Pitiless CarnagePitiless Carnage | Art by Richard Kane Ferguson

Hello, fellow rootin', tootin', brewin' friends! I'm back to continue the search for budget cards from previous sets, and this time we're going to explore Outlaws of Thunder Junction (OTJ). 

I feel like OTJ got some unfair treatment when it was released, and there's cards here that can be really awesome for just a few bucks at the most. For example, I just added Tomb TrawlerTomb Trawler to the Grenzo, Dungeon WardenGrenzo, Dungeon Warden deck that I brought out of retirement.

On that note, I've gotten a couple comments calling out uncommons that are great for Commander as well, so I'll include some of those going forward if I feel particularly strong about them.

Let's ride!

Caustic BroncoCaustic Bronco ($0.29)

Kicking things off, we have everyone's favorite Snake Horse Mount.

What I like about the Bronco is that it draws you a card regardless of whether it's saddled or not, so you're always getting something back. Group Slug decks or decks that care about creatures attacking can give this horrifying little pony a home. Just make sure you're playing enough creatures to make it easy to saddle.

In the best case partner this with a commander that has three power so you've always got access to one. In decks that want to lower their own life total (Repay in KindRepay in Kind anyone?), not saddling it can actually be an upside, so be sure you look at it for those decks as well.

Colossal RattlewurmColossal Rattlewurm ($0.23)

Despite what you might think, this is not just a Deserts-matter card.

I've talked in previous articles about how Rampant GrowthRampant Growth is a horrible draw late in the game. Rattlewurm is a fantastic option to replace it. All it requires is that you have a Desert in your deck, and with all the Deserts released in OTJ, that opportunity cost is very low. Then if you draw this late in the game, you get a four mana, 6/5 trampler.

Now think about all the places this card can go: Reanimator, Power Matters, Landfall... the list goes on and on. If your playgroup is heavy on counterspells, Rattlewurm's activated ability even gets around those! If you're running Rampant GrowthRampant Growth in any of your decks, consider a colossal upgrade for less than a quarter.

Forsaken MinerForsaken Miner ($0.78)

We had to talk about the Skeleton in the room.

I said I was going to mention certain uncommons, and I'm pretty sure this was one of, if not the most impactful uncommon from the set. Forsken Miner is a combo card, replacing GravecrawlerGravecrawler in many loops:

Gravecrawler used to be expensive, but with its printing in multiple recent precons, its price has plummeted. Still, Forsaken Miner is more flexible since it's far easier to commit a crime than control a Zombie.

Just make sure your Blood ArtistBlood Artist effect actually targets an opponent; Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat won't cut anything in this case.

Pillage the BogPillage the Bog ($0.33)

Who needs Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor when you can go noodling?

Pillage the BogPillage the Bog avoids both the wallet impact and the Game Changer classification that comes with Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor. On turn two it's still ImpulseImpulse if you're that desperate, but it gets stronger and stronger as the game progresses. Ramping out lands is bread and butter for green decks, so this will quickly be able to look at a sizable portion of your deck.

If you've got the spare mana to plot it, now you've got access to a free tutor on your later turns. Lands decks will make the best use of it, but any Golgari () deck can do some pillaging for good results.

Pitiless CarnagePitiless Carnage ($0.35)

Like Into the PitInto the Pit in my last article, here is another card velocity option for those Orzhov () Aristocrat decks. I'm always looking out for us Orzhov players.

Many of the card velocity options in these colors are the slow and steady type; something like Morbid OpportunistMorbid Opportunist for example. Burst card draw is especially slim, so having access to an effect like this can be extremely vital for refilling your hand quickly.

Pitiless CarnagePitiless Carnage doesn't even care about the card types you're sacrificing. While most of the time it'll be creatures, you can do this with Foods, Clues, Roles, even lands! Just like with Pillage the BogPillage the Bog, you can plot this early in the game and cast it for free once you've got a big board of expendable things and take advantage of all the synergy you gain by sacrificing a bunch of things at once.

Also a bonus: amazing RKF art!

Pyretic ChargePyretic Charge ($0.43)

Speaking of card velocity, how about winning the game too? Pyretic Charge is more flexible than it seems.

It all revolves around the number of cards in your hand. If you have none, it's a five-mana (or four if you plot it) draw four, something red decks only dream about. If you have seven, it can win you the game, in which case discarding seven cards is irrelevant. Obviously, these are the two extreme scenarios, but having a mix of the two isn't bad either.

Decks that care about drawing/discarding, like Rielle, the EverwiseRielle, the Everwise or Captain Howler, Sea ScourgeCaptain Howler, Sea Scourge, will make good use of this, and so will red decks that are just going wide. After all, everyone needs card velocity at some point.

It's when you're doing both when this really goes berserk, which is where I bring up The Locust GodThe Locust God. All the Insects that the God makes have flying, making the anthem effect far more devastating for your opponents. A quick rules note: The Locust God will make Insects when you cast this but they won't get pumped since the God will trigger after the entire spell resolves, not just the first part.

We Ride at DawnWe Ride at Dawn ($0.34)

It seems I can't go an article without mentioning a convoke card.

We Ride at Dawn is a little more narrow than similar cards, limiting the convoke to only legendary creatures. If you're in a Legends deck, this is very straightforward mana acceleration. Not much more to say about it there.

However, I'd encourage you to look at any of your white-based decks and check how many legendary creatures you have. Some of the best cards for the 99 are legendary creatures, and if you've got say 10+ in the list along with a bunch of other creatures, We Ride at Dawn is probably worth it.

Oh, I consider the triggered ability about making the Mercenary tokens as flavor text, but hey, a little incentive to attack with your commander.

Wylie Duke, Atiin HeroWylie Duke, Atiin Hero ($0.19)

Speaking of legendary creatures and convoke, Wylie Duke is clearly one of the we's that are riding at dawn.

Wylie is an enabler for saddling Mounts, one of the primary mechanics of OTJ. Crucially, his ability doesn't trigger only when saddling, it's when he becomes tapped. This opens him up to a much larger set of use cases. For example, in Convoke decks which tend to lean Selesnya (), since the mechanic was originally in those colors.

Vehicle decks go hand-in-hand with saddling, and from there it's pretty easy to get to Spacecraft as well. Look out for new ones in the upcoming Star Trek set, which will open up Wylie's possibilities even further.

If you've got bad memories of OTJ for whatever reason, hopefully this urged you to take another look at these and maybe some other cards from the set. While the aesthetic wasn't my favorite, there are definitely some desert flowers waiting to be plucked up and sleeved for your next Commander night.

So what do you think? Are there cards from OTJ that I missed? Do you have a set you want me to explore next? Let me know down in the comments and I'll see you next time!