Howdy y'all! I'm Levi from the Thought Vessel Show, and this week we're diving into some of my favorite rares and mythics from Magic's western-themed set, Outlaws of Thunder Junction. For this article, I won't be focusing on reprints or cards exclusive to the preconstructed sets. Instead, we'll look at rares and mythics from the standard set and the extended set, "The Big Score." Let's begin with some of the rares.

Rares

A new take on the Esper enchantress, Eriette, the Beguiler allows you to take control of enemy creatures by enchanting them with various auras. You could build her as a Voltron commander, turning all auras into potential removal spells, or simply include her in the 99 of another commander deck like Zur, the Enchanter. This is a very interesting card, and I'm excited to see the builds people come up with.

In terms of versatility, this card is elite. At its floor, you simply get an extra combat phase for four total mana, which is quite low for that type of effect in Magic. In the later game, when there's extra mana to spend, it becomes an extra combat phase, a lord effect giving extra power and first strike, and a treasure token creator. The range on this spree card makes it a fine addition to combat-focused decks for years to come.

Speaking of spree cards, next up is my personal favorite of the bunch: Three Steps Ahead. At a minimum, it is simply a counterspell to stop a troublesome spell before it arrives. With more mana, you can clone an artifact or creature you control and even draw some cards. I've been trying this card out in my Malcolm/Sakashima partner deck, which aims to clone Malcolm as many times as possible, and I'll say this card is as advertised!

Rather than speeding up the win, High Noon is slowing things down by restricting all players to one spell per turn. It also has the nice feature of being sacrificed to deal damage to a creature, giving you a way to "shut off" the stax effect if you need to go for a bigger turn or if someone has an answer to stop an opponent.

Three Black mana for a draw three, lose three life is a very reasonable effect in Commander, but adding an extra two generic mana to tutor any card you want to the top of your library makes this card very interesting. Bonus points go to players who use cards like Nekusar, the Mindrazer, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, where you can weaponize that card draw to force an opponent to lose 6+ life in one go.

Of all the new cards designed for this set, Obeka, Splitter of Seconds might be my favorite. This card allows you to take several upkeeps when Obeka connects with combat damage, exploiting cards like Court of Ambition and Twilight Prophet for massive payoffs. The card is strong but not broken, and it allows for a new strategy to be used in Commander. Wizards, I tip my cap to you.

Though there are some powerful rares in this set, next up we have the mythics from Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

Mythics

A welcome addition to +1/+1 counter and landfall decks, Bristly Bill has the low mana value to be cast on turn one or two, slowly accruing value throughout the game. The activated ability for five total mana, which doubles all +1/+1 counters on creatures, can be absolutely game-ending, especially if you have the mana to activate it more than once.

The final spree card I'm highlighting today is Final Showdown! This sweeper can work around cards like Heroic Intervention by making all creatures lose all abilities. This is significantly more effective in Voltron-themed decks, where you can give one creature indestructible to keep it around for a potentially lethal attack. Being an instant rather than the traditional sorcery speed definitely has my attention.

I personally think this card is the most underrated in the whole set. This land comes in untapped and allows for card selection in the later game for artifact decks. Discarding extra lands or dead cards, you can dig through your deck to find something more suited for the late game. It's not flashy, but it is an incredibly easy addition to any artifact deck with little opportunity cost.

Probably one of the most Timmy cards I've seen in recent times, Goldvein Hydra allows you to build up a massive creature with all your mana that can attack with trample right away, while also having vigilance to be a blocker. If Goldvein gets removed, not a problem! Goldvein Hydra refunds you all the mana you spent on it in treasure. This card has so much potential.

Who doesn't love a good sword in Magic? In typical MTG sword fashion, Sword of Wealth and Power grants protection from instants and sorceries, making the equipped creature much more difficult to remove. The treasure token and spell copying on combat damage are a little harder to pull off than the other swords that give protections from colors, but the card as a whole is still very cool.

And finally, the Modern superstar, Simulacrum Synthesizer. Making constructs left and right, this card can build a board in a heartbeat if left alone. One thing to note: these effects trigger on entering the battlefield, not cast. So, in blink decks like Brago, this card can really build an army.

And there you have it! These are the top cards from Outlaws of Thunder Junction that I am most excited about. If you are looking to pick up any of these cards listed in this article, you know where to go! Thank you for reading. Until next time!