.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Most Wanted (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• CRIME ALWAYS PAYS—Amass treasure and hire fierce outlaws to overpower your foes with this Red-White-Black deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards (one of which is Borderless!)
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Most Wanted Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$35.02

Buy on Amazon

For Competitive EDH

As usual, none of these decks are prepared to compete in cEDH pods out of the box, at least not without a major overhaul. Quick Draw probably has the best base for a competitive deck, given its emphasis on cheap, interactive spells and potent combo finishers. Emphasis on major overhaul if you want to show this off in cEDH.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Quick Draw (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• HERE COMES A SHOWDOWN THROWDOWN—Become the quickest draw in Thunder Junction, casting multiple spells per turn, and duel your friends with a Blue-Red deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards (one of which is Borderless!)
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Quick Draw Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$41.74

Buy on Amazon

For Fun

Most Wanted wins this hootenanny by a long shot, and it’s really not even close. Between “theft deck,” “Izzet spells,” “landfall,” and “outlaws,” which do you think is going to give you the most unique experience out of the box? Clearly the one that hasn’t been done to death 100 different ways already. The outlaw theme is intriguing, even if it’s just a cover for what’s ostensibly another Treasure deck.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Most Wanted (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

• CRIME ALWAYS PAYS—Amass treasure and hire fierce outlaws to overpower your foes with this Red-White-Black deck that’s ready-to-play right out of the box
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering, including 2 foil Legendary Creature cards (one of which is Borderless!)
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
• CONTENTS—1 ready-to-play Most Wanted Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck, a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box

$35.02

Buy on Amazon

Round Up

Angel of Indemnity | Illustration by Denman Rooke

Oof, pardner. This wasn’t a good showing for Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander. As a whole, this is one of the weakest commander line-ups we’ve seen in a while, in terms of reprint value, card quality, and even deck themes. Most Wanted feels unique enough, but the other three demonstrate the problem of oversaturating the market with Commander precons. I don’t care what kind of twist you put on it, Izzet spells just isn’t a theme we need more precons built around.

For Value/Fun

For Competitive EDH

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Most Wanted (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Quick Draw (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$35.02

$41.74

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

For Value/Fun

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Most Wanted (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$35.02

Buy on Amazon

For Competitive EDH

Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck - Quick Draw (100-Card Deck, 2-Card Collector Booster Sample Pack + Accessories)

$41.74

Buy on Amazon

Despite my overall negativity, I want to emphasize how awesome the new cards are. The commanders seem interesting across the board, with the secondary commanders being some of the standouts. Unfortunately, there’s a huge disparity between the quality of the new cards and the power level of some of the cards that snuck their way into these decks. It truly feels like I’m looking at decklists from Commander 2013. At least they’re more beginner-friendly than some of the precons we’ve been receiving lately.

I’m normally much more positive about these precon line-ups, but this batch felt disappointing. I’m not sure if I’m in the minority with that opinion, so I’d like to hear how everyone else feels. Are any of these decks exciting to you, or are you interested in any of the new cards in particular? Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord.

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