Lead Magic: The Gathering designer David Humpherys has created another potential banger Limited format through Outlaws of Thunder Junction, featuring 10 dual-color Draft archetypes.
Humpherys, a Hall of Fame MTG player and dev, is known in the Magic community as the GOAT of Limited set design, with his latest creation Outlaws of Thunder Junction (OTJ) dropping into local game stores on April 12. The Standard-legal set contains 10 dual-color Draft archetypes, with a majority highlighting a mechanic within the set. Multiple bonus sheets are also included in Limited play, from Breaking News to Special Guests and Big Score.Â
What are the Thunder Junction Limited Draft archetypes?
The OTJ Draft archetypes are all two-color pairs, open to a third color splash to add additional value from mechanics like Plot and Commit a Crime.
| OTJ Draft archetypes | Main theme/mechanic |
| Red and White (RW) | Go-wide with Mercenary tokens |
| Black and Red (BR) | Outlaw synergies |
| Red and Green (RG) | Plus-four power synergies |
| Blue and Red (UR) | Cast two or more spells with Plot synergies |
| Blue and Black (UB) | Committing a Crime synergy |
| White and Blue (WU) | Having no spells to cast synergy through Plot |
| Green and Blue (UG) | Plot synergies |
| Green and White (GW) | Mount synergies with token go-wide strategy |
| Black and Green (BG) | Creature graveyard synergies |
| White and Black (WB) | Aristocrat sacrifice strategy |
What are the OTJ bonus sheets for Draft and Sealed?
High-powered cards can adjust the OTJ Draft meta through bonus sheets added to the Standard-legal set. The first bonus sheet is called Breaking News, containing 65 total reprinted MTG cards. It’s a traditional bonus sheet, much like the sheets from previous sets Wilds of Eldraine and Brothers’ War. Most Breaking News cards Commit a Crime.Â
WotC has also added what was originally a sub-set into the main OTJ set through The Vault/Big Score (BIG). This bonus sheet contains 30 cards found in The List slot through Play Booster packs in conjunction with Special Guest cards.Â
Is there mana fixing in OTJ Limited format?
The OTJ Limited Draft and Sealed format has mana fixing through a cycle of Common dual-lands that also Commit a Crime upon entering the battlefield. Rare Fast dual-lands are also in the set. Certain archetypes like WB are open to splashing a third color like Red to get value out of the Outlaw mechanic. The GW archetype has potential with a Black or Red splash for Mercenary value when Saddling a Mount.
What are the Thunder Junction Limited Draft and Sealed signpost cards?
Within the Limited OTJ format, there are two Uncommon signpost cards for each dual-colored archetype. The first Uncommon is a Legendary creature and the second is a Gold enabler. A Rare Legendary also exists but doesn’t synergize with the archetype like the Uncommon signpost cards. All OTJ archetypes are graded with an A to F scale that is subject to change once the set officially launches.
| OTJ Draft archetype | OTJ Uncommon signpost cards | Playablity |
| WU | Legendary Jem Lightfoote, Sky Explorer Wrangler of the Damned | C+ |
| UB | Legendary Lazav, Familiar Stranger Intimidation Campaign | A- |
| BR | Legendary Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier At Knifepoint | B-/C+ |
| RG | Legendary Jolene, Plundering Pugilist Cactusfolk Sureshot | B-/C+ |
| GW | Legendary Miriam, Herd Whisperer Congregation Gryff | B |
| WB | Legendary Braon Bertram Graywater Ruthless Lawbringer | B+ |
| UR | Legendary Kraum, Violent Cacophony Slick Sequence | B- |
| BG | Legendary Honest Rutstein Badlands Revival | C+ |
| RW | Legendary Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor Form a Posse | C- |
| GU | Legendary Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius Make Your Own Luck | A- |
