Summary
Between the main set, the Breaking News bonus sheet, Special Guests, and the already-confusing structure ofMagic: The Gathering’s Play Boosters, you’d be forgiven if you weren’t quite sure what a ‘Big Score’ card was or why there are some really weirdartifact-centric mythic raresfloating around your Thunder Junction Draft.
The Big Score was intended to be released as an epilogue-style set similar toMarch of the Machine: The Aftermath, but after the poor reception to that set, it was scrapped and repurposed into the main Thunder Junction set. That means these cardsshow up in Draftand Sealed and are even Standard-legal. In other words, yes, you should probably know which ones are good.
While some Big Score cards will excel in Standard or Commander, we’ll be looking at these cards through the lens of Limited here.
10Nexus Of Becoming
A Plan In A Can, If You Live Long Enough
A six-mana permanent that simply draws an extra card every turn wouldn’t be enough for a modern Limited set. That cost for slowcard advantagejust leaves you exposed too often on a crucial turn. Thankfully, Nexus of Becoming ups the ante.
Nexus also presents the opportunity to cash in a creature or artifact from your hand for a 3/3 on board, which has all of the relevant abilities of the card it copied. That means you’re building board presence in addition to drawing extra cards, which is a match made in artifact heaven.
Remember that Nexus of Becoming triggers on your combat step, not end step or upkeep. That means you should play it during your first main phase, so it’ll trigger right away.
9Oltec Matterweaver
Out Of Place, But Not Out Of Mind
Oltec Matterweaver’s a clear indication that cards from The Big Score weren’t originally intended to be in Thunder Junction, given its emphasis on artifacts, a theme that’s not present in the set. That, and the overlap between the first ability and that of the main-set Selvala, Eager Trailblazer.
Despite feeling like a lost relic of another set, the Matterweaver’s still an excellent card, creating free 1/1s whenever you cast creature spells. All the better if youaredoing something artifact-specific, though that part of the card is basically a blank in its Limited format.
8Legion Extruder
Low Floor, Extremely High Ceiling
Two mana at sorcery speed for two damage isfine, but generally below the bar. That means you have to get extra value out of Legion Extruder’sactivated abilitybefore you’re that happy with it. Easier said than done, given the lack of actual artifact support floating around Thunder Junction.
Still, just because the set doesn’t have a central artifact theme doesn’t mean there aren’t artifacts at your disposal. There are several cards thatcreate Treasure tokens, which are ideal to feed through the Extruder on one end and produce 3/3 tokens on the other.
7Bristlebud Farmer
Farming Food And Wins
You don’t need someone to tell you Bristlebud Farmer is a good card. Just eyes and an average reading level will do. Four mana for a 5/5 with trample and the ability to return permanents from your graveyard to your hand? Yeah, that definitely checks out.
The only thing working against the Farmer is that it’s just a terribly boring design. Powerful, yes, but perhaps a bit uninspired, given its massive stats and multiple other upsides. However, Limited’s not a contest between thecoolestcards, so feel free to snap up Bristlebud Farmer and smash your opponents with it.
6Hostile Investigator
Unexciting, But Appropriately Strong
Many of the Big Score cards were originally uncommons and rares, but they were all switched to mythic when they were added to the rest of Thunder Junction. That certainly shows on Hostile Investigator, since nothing about its art or ability screams mythic rare.
Despite this rarity upshift, it’s an excellent value card, even if you do no other work beyond simply casting the card. You get decent stats,eat a card out of your opponent’s hand, and eventually draw a card from theClue. That’s a bonafide three-for-one, and it gets even better with additional discard effects.
5Sandstorm Salvager
A Powerful Take On An Equally Strong Classic
Sandstorm Salvager is an obvious homage to Blade Splicer, a classic three-mana creature that has stood the test of time despite being printed over ten years ago. The formula of a 1/1 and a 3/3 for three mana is just a great rate regardless of the extra text involved.
In Salvager’s case, that extra text is the ability to pump all your creature tokens, not just the Golem created by its enters-the-battlefield ability. An incredible starting rate and a mana sink that grows your board over time make this an excellent package of stats and abilities.
4Harvester Of Misery
Miserable For You Opponent
Harvester of Misery is that classic ‘two great tastes’ card. Either use of this card is good value, whether you’re sniping down a small creature with the discard ability or casting it as a large threat that shrinks down the rest of the board.
As if it weren’t inherently powerful enough, Harvester plays exceptionally well with many of the mono-black and black-green cards in Limited. You canuse recursion effectslike Mourner’s Surprise or Honest Rutstein to pick it back up or cheat it directly into play with Reanimate or Back for More.
3Sword Of Wealth And Power
The Cycle Begins Anew
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” That line originates from The Godfather 3, but it’s actually a much more recent quote from players who thought they’d already collected all the coveted ‘Sword of X and Y’ cards, the last of which was printed just a year before this one.
Protection from instants and sorceriesis less useful at pushing the equipped creature through in combat, but protects it from most types of removal. Add in two combat triggers, and you’ll feel adequately wealthyandpowerful.
2Vaultborn Tyrant
Who Let The Dino Out Of The Vault?
Vaultborn Tyrant’s so powerful that you’re able to’t help but think it’s a joke of some sort. To be fair, this is the power level you should expect from a seven-mana creature in a day and age where the cheaper creatures are as powerful as they are.
This dino’s essentiallya giant brick wall that dies into another giant brick wall, gaining life and drawing cards whether it dies or sticks around. It immediately stabilizes your board againstnon-flying threats; it’s just a matter of surviving long enough to cast a seven-mana creature.
1Collector’s Cage
What’s In The Cage!?
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the design room where they come up with these cards. Collector’s Cage reads like an attrition-based +1/+1 counter card with a big payoff you have to work towards, but in reality, it’s almost trivially easy to fulfill the ‘three different powers’ condition on this artifact.
The payoff: the best card from the top five of your library,cast for free, at instant speed, no less. That’s incredible upside on a card that’s already solid as a permanent, that just dumps extra +1/+1 counters on your creatures.
