5 powerful Standard MTG decks to play in Outlaws of Thunder Junction meta

With MTG Outlaws of Thunder Junction now available, it’s time to look at some powerful Standard decks! We’ll revisit this topic again in May, to see what the meta looks like. Today, I want to take a look at decks that I simply think are going to be powerful, or at least fun to play, as the Standard meta begins to take shape around this new expansion. However, there is one thing readers might notice in these decks.

They aren’t primarily Outlaws of Thunder Junction cards in the Standard MTG meta but are still powerful. I’m not one of those Magic players who thinks that just because a new set is out, decks must be filled with new cards. Sometimes, what was working continues to work - and does so for a reason.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective.

Mono-Red Aggro is always going to work as a powerful MTG Standard deck, and Outlaws of Thunder Junction is no exception. It’s one of the easiest decks in the game to pilot - it features a ton of creatures with low-cost, high-value, and plenty of spells. In particular, one of the new cards is Slickshot Show-off, which has a new Plot mechanic.

Since that card has Haste, Flying, and gains +2/+0 until end of turn when you cast a non-creature spell, you can use it as your game-winning card. Plot it early, and late in the game when you have enough instants to buff him up, you put him into play, blow up the field, and win the game! Easy.

If anyone has read one of my MTG articles in the past, I think the most powerful decks are control - and Outlaws of Thunder Junction has some pretty great spells to help make that happen. Three Steps Ahead is a solid counterspell, and Bovine Intervention destroys a powerful creature or artifact and grants the controller an Ox instead.

This deck