The Ultimate Guide to Outlaws of Thunder Junction Draft

Last updated on April 25, 2024

Rakdos, the Muscle | Illustration by Victor Maury

Howdy planeswalkers! Outlaws of Thunder Junction has been out for a solid week, so it’s high noon for another draft guide. I've drafted the set what seems like countless times and have an overall record of 47-15-1 on MTGO.

Below you’ll learn all about how to best draft this surprisingly great Limited set. We'll cover mechanics, the archetypes, the best cards, and everything in between.

Let's jump in!

Set Overview

Hellspur Brute | Illustration by Caio Monteiro

Before we begin, I have a confession to make: I hated drafting Murders at Karlov Manor. I’d go so far as to consider it a bottom five all time set for me. The set’s weird mix of noninteractive races plus unbeatable bomb rares (with every game seemingly being about one or the other) left a bad taste in my mouth. I played the Arena Open and a handful of online Sealed tournaments, but I spent very little time drafting the set for fun.

Going into Outlaws of Thunder Junction, I had fears of a similar outcome. Were Play boosters to blame? After all, we had more rare cards now. Plus this was yet another Magic set with questionable flavor, as we’d gone from “What if everyone wears a Detective Cap?” to “what if everyone wears a cowboy hat?”. Plucky Outlaw aggro (“guess that’s 20 damage, partner”) haunted my dreams. Would my Worst Fears be realized?

Thankfully, the answer seems to be no! I’ve really enjoyed this set and have found it to be much slower and more interesting than Murders at Karlov Manor. If I could sum the set up in three words, I’d say it’s about:

1. Value
2. Removal
3. Fatties

In that order. While there are some strong aggressive 2-drops like Trained Arynx, I haven’t felt under nearly as much immediate pressure as in Murders at Karlov Manor. This gives you more time to generate value, assemble synergies, and splash other colors.

Mechanics Revisited

If you’ve drafted Outlaws of Thunder Junction a couple of times, I’m sure you know the mechanics by now. Let’s just revisit each briefly to evaluate how they actually played out.

Crime

Crime is a fair part of why the format has worked for me so far. It’s a fun mechanic with a bunch of different uses that can either be a small part of your deck (i.e. you have a Freestrider Lookout and some ping deserts) or a main focus (usually in () with cards like Blood Hustler). Cards like Nimble Brigand, Raven of Fell Omens, and Intimidation Campaign play much better in certain decks than others.

Plot

Plot has also been a treat to play with. The decision points with this mechanic are interesting, and as with crime there’s a great deal of diversity in terms of how plot cards play out. Some decks dabble for great standalone creatures like Spinewoods Paladin, while others go all in on “second spell” payoffs.

Saddle

This is another mechanic that has played well. Saddling up your mount creatures has been a less binary choice than crewing vehicles, which generally do nothing unless crewed. The abilities are certainly powerful, but giving up two blockers to do so won’t always be the correct decision. Either way, ended up being one of the best archetypes in the set, so my expectations here were outperformed!

Spree

Not much to say about this one. The best spree cards are must-plays, the good ones almost always make the cut, and the rest tend to either be deck-specific or sideboard cards. I have yet to see anyone get much use out of Rustler Rampage, Shifting Grift, or Return the Favor.

Outlaws, Mercenaries, and Deserts

Outlaws has been a pretty medium archetype for and against me. Some of its payoffs like Rakish Crew and At Knifepoint have seemed quite underpowered.

Mercenaries have been nice fodder and useful with lifelink creatures, first strikers, and fliers. There haven’t been any major surprises with how the mercenary tokens played out for me. They’re most relevant in , , and decks, though you’ll often have some access to them in anything with red cards or black cards.

As for deserts, they’ve outperformed expectations for a couple of reasons:

• Conduit Pylons and Mirage Mesa are solid mana fixing for most decks, but the ping dual lands have been even better thanks to crime synergy.
• While there aren’t actually that many desert payoffs in the set, Cactarantula and Desert's Due are phenomenal commons. Having 3+ deserts makes a huge difference in how they play out.

Colors Ranked

The color balance in Outlaws of Thunder Junction is decent, though there are some clear winners and losers. Here’s how I’d rank the five colors in this set:

1. Green
2. White
3. Black
4. Red
5. Blue

Green

Green cards are the best in the set by a fair margin. Green has many strengths, such as:

• Being the best color to splash bombs and removal from other colors, with three good commons for this purpose (Dance of the Tumbleweeds, Patient Naturalist, and Hardbristle Bandit).
• Quality fatties like Spinewoods Paladin, Cactarantula, and Giant Beaver that easily outsize most creatures.
• A strong common removal spell (Throw from the Saddle) that’s much better than green’s usual fare.
• Snakeskin Veil, which provides hexproof, and which plays well with large plot creatures since you won’t have to tap out to deploy them.

Green’s main weakness is actually to its own strength, as I’ve heard many reports of it being overdrafted on both MTG Arena and MTGO. While green is definitely a good place to be, it’s important to know to draft other colors, as it will dry up sometimes.

White

White cards are probably the second-best in this set, though it’s closer to third than first in terms of quality. Some things white has going for it include:

• Some of the best cheap creatures in the format like Trained Arynx, Sterling Keykeeper, and Holy Cow.
• One of the strongest common removal spells that’s often a compelling splash (Mystical Tether).
• An excellent trick in Take Up the Shield, which plays similarly well with plot creatures.

White is slimmer on premium cards than green, though, as its other two removal spells (Eriette's Lullaby and Steer Clear) are less impressive. It also has some subpar filler like Armored Armadillo, Wanted Griffin, and Inventive Wingsmith that I’m pleased to cut when I can.

Black

Black has personally been my most drafted color, despite its middling ranking here. This is because:

• Consuming Ashes and Desert's Due give black the best common removal in the set.
• Cheap creatures like Vault Plunderer and Desperate Bloodseeker have overperformed as solid early game plays for controlling black decks.
• The format has been slow enough for value cards like Mourner's Surprise and Ambush Gigapede to earn their keep.

Where black struggles is creature sizing; this isn’t a good color for large bodies. It pairs phenomenally with green, as the gulf in creature quality between Spinewoods Paladin and Giant Beaver versus Overzealous Muscle and Boneyard Desecrator is pretty obvious.

Red

Red is an aggressive color in a set where aggro has seemed outmatched by value decks for the most part. Neither it nor aggro is unviable, but drafting colorful good-stuff piles has been my go-to approach to Outlaws so far. When you do play red, be on the lookout for:

• Explosive Derailment, which is red’s best common and one of the only red commons you’ll ever see me splash.
• Prickly Pair, which is a close second and a key piece of red’s go-wide plan.
• Outlaws' Fury, a unique common that’s especially important for and decks.

I’d recommend against playing either Quick Draw (outclassed by other colors tricks) and Rodeo Pyromancers (reads better than it plays, outclassed by other 4-drops).

Blue

Blue cards are overall the worst in the set, unfortunately. It’s not even close to unplayable (think Battle for Zendikar green for an idea of what that’s actually like), but blue lacks the depth of other colors. It has some great commons, but also more stinkers than any other color. When evaluating blue cards, look out for:

• Phantom Interference, which is the best Quench variant I’ve ever seen. I’m happy to play 2+ copies (especially with “no spells cast” payoffs), but definitely try to include other instants as plot can make it awkward to use.
• Loan Shark, which is blue’s best common creature and a great value play.

As for cards to avoid, blue has the lowest quality common creatures of any color. Creatures like Slickshot Vault-Buster, Djinn of Fool's Fall, and Spring Splasher are almost always going to be inferior to creatures in any of the four other colors.

Top Commons Revisited

How did I do with my top four commons for my Sealed Guide to Outlaws of Thunder Junction before the set launched? Let’s revisit and take a quick look.

White

I listed Mystical Tether, Vengeful Townsfolk, Holy Cow, and Sterling Keykeeper as my top four commons. Having played the set, I’d now rank my top four commons for white this way:

1. Mystical Tether
2. Trained Arynx
3. Sterling Supplier
4. Take Up the Shield (Holy Cow is a close #5)

I got two out of four correct! My main miss was Vengeful Townsfolk, which felt more like filler than a premium card in most decks. It’s best in but probably outclassed by Holy Cow even there. I also missed Trained Arynx, which is the best 2-drop common in the format thanks to its flexibility, power, and mount creature type. The set also generally lacks pingers and x/1 hate (Skulduggery aside) which has helped it.

Blue

I listed Geyser Drake, Phantom Interference, Take the Fall, and Loan Shark as blue’s best commons. Having played the set, I’d now rank my top four commons for blue this way:

1. Take the Fall
2. Loan Shark
3. Phantom Interference
4. Jailbreak Scheme

I got three out of four correct! My primary miscalculation was in overrating Geyser Drake, which is good in flash but merely filler in other decks. Jailbreak Scheme has overperformed due to its lategame strength and passable quality as a tempo spell (you’re not even overpaying for Time Ebb).

Black

I listed Consuming Ashes, Vault Plunderer, Desert's Due, and Mourner's Surprise as black’s best commons. Having played the set, I’d now rank my top four commons for black this way:

1. Consuming Ashes
2. Desert's Due
3. Vault Plunderer
4. Desperate Bloodseeker (Mourner's Surprise is a close #5)

Once again, I got three out four correct, though this time I was close to four out of four. The removal is great, with Desert's Due being even better than expected thanks to the desirability of deserts themselves. Desperate Bloodseeker ended up great too since it’s a lifelink bear with “when this enters, commit a crime” upside. The mill isn’t irrelevant, as you can target yourself to boost cards like Back for More and Mourner's Surprise when committing a crime doesn’t matter. Lastly, I do still like Mourner's Surprise in general, but as with most cards like it, you’ll rarely want more than one copy.

Red

I listed Explosive Derailment, Prickly Pair, Thunder Salvo, and Reckless Lackey as red’s best commons. Having played the set, I’d now rank my top four commons for red this way:

1. Explosive Derailment
2. Prickly Pair
3. Thunder Salvo
4. Discerning Peddler (Reckless Lackey is a close #5)

As with black, I got three out of four correct, the only miss being a close #5, so we can conclude that red was pretty straightforward to evaluate. Discerning Peddler’s strength comes from a lack of great competition; it easily outclasses Deadeye Duelist in all but the most crime-focused decks.

Green

I listed Patient Naturalist, Throw from the Saddle, Dance of the Tumbleweeds, and Hardbristle Bandit as green’s best commons. Having played the set, I’d now rank my top four commons for green this way:

1. Spinewoods Paladin
2. Patient Naturalist
3. Throw from the Saddle
4. Cactarantula

Green was my least accurate color, with two out of four correct. However, Dance of the Tumbleweeds is still great, and Hardbristle Bandit has been a good 2-drop for greedy green decks. What I largely missed was the sheer quality of green’s fatties this go-around; both Spinewoods Paladin and Cactarantula are well above the power curve for the rest of the set’s creatures. Spinewoods Paladin gets the #1 spot for not requiring any deserts and being so flexible, but you really can’t go wrong with most of green’s commons.

Reviewing Commons to Avoid

I recommended that you avoid playing Armored Armadillo, Ambush Gigapede, Nezumi Linebreaker (outside of ), and Tumbleweed Rising (outside of ).

I was wrong about Ambush Gigapede (better high end than expected, has crime synergy, and lots of x/2s to kill) and Tumbleweed Rising (playable in most decks with big guys). With the benefit of having played the set, some other cards I’d recommend against are:

If you need a blocker, Inventive Wingsmith can block I suppose. But of all the 3-drops in the format, this white creature is a clear candidate for pulling the shortest stick. Holy Cow and Vengeful Townsfolk outclass it in all four Wx archetypes.

Djinn of Fool's Fall is an inefficient and fragile top end for decks that need either win conditions or plot synergy for second spell/no spells cards. This blue creature is outclassed by Spinewoods Paladin to an unbelievable degree.

Slickshot Vault-Buster is another candidate for the worst common 3-drop. However, I’m partial to it if you can get enough Take the Fall and ping deserts.

Overzealous Muscle is what mediocre fat looks like. It’s outclassed by all sorts of other common 5s, so only play this black creature if you really need some beef.

I read the sacrifice ability multiple times, but at no point did “draw a card” ever cross my eyes. Boneyard Desecrator‘s base stats aren’t great and most decks can barely make use of the ability. Even with enough Mercenary tokens, I’ve still yet to see this black creature take over a game.

Green notably has no truly bad commons; its worst cards by stats are Freestrider Commando (filler 3-drop that’s more valuable when plotted) and Ankle Biter (efficient defensive creature against other green players). Did I mention that green is the best color?

Archetypes Revisited

I covered all of the set’s 10 archetypes in the last guide, but only in brief. Let’s go into more detail on each, shall we?

Overall Rankings

As with the last guide, I want to give you a tier list for all ten archetypes in this format. I used both public statistics and personal experience to come to my conclusions. With that said, here’s how I’d rate each of the ten 2-color pairs:

Best Decks

1. GW Mounts
2. BG Recursion
3. WB Attrition

Good Decks

4. RG Ferocious
5. RW Aggro
6. GU Ramp Plot
7. UB Crime
8. BR Outlaws

Mediocre Decks

9. WU Flash Plot
10. UR Two-Spells Plot

Before we get to the nitty gritty for each archetype, I wanted to make two important points.

• There are no truly unplayable archetypes in this format. WU and UR have definitely underperformed, but I’d still be willing to draft both with an open seat.
• Splashing is often desirable in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, which makes all of the Gx archetypes better than they might otherwise be.

GW Mounts (Midrange/Aggro)

GW Mounts gets the title of best deck in the format from me. It’s not a huge gulf, but the deck has a number of excellent payoffs and great synergy with Throw from the Saddle. It also helps that just about every mount creature is good. The best ones are premium, but I’ve yet to feel bad about playing any of them (the weakest ones like Bridled Bighorn and Drover Grizzly are still above average playables).

Payoffs

GW Mounts has some of the best payoffs of any 2-color archetype. Seraphic Steed, Congregation Gryff, Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero, Miriam, Herd Whisperer, Selvala, Eager Trailblazer… the hits just keep coming in this color pair! Getting passed any of these five cards is an easy pathway into drafting GW, which also happens to be a pairing of the two best individual colors. I’d also be remiss not to mention Bucolic Ranch, which is an incredible land for this archetype. I’ve even used it to splash The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride before!

Key Commons

Since GW happens to be color #1 plus color #2, it’s also very possible to fall into drafting it without starting with anything above common. GW players should value cards like Throw from the Saddle, Trained Arynx and Giant Beaver highly. Just about anything that says “mount” is good. There’s also no rule against playing normally good cards, so feel free to draft the usual green and white staples.

Playing Against It

GW decks can vary widely in their card quality and level of aggression. It’s generally been my experience that GW decks without a splash are streamlined aggressive decks, while GWx decks tend to be slimmer on mount payoffs and 2-drops. Be careful of Snakeskin Veil and Take Up the Shield either way, which are quality tricks GW will have access to. You’ll generally want to match simpler mounts in combat and save your removal for rares and flying threats like Congregation Gryff.

BG Recursion (Midrange/Control)

This is my favorite archetype to draft. It has access to the best removal, the best mana fixing, and the most desert payoffs of any color pair. This makes it one of the most common base pairs for 4- to 5-color value piles, though you won’t need to splash in every case.

Payoffs

BG’s multicolor cards are generally great, particularly Honest Rutstein which is one of the strongest signposts in the set. It’s also the best archetype for taking advantage of Rise of the Varmints and Stubborn Burrowfiend, which reward you for filling your graveyard with creatures.

Key Commons

Patient Naturalist is the #1 common in BG for me, even over premium removal like Throw from the Saddle and Consuming Ashes. This green creature provides great value and also happens to be the best enabler for Badlands Revival, Stubborn Burrowfiend, and other graveyard-matters effects. Since BG is the color pair of both Desert's Due and Cactarantula, you’ll want to prioritize deserts higher than normal. Splashing is often easier for this reason, so keep an eye out for premium cards in other colors like Journey to Nowhere and Repulse.

Playing Against It

You’re going to be in for a grind usually, so figure out whether you’re going under BG (RW, BR), over it (bigger Gx decks with better bombs), or trying to outmaneuver it (tempo strategies like UR/WU). Denying your opponent convenient trades can make Honest Rutstein worse, and BG isn’t usually aggressive enough to force them. Graveyard hate is unfortunately almost nonexistent in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, but if you’re lucky enough to have drafted Unlicensed Hearse, this is the matchup for it!

WB Attrition (Midrange)

WB Attrition is the best non-G archetype. It has the best removal in the format and lots of small efficient creatures, so expect most WB decks to feature a healthy mix of both. There’s also an implied token theme (see Kambal, Profiteering Mayor) that varies in importance depending on the number of payoffs you were able to draft for it.

Payoffs

Baron Bertram Graywater and Ruthless Lawbringer are the best sacrifice outlets in this format. These two are the reason to sleeve up Nezumi Linkbreaker. Prosperity Tycoon, Lassoed by the Law, and Unfortunate Accident are worth mentioning as great cards in general that play even better in WB.

Key Commons

Outlaw Medic, Nezumi Linkbreaker, Corrupted Conviction, Fake Your Own Death, and Vengeful Townsfolk are all better here than in other archetypes, too. Premium removal is more important than all but the best creatures, so take Mystical Tether and Consuming Ashes highly. Since you aren’t Gx, splashing is rarer and often limited to a handful of red cards like Laughing Jasper Flint and Take for a Ride (classic treason plus sac setup).

Playing Against It

Target selection with removal is important, as you’d hate to have a value engine like Baron Bertram Graywater live for long. Outgrinding WB or overpowering it with busted rares are distinct possibilities. Don’t be surprised if your first few threats are quickly answered though!

RG Ferocious (Midrange/Aggro)

This is a strong but straightforward archetype that loves 4+ power creatures. RG has occupied this space many times in various Draft formats, but the payoffs in Outlaws of Thunder Junction are superior to past 4+ power matters cards.

Payoffs

Jolene, Plundering Pugilist, Cactusfolk Sureshot, Scalestorm Summoner, and Beastbond Outcaster are all strong uncommons that amply reward you for this theme. I’ve been even more impressed with Outcaster Trailblazer and Smuggler's Surprise, two rares that are well worth maximizing in this archetype.

Key Commons

Good 4+ power creatures are key of course, so you’ll need to draft those. Drover Grizzly is at its best here since it’s the only common creature with 4+ power for less than 4 mana. Given that green is both the best color in the format and the best color for large creatures, expect most of your RG decks to be primarily G rather than R. This also means that RG is often well-equipped to splash for powerful bombs and removal spells from other colors.

Playing Against It

Using your removal correctly is key to surviving RG’s powerful onslaught. Drover Grizzly trades down with all sorts of creatures, so hopefully you won’t have to Mystical Tether it. Don’t forget about ward on creatures like Cactusfolk Sureshot and Spinewoods Armadillo!

RW Mercenaries (Aggro)

RW is my favorite go-wide deck in the format. It makes great use of cards like Prickly Pair and Outlaws' Fury, which can overwhelm decks reliant on big creatures and 1-for-1 removal.

Payoffs

Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor and Form a Posse are excellent signposts for this archetype. Bruse Tarl, Roving Rancher is also a premium rare, but unfortunately it’s often scooped up by green drafters looking to splash it. As a go-wide strategy, RW makes better use of cards like Requisition Raid and Sheriff of Safe Passage than other decks.

Key Commons

Always grab the first copy of Outlaws' Fury; this red instant is a must-have. Otherwise you’ll want to focus on predictable aggro desires, like premium 2-drops and removal spells to clear blockers. RW is among the least likely archetypes to splash other colors.

Playing Against It

Neutralize the Guards and Caught in the Crossfire shine here as a way to clear up masses of Mercenary tokens. You’ll also want to board in cheap removal (i.e., Steer Clear), Eriette's Lullaby, and blockers in BO3 against this deck, as it’s generally one of the fastest in the format.

GU Ramp Plot (Midrange/Control)

GU does typical Simic things in this set, as it looks to go big and often splashes lots of other colors. Where it deviates from the mold a bit is its specific focus on plotting cards at a discount to setup powerful future turns.

Payoffs

Bonny Pall, Clearcutter, Oko, the Ringleader, and Make Your Own Luck are three of the best reasons to be GU. Bonny Pall, Clearcutter in particular is notable for being rather than , which makes splashing it very difficult for decks that aren’t base blue. Make Your Own Luck is high variance (thankfully I’ve yet to hit three lands with it), but the dream of hitting a 5+ card is worth it.

Lastly, Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius is GU’s promised plot payoff, but it’s actually pretty mopey compared to other signpost uncommons. It’s still a good card, but oftentimes plays closer to a vanilla 2/3 than you might expect.

Key Commons

You’re usually in no hurry to end games, so prioritize ramp, removal, and efficient creatures. You’ll often need to splash other colors to hit a critical mass of removal (5+ is a good aim in this format), as Stop Cold and Throw from the Saddle are your only common options in color. Jailbreak Scheme is one card I’ve liked for pushing past the board stalls that GU often finds itself in.

Playing Against It

GU is generally a great matchup for aggro decks, as it often needs time to set up and lacks the removal quality of BG. You’ll also often get some use out of counterspells like Phantom Interference, due to GU’s overreliance on ramp into clunky high end. Saving your kill spells for the right threats is often an essential ingredient to beating GUx piles.

UB Crimes (Control)

This is a fun control deck that makes the most of the new crime mechanic. There are more payoffs for the mechanic than most other archetypes, and many of them are well worth building around. You’ll also have an excuse to take as much removal as possible, which is a great choice in a bomb-heavy format like Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

Payoffs

Of the aforementioned crime payoffs, Blood Hustler, Servant of the Stinger, Intimidation Campaign, and Lazav, Familiar Stranger are some of the best ones. There’s also Vadmir, New Blood and Gisa, the Hellraiser for players lucky enough to open them. Marchesa, Dealer of Death also deserves a mention for being an ideal splash in this archetype.

Key Commons

Premium removal and ping deserts are essential in UB for obvious reasons. You’ll also make better use of mediocre crime cards like Skulduggery, and Spring Splasher than other decks. Focus on trading 1-for-1 and then rebuilding with 2-for-1s like Seize the Secrets, Vault Plunderer, and Intimidation Campaign.

Playing Against It

This is one of the grindiest decks in the format, so be prepared for a long struggle. Try to outlast their removal spells by deploying common fatties before whatever rare you have. This is also a great matchup for Snakeskin Veil, but do keep in mind that it won’t prevent your opponent from triggering crime-matters cards.

BR Outlaws (Aggro/Midrange)

BR is a decent aggressive strategy with some payoffs for the new “outlaw” grouping. Unfortunately, most of these payoffs aren’t great, so I’ve been a bit colder on this archetype than others. It does have some strong removal to help push its creatures into the red zone, though.

Payoffs

Laughing Jasper Flint, Rakdos, the Muscle, Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier, and Akul the Unrepentant are strong reasons to be BR. I didn’t list At Knifepoint here, which is quite the underpowered signpost for most BR decks. The only other outlaw payoffs worth mentioning are Hellspur Brute, Hellspur Posse Boss, and Outlaws' Fury.

Key Commons

Prickly Pair is incredible here since it’s good on its own and two outlaws for the price of one. Otherwise, standard comments about drafting good removal, 2-drops, and a copy or two of Outlaws' Fury apply. BR has similar draft priorities to RW but generally has worse creatures and better removal.

Playing Against It

Caught in the Crossfire tends to mop up BR nicely thanks to its reliance on small outlaws. This is an easy deck to outgrind for most archetypes, so focus on keeping your life total high. White removal is particularly desirable here since Mystical Tether and Lassoed by the Law ignore Rakdos, the Muscle’s protection ability.

WU Flash Plot (Tempo/Midrange)

WU is the first of two mediocre blue archetypes that are built around the plot mechanic. WU’s niche is its focus on instant speed gameplay, letting it remain flexible and respond to threats in a variety of different ways.

Payoffs

Jem Lightfoote, Sky Explorer and Wrangler of the Damned are proper payoffs for building your deck around instants and plot cards. Unfortunately for WU, there are few other cards like them, with Prairie Dog, Canyon Crab, and Emergent Haunting being the only others. They each make for great early game plays but can’t carry the deck later on versus more powerful archetypes.

Key Commons

If you’ve secured the right payoff cards, having a critical mass of plot/instant cards is essential. With that in mind, this is the best archetype for cards like Stop Cold, Holy Cow, and Phantom Interference. You also get even more usage out of Mystical Tether than normal, since this white enchantment‘s 5-mana mode is often essential. Most plot cards in these colors are kind of lackluster, so stick to the good ones like Loan Shark and Stagecoach Security if you can.

Playing Against It

Knowledge of the format/potential options is key, as you’ll need to account for a variety of things your opponent could have. Step one is often to play around Phantom Interference if you aren’t too far behind. You don’t have to worry about being eaten in combat by too many flash creatures, just Holy Cow, Wrangler of the Damned, and Stoic Sphinx if they have it.

UR Two-Spells Plot

Finally, we come to our final and (unfortunately) weakest archetype. UR is neat to assemble, but it lacks a critical mass of great plot cards and has subpar removal. Big green creatures like Cactarantula are an unfortunate nightmare for this archetype.

Payoffs

UR actually has some awesome payoffs for its two-spell theme. Kraum, Violent Cacophony, Malcolm, the Eyes, and Slick Sequence are about as good as it gets. I’ve also liked Lilah, Undefeated Slickshot, though it often plays better as a GRu or GUr card than a pure UR one. Premium higher rarity plot cards like Outlaw Stitcher, Longhorn Sharpshooter, and Stingerback Terror are must-haves if you can draft them!

Key Commons

Loan Shark, Highway Robbery, and Irascible Wolverine are essential cards for hitting a critical mass of plot stuff. You’ll need to rely on Explosive Derailment, Thunder Salvo, Stop Cold, and perhaps even Trick Shot for removal. UR struggles mightily with creature quality at common, as it has some of the worst options of any color pair.

Playing Against It

High Noon, Aven Interrupter, and Binding Negotiation are specific hate cards for the plot mechanic. Ultimately though, beating UR can be as simple as answering its rare payoffs, then overpowering the rest of its mediocre cards. It often lacks the critical mass of threats needed to stop Kraum, Violent Cacophony and Malcolm, the Eyes from eating removal whenever they show up.

Rares Revisited

This will be brief, but I wanted to update some of the endorsements I gave to various rares in my OTJ Sealed guide. Basically, the issue is one of false advertising; some of those cards just aren’t quite as good as I described them! I’ll also mention a couple of rares that I missed which are excellent.

Overrated Mythics

Archangel of Tithes definitely isn’t bad, but is a significant commitment for a white angel that has nothing on more busted rares like Oko, the Ringleader and Bristlebud Farmer.

Geralf, the Fleshwright isn’t bad by any means, but this blue warlock is best in the weakest archetype and quite beatable when it only makes a bear or two.

Not being able to cast Jace Reawakened early makes it harder to protect and much harder to -6. And -6 is notably the only way to get any hard card advantage out of this blue planeswalker. For the most part, all I’ve seen this card do is loot a few times then die, so color me quite unimpressed!

Sword of Wealth and Power definitely ranks among the weaker members of the “Sword of X and Y” cycle. I’ve seen this artifact in play a few times and have yet to see it take over a game. Doesn’t help much in combat and requires follow-up to generate value, and the protection fails against premium removal like Mystical Tether anyways. Might still play it in a deck with good removal + cheap creatures, but it’s far from a P1P1 windmill slam.

Overrated Rares

Not being able to hit face tames this Fireball substantially, and the Treasure upside hasn’t been enough to make up for that. Hell to Pay’s certainly playable removal, but this red sorcery isn’t the exciting rare I claimed it to be.

I’ve seen Akul the Unrepentant go pretty late, as BR isn’t the best archetype and Akul the Unrepentant isn’t broken enough to make up for that. By all means slam this flying, trampling dragon it if you were BR anyways, but feel free not to commit to this early on.

As with so many other cards, Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot isn’t unplayable but failed to live up to the hype. It depends heavily on a narrow set of cards that are red’s top commons anyways. If you don’t have any burn, Taii Wakeen’s just a vanilla 2/3 for . Good if you were RW anyways, but not worth forcing and building around.

Good Rares I Didn’t Mention

I failed the reading comprehension check on Rush of Dread. So long as you have an opponent and a lot of mana, you should be able to get some great value out of this black sorcery. You’ll have the option to attack their board, hand, and life total, potentially all at once. The “rounded up” line does an amazing amount of work in making this card good!

Annie Joins Up is the best of the “… Joins Up” cycle, which is actually composed mostly of bad rares. The base rate here is an average but hard to cast removal spell, but what makes this Naya enchantment enticing is its synergy with various legends. My first FNM deck had this plus Roxanne, Starfall Savant, which was quite the combo!

Situational Cards, Synergies, and Build-Arounds

I wanted to include this section to touch on a variety of unique synergies and build-arounds in Outlaws of Thunder Junction. A build-around is of course pretty much what it sounds like, a class of card that rewards you for structuring your gameplan around it. Outlaws has a few more build-arounds than past Magic sets, so I’ll cover each here. Note that not all of the cards here are true build-arounds; this is just a space for me to cover niche rares/uncommons that might not be intuitive to every player. Think of it like the set review sequel that you’ve always wanted, but never thought to ask for!

Mythics

Double Down should work pretty well when built around in UB, BRu and plain old Grixis (Cruel Ultimatum, anybody?). As with other build-arounds like this, you should be as close to 100% outlaws as possible before drafting this blue enchantment.

I haven’t seen Ghired, Mirror of the Wilds in play yet, but I’d love to try this human shaman sometime. It has good enough vanilla stats and a powerful ability that depends on certain cards. Tumbleweed Rising is at its best with Ghired, Mirror of the Wilds, as most other tokens you’ll copy would just be 1/1 Mercenaries.

Rares

I’ve yet to play this white sorcery and may never, but hey I mean, Another Round’s definitely a build-around! The lack of any sort of Unscrupulous Agent or Spirited Companion keeps me from wanting to try it though, so I wouldn’t recommend that you bother. I’m even less optimistic than I was when I first reviewed it.

Would love to play High Noon against UR sometime, as this white enchantment seems absolutely miserable for that archetype to play against. It’s somewhat maindeckable too, since it’s a roundabout Lava Axe.

Patient Naturalist is an essential companion to One Last Job, as it’s nice to have options without needing your creatures to die first. This white sorcery works as a splash in BG or as a standalone card in some GW Mounts builds. Having a critical mass of mounts is important for getting a consistent 2-for-1. Don’t sweat the third mode, as this set is pretty barren on both auras and equipment.

Jailbreak Scheme is your best hope at finding Archmage's Newt a way into the red zone. Without it, you are looking at a really fancy blue Grizzly Bears.

Fblthp, Lost on the Range is a pretty bad card, honestly. I mention it to caution people away from playing it. It’s uselessly small for its cost, and the free cards it draws you are delayed and often ineffective when plotted anyways (think counterspells or anything with spree).

Plotting this blue sorcery is the only way to use Step Between Worlds effectively, so perhaps this gets sideboarded once or twice in impossibly slow matchups. Otherwise I’d expect this to rot in many sideboards until the format is over!

Now this is a win-more card! If you can somehow pay 5 mana on absolutely nothing and then connect with your opponent, you’ll be greatly rewarded. The set lacks obvious pairings for The Key to the Vault (i.e. stuff like Invisible Stalker), so I’ve yet to see it do anything but embarrass whoever played this blue equipment.

Powerful but extremely greedy sorcery that needs a very black-heavy mana base (capable of hitting on turn 5) to be any good. You’ll also want access to something strong enough to justify playing a black tutor like Insatiable Avarice (i.e., Overwhelming Forces).

Fancy Raven's Crime is too weak to play on its own, so I’d only want Tinybones Joins Up in rare decks that have a high number of legends (5+) and lots of cards that care about crime.

From what I’ve heard, Slickshot Show-Off has been a real hit in Constructed, but it's difficult building around this red bird wizard in Limited. There are few other noncreature incentives, and many of the other plot spells are also creatures.

Satoru, the Infiltrator is an odd color break for the set, as it plays best with plot cards and has nothing to do with crimes. It’s a pretty good creature either way thanks to solid base stats.

Good luck getting Breeches, the Blastmaker to trigger, as disposable artifacts are exceedingly difficult to come by in this set. Mine Raider, Reckless Lackey, and Gold Pan are your best bets.

Vraska Joins Up is a pretty awful card. There are no pingers for easy deathtouch setups, and it’s basically impossible to hit a critical mass of legends.

Uncommons

Nurturing Pixie is best with cheap value creatures like Prickly Pair and Vault Plunderer. Also great with Mystical Tether and Journey to Nowhere if you can target a token first!

Crimes aren’t really a focus in white, so Omenport Vigilante is a unique 2-drop in that regard. It’s generally outclassed by Trained Arynx and Sterling Keykeeper, but it does work well with fight spells like Throw from the Saddle.

Volatile aggro card that has felt very hard to beat when ahead. Thunder Lasso is completely useless when behind, so I’d only play it in dedicated beatdown decks.

Mill isn’t a super deep theme in OTJ, but Deepmuck Desperado is strong enough to get the job done on its own sometimes. Best in UB as a blocker that sometimes works as an alternative win condition. Pair it with Visage Bandit for a good time.

Have a Mercenary… I’ll take you rare? Blue doesn’t really do mercenaries on its own, but perhaps UR with Prickly Pair gets to play this blue sorcery? Shifting Grift is going to be useless often, but there are matchups and decks where it could do some good work.

This Town Ain't Big Enough goes off with Slickshot Lockpicker for a cheeky bounce loop. This blue instant is also a pretty decent piece of interaction on its own merits.

Lively Dirge is well worth playing if you have a cheap bomb to tutor, as you’ll essentially have two copies in your deck with this.

Bastion of Remembrance was a great uncommon, but it was also much better positioned for its format and didn’t limit you to five types of creatures. I’ve yet to play Rakish Crew but could see doing so in a highly dedicated WB tokens strategy. Otherwise don’t bother as 3 mana for a Mercenary is embarrassing!

Treasure Dredger is unremarkable on its own, but notable as one of the best token generators for WB tokens payoffs like Baron Bertram Graywater and Kambal, Profiteering Mayor.

Another black creature that goes off with Nezumi Linkbreaker, though Unscrupulous Contractor is also acceptable without much support. I hope to draft the nut WB with this, Rakish Crew, and all sorts of other uncommons one day.

I feel slightly nauseous reading this card. Brimstone Roundup just doesn’t really do anything for the effort you put into it, especially since UR lacks any particular incentives for Mercenary tokens. Avoid!

Return the Favor is best as a sideboard card for that sweet, sweet, Swerve value. You can also duplicate your own sweepers like Caught in the Crossfire, though I suppose you’d need for that one!

Deadeye Duelist and Take the Fall are excellent with Take for a Ride, since you can setup powerful Ray of Command setups on your opponent’s combat. I’m also open to playing this red sorcery with stuff like Corrupted Conviction, though this isn’t the most RB sac-friendly set.

Full Steam Ahead occupies a pretty unique spot as the only Overrun effect green has access to. Green isn’t much of a go-wide color though, so I’ve preferred combat tricks like Snakeskin Veil to this.

Gold Rush can potentially go off with a handful of other Treasure makers like Luxurious Locomotive and Goldvein Hydra. The base rate is also passable enough for you to just play this green instant on its own, though I’d prefer Snakeskin Veil[card] or [card]Take Up the Shield.

Playable filler for any deck, but Raucous Entertainer is nice when this goes above and beyond that with cards like Prickly Pair and Pest Infestation.

Bandit's Haul is a surprisingly strong Manalith variant. This artifact excels in UBx and GBx decks that are full of removal and ping deserts.

Boom Box has a neat combo with Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor, but it’s been too slow for me to include in any of my decks. I’ve occasionally thought about sideboarding it, but have thus far resisted the urge!

Great defensive creature, Redrock Sentinel is particularly good for removal-heavy decks that are worried about flooding out late game.

I usually love bounce lands in Limited, but Arid Archway has been difficult to slot into most decks for me. Best in value decks that aren’t stretching their mana badly enough for this to be untenable (i.e. 2c or 2c with a minimal splash, but not in 4-5c control).

Draft Strategy

Drafting Outlaws of Thunder Junction is all about staying flexible and prioritizing broad, powerful cards. Oftentimes, the best cards are going to make your deck either way, even if it’s not in a form you originally expected!

With that in mind, a basic hierarchy for picks goes something like this:

• Bombs above all,
• Premium 2-for-1 uncommons (Outcaster Greenblade, Spinewoods Armadillo, Hollow Marauder) above the rest,
• Premium removal just below those (stuff like Lassoed by the Law, Consuming Ashes, Throw from the Saddle),
• Premium common value creatures like Patient Naturalist and Vault Plunderer,
• Mana fixing, particularly on-color ping deserts,
• Late uncommon signposts that are strong in the right deck, but not premium enough to splash (i.e. Lazav, Familiar Stranger,
• Curve filler creatures, with an eye towards having enough 2s (4+ copies) and 3s (6+ copies) for your deck,
• Synergy cards for whatever your base 2c archetype is.

And that’s pretty much it! Stay open until the wheel in P1, and always keep in mind that you can pivot away from early premium cards but still play them via splashing. I’m never afraid to start a draft with top-tier multicolor cards like Buried in the Garden, Back for More, and Honest Rutstein, since I know that I’ll have many ways for them to actually make my deck!

Round Up

Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

And with that, our tour of the west is done! I wish you great success in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, hope everything I wrote above serves you well, and if you have questions please reach out in the comments or over at the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, may your opponents never have Oko, Thief of Crowns or Railway Brawler!