Even though Murders at Karlov Manor officially released in paper just over a week ago, we are already starting to get more and more information about a variety of upcoming sets. We got an initial glimpse at MTG Fallout back in October, but with the set’s release date less than a month away, we are in for a bunch of previews this week. In fact, we even got a surprise spoiler yesterday that works perfectly alongside Dogmeat, Ever Loyal.
Speaking of surprises, it appears we also now know what the Commander deck boxes for the Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Precons look like. This information was supposedly leaked by Flipside Gaming, though the information has since been taken down from their webpage.
Importantly, as a disclaimer, because this information were unofficially leaked, there’s a possibility that these deck boxes turn out to be fake. Because the original source has since deleted any information associated with them, there isn’t much proof of legitimacy regarding these Commander deck boxes, even if they look real.
If you would rather wait until the Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander decks are officially spoiled before looking at any potential leaks, consider this your spoiler warning. Now, let’s see what these Commander decks might have in store for us!
Desert Bloom
First up, we have a Naya deck with a rather simple theme. The goal is to put Lands into your graveyard with the intention of bringing them back, likely at low cost. There are a ton of very powerful cards that can bring back a bunch of Lands all at once, including Splendid Reclamation and the new Worldsoul’s Rage. While it’s obviously unclear exactly what reprints and new cards will be included in each Precon, there is certainly room for speculation.
As far as discarding Land cards is concerned, there are plenty of strong discard outlets that let you generate value in the process. Cards like Seismic Assault come to mind, for instance. From there, Inti, Seneschal of the Sun and the like can reward you further for discarding cards.
Where this Precon likely differentiates itself from other Land-focused Commander decks is with the fact that “Deserts” likely play a big role. There’s a good chance this deck’s new Commanders have a specific reward for playing or discarding Deserts, and there are even some Deserts with Cycling like Desert of the Fervent that seem like great additions.
Unfortunately, this Precon will have a lot of competition against Hazezon, Shaper of Sand as another Naya Commander with a Desert theme. Nonetheless, it’s great to have options, and we could definitely use more Desert cards and payoffs in general.
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Grand Larceny
Next, we have Grand Larceny, a Sultai deck that appears to feature Gonti as the character of choice. The two main themes for this deck are to steal cards and generate mana. As far as stealing cards is concerned, Gonti is the perfect character, as Gonti, Lord of Luxury did exactly that. The one downside to a card like Gonti, Lord of Luxury, though, was that you still had to invest a lot of mana if you wanted to cast an impactful spell that you stole from the opponent.
There are a lot of ways our new Commander could solve this problem. Generating Treasures when you steal cards, for instance, could help alleviate the costs associated with casting your opponents’ cards. Given that this deck is focused on mana production and stealing cards, Villainous Wealth is almost certainly going to be included. Various Control Magic effects would also be very appropriate.
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Most Wanted
Our next Commander deck certainly leaves a lot of room for interpretation. There’s a solid chance the character in question is Olivia Voldaren. It’s also fair to assume that Treasure tokens will be involved in some way. The part that is a bit confusing is the “buy outlaws” portion of the deck. My best guess would be that there is a way to sacrifice a certain number of Treasure tokens to help summon powerful Creatures. Maybe a reanimation subtheme where you get to “rebuy” Creatures from the graveyard by burning Treasures?
One thing that is quite clear that players have been looking out for is a new Vampire-focused Commander deck. After all, Edgar Markov is far and away the best Mardu Vampires Commander and frankly, it isn’t even close. Not to mention, Edgar Markov is almost $100 according to TCGPlayer market price. As such, a new Commander that rewards a Vampires shell would be quite well-received.
It’s unclear whether Most Wanted will deliver in that regard, but given the outlaws theme, I’m skeptical. Still, there are a lot of different directions the design team could have taken with this, so we will simply have to wait and see how these themes mesh.
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Quick Draw
Finally, we have a clear spell-slinging Commander deck that likely thrives off of casting a bunch of spells in one turn. The “unleash big turns” potential of this deck makes it sound like you will get some major payoff for casting a certain number of spells each turn. From Case of the Ransacked Lab to the all-powerful Erayo, Soratami Ascendant that is banned in Commander, there are a lot of strong cards that reward you for slinging spells.
One thing that decks like these always need is a way to reliably keep your hand chock full of cards. Given the name “Quick Draw,” it’s very likely that the featured Commander has the ability to fuel your hand in some capacity. Even if this isn’t the most unique theme, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a welcome inclusion.
We’ve got a long way to go until Outlaws of Thunder Junction is officially released, but it’s nice to get this potential sneak peek at what the Commander Precons may have to offer.
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