Most Wanted - Thunder Junction Precon Upgrade Guide

April 23, 2024 by Andy Zupke

Hey friends. Welcome back to EDHREC for our final precon guide for Outlaws of Thunder Junction. In the last article we looked at Most Wanted to see if the outlaw deck deserved our hard-earned (or stolen) coin. And now we’re gonna take that deck and give it a boost.

I gave the deck a good score based on the power of its commanders and its synergy. But it could use a bit more oomph when it comes to dealing out combat damage. And maybe a bit more Treasure too.

Let’s tune up.

What’s In the Original Deck?

This precon is red, white, and black, and the star of the show is Olivia, Opulent Outlaw. She’s a 3/3 Vampire Assassin with flying and lifelink for four mana, and whenever one or more of our outlaws deal combat damage to an opponent, we make a Treasure. We can also pay three mana and sacrifice two Treasures to put two +1/+1 counters on each creature we control.

The understudy is Vihaan, Goldwaker, a 3/3 Dwarf Warlock for three mana that gives other outlaws vigilance and haste, and at the beginning of our combats we can turn all our Treasures into 3/3 Assassins until end of turn.

Here’s the original deck list:

Commander (1)

1 Olivia, Opulent Outlaw

Creatures (33)

Sorceries (8)

Artifacts (10)

Enchantments (5)

Instants (6)

Lands (37)

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What Budget Cards Can We Add to Most Wanted?

Let’s break this up into two parts, one for budget upgrades ($5 or less per card) and one non-budget (>$5).

We'll kick this off with our outlaws. Butch DeLoria, Tunnel Snake, from Universes Beyond: Fallout has a lot of synergy with Rogue creatures, and can even turn a creature into a Rogue, which works great for the non-outlaw creatures in our deck. And menace is excellent evasion to make sure we’re getting in for damage. Also from Fallout is Kellogg, Dangerous Mind. This Mercenary makes a Treasure when he attacks, and can also steal a creature at the cost of five Treasures. This is a good way to get rid of some blockers.

Hellspur Posse Boss from the main OTJ set gives our outlaws haste and creates two Mercenary tokens on entry that can either attack or grant a power boost. Port Razer is a Pirate that can give us extra combat steps when it hits an opponent, which is exactly what this deck needs. Swashbuckler Extraordinaire enters with a Treasure, and lets us spend Treasures to give our crew double strike. Since Olivia triggers off of combat damage, double strike is an absolute premium in this deck. So much so, that we’re also adding the non-outlaw Blade Historian.

Tin Street Dodger is a cheap outlaw with an evasion ability, and Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats is a Rogue that grants all of our creatures deathtouch. Folks ‘round here don’t much appreciate blocking creatures with deathtouch.

Some other creatures we’re adding are: Mirkwood Bats, which pings opponents when we make or sacrifice tokens; Reckless Fireweaver, which does the same when we drop an artifact; Xorn increases our Treasure production; and Zirda, the Dawnwaker makes Olivia’s ability much more affordable, in addition to dealing with a blocker each turn.

We’ve got a couple of enchantments too. At Knifepoint gives our outlaws first strike, which, for combat damage triggers, is almost as good as double strike. It also makes us a Mercenary token whenever we commit a Crime, so it’s doing a lot of things we need. We’re also adding Bedlam. Yes, Bedlam! What’s better than evasion? Completely doing away with blocking. Yes, it puts us in danger from other attacks, but I ain’t no coward.

And our last budget addition is one of my all-time favorite Magic cards: Bond of Discipline. It’s just a beautiful card, and perfect when we need to get in for damage.

These cards are getting the boot: Captain Lannery Storm, Dead Before Sunrise, Dire Fleet Daredevil, Dire Fleet Ravager, Graywater’s Fixer, Kamber, the Plunderer, Mass Mutiny, Misfortune Teller, Mistmeadow Skulk, Ogre Slumlord, Rain of Riches, Tenured Inkcaster, Trailblazer’s Boots, Veinwitch Coven, and Witch of the Moors

Here’s the budget upgraded list:

Commander (1)

1 Olivia, Opulent Outlaw

Creatures (34)

Sorceries (8)

Artifacts (9)

Enchantments (6)

Instants (5)

Lands (37)

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And a few more cards to consider, depending on the direction you wanna go with the deck: Akki Underminer, Big Score, Bold Plagiarist, Breeches, Eager Pillager, Crime Novelist, Headliner Scarlett, Hopeful Initiate, Lich-Knights’ Conquest, Marionette Master, Moriok Rigger, Odric, Lunarch Marshal, Royal Assassin, Ruinous Ultimatum, Kambal, Profiteering Mayor, Great Train Heist

What Are Some Good Expensive Cards We Can Add to Most Wanted?

Got all that loot from the train robbery burning a hole in your britches? Let’s spend it here.

Of course, the big spending is all gonna happen on Treasure cards. And we can’t leave out the staples: Smothering Tithe and Dockside Extortionist. But those aren’t the only ones. We’ve also got Black Market Connections, The Reaver Cleaver, and Goldspan Dragon. Grim Hireling works great with our combat damage strategy. Anointed Procession will double all our Treasures, as well as other tokens. And we’re even throwing in an alternate win condition with Revel in Riches.

Bitterblossom is perfect here, because it gives us an outlaw with evasion every turn. As is Uncivil Unrest which gives our nontoken creatures Riot (either haste or a +1/+1 counter) as well as doubling the damage dealt by our creatures with counters. Dauthi Voidwalker gets in for damage, while also keeping opponents away from their precious graveyards.

For boosting our combat, we’ll throw in an Akroma’s Will. And, if we can make enough Treasure with Olivia in each combat, Aggravated Assault can be activated over and over so we can keep punching in.

These cards can’t hang with the opulent crowd: Reckless Fireweaver, Bounty Board, Glittering Stockpile, Laurine, the Diversion, Mari, the Killing Quill, Mirror Entity, We Ride at Dawn, Zirda, the Dawnwaker, Aetherborn Marauder, Captivating Crew, Discreet Retreat, Queen Marchesa, and Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats

Here’s our non-budget upgraded list:

Commander (1)

1 Olivia, Opulent Outlaw

Sorceries (8)

Artifacts (8)

Creatures (29)

Enchantments (11)

Instants (6)

Lands (37)

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And a few more cards to consider: Professional Face-Breaker, Forge, Neverwinter Charlatan, All Will Be One

So Which Creature Types are In-Laws?

That wraps up our precon guides for Outlaws of Thunder Junction! What did you think of this Upgrade Guide? Any cards I missed? What did you think of this set as a whole? Will it have a big impact on the Commander format? Let me know in the comments below. And don’t forget to check back soon for more precon guides for every set, here on EDHREC.

More Precon Fun:

Quick Draw - Thunder Junction Precon Upgrade Guide

Desert Bloom - Thunder Junction Precon Upgrade Guide

Grand Larceny - Thunder Junction Precon Upgrade Guide

Andy Zupke

Andy's been playing Magic on and off since Fallen Empires. He loves to travel, drink, eat, and spend time with family and friends.

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