Magic: The Gathering – All New Bloomburrow Cards and Mechanics Revealed

Magic: The Gathering has always offered a breadth of unique visions and settings across its Multiverse from the very beginning. Spanning its 30-plus year history, Magic: The Gathering‘s realms and the stories within them have run a gamut of genres from traditional high fantasy to almost dystopian cyberpunk, and myriad intriguing ones between. MTG also expanded out to crossover with other notable IPs like Fallout and Assassin’s Creed, with Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy collaborations in the works as well.

Following the mainline Western-themed Outlaws of Thunder Junction set earlier this year, the next upcoming collection is called Bloomburrow and sees an MTG first: an adventure through the titular plane where no humans are present. Instead, its citizens are comprised of anthropomorphic creatures living in a verdant world that is on the verge of disaster. Game Rant was in attendance at an event where designers and artists broke down Bloomburrow‘s plot as well as delving into the suite of new mechanics and other elements in store for fans.

All New Magic: The Gathering Bloomburrow Mechanics and Cards Shown, So Far

Bloomburrow’s Major Characters, Story, and Setting

As a cozier Magic: The Gathering plane inhabited solely by “Animalfolk,” Bloomburrow has a unique ecology and lore. Bloomburrow’s natural cycles are governed by entities known as Calamity Beasts, living embodiments of both primal forces and the seasons themselves. In the region known as Valley sits Three Tree City, a massive dwelling where the central figure of Mabel the mouse lives with her family along with many other species. Elsewhere in the city of Fountainport, the frog wizard Glarb conspires to upset the balance of the Beasts, snatching one of their eggs and throwing the lands into disarray. Mabel endeavors to rally the rest of the Animalfolk to prevent the cataclysmic damage this will unleash on Bloomburrow.

Thematically, Animalfolk are paired in classic MTG two-color combinations as:

• Mousefolk (Red/White)
• Birdfolk (Blue/White)
• Rabbitfolk (White/Green)
• Ratfolk (Blue/Black)
• Batfolk (Black/White)
• Raccoonfolk (Green/Red)
• Lizardfolk (Black/Red)
• Squirrelfolk (Green/Black)
• Otterfolk (Red/Blue)
• Frogfolk (Blue/Green)

Their characteristics and related abilities were translated to reflect depictions based on their real-life equivalents, such as the resourceful Raccoonfolk digging for “trash” to turn into treasure. The panel did point out, though, that they were careful not to veer into pure caricature, striving to also instill a sense of depth and personality on top of their more well-known and often cuter tendencies. Animalfolk all serve a variety of roles within their societies, from archers and artists to scouts and spiritual mentors.

Bloomburrow’s New Mechanics

Valiant

Similar to the existing Heroic mechanic, but compatible with abilities, Valiant is geared towards “classic aggro strategies” for buffing groups of smaller creatures. However, it only triggers once per turn for balancing purposes.

Offspring

Admittedly channeling the sometimes humorous real-life behavior and biology specifically of mice and rabbits, Offspring allows extra mana to be paid to create 1/1 token versions of the original creature that still retain the abilities of the original.

Forage

Forage is another animal-centric mechanic geared towards exiling cards or sacrificing tokens to impart buffs and other positive effects upon.

Gift

An interesting mechanic in line with Bloomburrow‘s generally friendlier tone, Gift lets players “promise” an effect upon casting, with varied strategic uses for how they resolve, especially in multiplayer games of Magic: The Gathering.

Expend

Tallying the total mana spent during a turn, Expend then allows players to gain further benefits upon reaching the given threshold.

Seasonal Spells

Mirroring Bloomburrow‘s setting and environmental cycles, these modal spells give players a number of options that can be chosen for multiple effects in any combination, i.e. either the same ones numerous times, or divided between all possibilities up to the maximum limit, offering great flexibility.

Other Returning Mechanics

Class cards feature a set-specific version of those of the same name seen in Magic: The Gathering‘s DnD set, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. The Threshold mechanic also makes an appearance in Bloomburrow.

Bloomburrow’s Alternate Art Treatments

In keeping with its whimsical and pastoral spirit, Bloomburrow features some of the most gorgeous and striking art for Magic: The Gathering seen yet. The various special treatments include borderless raised foil anime renditions (English versions are included in Collector Boosters while Japanese ones are exclusive to the regional Collector Boosters.) There is also the Woodland Showcase series along with the Field Notes; the latter resembling research journal sketches for the eight rare and mythic Calamity Beasts, found in Collector Boosters. Among some of the contributing guest artists like David Petersen, who was present during the talk, Bloomburrow will also include a special piece by popular longtime Pokemon artist, Mitsuhiro Arita, lending his expertise to the latest world of Magic: The Gathering.

Bloomburrow’s Commander Decks and Starter Kits

Bloomburrow will have a set of four Commander Decks, which are:

1. Animated Army (Raccoonfolk)
2. Family Matters (Birdfolk)
3. Peace Offering (Rabbitfolk)
4. Squirreled Away (Squirrelfolk)

Two starter kit decks will also be available at launch for standard legal play. The first focuses on Otterfolk with a selection of sorceries and instants, while the second is heavily counter-reliant, led largely by Rabbitfolk.

Bloomburrow Holds Even More Surprises

In addition to the fantastical story and other amazing art styles, fans will be treated to a few cameos from Magic: The Gathering‘s recognizable Planeswalkers in Bloomburrow in the form “Imagine Critters.” Transformed upon traveling to the plane into anthropomorphic incarnations, it was a chance for the team to render some of these well-known figures within the world’s framework in a creative and fun way. Bloomburrow looks to invoke senses of charm, wonder, and danger in equal measure alongside a distinctly Magic: The Gathering spin on its animal-centric aspects, and the set is ready to delight fans with its courageous critters and vibrantly realized world when it launches globally on August 2, 2024.

Magic The Gathering

Magic the Gathering is a tabletop and digital collectable card game created by Richard Garfield and released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Players take on the role of a Planeswalker and use various cards to battle other players by casting spells, summoning creatures, or utilizing artifacts. It features two main rule categories, constructed or limited, and can be played by two or more players at a time.

Franchise

Magic: The Gathering

Original Release Date

1993-00-00

Age Recommendation

13+