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It has been a little while since the tumbleweeds rolled on from the Pre-Release party, and things have started to settle, but new mechanics are hard to nail down.
This particular Wild-West-inspired set features many returning creatures and the odd blue-hooded Planeswalker to get excited about. Still, there are a lot of new mechanics for you and your posse to get their heads around. Let’s look at what madness can abound on the roaming magical planes of Thunder Junction and how to make sense of it.
New Mechanics
New Mechanics The set features some invested mechanics that lean into the Western theme. They include committing crimes, Deserts (a Land type), Mounts (saddle your scaly ponies), Outlaws, Plots, and Sprees. Committing Crimes
Please only do this in the card format, we don’t endorse anyone pretending to rob a bank with a magical lasso…
With that being said. It’s easy to commit a crime in the series, just target an opponent or a permanent they control, and BAM! You are a (tabletop) criminal.
Deserts Lands
Deserts Lands always slightly change in each MTG set, and OTJ is no different. These dual lands give a bit of flavour to the set, but Deserts haven’t been a thing in MTG since some of the older sets. All you need to know is that most hit the battlefield tapped and have an Entering The Battlefield Trigger (ETB) like “does 1 damage to target opponent.” The flavour text centers around a character called ‘Big Ralph’ and his torturous journey to each of these Desert environs. We don’t know who he is, where he went, or how he got there, but we hope he is ok. Mounts If it can be saddled, you can ride it. This is the basic premise of the “Mount” mechanic but beware of the comparisons with crewing vehicles. Vehicles can be crewed immediately (Kamigawa Mechs…) however, saddling up a horse can only be done as a sorcery. So, Roach's frustration is now in card form, but we have yet to see one land on a cottage.
Outlaws
You can’t have a lawless, crime-filled desert without a few baddies and Outlaws are the OTJ answer. Assassins, Mercenaries, Pirates, Rogues, and Warlocks fall under that blighted banner. If you include a few of these in your deck, you’ll generally get a boon for having such a rogues gallery unless you play a removal deck in which case you deserve a visit from the Outlaws.
Plot
Plot This mechanic is meant to show the machinations of the nefarious and the pre-planners in the lawless wilds. It basically is a bank of spells that can be played at a later time. The absolutely glorious Irrasible Wolverine is a great example of paying it’s Plot cost, where you can exile the card, just like the Wilds of Eldraine’s Adventures, and cast it as sorcery later in the game. Spree Spree is an optional-cost spell type that lets you go wild if you have the mana. Each cost tiers up for a bigger payoff, so if you have it spare, these spells are a great way to sow some chaos. Well, that covers the mechanics, and we hope that they make sense as you add to your collection of Giant Beavers with jackets, Crustacean Cowboys, and Cow/Angel hybrids across this lonely old expanse. Check out the many Red Sun options for snagging these wondrous wildlife combinations. OTJ Play Booster Box
OTJ Bundle Box
OTJ Collector Boosters
OTJ Play Booster Packs And remember, just like TinyBones, if you can’t see it on our site, we can still get it for you! Contact us at Sales@redsuncollectables.com
We would like to thank the fabulous Brian for writing us this article, you can find him here if you would like your own content writing!