Outlaws of Thunder Junction releases on April 19th. This newest set introduces us to a brand new plane, the eponymous and American west-inspired Thunder Junction. The multiverse changed in a big way recently, with the introduction of the omenpaths during the Phyrexian invasion. These planar portals allow non-planeswalkers to travel to other planes. Thunder Junction is one of these planes, and one that the rest of the multiverse was unaware of before the Omenpaths.
Many of the multiverse’s characters are interested in this untouched plane, whether to explore it or exploit it. The set’s central story is a heist story, with Oko gathering people from throughout the multiverse that can help him break into a magical vault rumored to be filled with countless treasures.
FACTIONS OF THUNDER JUNCTION
The story begins with a man named Archie Dixon waiting outside the Omenpath for a package to be delivered. He’s been tasked with getting this apparently prized cargo to a safe place. Once he retrieves the package, he and his cohorts in the Sterling Company set out with it, only to get ambushed by a gang called the Hellspurs. Archie’s guards quickly go down for the count
Their leader, a monstrous dragon named Akul, smashes their carriage with a single blow, killing Archie and retrieving the cargo. He gloats about retrieving the last key he needed, only to open the package and realize it’s a decoy.
An ex-outlaw named Annie Flash sees the burning wreckage from the Hellspur attack and investigates. She knows from the level of destruction that Akul and his gang are the perpetrators. Then she loots the wreckage for anything valuable.
When she returns to her home, Annie is surprised to have a visitor. A man who claims he’s her biggest fan. However, unbeknownst to her visitor, Annie has a magic eye that allows her to see through his disguise. Her visitor is revealed to be Oko, and he invites her to help him perform a heist, as her abilities are valuable to him. Because Oko plans on attacking Akul and his gang and taking something important from them, Annie is intrigued by the offer. She bears a grudge against him for some unspecified trauma involving her nephew. Ultimately, Annie turns him down, but Oko leaves his address with her in case she changes her mind.
Next, it’s revealed that Oko is not the only denizen of Eldraine on the plane. His son, Kellan is there too. He traveled there with Ral Zarek and is assisting him in setting up relay towers so that communication between Thunder Junction and other planes becomes possible. In pursuit of this work, Kellan is slated to go on a trip to Prosperity, the plane’s largest city.
Not long after her meeting with Oko, Annie decides to head into the saloon where Oko said he would be.
When she goes in, she at first sees Tinybones, Malcolm, and Breeches, who seem to be having a great time.
Before long, Oko appears behind the bar and introduces Annie to these three. But the introductions don’t end there. It turns out Oko has gathered many other powerful individuals from Magic’s multiverse, including Vraska, Gisa, Geralf, Eriette, Rakdos and Ashiok.
With his team assembled, Oko explains that the plan is to rob Maag Taranau, an ancient structure on the plane that is rumored to contain countless riches. He explains that Akul and his gang built a town called Tarnation right around the vault to stake their claim to it, but that they are missing the key to get inside.
JAILBREAK AT THUNDER JUNCTION
The first stage of their plan is to raid the Sterling Company headquarters where they will find both the missing key and several other members of Oko’s gang, who are imprisoned there.
When they break in, Oko and his allies each make use of their particular set of skills. First, they find and free two more members of Oko’s gang – Satoru Umezawa and Kaervek. It turns out Satoru is able to break into the safe, where they find the key that Akul is looking for.
With their jailbreak and robbery successful, Oko and his gang attempt to make their escape. However, they run into Ral Zarek and Kellan, who try to impede their path just as reinforcements from the Sterling Company arrive.
Kellan recognizes Oko, and reveals that he might be his son. They don’t have much time to talk about it though, as the situation is becoming increasingly difficult for Oko and his crew to escape. Rakdos knocks Ral unconscious and Kellan decides to join the gang.
TRAIN ROBBERY AT THUNDER JUNCTION
Akul and his Hellspurs are too late to get the key themselves. Akul investigates the situation, and learns through coercion that a fae was involved in the theft of the key. Now, he and his gang are on the lookout for this mysterious interloper.
Now that Oko and his gang have the key, they aren’t sure exactly what to do next. This is because they aren’t sure how the key works and where exactly the vault is. There is also a lot of uncertainty about the origins of the key they recovered, with Kaervek worried that it is of Phyrexian origin, so the contents of the vault might even release another Phyrexia.
Annie reveals she knows an expert on magical objects named Nolan who would be able to help them understand the key. He happens to be on a Sterling Company train headed to Prosperity. The gang resolves to attack the train, and get Nolan to help them.
Using an army of the undead summoned by Gisa and explosives placed by Breeches, Kellan and Oko infiltrate the train and find Nolan and get him off of it. The train is now dangerously out of control, and Kellan urges his father and other comrades to help him stop it so no one on the train is injured. Only Annie assists him, with the other gang members fleeing.
DUEL AT THUNDER JUNCTION
Oko and his gang are at a campfire, planning their next move, while Ashiok digs through Nolan’s mind for any useful information. Ashiok reveals that six keys are needed for the vault. There’s the one they possess, but Akul has the other five, which he wears around his neck for safekeeping. They also learn that there is a map to Tarnation buried in a nearby cemetery. Oko sends Gisa and Geralf to recover it.
Once they have the map, Oko concludes that he, Vraska, Annie, and Kellan will disguise themselves as Hellspurs to infiltrate the town, while the others wait outside. Ultimately this plan fails, and the four imposters are rounded up. The Hellspurs are thrilled at the discovery, since Oko is exactly the Fae they had all been looking for.
Akul imprisons the four of them at the bottom of a quarry. He reveals to Annie that he did indeed cause her nephew’s injury, and he tells them he can’t wait to watch them die a slow death.
Kellan challenges the scorpion dragon to a duel. Akul refuses at first, but then Kellan’s compatriots taunt the dragon for being afraid to duel him, and the dragon gives in.
Akul and Kellan enter an arena and Akul says the duel will be a fight to the death. Kellan ultimately gets the upper hand by putting Akul into a trance and nearly knocks the dragon unconscious by using a conjured rope, but Akul powers out of it and knocks him out.
Just before Akul deals his finishing blow, Ral and the Sterling Company appear and a massive fight begins between the Hellspurs and the Company. Tinybones frees Oko, Vraska, and Annie. By now, Kellan has come to, and Oko notices that Akul’s necklace is near him. Oko instructs him to throw it to him, and he does.
Now that Oko has everything he needs to open the vault, he makes his escape with Vraska, Annie, and Tinybones, leaving Kellan behind.
RACE TO THE LOOT!
Kellan is left dejected at his father’s abandonment of him. Ral tells Kellan he’ll be cleared of any crimes, but only if he helps Ral make it to the vault before Oko or Akul. Kellan agrees to team up with him.
Oko’s gang, thanks to their head start and their possession of the key, makes it into the vault first. Annie’s magical eye comes in handy, because she’s able to identify all the hidden traps, while Kaervek and Satoru know how to make it past most of the doors. However, the time they take to make it through them allows Akul and the Hellspurs to catch up with them.
Rakdos engages Akul while the rest of Oko’s gang tries to protect Kaervek, who is working on removing a rune seal. Kaervek gets the door open, and Vraska and Oko rush through the door. But just as they are about to investigate the contents of the vault, Ral and Kellan appear and restrain him.
In pursuit of the vault’s wonders, alliances continue to break down. Kellan engages his father, while Ral and Vraska start a brutal fight of their own, despite their friendship. Meanwhile, Annie decides to side with Kellan, and blasts Oko with her rifle.
Ashiok decides the outcome of the fight by subduing Kellan and Ral, and along with Vraska and Oko, they unlock the final door. They are stunned at what they find inside, as the central component of the treasure appears to be a living thing. Just as they are all wondering what this might mean, the illusion disguising Ashiok disappears, revealing that they were Jace in disguise.
Jace opens the treasure pod, and removes the strange creature from inside. It’s a tiny orange creature with horns.
Jace turns to leave with this sleeping creature in tow. When Oko attempts to stop him, Vraska turns him to stone, revealing that she knew about Jace’s plan all along.
The vault begins to collapse, leading to the remnants of Oko’s gang trying to make a swift escape. Rakdos took down Akul, but before he can finish the job, he realizes he has to flee. They manage to get outside just in time, but by now Akul has recovered and he grabs Annie.
In a moment of panic, Kellan gains control of Akul’s mind, forces him to release Annie, and makes him turn back around and enter the collapsing vault, where he presumably dies.
EPILOGUE AT THUNDER JUNCTION
Two weeks later, Kellan is still on Thunder Junction. He’s with Annie, helping her around the farm, while also sticking around to make sure that Akul is really gone. Ral attempts to convince Kellan to come back to Ravnica, but he refuses.
Not long after, a carriage arrives and Amalia steps out. Kellan used the relay towers to contact her, and she came to help Kellan map out Thunder Junction.
END STEP
All in all, this was a really great story! They hit on all the important western tropes, while making it feel very Magicy. It seems Kellan continues to be our main character. Will he remain on Thunder Junction? Or should we expect him to make an appearance on Bloomburrow?
Jacob has been playing Magic for the better part of 24 years, and he especially loves playing Magic’s Limited formats. He also holds a PhD in history from the University of Oklahoma. In 2015, he started his YouTube channel, “Nizzahon Magic,” where he combines his interests with many videos covering Magic’s competitive history. When he’s not playing Magic or making Magic content, he can be found teaching college-level history courses or caring for a menagerie of pets with his wife.