Set Review: Outlaws of Thunder Junction

Got the MTG nexus link, but we got the official one too. As always, I'll start talking about the mechanics, and then go from there. 

The take on Outlaws is certainly better than the Party "mechanic" of Zendikar Rising. While thematically fun I don't see this helping create a subtype deck of Outlaws that starts to take over. Still, I'm all for giving a boost to these kind of 'profession' types as opposed to creature types.

Crimes are a very good thing for the game. Like Landfall, anything that rewards you for doing what you want to do in the the game already has a leg up on any other mechanic. More of these!

Spree feels like the most potentially confusing mechanic of the set. You have to pay the cost AND pay additional costs just to do anything. That is not how Magic cards typically work and it seems like there's a possible 'feel bad' to this one. The card is useless at it's mana value and I don't like that. It also means that players have to think about the card differently, which isn't inherently bad but it does throw off calculations when searching for cards to build decks with. 

For example: if you need a one Blue cost spell to draw cards, then Three Steps Ahead is going to show up in your search for such a card. But it doesn't work like that at all. 

That feels frustrating.  

Plot, on the other hand looks very cool. A way to reward strategic thinking, Plot seems like it might reward players who like to get into long game situations. 

As for Commander's Bounty mechanic? Seems neat! And a way to make multiplayer games interesting without breaking things in half, unlike Exploring the Dungeon or Monarch.

The most impactful news about this set might come from The Big Score subset. I want to say outright: I hate this. 

Usually cards from The List have been cards that were reprints; cool, thematic cards that WotC could find from other sets that just didn't quite fit into the story of this set. Reprints are good and necessary for the game!

The Big Score is taking The List slot in booster packs and of the forty cards, there are three reprints that I am aware of. Which turns The Big Score into an added rarity slot, not a cool way to get older cards into newer player's hands. 

Are the cards good? Yeah, they seem quite good. Is this a shitty way to exploit players? Yes. 

Let's move on.

White
Let's not pretend they haven't been storing the names Bovine Intervention and Holy Cow for a decade. Glad to see them finally get some time in the sun.

Another Round looks like the kind of card that could be a finisher for a deck but I'm not sure what kind of deck that might be.

With all the Mercenary tokens being created, I'd bet Vengeful Townfolk will be a house in Limited environments, and I really like the flavor of High Noon. I'm also seeing more +1 counter stuff than I feel I usually do. But I'm having trouble mustering some excitement for this color; cards seem expensive and don't quite do cool enough stuff.

Blue
Loan Shark is, of course, far too civilized to for this outlaw town. I kinda love it. 

By now certain notions are starting to get a little clearer: I like how Blue and Red have the opportunity to use Plot to gain bonuses, as on Razzel-Dazzler. That's some nice synergy. 

More flavor wins with This Town Ain't Big Enough, too. 

Black
I think Pitiless Carnage has potential. The ability to Plot that card means you can just put it in storage; if the game goes sideways on you or gets deadlocked, there are worse things than sacing a couple permanents to fill your hand and get you going. 

Tinybones, the Pickpocket might be the best card of the set though. It's at least one of the most interesting, offering something in Black that I don't see terribly often. 

Now, this is an idea that only an old player is going to consider, and it is probably bad but Rakish Crew plus the Mercenaries of old might make for an interesting deck. Maybe something to mock up!

Red
Alright, look: Coyote-Roadrunner is pretty great. This is definitely more a 'if you know you know' but I am old enough to know. 

I also really want to like Stingerback Terror but I just don't know that there's something there. 

Green
Ah, there's more +1 counter cards. That must be the GW draft theme. Seems like it could be very strong!

Multicolor
It gets a little weird here. There's a lot of characters I didn't expect to see from places far from their origin. On the one hand; ok that's neat. But on the other; why are they there? Just because?

I'm not objecting; I actually want to know more about Thunder Junction, now. Is it a kind of dimensional wayport? Mos Eisley for Magic? I could get behind that! The story parts I've read are so concerned with the goings on of Oko and company that there isn't much setting being set. 

Artifacts & Lands
They're all fine. There are now a lot more deserts than there have been in Magic: I wonder if there's a deck to be built around that subtheme. I'm probably just hoping against hope but I do like the subtheme of these deserts doing a point of damage to opponents. The basic lands are also very striking, just another thing WotC has been doing very well these past few years.

Conclusion
I'm sure by now it's pretty clear I'm not extremely high on this set. I don't hate it: WotC is good enough at these things by now that sets are usually solid. Unfortunately, at least for me the cards don't seem to be very interesting. Or at least they aren't inspiring!

That doesn't mean this isn't worth playing! There are still plenty of Sealed matches ahead of me and Plot does pique my interest as something to mess around with. Playing the cards always illuminates the experience a lot more than just reading and evaluating Plus, there are a lot of flavor wins; Thunder Junction feels like a place I want to hang out in and see more of. 

But the obvious good cards are obvious and The Big Score leaves a very sour note in my mouth. So until I get to play some games, I'm more cautious about this set.