Timeless: 5 Decks with Outlaws of Thunder Junction to try out!

The previews for Outlaws of Thunder Junction have come to an end, and the new Magic expansion arrives on digital platforms next Tuesday, April 16th, where we can test its cards and establish new strategies for the competitive Metagame.

One of the formats where its additions, especially cards from the Breaking News and Special Guests present the greatest potential is in Timeless, where historical staples like Stoneforge Mystic and Reanimate enable new archetypes and possibilities.

In this article, we have separated five decks to try in Magic Arena in the Timeless format, based on five key cards released in the new set and focusing on the interactions they have with other staples of the current Metagame.

Vampires Reanimator

Reanimate was one of the most talked about cards in the set and has one of the greatest potential to affect Timeless. While some variants around Death's Shadow or Show and Tell started to show up on social media, the player DackFayden07's recent results in Modern with a shell that mixes the Evoke and reanimation package with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord and Vein Ripper made me interested in trying the combo on Timeless.

One of the biggest problems with reanimation in Timeless today is the fact that there is no redundancy to this strategy and only one way to make it viable, requiring a plan B - this will usually be Show and Tell - However, the format already seems so focused on dealing with this strategy that a different approach is more interesting, and nothing better than taking advantage of another combo that has also stood out in the format's Metagame recently.

With Reanimate and Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord alongside Faithless Looting and Insolent Neonate, we have eight distinct ways to get Vein Ripper into play early and winning the game quickly if the opponent doesn't find good removals.

An alternative plan involves using the already well-known Atraxa, Grand Unifier as a target for Reanimate, of which we run fewer copies to maintain the consistency given the low availability of finding the right outlets for it.

Troll of Khazad-dûm is another card that we can reanimate as early as the first or second turn, and which can cause headaches if accompanied by the disruption of discard spells like Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek.

In a non-interactive Metagame, this version has the potential to be as explosive as Show and Tell while presenting a more robust disruptive plan, but it shouldn't replace it as the best deck in the format given its vulnerability to Midranges with efficient removals, at least in this version.

Four-Color Valki Plot

Following the same theme of cheating on mana costs, Kellan Joins Up and Jace Reawakened allow a combo with Valki, God of Lies to cast Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor as early as the third turn in case we have a mana dork - and it remains to be seen whether he is as powerful today as he was when he caused a rule change in the Cascade* mechanic.

This version is entirely focused on casting Kellan Joins Up on the second turn and ensuring that we find Valki, God of Lies faster. Therefore, we have eight mana dorks that can generate , or with no difficulty, as well as cards like Mishra's Bauble to interact with our Fetch Lands and function as free draws.

Once plotted, Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor can be cast for free and begins to accumulate value every turn as it interacts with the battlefield, making it sometimes more lethal than Atraxa, Grand Unifier if we can keep him on the board.

Azorius Karn Control

Mana Drain is one of the cards with the biggest hype in Outlaws of Thunder Junction for Timeless, and with good reason: it's banned from Legacy for being historically the most efficient Counterspell in the game's history by generating positive Tempo to its controller for any spell that costs two mana or more.

However, its colorless cost is not as well utilized in Timeless, and the best options in the format today revolve around The One Ring or Karn, The Great Creator, where we can speed up the cast of these spells and use them in the best way - in Karn's case, we can insert an efficient toolbox for different matchups, in addition to a “Lock” with Liquimetal Coating.

The new counterspell also allows paying high mana costs with some ease, allowing, for example, to use Teferi, Hero of Dominaria or Shark Typhoon early and take over the game with them, putting us far ahead in fair matchups.

Azorius Hammer Time

Stoneforge Mystic may not have been accompanied by Batterskull or Kaldra Compleat, but we can use it to add consistency to Hammer Time, a famous Modern strategy that many Timeless players want to make work.

With it, in addition to having more consistency in finding Colossus Hammer, we can also make room for a small toolbox with Cryptic Coat to generate more attrition and Shadowspear for evasion, in addition to gaining access to Invisible Stalker as a threat that is almost impossible to remove.

White and Blue, unlike other combinations, allows greater flexibility in the maindeck and Sideboard, making this version less vulnerable than the Boros with its “all-in” plan, and I consider it the most consistent Hammer variant today.

For example, in this list, we have the combination of Barbed Spike, Ornithopter and Retrofitter Foundry as a plan B, but we can swap them out for more interaction and means of protecting our creatures, or even by other powerful threats with built-in protection, such as Geist of Saint Traft.

Jeskai Stoneblade

Stoneforge Mystic also allows for an efficient attrition plan with cheap creatures, removals and counterspells, and nothing better than the combination between Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Snapcaster Mage and Lightning Bolt plus an equipment pack to establish one of the game's historical archetypes in Timeless - Stoneblade.

Our equipment package includes Cryptic Coat as our pseudo-Batterskull, as well as Sword of Wealth and Power which allows for some powerful interactions alongside Lightning Bolt or Treasure Cruise in addition to protecting our creatures against the format's major removals.

To complement the threats, Snapcaster Mage and Geist of Saint Traft are two classic cards from the Stoneblade package that have lost their place over time, but interact well with our game plan.

Today, Stoneblade seems a little too fair for Timeless and requires a Metagame more focused on attrition and/or decks having more efficient responses to unfair strategies, thus creating a more diverse environment.

That's all for today.

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks for reading!