Which MTG Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck is best for you?
It's time for a standoff as four new Commander precons arrive with Outlaws of Thunder Junction. But the question is, which one suits your playstyle?
Yee-haw, a new set of Commander decks is here, just a month after the arrival of the Fallout ones as Wizards of the Coast's Magic The Gathering train just keeps on runnin' with the villainous Outlaws of Thunder Junction expansion.
Precon decks make a great jumping-in point (more on that later), but given there are four of them, you may be wondering which one is worth picking up. Each plays differently, but you can still theoretically play with any of them against other precons and have a blast.
Here's the best Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander Deck for you.
Desert Bloom
Desert Bloom is a deck that leans into the theming of, well, a desert. Its face Commander, Yuma, Proud Protector, is easier to play if you've been sending lands to your graveyard.
Continue to churn through lands and you'll be able to draw more cards and create creature tokens, and you'll be able to bring Yuma back from the Command Zone more quickly, too.
The deck also includes Hazezon, Shaper of Sand, who's a nifty card you can use as your Commander to play Deserts from your graveyard and create tokens while doing so - neat.
If you're looking to get big creatures on the board, or just really enjoyed Dune, this one might be worth a look for you.
Grand Larceny
It wouldn't be an Outlaws set if there wasn't some thieving going on, and Gonti, Canny Acquisitor is ready for the heist. This face Commander's ability means you can play an opponent's top card (and for one mana less), so you could end up pilfering some really impressive options from your opponents.
Comparatively, backup Commander Felix Five-Boots just isn't as exciting, at least within this deck where his ability to trigger combat damage effects more than once isn't really built towards.
There are some other options for your Commander, too, but Cazu, Ruthless Stalker and Ukkima, Stalking Shadow are Partners that can really do some damage if you can rack up the +1/+1 counters on the latter using the former's ability.
Most Wanted
Most Wanted's Commander, Olivia, Opulent Outlaw uses the Outlaws grouping to good effect (that's Assassins, Mercenaries, Pirates, Rogues, and Warlocks) by creating treasure tokens whenever those creature types attack. These can then be used to power up your creatures.
That's fine, but it's not as good as the backup Commander, Vihaan, Goldwaker. Vihaan gives your Outlaws vigilance and haste to help promote aggressive strategies, but can also turn treasure tokens into 3/3 creatures until the end of the turn. That means you pretty quickly swarm the board, if only for a turn.
Quick Draw
Spellslinger decks are nothing new (I love using Prismari Performance from Strixhaven), but this one is arguably the pick of the Outlaws of Thunder Junction set. A Red/Blue deck helmed by Stella Lee, Wild Card, it's all about using your mana to cast as many spells as possible.
With that in mind, it's full of instants and sorceries, and in a multiplayer format like Commander will likely ensure you want to keep at least some mana untapped so you can respond to threats. Stella can keep spells going and aim them at multiple targets, too.
The backup Commander, Eris, Roar of the Storm, is a costly one, but her cost plummets once you've cast enough spells. She can also create some 4/4 flying Dragon Elemental tokens with ease, too.
Veyran, Voice of Duality is also included and makes a fun extra Commander option because he gains +1/+1 when casting spells, and triggers abilities twice.
What is a Commander Deck?
New to Magic The Gathering? Commander is a great place to start. It's a format that uses 100-card decks where only basic lands can be included more than once. That means you get to use a larger variety of cards than a deck in a format like Standard, and you also get to pick a Commander to represent you on the battlefield.
Commander Decks (or precons) are ideal because they include all the cards you need to play right out of the box, built around a Commander but also with a second choice of Commander included if you want to mix things up. You also get a (flimsy) deck box and some counters so you're ready to go from the jump.
For more on Outlaws of Thunder Junction, be sure to read my full preview of the latest set.
About The Author
Lloyd Coombes
Lloyd is GGRecon's Editor-in-Chief, having previously worked at Dexerto and Gfinity, and occasionally appears in The Daily Star newspaper. A big fan of loot-based games including Destiny 2 and Diablo 4, when he's not working you'll find him at the gym or trying to play Magic The Gathering.
