How Good Are the Outlaws Big Score Cards in Commander?

Outlaws at Thunder Junction boasts an impressive array of new cards, and there are even more on the bonus sheet. We covered the Special Guests and Breaking News cards already, so now it’s time to crack into the Fomori Vault and see what’s in our Big Score.

OUTLAWS OF THUNDER JUNCTION: BIG SCORE

Big Score (BIG) is comprised of thirty cards, the majority of which are brand new. These thirty cards join the ten Special Guests in the List slot for this set, which you’ll have a chance at finding in Play Boosters and Collector Boosters.

But how good are these new cards? Are they created equally? Or are some of these “mythics” not really that great? Let’s find out.

BIG SCORE: REPRINTS

First up, let’s get the “vegetables” out of the way. While Breaking News and Special Guests won’t be Standard legal, Big Score cards are. BIG has a handful of reprints, and it looks like Wizards are using these as a way to tune Standard.

While Rest in Peace is the most obvious and boardable card in current Standard, Torpor Orb is also a good hate piece, and Grand Abolisher might find a place in certain combo decks. 

We’re not as focused on Standard here, though – how good are these reprints for Commander? Well, Grand Abolisher is always great to see, and I feel like it fits not only in combo decks, but some Voltron decks, some aggro decks, and some decks that otherwise really hinge on their Commander for big turns. Torpor Orb and Rest in Peace don’t really interest us that much to be honest, with both being readily available.

BIG SCORE: WHITE

Once you dismiss the reprints, there are only a couple of white cards to look at. Oltec Matterweaver is first up, and I actually like this card quite a bit. It’s the token half of Oketra’s Monument (already super useful), except it also lets you copy artifact tokens if you so desire. In practice, this is going to either make you extra creatures for pings/go-wide/Skullclamp, or it’s going to effectively be a Pearl Medallion that refunds you a Treasure on the other side, instead of reducing generic mana on entry. 

Both modes are fantastic, and if you’re running this in an artifact deck (particularly with blue) this can help with some combo potential, too. 

Collector’s Cage is one I’m really fond of. Three mana to cast a free spell in white can be some serious mana advantage, and the prerequisite isn’t too hard to achieve. What’s more, this is flickerable with cards like Teleportation Circle and Abuelo. Newer flicker effects are likely to include artifacts in white also, so it’s a good bet that this card can only get better.

BIG SCORE: BLUE

Esoteric Duplicator finally lets you achieve that sweet Ugin’s Nexus combo you always dreamed of, as long as you remember to do the sacrificing in your End Step. That aside, the utility of running this in artifact decks is high, especially given it can double up consistency cards like Solemn Simulacrum, Baleful Strix or Mnemonic Sphere, but also solid roleplayers like Sharuum, Angel of the Ruins, or Wurmcoil Engine. 

Oh, and that Clue typing will give some extra value in Clues-matter decks, which is the icing on the cake for a really good piece of cardboard.

Simulacrum Synthesizer makes Karnstructs whenever you play an artifact with mana value 3 or higher, and you get a cheeky Scry 2 when it enters. Is that good enough for three mana?

I’m not sure. The card isn’t exactly bad, but unless I had ways to grant evasion, and/or token doublers, I’d be hesitant to run this. Karnstructs gonna Karnstruct, though.

I find it weird that Worldwalker Helm isn’t an equipment, but here we are. You get a Map every time you’d create one or more artifact tokens, which is kinda neat, I guess. Explore is a very build-around mechanic, and you have to be firmly into counters and/or graveyard synergies to want this. What’s more, unless you’re making lots of artifact tokens already, that bottom ability won’t really be useful to you.

Feels like a card for Commanders like Saheeli, the Sun’s Brilliance, who already make token artifacts in the Command Zone. This’ll let you double up, which is neat.

BIG SCORE: BLACK

Definitely more of a 60-card or cube card, let’s be honest. Still, it’ll make its way handily into Massacre Girl, Known Killer, or maybe even King of the Oathbreakers.

Forced discard at four mana isn’t the best rate, so if you’re looking at Hostile Investigator, it’s for the clue making synergy. But even then, it only triggers once a turn. Can’t say I’d be too happy opening this in my booster.

Greed’s Gambit is a weird one. Four mana to draw three, gain 6, and make three flying tokens? Sign me up.

At the beginning of my end step, discard, lose life, and sac? Can I annul this contract? Oh damn, the get-out clause is losing everything I gained in the first place, plus whatever I lost in between?

While some weird decks might be able to make this work (Thalisse with Divine Visitation, or something), it’s way too punishing to play with. 

BIG SCORE: RED

Over to red, and it’s Generous Plunderer. It’s a treasure hate card, on the face of it, but you do have to untap, and swing, in order to burn the opponent. Is that too much? Is it too unreliable? Probably. I think the card is decent enough, and will probably still be good in Party decks, or something like Isshin, where doubling up on the trigger with a Menace creature is just solid, especially on a creature that comes in before Isshin on curve.

By and large though? A bit overrated.

Now this I like. Molten Duplication is only two mana, and so it’s worth running even outside of combo decks or Etali, Primal Conqueror. What kind of deck do you put it in? Well, anything that can populate, or likes to slam in aggressively in combat, anything with good EtBs. More of a Boros or Rakdos card than one that’s a good option in blue or green decks.

What a jarring card. Memory Vessel nods back to infamous reprints of reserved list cards, and does so in a way that is distinct enough to be a new effect. Memory Jar as a rule doesn’t see much play in EDH, and so I’m not sure Memory Vessel will either. That said, it does have Exile synergy, and your opponents won’t get to discard what they don’t play. I can see at least some decks using this.

Legion Extruder is kinda like Hammer of Purphoros, except less hungry, and cheaper to get going. It also comes with a shock. It feels more of a 1v1 card for sure, but again – in the right builds, I’m sure you can make it work. I’m all for Wizards printing more niche effects, because it reduces the amount of format all-star staples. 

Territory Forge seems a bit expensive, on-rate, for a removal spell. I don’t really think this is worth playing, as it’s very hard to break parity on it.

BIG SCORE: GREEN

I don’t know when you’d want to play this.

Sandstorm Salvager is the latest “splicer”, and though Golem decks will be the most excited to pick this up, there are other decks, as unassuming as Oviya Pashiri and as hardcore as Glissa, the Traitor that might make use of the repeatable overrun effect on a 3-drop. 

Bristlebud Farmer enters, makes two foods, and leaves… a chonky body. What’s more, when you attack with it, sacrificing food enables some self-mill and recursion. I know my favorite part of Lord of the Rings was when the humanoid Cactus saved the hobbits from the Hellspurs. 

Not every card has to be hyper-powered, and though Omenpath Journey is a little slow for the highest power tables, it’ll be good enough at mid-power tables to see play. Over two turns you’ll get your Cabal Coffers/Urborg combo, or fish out some other powerful utility lands from your deck. I see most people picking 2-3 with this, which for four mana, is perfectly reasonable. 

Boy oh boy does this Dinosaur feel pushed. It’s ferocious card draw, it replaces itself, and replaces itself again when it dies with a copy of itself, and what’s more, it’ll gain you a bunch of life for playing more dinos. This makes Thragtusk look like a kindergarten pet. 

It’s already easy to make a big tempo swing in Dino decks, and this just adds fuel to that fire. Gaining a bunch of life while dropping this in off of Ghalta or Gishath makes things that much harder for your opponents.

BIG SCORE: MULTICOLOR, ARTIFACTS, LANDS

Ah, the prize. If you didn’t catch up on the Outlaws of Thunder Junction story yet, we have a recap right here. 

So, how good is the Loot? Well, you’re getting to impulse draw on average 3-4 cards every upkeep. Is that worth it to you? Why am I asking? If you like cute alien abominations/gods/macguffins, you’re probably playing this regardless. Passionate Archaeologist got a lot better didn’t it?

Ah, a sweet, sweet cEDH card. Pest Control should see plenty of play thanks to having cycling, which takes the card from good to great. In Commander at large, if you have an issue with lots of artifact tokens in your meta it’s a reasonable silver bullet, but if you deal with creature token armies I’d still probably rather take Declaration in Stone. 

Lost Jitte, like Umezawa’s Jitte, accrues charge counters to do powerful things. It’s obviously less powerful than the original card, but that’s because the original card is repeatable removal. While this doesn’t reach the same heights, it’s still very powerful, and in certain scenarios, can be better. Untapping Lotus Field or a Bounceland is great; untapping Cabal Coffers is even better. Putting a counter on the equipped creature helps it get in as the game progresses, and removing the ability to block does the same. 

Mirran Crusader entered the chat. 

Lotus Ring is a cute nod to Magic’s iconic game piece, and as with other echoes, doesn’t ever shape up to the infamous Black Lotus. You can do some weird stuff with this, sure, but it feels like way too many hoops to jump through. Ignoring the sacrifice ability, is +3/+3 and Vigilance and Indestructible worth the 3 mana outlay in an equipment deck with ways to equip for free? 

Yes, actually. And it also helps your creature dodge exile removal by being able to send it to the yard. Better than it looks. 

Ah, my favorite card of the set: Sword of Wealth and Power. If you have a Sunforger suite in your equipment deck, you’ll be overjoyed to add this sword to your deck. It’s a solid all-rounder with great protection, and if nothing else, it’ll give you some treasure tokens. It’s more niche than some swords, so if you don’t have free equips, I’d potentially opt for Swiftfoot Boots or Champion’s Helm instead.

Nexus of Becoming is sweet for Brenard, Ginger Sculptor decks, sure. And for those aforementioned Golem decks. But it’s still a good draw engine in decks like Osgir, the Reconstructor, or other decks that predominantly stick to artifacts with high casting costs and that are able to keep their hand topped up. 

Transmutation Font is a cheaper Kuldotha Forgemaster that gives you a payoff for running Academy Manufactor.

*checks notes*

Sorry, a payoff that isn’t winning the game. 

Tarnation Vista lends itself to a very obvious pun, and I just refuse. Partly because the card itself isn’t that interesting. If it was a Nyx land for devotion I’d be more interested. It isn’t. It’s a really slow and niche Bloom Tender.

Thankfully Fomori Vault is a much more interesting land to end things on. For four total mana, you get to look at the top X cards, put a card into your hand, and shuffle the rest onto the bottom. X is the number of artifacts you control, and as we are all acutely aware, Commander has a bit of an artifact surplus right now, what with the renaissance of equipment and aggro decks, creature token makers, and artifact tokens. This is a really solid land, and can slot in places like Eloise and Nahiri, Forged in Fury. 

END STEP

And there we have it – the fruits of our treasure hunt. Was the Big Score worth it? Is it better to have these cards in the List slot rather than in an Aftermath type product? Let us know on X.