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Three weeks from today, the next Magic: The Gathering release is set to hit the shelves of stores everywhere. Outlaws of Thunder Junction will take players into an entirely new plane inspired of classic Westerns. With Wizards of the Coast now releasing the first peek at some of the cards you'll be able to get your hands on once the set releases, we have three all-new reveals you can only see right here on Comicbook.com.
Keep scrolling to see both a quick Q&A with the Magic: The Gathering Worldbuilding Team plus the three latest Outlaws of Thunder Junction spoilers!
Q: Thunder Junction is a new realm in the world of Magic. Why Thunder Junction and why a Western theme?
A: The worldbuilding seed for Thunder Junction came from what we call the omenpaths -- a new chaotic system of portals between planes that resulted from the last Phyrexian War. For most worlds, omenpaths are unreliable doorways, dangerous roads into the unknown -- but we thought, what if there were a world where many of these gateways converged-- peopled with travelers, scoundrels, opportunists, and spellcasters from other far-flung places? That, combined with careful discussions with cultural consultants, led us to the fantastical frontier setting of Thunder Junction. It's an exciting setting we haven't seen in Magic before, with high desert landscapes, razor-train heists, cactusfolk, and thunder magics. And it's the perfect setting to explore what might result from a central junction of multiplanar portals, with crews of outlaws from many worlds all vying for a chance at an infamous vault.
Q: The Atiin have a big part in the upcoming set. What served as inspiration for them?
A: The Atiin people in Thunder Junction were an addition to our frontier-inspired fantasy setting that came from a series of conversations with our Native American consultant, a member of the Navajo (Diné) Nation. The Atiin people in Thunder Junction are not intended to represent a specific, real-world group, but are visually inspired by the people of the Navajo (Diné) Nation. Our consultant advised us on the creation of authentic and appropriate visual motifs, textiles, and other aspects of costuming and bearing that you'll see represented in the cards.
Q: What decisions went into which characters should return (lookin' at you Tinybones) and which should be left out?
A: In Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Oko and his gang are a group of villains that band together to form a crew who are trying to pull off a heist. Together they're plotting a hit on the Fomori Vault, an ancient artifact rumored to be full of powerful treasures from around Magic's Multiverse. Our game designers had quite a fun puzzle on our hands, if we were putting together a squad of Magic's ne'er-do-wells from both past and present, who would be on that team? The first item we considered was "What roles would we want to fill on a heist team?" The roles we came up with were:
The Ringleader – Every heist team needs a leader
Sharpshooter – capable of providing long range support
Assassin – not afraid to get up close and personal
The Rookie – The new recruit
Muscle – A heavy bruiser
Pickpocket – Capable of lightening even the heaviest of coin purses
Once we had the roles well defined, we started to determine the best fit for each. Building a well-rounded crew is a core tenant of Wizards' philosophy and we wanted to make sure we did that here. The ringleader was clearly Oko, that much we knew for sure. We had a new sharpshooter character in the works, an Atiin, who had been gifted angelically powered sight and was a crackshot with a thunder blaster, Annie Flash. One of the most notorious assassins in the history of Magic is Vraska, so that was an easy fit. Kellan is completing his story arc in this set, and is eager to impress his dad Oko, so we had our rookie. We had several humanoid sized characters at this point, so we wanted to mix it up a bit. There's been more than a few hard-hitting villains in Magic's past, but if there's one character that fits the bill and is always up for a good time, it is the demonic leader of the black-red guild from Ravnica, none other than Rakdos himself. With our big bruiser out of the way, we wanted a sneaky pickpocket, and our favorite pocket pilfering pest is Tinybones, the only thing that could make this lil' dude cooler is a ten-gallon hat so that's exactly what we gave him (although his might be more of a one-gallon hat).
Another consideration which helped further cull down the list was "Who would actually go along with (or pretend to go along with) Oko's wild scheme?" This helped rule out some beloved characters like Olivia Voldaren and Gonti, as these folks certainly wouldn't bend to someone else's authority. Fortunately, we were still able to fit these characters into OTJ as the legendary face characters for two of the set's Commander Decks Most Wanted and Grand Larceny.
Jem Lightfoote, Sky Explorer
"Jem Lightfoote, Sky Explorer" features an all-new character taking form in Thunder Junction. With both flying and vigilance, plus the designation as a Legendary Creature, this one's is something that could end up as an early favorite of fans.
(Photo: Wizards of the Coast / Darren Tan)
Not only does if get you an extra draw (provided you haven't cast a spell), but Darren Tan's exemplary artwork on the card perfectly sums up the vibe of Outlaws of Thunder Junction—one that's steampunk meets high fantasy.
Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero
"Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero" is a Rare card that allows its holder to get a couple of different things by playing it. Not only does the card cost just three mana to play, but it also comes with some decent power (4) right out of the gate. Though it's not one of this set's four lead commanders, it's an add-on that could boost at least one of them sizably.
When "Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero" is tapped, its user gains one life and draws a card. Though this could end up causing a player to have way too many cards in their hand, the life gain is a pretty neat component, especially when paired with the next card on our list.
(Photo: Wizards of the Coast / Ekaterina Burmak)
Annie Joins Up
The final card we have to unveil is "Annie Joins Up," which is a Legendary Enchantment that dishes out a sizable five damage to either one target creature or one planeswalker one of your opponents controls. While that ability only triggers one time, the card also carries a second ability that lasts in perpetuity. The second ability allows each Legendary Creature you control on the battlefield to trigger its ability an additional time.
Conveniently enough, that would work great with both of the other cards we've unveiled here. With "Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero," you'd be able to gain two life and draw two cards while "Jem Lightfoote, Sky Explorer" could potentially net you two drawn cards as well.
(Photo: Wizards of the Coast / Wylie Beckert)
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Magic: The Gathering's "Outlaws of Thunder Junction" officially hits stores beginning April 19th, though you can get your hands during an early bird period beginning with prerelease events starting April 12th.