Saddle up for this ride into new frontier! It’s time to rustle up excitement as we introduce the mechanics shaping the landscape of Outlaws of Thunder Junction!
Thunder Junction introduces five new mechanics to Magic: the Gathering. The new mechanics are Spree, Crime, Saddle & Mount, Plot, and Outlaws.
Thunder Junction packs a punch and the set is shaping up to be a powerhouse that will introduce playable cards to multiple formats. With fresh cards, new abilities, and a bounty of loot just waiting to be claimed, join us as we guide you through the ins and outs of these exciting new mechanics.
How the Spree Mechanic Works
Spree is a new keyword mechanic that appears on 21 cards in Outlaws of Thunder Junction. It’s a bit like Kicker (isn’t everything though?). Spree cards have a mandatory mana cost, and then additional costs.
The most important thing to note for the Spree mechanic is that at least one mode must be chosen. The spree modes resolve in the order they are written.
Rules for Spree Mechanic
via outlaws of thunder junction release NOTES
- You must choose at least one of the listed modes and pay its associated additional cost in order to cast a spell with spree.
- You choose the modes as you cast the spell with spree. Once modes are chosen, they can’t be changed.
- If a mode requires a target, you can select that mode only if there’s a legal target available. Ignore the targeting requirements for modes you don’t choose.
- No matter which modes you choose, you always follow the instructions in the order they are written.
- You can’t choose the same mode more than once.
- The mana value of a spell with spree is determined only by its mana cost (in the upper right corner of the card). It doesn’t matter which modes you choose or which additional costs you pay, including any additional costs imposed by other effects.
- If a spell with spree is copied, the effect that creates the copy may allow you to choose new targets. You cannot choose new modes.
- If all targets for the chosen modes become illegal before a spell with spree resolves, the spell won’t resolve and none of its effects will happen. If at least one target is still legal, the spell will resolve but will have no effect on any illegal targets.
- If an effect allows you to cast a spell with spree “without paying its mana cost,” you must still choose at least one mode and pay the associated additional costs.
How the Crime Mechanic Works
Committing a Crime has never been easier in MTG thanks to Outlaws of Thunder Junction. 26 cards in the set mention the new Committing a Crime mechanic. The reminder text for what counts as a Crime is “Targeting opponents, anything they control, and/or cards in their graveyards is a crime.”
Rules for Crime Mechanic
via outlaws of thunder junction release NOTES
- A player commits a crime as they cast a spell, activate an ability, or put a triggered ability on the stack that targets at least one opponent, at least one permanent, spell, or ability an opponent controls, and/or at least one card in an opponent’s graveyard.
- The spell or ability that constituted a crime doesn’t have to have resolved yet or at all. As soon as you’re finished casting the spell, activating the ability, or putting the triggered ability on the stack, you’ve committed a crime.
- A player can commit only one crime per spell or ability they control. Targeting multiple opponents, permanents, spells, abilities, and/or cards with the same spell or ability doesn’t constitute committing multiple crimes.
How the Mount and Saddle Mechanic Work
Outlaws of Thunder Junction chose to be more thematic in the way they approached Vehicles and came up with a similar mechanic called Mounts and Saddle.
All creatures with Saddle have the Mount creature subtype; however, the subtype name doesn’t have any rules baggage tied to it.
One important rule to keep in mind is that creatures with Saddle don’t need to Saddle to attack. They are already creatures (unlike Vehicles).
There are 12 cards in Thunder Junction that reference the Mount mechanic, and 17 cards that reference Saddle.
Rules for Mount and Saddle Mechanic
via outlaws of thunder junction release NOTES
- “Saddle N” means “Tap any number of other untapped creatures you control with total power N or greater: This permanent becomes saddled until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery.”
- “Saddled” isn’t an ability that a creature has. It’s just something true about that creature. It won’t stop being saddled until the turn ends or it leaves the battlefield.
- Creatures with saddle can attack or block as normal even if they aren’t saddled.
- If a permanent becomes a copy of a saddled Mount, the copy won’t be saddled.
- You may activate a permanent’s saddle ability even if that permanent is already saddled.
- An ability that triggers when a creature “attacks while saddled” will trigger only if that creature was saddled when it was declared as an attacker.
How the Outlaw Mechanic Works
It wouldn’t be Outlaws of Thunder Junction without some Outlaw cards. Rather than create a new creature type for Outlaws, MTG simply decided that Assassins, Mercenaries, Pirates, Rogues, and Warlocks are classified as Outlaws.
A total of 22 cards in Outlaws of Thunder Junction reference Outlaws and 71 cards classify as an Outlaw creature type. If you are wondering, there are 915 MTG cards in the history of MTG that are one of the Outlaw creature types (not including cards like Changelings that can be every creature type).
Rules for Outlaw Mechanic
via outlaws of thunder junction release NOTES
- A card, spell, or permanent is an outlaw if it has the Assassin, Mercenary, Pirate, Rogue, or Warlock creature type. It doesn’t matter if it has more than one of those creature types; as long as it has at least one, it’s an outlaw.
- Outlaw is not a creature type. If an effect asks you to choose a creature type, you can’t choose outlaw.
- If an ability refers to an outlaw or whether a player controls an outlaw, it’s referring only to permanents with one or more of the creature types specified above. Notably, it’s not referring to any spell or card not on the battlefield. However, other abilities may refer to an “outlaw spell” or “outlaw card” in a zone other than the battlefield. Those abilities refer to spells and cards with one or more of the specified creature types.
How the Plot Mechanic Works
Plot is a bit like Foretell. One key difference is that Foretell cards say that they are exiled “face-down”; whereas, Plot cards don’t. Plot cards are exiled face-up, per rule 406.3.
Exiled cards are, by default, kept face up and may be examined by any player at any time.
Comprehensive rules 406.3
Another distinction of Plot is that you prepay for the spells mana cost. After you pay the Plot cost, they are free to cast on another turn.
There are a total of 38 cards in Outlaws of Thunder Junction that mention the Plot mechanic.
Rules for Plot Mechanic
via outlaws of thunder junction release NOTES
- Plot abilities are written “Plot [cost],” which means “Any time you have priority during your main phase while the stack is empty, you may pay [cost] and exile this card from your hand. It becomes plotted.”
- Exiling a card using its plot ability is a special action. Once you announce you’re taking that action, no other player can respond by trying to remove that card from your hand.
- You can’t cast a plotted card on the same turn it became plotted. On any future turn, you may cast that card from exile without paying its mana cost during your main phase while the stack is empty.
- If you’re casting a plotted card from exile without paying its mana cost, you can’t choose to cast it for any other alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the plotted card has any mandatory additional costs, those must still be paid to cast the spell.
- If a plotted card has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
Those are the five main mechanics of Outlaws of Thunder Junction. There are a few other old mechanics that mostly appear as one-offs.
Deserts are also a returning theme, but are very straightforward. They are simply a land subtype with no meaning other than when a card specifically references deserts.
Which Outlaws of Thunder Junction mechanics are you excited for? Leave us a comment on Facebook.
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