MTGO
ARENA
PAPER
The 10 Outlaws of Thunder Junction Cards to Watch in Standard & Pioneer
Quick intro
We are already almost in the middle of the year and the release of new editions continues at full steam. Soon we will have the arrival of Outlaws of Thunder Junction and, as usual, I will mention the cards that caught my attention the most in the spoilers, and which could see play in Standard and Pioneer.
In the last article analyzing Murders at Karlov Manor, some predictions like Krenko Buzzcrusher and Novice Inspector were spot on. Others, not so much. Let's see how I do this time!
Top 5 Pioneer Cards
1. Slickshot Show-Off
The new Plot ability allows the player to pay the cost of the ability and then exile the card, being able to cast it in a later turn without paying its mana cost. Effects that let players play something without paying the mana cost are historically quite dangerous, but this type of ability, despite being very strong, doesn't seem to me as unfair as other examples, like the evoke elementals from MH2 and the cycle of forces from MH1.
This new bird fits very well into aggressive strategies, with Boros Heroic being one of the first to come to mind. With good evasion and a "pseudo-prowess," you can have very effective turns with the protection of cards like Loran's Escape and God's Willing, setting up turns that put the opponent in a difficult position, as they will need multiple cards to be able to destroy this creature.
2. Jace Reawakened
Jace is a fairly balanced planeswalker, since we can't usually cast him in the first 3 turns, but giving the possibility of "scrying" something from our hand can result in absurd plays, such as a scryed Valki that can be played the following turn as Tibalt, similar to what Bring to Light can do.
The boldest players can try Leyline of Anticipation, having the possibility to cast Jace on the opponent's second turn (getting around the clause of not being able to cast it on your own first 3 turns) but I believe it to be a bit utopic, since the card by itself doesn't do anything relevant. Even on turn 4, without the Valki play, Jace is an honest planeswalker, that can see play in decks like UR Phoenix as an alternative when encountering a lot of graveyard hate. Making a turn 4 Jace with a counter backup, or being able to double up plays, should not be discarded.
3. Highway Robbery
Once again, its Plot ability catches our attention. By itself, it's a common effect that we've seen in other cards (though the ability to sacrifice land might be a first, if I'm not mistaken). However, the ability to play it without paying the mana cost, especially in a deck like UR Phoenix, can set up some crazy turns by bringing back phoenixes from the graveyard, as it counts as a free spell among the three needed to trigger the ability. Chart a Course has seen play in some decks, and it wouldn't surprise me if this card made this type of play even more common.
It can still be used in other decks, such as UR Creativity, or even a Boros/Monored Prowess, taking advantage of the excess lands and benefitting from turns with several creatures in play. It's a very versatile card and I see many possibilities for it.
4. Make Your Own Luck
This one really caught my attention and I believe it will be highly abused across multiple formats. Make Your Own Luck allows us some quite insane plays in the format, although it costs 5 mana. With some way to manipulate the top of our library, we can "plot" cards like Omniscience and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, putting us at a great advantage in the game.
The fact that you still put two of those cards in hand serves as a good source of card advantage. But imagine the possibilities of what can be cast without paying the mana cost is what really makes the card catch my eye. I believe it could be a pleasant surprise for the format.
5. Pest Control
Aggro decks already had a tough time with the release of Temporary Lockdown, imagine now having to face a two-mana sweeper! It's a card that fits perfectly into decks like Niv to Light, since being a BW spell it can be cast with Bring to Light, revealed with a Niv-Mizzet Reborn, or even re-cast with Niv-Mizzet Supreme.
But what stands out the most about it is the fact that it is never a dead card, precisely because it has cycling, and can even be used in the main deck, since it serves at least to draw a card. Rakdos Sacrifice is weak in the format, and this card makes life even worse for that deck. It is still efficient against Boros Convoke and Izzet Ensoul. I believe Niv to Light will want some copies between the main deck and sideboard.
Top 5 Standard Cards
1. Terror of the Peaks
Terror of the Peaks is an unexpected reprint, which was played during the time of Genesis Ultimatum, to hit multiple dragons and cause a huge amount of damage to the opponent. Now, we no longer have the ultimatum in the format, but we have some interesting options, like Storm the Festival, Breach the Multiverse, or Push//Pull.
But the dragon by itself is a dangerous creature, despite the format having many ways to remove it, I still believe that it might see play in some RG Midrange or even a BR Dragons with a touch of reanimation . It's an interesting reprint and very much welcomed in the format.
2. Rush of Dread
On its own, it's not the most interesting of cards, but the most promising aspect is that it's part of a combo that can be competitive in the format, depending on the rest of the deck. We can cast Rush of Dread for 5 mana, causing the opponent to lose half of their life points. But if we have a Bloodletter of Aclazotz in play, the opponent loses twice that amount, that is, losing all their life points in one go.
As I said, it's going to depend a lot on whether a Monoblack is truly competitive. I've played with that deck in the format before, but nowadays playing with a splash for red, green, or blue ends up being much better. And having 4 black mana sources in the cost, I believe it makes the use of the "big bat" unfeasible.
3. Colossal Rattlewurm
We have reached an era in Magic where there is a creature that costs 4 mana and is a 6/5 without absolutely any drawback. Quite the contrary, because with a desert, we can cast it instantly. And it even has trample! What we might not have for it yet is a deck in which it fits well, since green is a bit low in the format. But it's a good and big enough creature to keep an eye on, especially because we'll have a rotation in the middle of the year, so a lot can change by then.
4. Pillage the Bog
Plot stands out a lot in this card, since we can exile it during a "dead" turn and in the mid/late game, turn it almost into a Demonic Tutor, since we will probably play it at a stage where we have a good amount of lands. I look favorably upon its use in decks like BG Midrange and even in Domain Ramp, since we can search for the best cards in the deck and cast them at appropriate turns. The card has a very powerful effect and it would not surprise me if it became a staple of the format, even though it has not attracted much attention yet.
5. Spirebluff Canal/Concealed Courtyard/Blooming Marsh/Inspiring Vantage/Botanical Sanctum
The fastlands cycle is excellent news for Standard, particularly for decks like Boros Convoke, which currently has a poor mana base, having to use cards such as Thran Portal (which was one of the worst lands I've ever used in my decks) and having the right combination of basic lands to be able to cast their spells. Another already existing deck that can celebrate the arrival of Blooming Marsh is BG Midrange, which already had a solid mana base, but now it gets even better.
Spirebluff Canal is also a good addition to promising decks, such as UR Prowess or UR Artifacts, which have never been strong in the format, I believe largely due to not having a good mana base. The other lands can still bring new possibilities to the format, like a UG Cauldron Combo, or a BW Aggro. Standard historically, in its best moments, had decks with good mana bases so I believe everyone benefits from these new additions.
Final words
Outlaws of Thunder Junction really surprised me because of its power level right from the start of the edition. With many promising cards and even some certainties in the format, I believe it can change quite a bit both Pioneer and Standard.
Until next time!