The 30 Most Expensive and Must-Have Cards in Outlaws of Thunder Junction

Last updated on April 15, 2024

Mindbreak Trap | Illustration by Arik Roper

Yee-haw! Are you heading Out West in the hopes of making your fortune? Well you’re in luck, because there's not one, not two, but FOUR different sheets that can be found in Outlaws of Thunder Junction booster packs. No, I’m not kidding… kinda.

Either way, there are plenty of cards piquing people’s interest in the set, which is leading to some impressive singles prices! Here are the top 30 most expensive cards that can be found in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, including OTJ's Commander precons (OTC), The Big Score set (BIG), the Breaking News/Crimes bonus sheet (OTP), and the Special Guest (SPG) slot!

#30. Gisa, the Hellraiser (OTJ) – $14.75

First up we’ve actually got a main set card in Gisa, the Hellraiser. Gisa is a powerful black creature, and a fan favorite character. Zombies are also a popular theme to build around, so it’s not surprising to see this so high. It’ll probably drop a little as time goes by, but if you want this on prerelease weekend, you’ll be paying a premium.

#29. Desert (SPG) – $15

Desert is included as a special guest simply for flavor reasons. Usually it’s a much cheaper card, but this is some very nice-looking Magic art, so it’ll likely fetch a bit of a premium. Is it likely to stay above the price of the Arabian Knights version? Doubtful.

#28. Hostile Investigator (BIG) – $15

Big Score cards are going to show up a fair amount in this list, and they’re notably all printed at mythic rarity, or even super-mythic as they show up slightly less often in packs than mythics from OTJ. Because of this, a lot of them are quite inflated in price and are likely to come down. Hostile Investigator is a good example of this. A 4-mana discard creature might just come down at a point where a single discard isn’t relevant. It has some cool abilities on it, but nothing which is making me think the $15 price tag is justified.

#27. Bristly Bill, Spine Sower (OTJ) – $15.50

Cactusfolk are a new type of creature we’re seeing in OTJ, and Bristly Bill, Spine Sower is a legendary plant druid representing his people! The card is also a pretty good rate creature in a counters deck, it can grow itself, add a bunch of +1/+1 counters with its activated ability, and is still a good, cheap, on-rate creature. I’m surprised it can put counters on itself. There might be room for a bit of a reduction in price, but it’s going to be a popular green creature in counters decks.

#26. Tinybones, the Pickpocket (OTJ) – $15.75

Tinybones is back! And is reminiscent of Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. To be clear, Tinybones, the Pickpocket is no Ragavan, but it’s got similarities. The jury is out as to how good it’ll end up being, but it’s got people talking at least!

#25. Thoughtseize (OTP) – $16

Thoughtseize is a powerful card in pretty much every format that it’s legal in. Disrupting your opponent’s hand is strong, and if you’ve been looking to build a Pioneer deck, this reprint is going to be a great pickup for you.

#24. Olivia, Opulent Outlaw (OTC) – $16

Olivia, Opulent Outlaw is one of the few Commander Precon cards on this list. Note that OTC cards aren’t included in Play boosters, but you can get them in Collector boosters.

Not so much about vampires this time around, Olivia cares about outlaws instead. As the face commander of the Outlaws precon, it’s not surprising that this is looking like the Mardu commander for outlaws if you’re wanting to hang out with brigands yourself.

#23. Force of Vigor (OTP) – $16.50

Force of Vigor is another nice reprint, this time for Modern and similar formats. It’s the bane of Blood Moon players, and if you’re a fan of that card in Timeless, look out, as Force is coming to MTG Arena with this reprint!

#22. Generous Plunderer (BIG) – $16.50

Generous Plunderer is causing some discussions for Treasure fans in Commander. Some see it as an auto-include alongside Treasure commanders, but it’s more likely to be a good hate piece against artifact decks. It’ll either be a card that’s super powerful, and played in any deck that it vaguely fits, or will fade away in a couple of months (anyone remember Bootlegger's Stash?

#21. Grindstone (OTP) – $17

Grindstone is a classic mill card, especially when paired with Painter's Servant. A lot of the value here is because it’s been a fair while since it last saw a reprint. While I don’t expect it to drop to bulk status, I also don’t see it staying above $10.

#20. Sandstorm Salvager (BIG) – $17.25

Sandstorm Salvager reminds me of the golem splicer cards, like Blade Splicer and would be sweet if you have a deck built around that. A cool inclusion in a token deck, but not busted by any means. I think we have another victim of Big Score scarcity worries!

#19. Nexus of Becoming (BIG) – $17.50

Nexus of Becoming is begging to be broken in my opinion. I’m not sure just how it’s going to be broken, but it has all the hallmarks of it. Big artifact, can be cheated into play, and can provide a bunch of card advantage. It may fade off into the distance, but I can at least understand the hype here.

#18. Desertion (SPG) – $18

Desertion is a powerful blue instant, but it does cost 5 mana. It’s a reprint, and other versions can be found for just a few bucks, so, even with some really nice art, this one is going to drop. It’s a cool inclusion, though, and a great crime to commit. This printing also brings it to Arena, which will make some players happy.

#17. Yuma, Proud Protector (OTC) – $18

The second, and last, card from OTC on the list, Yuma, Proud Protector is the latest in a long line of land-matters commanders. Specifically wanting Deserts in the graveyard, it at least has a bit of a new spin on it, and the first ability can help with commander tax, which is also useful. It still feels quite inflated, though.

#16. Goldvein Hydra (OTJ) – $18.50

One of the many cards in the set that leaves me asking “where’s the downside?”, Goldvein Hydra is a solid game-ending creature out of nowhere that even brings some benefit when it dies. Cast one of these hydras for 5 or 6, get in, it dies then use the Treasures to cast an even bigger one? I don’t consider myself to be too much of a Magic boomer, but this still makes me take a step back!

#15. Transmutation Font (BIG) – $18.50

Transmutation Font looks like it’s going to be best friends with Academy Manufactor. This costs 5 mana, plus 3 for the activation, but you can pretty easily go and find something from your deck. There’s probably infinite combos with this, where you can just untap it straight away and win the game from there, but I’m not overly concerned about that. It’s just some great value with a repeatable tutor strapped on.

#14. Simulacrum Synthesizer (BIG) – $19

Karnstructs, as seen on Karn, Scion of Urza and Urza's Saga, can get out of control pretty quickly. Simulacrum Synthesizer is a way to make multiple of these in a single turn. I’m shocked that this blue artifact doesn’t have a once-per-turn caveat attached to it, but fans of artifacts will enjoy this as a way to close out the game.

#13. Terror of the Peaks (OTJ) – $19

Terror of the Peaks is a great reprint to see in the main set. This didn’t start out particularly expensive when it was first printed, but quickly picked up as the many, many dragon fans out there grabbed a copy for their decks. It’s not just good there, though. If you play a deck that wants to get some beaters down, this can close out the game in no time.

#12. Harvester of Misery (BIG) – $19.50

Harvester of Misery is a surprisingly good sneaky modal card. The “channel” effect is a good way to stall for time in Standard, and it actually puts itself in your graveyard, where you can reanimate it! It’s maybe not the best target for reanimation, but it’s not bad and gets you some value.

#11. Oko, the Ringleader (OTJ) – $19.50

Oko, the Ringleader isn’t as powerful as his first outing, but this Simic planeswalker is still a nice looking card. It doesn’t take much to get up to the ultimate, and the other abilities are worth looking at, too. Difficult to fully evaluate without getting my hands on it, I feel like this has to see some play somewhere.

#10. Final Showdown (OTJ) – $23

A lot of the spree cards are looking powerful, and Final Showdown as a mythic version of one is looking ahead of the pack. It’s a board wipe that looks expensive, but it does a lot and at instant speed. This is a good addition to the suite of white sweepers in Commander for starters, and it could easily see some play in Standard and Modern, too.

#9. Lost Jitte (BIG) – $23.25

There’s been a lot of chatter around Lost Jitte, but I think the masses have finally agreed that it’s definitely not Umezawa's Jitte. That said, it’s still quite powerful, and arguably easier to tutor out with cards like Urza's Saga. It might not end up seeing much play, but people will certainly be trying to make it busted.

#8. Jace Reawakened (OTJ) – $23.50

A 2-mana blue planeswalker? Sign me up! Well, it can’t be cast early, at least not without some shenanigans, but Jace Reawakened still has a lot of potential. Casting it turn 4 and keeping a counter up is obviously sweet, and people are rightly paying some attention to this one. So much for only one planeswalker in OTJ!

#7. Loot, the Key to Everything (BIG) – $36

Is Loot, the Key to Everything going to be the next mascot of MTG? Unknown at this point, but there’s a lot on this card that just says, “generically good.” It’s a small body, but it’s card advantage and it has ward. It certainly is one of the MTG Legendary Creatures of all time….

#6. Scapeshift (SPG) – $37.50

Scapeshift is maybe not as popular as it once was, but this green sorcery is still a sweet reprint to be included in the Special Guest slot. Other versions are currently sitting at around $17, but it’s been a minute since the last reprint, so this could come down more. All these Special Guest cards have some sweet art, though.

#5. Mana Drain (OTP) – $41

Mana Drain is one of the most powerful Magic cards ever printed, and as such it’s banned in a lot of formats. It has even been preemptively banned in MTG Arena's Historic format! It’s still legal in Commander, though, which is why it’s still worth something. This has been upwards of $200 in the past, but after a number of reprints over the last 5-10 years, it’s unlikely to see prices that high again. Still, sweet inclusion in Play boosters.

#4. Sword of Wealth and Power (BIG) – $41

We thought we were finished with the cycle of Swords, but we all knew that Wizards would find a way to put another in. Sword of Wealth and Power has all the hallmarks of other swords we’ve seen recently, in that it’s overhyped coming out of the gates. I seriously doubt it’ll hold this price for very long at all, although it’ll never be a card you’ll find in the bulk bin (I hope!).

#3. Prismatic Vista (SPG) – $42.25

Prismatic Vista is a generic fetch land that can only grab basic lands. It has held pretty steady at $20-30 since it’s first (and only) printing in Modern Horizons 1, and a printing at Special Guest probably isn’t going to drop the price much. These cards just aren’t included at a huge quantity, and this is the kind of card that can be so ubiquitous in Commander decks that as soon as the price drops a bit it’ll get snapped up.

#2. Lotus Ring (BIG) – $50.00

Lotus Ring isn’t Black Lotus but that doesn’t stop it being a generically good equipment. There are plenty of ways to find a way to untap the equipped creature, to equip for free, or other nonsense than can make this part of multiple game-winning combos. Giving a stat boost and vigilance isn’t anything to sniff at either. Maybe $50 is a bit much for this one, but it’s still going to be a chase card once the set has been opened more, I think.

#1. Mindbreak Trap (OTP) – $57

The top card you want to keep your eyes peeled for in your packs is currently Mindbreak Trap. This card hasn’t been reprinted since its first printing in the original Zendikar, and it really needed some more copies on the market. The price is going to dip, but this is going to be the first time a lot of players are going to be able to open/get hold of it, so the price should hold to some extent. It probably won’t be number 1 on the list for long, but it’s going to be sweet to open this blue instant at prerelease.

Round Up

Terror of the Peaks | Illustration by Joshua Raphael

There are a lot of big-ticket prices on this list, and while they’ll see a bit of a dip across the board, the value is looking like it’s there in the set. Some of these cards will drop off completely, but even in the main set there’s a lot of power and cards that people want to get their hands on. Big Score cards are also going to be worth keeping an eye on, as they’re going to be slightly more difficult to open than anything from the main set.

What do you think? Do you look at this list and think “Yeah, there’s a lot of bangers,” or do you think there’s too many inflated prices included? If you were hoping for a breakdown o the best cards in OTJ, well, we've got you covered there too! Let me know what you’re looking forward to opening in the comments below or over at the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, good luck with your OTJ packs!