Spoiler season for Outlaws of Thunder Junction kicked off yesterday, and we’ve gotten a boatload of new information about the new set. Intriguing new mechanics like Plot highlight what looks to be a very interesting set. There have also been a number of strong spoilers that are bound to make some noise in Standard. From the return of enemy-colored fast Lands to the rise of elite Creatures like Slickshot Show-Off, Standard is sure to receive a shakeup.
Speaking of Standard, we now know the upcoming promos for the Outlaws of Thunder Junction Standard Store Championships. These events will be run at local game stores either the weekend of May 4 or May 11. Unfortunately, this time around, the Store Championship promos themselves aren’t exactly the most special. Let’s take a closer look at what you can walk away with by participating.
Participation Promo
The participation promo for the Outlaws of Thunder Junction Store Championship is none other than Blazing Rootwalla. Just like the name suggests, this card is given to all players who register for the tournament. Blazing Rootwalla isn’t the most threatening card in the world, but it does play a very serious role in Vintage Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis decks.
Alongside Bazaar of Baghdad, it’s incredibly easy to set up a window where you get to discard multiple copies of Blazing Rootwalla or Basking Rootwalla for free value. Not only that, but if you have any copies of Vengevine in your graveyard, discarding and casting two Rootwallas via Madness can bring them back and put a ton of pressure on the opponent.
Unsurprisingly, though, the participation promo is not worth much from a financial perspective. According to TCGPlayer market price, Blazing Rootwalla currently sits at just over 10 cents in its cheapest traditional form. As such, Blazing Rootwalla doesn’t break the bank, but is still a nice bonus for players that enter their local Store Championships.
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Top 8 Promo and Winner Promos
Strangely, the top eight and winner promos for the Outlaws of Thunder Junction Store Championship events are also Vintage staples that don’t see much play elsewhere.
Hollow One, our top eight promo, used to be a Modern staple. In conjunction with Burning Inquiry and Faithless Looting, it was often trivial to set up a quick Hollow One. Hollow One isn’t the most threatening card, but it put pressure on the opponent early and dodged a lot of the best removal at the time, such as Lightning Bolt and Fatal Push.
Since the banning of Faithless Looting in Modern, Hollow One has been relatively nonexistent in the format. It’s still a great card in conjunction with Bazaar of Baghdad in Vintage, but that’s not enough to keep its price up. The card is worth just over 50 cents in its cheapest form. All players that make top eight of their Store Championship will receive a promo copy of Hollow One.
In a similar vein, Vengevine was a Modern staple when Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis was legal. Once again, though, the banning of Hogaak made Vengevine decks fringe for years to come. Vengevine is still a flashy mythic rare, so it commands roughly a $4 price tag in its cheapest form. Winners of their Store Championships will walk away with a cool-looking textless version of Vengevine.
Notably, the top eight and winner promos will be exclusively available in foil. WPN stores will receive an additional set of top eight and winner promos in non-foil that boast the store’s name. These cards will be given out in addition to their foil counterparts.
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Player Reaction and Price Comparison
Ultimately, many players were rather confused by the promo choices this time around. While all three cards see some Vintage play, they see little to no play anywhere else. Additionally, as Claudioh points out, these cards do nothing to promote Standard in any way. Given the recent change from Wizards of the Coast that made all Store Championships for the foreseeable future exclusively Standard, it would make sense to showcase some Standard staples in some regard. After all, this change alongside the arrival of Standard Showdown events once again were largely implemented to help Standard grow.
Now, many of the top eight and winner promos in the last year haven’t had a Standard focus either, but they’ve certainly been pricier on average. For instance, Dauthi Voidwalker, featured as the winner promo for Murders at Karlov Manor Store Championships, is worth roughly $11 in its cheapest form, which is a big upgrade over Vengevine.
Not to mention, the foil textless promo version specifically sits at over $116! The foil textless Vengevine promo will likely still be worth a decent chunk of money given the overall lack of supply for winner promos, but almost certainly won’t reach the levels of Dauthi Voidwalker.
Now, some players have suggested that these promo decisions may hint at additional Madness support in Modern Horizons III. That would definitely make these promos more appealing, especially if Vengevine or Hollow One gained additional traction in Modern. Only time will tell if this is indeed the case, so keep your eyes peeled for any new information that may come our way.
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