Scheduled to launch in just six weeks, Outlaws of Thunder Junction is the next premier MTG set on the horizon. Unsurprisingly, due to this slowly encroaching release date, there’s a lot of hype for Thunder Junction. Sure, Bloomburrow may be the fan-favorite of the year so far, but Outlaws of Thunder Junction is three sets in one!
Comprised of the main set, the Breaking News bonus sheet, and The Big Score, there’s definitely a lot going on. Thanks to all these moving pieces, it’s entirely unsurprising that a few cards have fallen through the cracks. Disappearing from under Wizards’ watchful eye, we’ve now seen our fourth leak from Outlaws of Thunder Junction.
After deck boxes broke cover, MTG Arena avatars accidentally arrived, and breaking news cards became breaking news, we’re finally seeing cards. In total, 16 brand-new cards have been leaked from the upcoming set. While this is all very exciting, since these cards are leaks, it’s worth looking at these cards with a pinch of salt.
Unsurprisingly, since these new cards are leaks, the quality of them is absolutely atrocious. Despite the power of modern smartphones and cameras, these images look like they’ve been taken with a potato. While this is very fitting for an MTG leak, it does make authenticity more dubious. As much as the set symbol appears to be correct, a bad camera can hide a lot of obvious tells that a card is fake.
Thanks to the dubious camera quality, we really can’t say whether or not these leaks are genuine or not. That being said, since these are potentially new MTG cards, we can’t resist talking about them. With new cycles seemingly confirmed and fantastic creature types appearing, there’s too much good stuff to ignore. Just keep some skepticism in mind when looking at these cards to prevent potential disappointment.
Deserts and Delights
Out of the 16 MTG cards that have been leaked, we can only really say we expected one of them. This card,
Creosote Heath
Creosote Heath
This land enters tapped.
When this land enters, it deals 1 damage to target opponent.
{T}: Add {G} or {W}.
was initially teased by the Desert Bloom Commander deck. Given the name, it was presumed this deck would contain new Desert cards, and now we finally have proof! Well… proof, at least.
Considering there are only 20 Desert Lands in MTG right now, getting a few more is definitely a welcome treat. If we’re lucky, we may even get a full ten-card cycle, but that might be too hopeful. Outside of our optimism, we should at least be able to expect a few support cards for this underserved archetype.
Beyond the expected return of Deserts, it seems Outlaws of Thunder Junction contains another surprisingly familiar face. Last appearing in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, it appears that
Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
Flash
Flying
Whenever Malcolm deals combat damage to a player, put a chorus counter on it. Draw a card, then discard a card. If there are four or more chorus counters on Malcolm, you may cast the discarded card without paying its mana cost.
is back once again! This time around, Malcolm can provide you with a steady stream of Clue Tokens, provided you keep casting enough spells.
On top of Malcolm’s surprisingly early return, we can also see yet another example of power creep. Thanks to being colorless and adding Ward 1,
Lavaspur Boots
Lavaspur Boots
Equipped creature gets +1/+0 and has haste and ward {1}. (Whenever it becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays {1}.)
Equip {1}
are just
Boots of Speed
Boots of Speed
Equipped creature gets +1/+0 and has haste.
Equip {1} ({1}: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)
but better. While these boots aren’t extensively played in any format, Lavaspur Boots have some decent early and protective potential.
Last but not least, this leak for Outlaws of Thunder Junction contains a card that’ll make you say “holy cow!” If this leak is legit, this set literally contains the card
Holy Cow
Holy Cow
Flash
Flying
When this creature enters, you gain 2 life and scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom.)
which is an Ox Angel. Offering a 2/2 with Scry 1 for 3, this card isn’t anything to write home about, but they’re still absolutely fantastic.
Reprints and Recruitment
Alongside the new cards that we can see in the leaks from u/Grixis08, we can also see a pair of reprints. Unfortunately, neither of these cards offers much to be excited about. Both selling for under one dollar,
Villainous Wealth
Villainous Wealth
Target opponent exiles the top X cards of their library. You may cast any number of spells with mana value X or less from among them without paying their mana costs.
and
Savage Smash
Savage Smash
Target creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn. It fights target creature you don't control. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.)
are rather meh. Thankfully, while these reprints may be disappointing, they hardly mean the entire Breaking News bonus sheet is worthless.
Speaking of worthless, it seems that a lot of the leaked cards won’t see play outside of Limited. While this does make their reveal less exciting, thankfully, they do still contain some valuable information about mechanics. From what we can see so far, three Outlaws of Thunder Junction mechanics have been confirmed: Saddle, Plot, and Mercenary.
Out of these three mechanics, Mercenary doesn’t have a specific keyword. Instead, this mechanic comes from Salvala, Eager Trailblazer who creates 1/1 red Mercenary tokens. Created whenever you cast a creature spell, these tokens can give +1/+0 at Sorcery speed which seems rather useful.
Moving onto the Keyword mechanics, Plot appears to be a new variant of Foretell. Seen on
Irascible Wolverine
Irascible Wolverine
When this creature enters, exile the top card of your library. Until end of turn, you may play that card.
Plot {2}{R} (You may pay {2}{R} and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Plot only as a sorcery.)
the exact intricacies of this mechanic are sadly unclear. From what we can see, it appears Plot lets you pay to exile a card that you can play at a later date. On Irascible Wolverine, this cost is equal to its casting cost, but we don’t know if this is a trend.
“I believe [plot] reads: “You may pay (plot cost) and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Play only as a sorcery.”
u/BrandedStrugglerGuts
Finally, the last new confirmed mechanic is Saddle. Unfortunately, while we can, just about, read the rules text below, it seems this mechanic has a lot of secrets. It may look like Crew but for creatures, but since the Crewed/Mounted/Saddled creatures can already attack, there must be some extra steps.
“Saddle 1 – Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 1 or less. This mount becomes saddled until end of turn. Saddle only as a sorcery”
The Wait Continues
Sadly, while a few details are missing about Thunder Junction’s mechanics, the leaks don’t show anything more. As a result, we’re just going to have to wait and see what the future holds once official reveals begin. Thankfully, the start of spoiler season isn’t too far away now, as it begins on March 26th.
Before spoiler season begins, there’s an entire new MTG set to enjoy! In case you’ve not been following along, the Fallout Commander decks release today! With oodles of exciting new cards and fantastic reprints, the weeks leading up to Outlaws of Thunder Junction should breeze by.
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