Summarized Lore: Outlaws of Thunder Junction

Now that Outlaws Of Thunder Junction has been released, we, of course, can finally catch up on some MTG lore. Let's see what WotC's exciting "wild west" plane has in store for us!

Some of the Multiverse's biggest outlaws are gathered in Thunder Junction (either you hate them or love them), which is a whole new plane, and are once again back to their old shenanigans. Here's a spoiler for you: of course a part of this story happens on a train, as any great wild west tale!

In this article, we'll sum up what went down at Thunder Junction for you!

Our story begins with Archie Dixon and two Starling Company guards, who were sent to collect and transport some important Starling Company goods across Thunder Junction. The bag arrived through an Omenpath, brought by someone from an entirely different plane.

Archie and the guards knew this was a dangerous job; to elude bandits, they crossed the desert in their carriage as fast as they could. However, what they encountered ended up being much worse.

A circle of fire suddenly surrounded the carriage, announcing the arrival of the Hellpurs, a rogue group led by the Scorpion Dragon Akul the Unrepentant.

Akul moved his tail like a whip and split the carriage in half. As Akul got closer to kill Archie, he held the bag tighter. In his last breaths, Archie Dixon thought about how he was early to his own death, and how much he had cared for punctuality in life.

The real key Akul wanted, however, was getting farther and farther away from his reach.

Mounted in Fortune, Annie Flash rode towards the smoke that had been rising in the desert since daybreak. Her experience told her that this destruction had been the result of an ambush. When she got closer, she just knew Akul had been responsible for that fire.

After she used her golden eye to check for illusions and make sure she was safe, Annie tugged on a seat on the remains of the carriage, which revealed a secret compartment. In it, she found a lockbox still intact; with the money she found inside it, she could feed a whole family for a month.

Once she carefully collected the money inside, the woman darted off to Saddlebrush on Fortune, her horse. Saddlebrush was a small town in the middle of the desert, but it was also her home. Before going back to her ranch, Annie left half the money she found with Mr. Towning at a small shop in town he owned.

However, once she got there, the woman quickly saw through the illusions and tricks Oko had placed for her, while he awaited by her door. He then made her an offer of revenge: join him and his team to steal something important from Akul.

Meanwhile, we are shown Niv-Mizzet's plan to develop communication between planes has reached Thunder Junction. Ral Zarek is the one responsible for expanding this project on this plane, supported by Sterling Company.

Kellan joined Ral after he heard from Ezrim that Oko was probably on that plane. Even after all this time, Kellan is still looking for his dad and the answers he can give him about his fae heritage.

Annie's conversation with Oko had made her uneasy. After all, if he had found her, Akul could find her too - and if that happened, the whole town could be at risk. The people in that town were the closest thing to family Annie had, so, naturally, she was worried.

After reflecting for a while on her bed, Annie had made her decision: she marched to a small unmarked graveyard in her back field, dug up her thunder rifle, and went to find Oko.

Once she got to the bar Oko told her he would be, Annie was scared. This might have been an elaborate ruse to lure her out of her home so Akul could capture her. She was almost going back home when she heard a yell and witnessed a strange scene: Tinybones was being chased by a very annoyed Breeches.

Malcolm, another one of Oko's team members, approached the three of them with his wings and grabbed the Goblin, Breeches. He reminded him that Tinybones just wanted to get a rise out of him.

From the bar, Oko offered Annie a drink after the commotion had quieted down. She refused, but he carried on, introducing her to the trio of characters she had just met. Then, he commented he knew she'd change her mind because he knew what Akul had done to her nephew - it was something not that many people could forgive.

There, Annie was then briefly introduced to Gisa and Geralf, the necromancer siblings, Vraska, Oko's second in command, and Eriette, who was playing piano.

Oko loudly told them all how Annie could see through any illusion, was the best sharpshooter on Thunder Junction, and was now a part of their team too. Even though Annie accepted his conditions, she asked him what the job was.

He then told her they were going to steal Maag Taranau, the only structure in Thunder Junction that had, allegedly, been built before Omenpaths came along. A fairy tale, according to Annie. But, before she could express her disbelief further, Ashiok stepped down from the shadows to tell her that the Hellspurs built an entire town, Tarnation, around Maag Taranau because they hoped to one day open the vault and harness the raw power inside it.

For their plan to work, they need to steal one of the keys that Bertram Graywater, the founder of the Sterling Company, currently has. Their first stop is at the company's headquarters, where they'll rescue some of their team members who are still imprisoned there.

Just then, another team member pops up: it's Rakdos, who gets there after Oko and Ashiok had explained most of their plan. Annie wonders if she's in over her head, but she knows someone has to stop Akul even if that meant she would be teaming up with demons, necromancers, assassins, and thieves.

Not long after this, at the Sterling Company headquarters, Oko used his illusion abilities to disguise himself as a courier and infiltrate the place with a box containing Tinybones. Breeches, Malcolm, Vraska, and Rakdos waited on a distant ridgeline for his signal in case he needed to be rescued.

Oko delivered his box to an employee, and told him it was for Bertram. Thankfully, the employee took the box and went up the stairs, essentially leaving Oko alone at the front desk. Of course, Oko then transformed into one of the guards he saw on his way in, and followed the employee.

Somewhere else in the building, Annie and Eriette were responsible for infiltrating the prison to rescue Satoru Umezawa and Kaervek. When she approached the cells, Annie could see that the Sterling Company had used illusions as a security measure to make the cells look empty.

The two of them, just after Annie found them, started bickering about who got them arrested in the first place. Nonetheless, Eriette freed them from their cuffs and told Umezawa he had to find Oko inside the headquarters. The rest were supposed to leave the place as quietly as they could.

On the other side of the Sterling Company headquarters, Oko was waiting outside Graywater's room while Tinybones reassembled himself before unlocking the door from the inside of the room. Oko praised him for his fascinating abilities as he did so.

Then, rather stealthily, Umezawa entered the room as Oko and Tinybones searched the place, checking out hidden spaces and locked cabinets. He told Oko how displeased he was he didn't rescue them sooner, but Oko just told him it wasn't the right time to do so before.

After a while, with Satoru's help, they finally found the key they were looking for inside a hidden safe behind a painting.

Then, once again disguising himself as a courier, Oko left the building with no further issues. However, on the outside, he found Ral Zarek's group - and a boy whose magic Oko recognized on the spot. It was just like his magic.

His illusion disappeared as he examined Kellan, who was frozen in place after facing his dad for the first time. After getting chased by the Ral Zarek and his group, Oko was finally cornered by Kellan, who told him he was his father.

However, before they could talk more, a fight broke out between them and Sterling Company guards - Vraska, Rakdos, and Malcolm came to rescue them.

Oko had never seen himself as a father, but, after seeing the loyalty Kellan showed him by facing Ral for his father, he started thinking having a son could be useful.

While he was looking for Graywater's key, Akul, the Dragon, had attacked an overseer of a Sterling Company mine. He threatened him to get more information.

The man didn't have a lot to share, but he told him about Oko and the rumor that a shape-shifter from another plane had stolen something important from his boss. Akul send his Hellspurs to find this shape-shifter.

Back at the bar, Oko and Kellan were finally able to talk freely. While the boy told him how badly he had wanted to meet his father, Oko told him how good it was to have him on his team.

However, when he saw Ashiok at the bar, Kellan got rattled - you can see more about the history between these characters in our summary of Wilds of Eldraine's lore. Oko calmed him down: after convincing him he didn't need to trust Ashiok, he only had to trust his father, Oko told him he'd teach him all about their true fae heritage.

Just then, Kaervek stepped forward. The key they stole was quite old and was probably more than just a key. Annie told them she knows an "outcaster from the territories who studies ancient magical artifacts" that can help them, but there's a problem: they're currently on a train to Prosperity, escorted by Sterling mercenaries.

After promising they wouldn't hurt any innocent people, Oko convinced Kellan to share what he knew about the Sterling Company with the rest of the team so they could intercept the train and kidnap the outcaster.

Now on the train, connected by telepathy thanks to Ashiok, the team was ready to put their plan into action.

While Oko, Kellan, and Satoru infiltrated the train from the inside, Malcolm and Annie had eyes on the vehicle and everyone's positions. Breeches was in charge of blowing up the bridge the train had to cross to gain time for Gisa, who was supposed to revive as many corpses as she could to attack the train while Oko, Kellan, and Satoru kidnapped the outcaster.

The plan almost worked, but Gisa made a mistake by creating zombies far too early.

Guards were getting closer to where Oko, Kellan, and Satoru were, and a fight quickly broke out. As Satoru got hurt, Oko told Kellan to leave him behind. However, by using their mental link, Kellan asked for help to rescue Satoru, and Annie went to help them.

With so many things going off course, Oko finally gave the signal to Breeches, who blew up the bridge on the spot. Unfortunately, the train didn't stop because the train conductor was being attacked by Gisa's zombies.

As the situation got even more dangerous, Kellan worried about all the innocent people they might hurt. Oko convinced his son to finish the mission and worry about saving passengers later.

After battling guards and zombies, father and son finally managed to get to the car in which Nola, the outcaster Annie knew, was travelling, surrounded by more guards. In the way, Kellan and Oko helped Annie rescue Satoru.

Oko wasn't eager to do anything for the other passengers on the train, but Kellan insisted. Contradicting his father, Kellan used his magic to create vines that grabbed the last car on the train, holding it long enough for the passengers to save themselves.

While Kellan struggled to save the passengers, the rest of the team watched as the Sterling Company reached them.

Oko escaped immediately, but Annie stuck around and helped Kellan and the passengers escape.

That night, the whole group camped in the desert.

Ashiok used their powers to fish for secrets in Nolan's memory, and find the answers they needed.

They found out that the artifact they stole was one of the six keys used to get to Maag Taranau. Akul has the other five parts; he wears them around his neck in a medallion. Besides this, Nolan also knew about the existence of a map to Tarnation, the Hellspur home.

The map was buried in a graveyard, so Gisa and Geralf were more than happy to go find it.

After Ashiok got the information they needed from Nolan, Kellan and Annie escorted him to a safe place. During the trip, Annie told him that, in the past, she had stolen from Akul, and was chased for it. As revenge, Akul gravely injured her nephew.

Not long after, the Cecani siblings found the map and brought it to the saloon. They were all shocked to find out the vault floats above Tarnation. The preparations then began.

Oko, Vraska, Annie, and Kellan would disguise themselves as Hellspurs to infiltrate the town quietly as the rest of the team waited outside until they made it to the vault. If anything went wrong, they'd have back up.

The floating vault is described as a huge rock with jagged edges, just hovering above them. In the city below it, Oko's group went from bar to bar looking for anyone from the inner circle of the Hellspurs, so they could get to Akul.

After a while, they found someone: Twist Fandango. Oko and Vraska approached them while Kellan sat down at a table. Unknowingly, he had sat next to three other Hellspurs who quickly snuffed him out and were eager to fight.

As soon as the fight broke out, they all realized they were outnumbered by Hellspurs. In the end, they were all captured and brought to Akul's prison.

The prison in question was an old quarry. They were at the lowest level of it.

To no one's surprise, as soon as he could, Akul went down to retrieve his sixth key, which Oko had. As he did, the sixth part combined with the others in Akul's medallion, and, together, formed a single key.

Akul told them he'd let them suffer before killing them there, which made Kellan feel even worse. He believed they were all there because of him, as he had provoked the bar fight, so he decided to challenge Akul to a duel, in exchange for all of their freedoms. At first, Akul refuses, but Oko interferes and starts calling him a coward in front of all the other Hellspurs. This forces him to accept Kellan's duel to protect his reputation.

When the clock tower sounded twelve bells, the gate in front of Kellan opened up. Oko, Vraska, and Annie, still chained, were ushered by him and led to the spectator stands, where Hellspurs screamed at them and mocked them.

Kellan was pushed to the center of the arena, just before Akul reminded him this was a fight to the death. He then looked at the spectator stands, looking for his father, but Oko seemed more interested in his clothes, pulling lint from his sleeves and watching his disguise come apart, bone by bone.

"This might be the last time we ever see each other, and he won't even look at me", was what Kellan thought.

Kellan's strategy was to wear Akul down to have a shot at fighting against him, as the Scorpion Dragon was much stronger and bigger. However, at a certain moment, Kellan's fae heritage manifested, and he managed to put Akul in a trance that left him vulnerable.

He then used magic to create a vine, which he wrapped around the Dragon's neck and almost strangled him. But Kellan couldn't actually take a life - his determination failed, and his magic felt that. Akul freed himself from the trance and pinned Kellan below him, getting ready to kill the boy.

Just then, a blast of thunder hit Akul; Kellan freed himself. At the top of the hill, there were rows upon rows of Sterling Company mercenaries, led by Ral Zarek.

Akul focused on his new opponents. Oko took advantage of the confusion to throw the last bone on his clothes to the ground, and this way let Tinybones quickly rebuild himself from them. Then, it was just a matter of seconds before Oko was free of his cuffs.

Kellan then realized Oko had a plan B all along, and hadn't revealed it even when his son risked his life to help them.

Oko told Kellan to get the key, which, somehow, had fallen from Akul's neck during their fight. After Kellan got it, he threw it to his dad.

He immediately asked Annie to guide them through town, as Malcolm was waiting for them at the vault. After Annie got a little bit confused, considering she didn't even know Malcolm was there, she decided to do as he asked.

Just as Kellan was flying towards them, he was hit by the first blast amidst the confusion of the battle; the second one took him down, and then a Sterling Company guard smashed a club against the back of his head.

The last thing Kellan saw before losing consciousness was his father watching him before turning his back and leaving him behind.

Now at the heart of the town, Oko and his group looked for weapons. Annie told him they should go back for Kellan, but Vraska reminded her that the roads were already barricaded. Oko told them this was their best shot of getting to the vault before the Hellspurs noticed.

He also admitted he had told Bertram Graywater where Tarnation was, so his plan, all along, had been to get close to Akul and get all the other parts of the key before the Sterling Company could get there and give them the distraction they needed.

Annie insisted again that they should go back and save Kellan, but Oko discarded the idea and told her he'd look after his son after the job was done. He also told her that if they went back now, Akul would win.

Someplace else, Kellan woke up alone, in the back of a carriage with his hands bound in iron. He recognized the carriage as a prison card that belonged to Bertram Graywater.

While he was in there, Kellan reflected on how wrong he had been about Oko, even though everyone had warned him about his father's true nature. But, just as he was about to delve deeper into despair, the skies opened up, and he heard a loud thud. The car shook, and Ral showed up to free Kellan in exchange for a favor: help him get to the vault before ill-intentioned people could steal the raw magical power inside it.

Ral's plan was to get whatever was stored in that vault and hide it somewhere no one would ever find it. Kellan considered the fact he'd be actively defying his father, but, at the end of it all, he didn't owe him a thing.

A new unlikely duo had paired up.

Oko's team went through all the vault's booby traps before they finally found a real obstacle: a ward that kept the door to that place locked tight.

Kaervek started to work to free the way while the rest of the group started battling Akul and the Hellspurs that managed to find their way there. Rakdos was more than happy to find out his job was to fight Akul himself.

In the middle of the battle, Vraska told Oko they should leave the rest of the group fighting and run inside the vault as soon as Kaervek opened it. When they finally heard the sound of the door unlocking, they were gone.

Inside, they found an ancient mechanic which seemed to fit the key in Oko's hands - but just before he could actually put the key inside, Kellan's vines held his wrists in place. He waved his head around and realized his son had gotten there, alongside Ral Zarek, who started to argue with Vraska.

While he listened to their conversation, Oko realized Vraska had never truly been on his side. So far, Oko believed Vraska was loyal to him because she had been hired by Ashiok just like him, but there was something in his voice that Oko thought it was closer to desperation, which he considered dangerous.

It was easy to manipulate desperate people, but he knew those that kept their desperation hidden were dangerous.

Kellan questioned Oko. It was clear to Oko now that Kellan wasn't on his side, and, just as he realized that, he noticed the key had fallen from his hand. Kellan noticed it too.

Father and soon fought for the key around the room until Annie reached them and stood beside Kellan, facing Oko. She told him it was worth it to protect people who do good without expecting anything in return.

Just when Kellan almost got the key, he retreated in fear and screamed. Annie and Ral did the same as Ashiok's shadows engulfed them.

Ashiok was with Vraska beside the lock door. Oko finally held the key and opened the door, revealing an apparently infinite extension of paths that led to the center of the room.

A glowing sphere surrounded by ancient writings was at the center, right in front of a mural depicting a huge creature with horns surrounded by threads of amber magic. Oko noticed the treasure was alive. Ashiok got closer to the creature and extended their fingers to it.

At that moment, an illusion dissipated. Behind Ashiok's darkness, was Jace Beleren. He had been pretending to be Ashiok for some time now.

Oko didn't like being tricked; He asked how long Jace had been hiding behind his magic, to which Annie answered he was still hiding. Through her eye, she could see there were scars and plugs behind Jace's illusions.

Jace then used his magic to make Annie fall asleep and waited until the pod behind him shattered, revealing a small creature with orange fur and horns. Jace held the creature in his arms, cradling it to his chest, and pressured a finger to its forehead to make it fall asleep too.

Oko asked Jace about what was going on, but Vraska only told him his services were no longer required, and petrified him. Oko had to escape to another plane to escape her magic.

Kellan woke up just in time to see Vraska next to a man he didn't recognize with a child wrapped in his arms. But he was more worried about Annie, who was still lying down next to him, immobile.

Just then, the floor shook and Kellan, Annie, and Ral ran out of the vault; the place was crumbling down. Vraska, Jace, and the child had already disappeared.

Kellan warned the rest of Oko's team the place was going down and everyone escaped the vault as they could. Tinybones got a ride between Rakdos' horns, who didn't like being ridden.

Kellan and Annie were the last there when Akul found them and grabbed Annie, but this time Kellan was ready to accept his fae heritage. He managed to use his magic to control Akul.

He then ordered Akul to go inside the vault and don't come out.

The last time Kellan looked at it, there was a giant, golden orb all that rock had concealed. Then threads of magic wove around the sphere, and the vault shot toward the clouds.

Oko returned to Thunder Junction and went to the saloon where all his team, apart from Kellan, Annie, Malcolm, Breeches, Jace, Vraska, and Ashiok, waited for him. They were all angry Jace lied to them, and sworn to get together again once the opportunity to work again or get revenge showed up.

According to Eriette, Malcolm and Breeches loyalty was to Vraska, so the duo left as soon as they realized she wasn't coming back.

Oko now reflected how he could have been a better father for his soon, but soon abandoned this thought to focus on other plans while he drank with Eriette.

Two weeks after all this mess, Kellan was helping Annie at her ranch when Ral went there to offer him another job. Kellan refused and told him he was waiting for someone. Ral then looked for Annie inside the house.

At the distance, Kellan saw a woman carrying a parasol was approaching where he was. The pointy-eared woman was carrying a heavy satchel—several rolled pieces of parchment poked out the back, and inkwells swung from leather thongs along the sides.

Amalia was finally there, and Kellan was delighted to see his vampire friend again.

Epilogue

Jace manages to isolate his mind from Phyrexian influence and orders his body to fight the venom with a fever that can burn Phyrexian oil. When he finally felt this was working, he travelled to Ravnica to reach Vraska and do the same with her. They were both very injured and looked for refuge at his mother's house.

With time, their battle wounds healed and they both found a new way to live. Unfortunately, Vraska's spark disappeared, but after so many portals opened to so many planes, she quickly found a way to cross them.

Jace had known about Thunder Junction after completing a task for Nicol Bolas. He knew about the vault that held Loot. He took Ashiok's form in Eldraine because he knew that was someone no one would trust or ask too many questions. Vraska went personally to Ixalan to find Malcolm and Breeches.

Jace also attacked Proft's mind in Ravnica - you can read all about this in our article about the Murders at Karlov Manor lore.

In the end, all their preparations helped them get to Loot: a small, chubby child that was stuck in the vault. Jace used his telepathic abilities to see into Loot's mind: there, he finds out Loot is like a map that shows the entire multiverse in real time, with planes popping up and disappearing.

He and Vraska promise to protect Loot from everything, and together the three of them venture into the multiverse's Blind Eternities.

I hope you liked discovering this set's lore! If you want to see more lore, summarized, from previous sets, click here.

See you next time!