Following along with the new MTG Outlaws of Thunder Junction set is a bit more confusing than normal. For the first time in MTG history, two Bonus Sheets are releasing alongside Outlaws of Thunder Junction. These two bonus sheets are The Big Score and Breaking News. The latter of these, which we’ll be talking about today, only contains reprints from throughout Magic’s history.
The Breaking News Bonus Sheet highlights powerful spells through Magic’s history that Commit Crimes. Committing a Crime is a new mechanic that is rather widely encompassing, allowing for all kinds of shenanigans to see a reprint. Notably these cards will also have a rarer Textured Foil variant available in Collector Booster packs.
Some of these reprints are particularly pricy. In fact, a direly needed $75 reprint was recently confirmed to appear on the Breaking News Bonus Sheet. With tons of heavy-hitting reprints up for grabs, some players may be curious as to exactly what expensive goodies they can find on the Outlaws of Thunder Junction Bonus Sheet.
Here are the most expensive Outlaws of Thunder Junction Breaking News cards as of April 3rd, 2024. We’ll be using the cheapest available price at the time of writing on TCGplayer to provide these card prices. This means we will be ignoring premium variants for individual cards.
5 | Oko, Thief of Crowns
Despite being banned in most MTG formats, Oko, Thief of Crowns is still a surprisingly expensive card. This is almost entirely thanks to their appeal in Commander, where Oko is still legal and sees strong play. Typically, this Oko would sell for around $18, however, Breaking News has done a number on that price tag.
Now that Outlaws of Thunder Junction is in players’ hands, the price of Oko has absolutely plummeted. Falling to just $6.73, this card is worth a fraction of what it used to be. For better or worse, this price tag is likely going to fall even further once more supply is released to the public.
In case you needed a refresher about one of the fastest MTG cards ever to be banned, Oko created the Elk-pocalypse. Able to turn any Creature or Artifact into a 3/3 Elk, Oko, Thief of Crowns can completely hose countless decks. Despite how much they’ve been banned, Oko is still an undeniably iconic card that’s loved as much as it is hated.
4 | Thoughtseize
When players think of Committing a Crime with powerful MTG cards that they would want to play anyway, Thoughtseize is definitely one of the cards that many would think of first. This card has been a premium threat since its inception. Ripping an opponent’s card out of their hand is generally well worth one mana and two life.
Thoughtseize sees play in just about every format it’s legal in – outside of Commander. Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, and even digital-only MTG Arena formats love to abuse this card. Previously, Thoughtseize tended to sell for around a $12 – $13 price tag. Now that it has been reprinted, however, copies of this card are available for around $8.50.
While the card generally only demands about a $12-13 price tag, we don’t expect this reprinting to affect its overall price too much. Thoughtseize is a rather easily accessible card already, but there is a ton of demand for it thanks to it being playable in multiple formats.
Read More: MTG Breaking News Bonus Sheet Boasts Plethora of Pricy Reprints!
3 | Force of Vigor
Force of Vigor is a rather popular Modern legal hate piece. This is thanks to its free alternate casting cost that allows players to pitch a green card from their hand instead of paying four mana. This card is particularly powerful in decks that need to clear hate pieces like Chalice of the Void and Leyline of the Void off the board to enable their game plans.
Force of Vigor doesn’t see much play in Commander but sees massive competitive play in any format that it’s legal. Modern, Legacy, and Vintage all commonly see Force of Vigor. While the card is mainly used as a sideboard option to deal with hate pieces for individual strategies, the card can also be meta-dependent. Urza’s Saga decks get particularly blown out by this card, and the card is all over the Vintage format.
Previously, even after a reprint via The List, Force of Vigor was still selling for around $20. Now, however, the value of this card has crashed to around $8.50.
2 | Mindbreak Trap
While it is no longer the most expensive reprint on the Breaking News Bonus Sheet, Mindbreak Trap is easily one of the most direly needed MTG reprints period.
Long story short, the most effective reprints that Magic can provide are for cards that have huge secondary market values thanks to an abundance of scarcity. Mindbreak Trap does see play in Vintage and Legacy sideboards, as well as cEDH, but that level of play generally doesn’t justify a $75 price tag. That is instead thanks to the fact that Mindbreak Trap has one Mythic Rare printing from almost 15 years ago and that there is marginal demand for the card.
Now that Outlaws of Thunder Junction has been released, the price of Mindbreak Trap has tumbled hard. Currently, on TCGplayer, copies of this new reprint are selling for just $30. While this is hardly a small amount of money for some cardboard, compared to the old price this over 50% reduction is a godsend.
1 | Mana Drain
While Mana Drain is not the most expensive reprint on the Breaking News Bonus Sheet right now, it’s likely to become the most expensive one once supply gets into the market.
This absurd counterspell is incredibly popular in Commander formats. Able to turn an opponent’s spell into a one-time burst of mana for you, Mana Drain can provide a devastating tempo swing to your Commander games. Even countering a smaller spell makes Mana Drain worth it, but if you manage to counter something like Kozilek, Butcher of Truth with it, the mana gained can put you in a game-winning position.
Initially, early copies of this Mana Drain are going for about $50, however, this did not last long. Currently, Mana Drain is selling for a new low of $36. Considering how popular Mana Drain is as a card, this drop in price is great to see. Hopefully, for budget-oriented MTG players at least, this price will continue to fall over time.
Read More: Underrated MTG Sleeper Sees Absurd 1623% Price Spike!
Don’t Miss Out on the Other Amazing Reprints!
While we have listed the five most expensive Breaking News Bonus Sheet cards for Outlaws of Thunder Junction, a ton of powerful reprints remain available for players to find. All in all, this Breaking News Bonus Sheet looks absolutely fantastic. A ton of powerful, and valuable, cards are getting a shiny new reprint. Sure, some of these cards are going to lose a lot of value, but that means that the reprints were desperately needed.
Read More: Outlaws of Thunder Junction: Release Date, Spoilers, Commander Decks