If you have been following this site for a while, you will know I am now about six months into my MTG journey. From learning the game from scratch to now, I have been absolutely loving it. Each new set introduces new mechanics, some of which are old for other people, new cards, and new creatures to encounter.
Well, the latest set is Outlaws of Thunder Junction, which is releasing next week, which means right now pre-release events are happening. This means I have dabbled, and I can say I am digging it.
So what’s the deal with this new set?
It’s cowboys. You know, the “yee-haw” kind of cowboys. So this means that, alongside heaps of references to the old west, there are creatures to ride and crimes to be committed.
The biggest new mechanic is the crime mechanic. This basically means if you target anything specifically, you committed a crime. The good news is that this isn’t inherently a thing, but some triggers are based on it, e.g., when you commit a crime, do X.
I won’t go into every mechanic yet, and I will save that for the set review. For now, though, another example is the use of mounts, which are creatures that can attack but do cooler stuff if you tap a creature to mount it. Kind of like vehicles, but better.
For the most part, the bulk of the mechanics feel like a western twist on stuff we already know.
So how does it play?
The thing that has surprised me is how much fun the set is in the sealed format. After a couple of events, I was consistently in games that swung both ways and ended in a tight ending. I never got stomped, and I never stomped anyone. I played against all kinds of mana-coloured opponents, and the matches could go either way until the end.
What surprised me the most was this happening, despite no mechanics inherently causing it. The set seems to be a fun balance of cards that play well together. Sure, when someone gets the meta down, there will be a way to be consistently strong, but I haven’t had a set provide this much fun this early on before.
Where do you play?
You should go down and play at my LGS Bea DnD of course. I mean, you can go to your one, but it’s better to come to mine. I have met a lot of new faces this weekend. Most of them are long-time players who play Commander or other formats but were pulled in for this set. Yet again, no matter who I played, I was having a blast. Bea DnD seems to do that. There is an amazing community that wants to come and have fun.
Should you check it out?
I haven’t played with the set enough to speak on that totally yet, but so far, so good. You should absolutely get down to some early-sealed events and enjoy what these weird and wacky matches have to offer.
Saddle up, cowpoke!
