Bloomburrow Set Review - Allied & Shards

The Infamous Cruelclaw by Christina Kraus

White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | Artifacts/Lands | Allied Colors/Shards | Enemy Colors/Wedges | cEDH | Reprints | Pauper/Budget

SO CUTE!!!

Bloomburrow is showing up big time. A set with a distinct vibe and look that might not appeal to everybody, but mechanically, this set is very interesting. It might be cute, but this set has teeth! Let's get into it!

Mythics

Bello, Bard of the Brambles

We begin our foray into the cuddly world of Bloomburrow with the face commander from the Gruul precon deck. Bello, a trash panda that sings big artifacts and enchantments awake, is a super fun direction for the color combination. While the precon decklist doesn't seem to know what to do with Bello, it has a few good ideas. I love a list that can run out a Sunbird's Invocation for synergy and value. Not to mention, because during your turn, permanents that meet the requirements in Bello's textbox are actually creatures as they enter, Garruk's Uprising and Elemental Bond actually trigger for them. 

So what can we do with this? Why, what Gruul has always been good at doing: make big mana and smash. The only deviation from a regular Gruul list that this particular legend inspires is a focus on higher-costed enchantments and artifacts that aren't "wearables" (Auras and Equipment). Not to mention, when Bello is in play, if you've got a Myr Battlesphere, even if it's already a creature, it's also now got haste, indestructible, and draws you a card when it connects. Sure, you go from seven to four toughness, but indestructible, remember?

Bello is really open-ended in terms of how you'd like to build it, but one thing is for sure - you're probably going to be drawing a lot of attention. 

In terms of the 99, because of Bello's new design space exploration, I don't know where he fits beyond that one guy you know's niche enchantress build. "Oh, yeah, Dave's got a Jund enchantress deck that uses all the crazy six-mana enchantments nobody plays. They work great in his deck though." That's whose 99 this will fit for. Ognis, the Dragon's Lash players who decided to lean into beefy artifact creatures get a chef's kiss (not you, Chef's Kiss) of an inclusion to their decks.

I look forward to and fear the Bello, Bard of the Brambles decks I will no doubt see in the wild. And they will be many, I'm sure. 

Byrke, Long Ear of the Law

This one's been previewed for a little while. I wasn't too impressed with this one then and I don't feel much different now. Sure, I'm biased as someone for whom Selesnya does next to nothing. But am I wrong?

Byrke is one of those commanders that tells you exactly what to do. Make creatures, put counters on them, and attack. Pack your Bramblewood Paragon, Duskshell Crawler, and Gnarlid Colony for smacking to hammer an opponent's nail in the coffin. Shoutout to all the Sovereign Okinec Ahau players who are tired of explaining what their commander does: now you have a commander that's a little easier to "get". 

I don't quite see where Byrke belongs in the 99 aside for other +1/+1 counter decks like a straightforward inclusion in a Hamza, Guardian of Arashin deck. Maybe there's an argument for Byrke in a +1/+1 counter-focused version of Shalai and Hallar hoping to kill one opponent with direct damage before killing another with combat damage. 

It's a solid, strong card. Lower on the power scale, but isn't that the sweet spot for a casual Commander deck? As much as this card doesn't make me excited to brew, it makes me happy it exists and there are people out there excited to brew around this. 

Helga, Skittish Seer

Don't be fooled by how adorable she is, Helga is a combo champ. Hailing from the same Bant busted design space as Chulane, Teller of Tales, Helga, Skittish Seer is a mana dork that wants you to cast big creatures and rewards you for it, handsomely.

This is the Intruder Alarm commander who loves an Ancestral Statue. This is Animar, Soul of Elements swapping red for white and protection for card draw. This also seems to be the first legend in its colors to care about casting creatures with X in their cost meaning that we might have an interest in Hydra-kindred builds or maybe a home for some Warhammer 40k Tyrannids you might have kicking around. 

Being three colors does limit where you can put a card like Helga, but Jodah, the Unifer decks are eager to include this powerful Frog in the 99. What do you cut, though? Hey, Jodah players, what's it like to get so many incredibly powerful pieces every set?

Hugs, Grisly Guardian

I love the name!

This beefy Badger Warrior is a 5/5 for with trample and Exploration's text. Omnath, Locus of Rage, Omnath, Locus of the Roil, Omnath, Locus of Creation... need I go on? 

Hugs slots extremely well into pretty much any deck that can support that casting cost, and with that Exploration tacked on, it's no surprise that land-focused or Landfall decks are the first place your head goes. Hugs is also an exceptional place to put a ton of mana, extending your hand by X until the end of your next turn. Having Hugs, Grisly Guardian in the command zone tells me that you're a big mana deck and you want to slam lands into play or that you are a deck that needs to spend infinite mana somehow. 

Either way, there's a reason I jumped to other legends immediately - Hugs is straight-forward. Very strong? Yes, absolutely, but not particularly inspiring. Hugs gets in to get the job done and does it very well. I know I'll try this in Grand Warlord Radha for myself, but I don't expect to see him leading the charge for many decks, frankly. 

The Infamous Cruelclaw

It's the meme commander of the set. Yeah, yeah, we've seen people talk about 98 lands and a Worldfire hardy-har-har, you're a comedic genius. 

What I look forward to most with The Infamous Cruelclaw is getting past the point of having to hear "It's not that kind of Cruelclaw deck, I promise" and getting straight to seeing the silly things people want to cheat out with it. It's the kind of deck that's either going to be built to plop bombs onto the table consistently and end the game the moment you can get through with the Weasel, or it's going to be a gambler's delight. With Cruelclaw's trigger hitting the stack only upon combat damage, it's easy to see a Silent Arbiter pairing well with Cruelclaw's menace and perhaps a Fireshrieker. Pack the deck with Reanimate spells and absolute haymakers to bring back from the dead. My favorite way to consider building this deck is packing it with extremely cool high-end stuff that can pump the game into high gear, but also include cards that might be just okay or even actively bad for you. Let the variance take over and fate take the wheel. 

In the 99, I have to be honest, I don't see it! This card is a *S*T*A*R*! This is the leader of the band! Is there a madness deck I'm not thinking about? Is there maybe room for this in Slimefoot and Squee for reanimation shenanigans? 

Mr. Foxglove

I have a lot of thoughts about this one. First of all, Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder, Mr. House, President and CEO, and now Mr. Foxglove; we've almost got enough misters for a full pod of polite little gentlefolk who address each other with a title (spoiler: the next card in the article fills the pod).

Design will have you believe that because this is in the "Group Hug" precon deck that cards in it such as Mr. Foxglove want you to pile cards into your opponents hands so you can reap some benefits, but I think Mr. Foxglove is a perfect example of intention versus what the public will do with it.

Make no mistake, Mr. Foxglove is extremely powerful. A 3/5 lifelinker that allows you to game its effect to either til your hand or freely plop a creature from hand to play is pretty strong and safe and considering its colors, it'll be well protected. Mr. Foxglove is a value creature, whether in the command zone or in the 99. This is the kind of legend that Helm of the Host is meant to attach to if you're looking to do the absolute most - Norin, the Wary for those looking to do the least, I think. Strionic Resonator the attack trigger and even if you don't have the most cards in hand, you will off of the first one resolving so you'll draw into a beefcake and then serve it up for free. 

Is this a Bant discard deck? An idea to chew on, but not one I can fully explore right now because this one thought is nagging at me: Why is this so, so, so, so, so pushed? 

I saw on Twitter that some folks agree with me on this: we're in an era where it seems like WotC wants to resist including a downside to something people would want to play in the command zone. I say this knowing full well that Flubs, the Fool is one of the most popular legends of the set. But that downside enables a lot! Which is part of the fun! Brewing around an interesting and powerful card with downside is rewarding. But even if it wasn't about a downside, Mr. Foxglove's ability is so good just on the draw side that it's kind of feast or famine depending on your opponents' hands. The downside is maybe you have...too many cards to get more? That's a pretty good place to be! Maybe you have to build around emptying your hand to get the most out of it like in Damia, Sage of Stone decks of old. But the fact that if you "whiff", you get to put a creature into play for free on an attack trigger (making it hard to counter) is just too good. I had a similar thought about Kellan, the Kid: why do you just get to ramp a land into play if you miss the pseudo-cascade? 

The most powerful among us get bored until they're met with some resistance or a new puzzle to solve. Mr. Foxglove to me feels like I bought a 1000-piece puzzle, opened the box, and it's completely assembled and there's a post-it in there saying "great job!"

It feels hollow to me and while I know people are excited about him, I don't know that I can get there, personally. 

Ms. Bumbleflower

Okay, now the pod of distinguished gentlefolk with miss/mister in their name is complete.

Ms. Bumbleflower is the face commander of the group hug precon deck for Bloomburrow, and she is very sweet-looking. She's serving up a tray of treats in one hand and the other is outstretched as if to say, "Ayyyy, all my friends are here!"

Ms. Bumbleflower borrows from Gluntch, the Bestower and Kwain, Itinerant Meddler in the way that she gives resources to your opponents seemingly without drawback. Every spell you cast with Ms. Bumbleflower in play requires you to give an opponent a card, but hey, you get to Jump a creature and give it a +1/+1 counter, and if you do this twice, you get to have two cards since you gave two away! Isn't that nice and neat? It also works on your opponnents' turns so if you play combat tricks or just instant speed cantrips, you've got the ability to mess with combat. "If I swing at you, you can block my 10/10 with your indestructible 1/1, I just need the attack trigger" - but Ms. Bumbleflower says Faerie Mastermind wants to join the party and now your 11/11 can't be blocked by the little guy. Oopsie! I was just trying to help!

There are plenty of ways to take advantage of giving your opponents cards and it seems a lot are in these colors. Smothering Tithe and the aforementioned Faerie Mastermind might come up for the competitive crowd. Cards like Psychic Possession, Trouble in Pairs, Wedding Ring, The Council of Four and of course, Consecrated Sphinx reward you for keeping your opponents' cards flowing. If you focus on a particular opponent to draw, Balance of Power, Recurring Insight, and Tales of the Ancestors will let you catch up and then some. Is this a secret Folio of Fancies or Forced Fruition deck? When do you slam Multani, Maro-Sorcerer? Is this the perfect 99 for Heliod, the Radiant Dawn?

Remember folks, a group hug deck is only a friend for so long. Much like in a horror movie where you're an invited guest to some benevolent rich person's home or playing games with Monica Gellar from Friends, the other shoe is going to drop and all the kindness will bite you in the butt. It could be that Ms. Bumbleflower only cares about the second time her ability triggers until she's all set up before cracking down with a Rule of Law or Arcane Laboratory, stranding all those cards in your opponents hands and sending them to the graveyard. 

Very cool and seemingly innocuous commander. As far as the 99 goes, Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis always appreciate a new friend. 

Wildsear, Scouring Maw

Since Chishiro, the Shattered Blade and Stangg, Echo Warrior, Gruul has ventured into an "Auras matter" space that feels really cool and interesting. It's aggressive yet fragile much like the color combination, matching the vibe of a Voltron or an Aura-focused strategy. 

Wildsear, Scouring Maw feels like a solid progression of this strategy while opening up to a slightly less narrow scope. It definitely encourages you to go the Voltron route. Am I a little bummed I can't play this in any of my enchantress decks? Totally, but do those decks really need the help? Nah, that archetype is well-stocked. 

Wildsear granting all the enchantments you cast from hand cascade means that you probably really want to examine your curve and build for an outcome you expect. For instance, if you've got a two-mana enchantment, you want to be sure you have at least one or two one-mana cards you'll be happy to see as a bonus to that first one. It means that if you're going Voltron Auras or simply Auras, you'll want to slam an Ancestral Mask and hope you hit your Alpha Authority, but you won't be mad about a Sol Ring. 

Wildsear being open to all types of enchantments should let you brew with a mind wide open. That said, Scryfall pulls up give or take 1080 enchantments in Gruul as of this article (here), and I guess I haven't realized this, but a ton of red and green enchantments are just such high value pieces. Stuff like Guardian Project can hit Rhythm of the Wild or a Sanctum Weaver can fetch a Curse of Opulence. Your Eidolon of Blossoms is happy to see your Archetype of Aggression and Enchantress's Presence. It feels like an enchantress deck with a beefy commander that can threaten to end games and I'm all for it.

In the 99, Averna, the Chaos Bloom decks with a love of enchantments will appreciate this Elemental Wolf turning your enchantments into ramp and a cherry on top. It feels like Cascade decks or "cast from exile/anywhere but your hand" decks with an enchantment lean will be happy to see Wildsear in play to turn your enchantments into synergy pieces.

Rares

Baylen, the Haymaker

If you know me, you know I love an engine and a bunch of little things to do. Baylen, the Haymaker might be my first ever Naya deck. Baylen hits a sweet spot, prompting the questions "what do I do with this?" and "what don't I do with this?" In white, red, and green, there is plenty of Treasure creation. "But Mike, why not just use your Treasures for the mana they make on their own?" You can! You can eat your cake and have it, too. Plan out your turns perfectly to ensure you only use what you need and then you can tap them for more cards or give Baylen a big power boost. Seedborn Muse is huge for those artifact token decks that Baylen helms while White Plume Adventurer and Drumbellower reward you for creating a ton of little critter tokens. 

As if Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation, Anointed Procession, Parallel Lives, and big poppa Doubling Season didn't have a ton of utility in so many decks, they truly find their home in a Baylen, the Haymaker deck. We just saw Ocelot Pride and Springheart Nantuko from Modern Horizons 3 prove they're strong cards for a token shell, Baylen is the right slot for this. 

My first thought for Baylen might be colored by the fact that I've got a Teysa, Opulent Oligarch deck and a Will the Wise/Mike, the Dungeon master deck that love trinkets - Clue and Blood tokens are the perfect candidates to twiddle with if you're looking to take on a less straightforward twist on the Baylen decks that are populating (pun intended - hey, look at me, I did a pun) on deck builder sites. Especially since there are cards like Elven Chorus and Cryptolith Rite out there that turn all your creatures into mana dorks already and Baylen turns a pair of tokens into one. 

Is there anywhere else I can picture Baylen, the Haymaker besides the head of a deck? Other Naya token decks, of course. Is there a Tana, the Bloodsower partner combo with white that is looking for a boost? Jetmir, Nexus of Revels for a new school legend and Marath Will of the Wild to take it old school. Either way, Baylen's going to make you mana, draw you cards, and put up blocks or slam. Incredible card, I'm very excited!

Finneas, Ace Archer

If Tiny Leaders was still a format kicking around, Finneas, Ace Archer would be king. A two-mana 2/2 with vigilance and reach means you're looking at a creature that will be a big player in the combat step. With Finneas' attack trigger, your other Rabbits and creature tokens get a +1/+1 counter and when you've got enough of them, getting the card draw off the swing shouldn't be difficult. 

Finneas is another one of those commanders that tells you exactly how to build it: make token army or play with bunnies, attack, maybe draw a card, celebrate. Maskwood Nexus will ensure that all your creatures can benefit from the +1/+1 stimulus package. All that said, Finneas, Ace Archer does not get any +1/+1 counters so it is important that you either pump him up or give him top-tier evasion. 

In terms of where he fits in the 99, Cadira, Caller of the Small is most likely the best fit for Finneas, at least thematically. Would this be a worthwhile inclusion for a kindred-themed, "kindred kindred" deck? Unfortunately, a single card per combat and a little boost to power isn't a huge deal for synergy here. But let's not forget, it's all your creature tokens that get the counters, so you'll could be happy to put this in your Brenard, Ginger Sculptor decks as much as you'll like it in your Jinnie Fay, Jetmir's Second decks. Solid card!

Gev, Scaled Scorch

Another Rakdos legend, Gev, Scaled Scorch, let's take a looksee here.

Oh, okay. 

Yet another legend that would send Tiny Leaders players into a frenzy, but ultimately doesn't feel like much. A two-mana 3/2 with ward 2 is pretty great, though! This effectively gives your creatures Bloodthirst equal to opponents who've lost life. Never thought I'd see a year where Lim-Dûl's Hex is relevant twice, but here we are (Teysa, Opulent Oligarch gang, rise up!). Of course, access to red means you get Impact Tremors, but ultimately you want your opponents to lose life before your creature enters. 

The Lizard casting text is a little whatever. Maskwood Nexus and Conspiracy are out there, there are Lizards and people who love Lizards, but that isn't me. I hope you're happy, but I do not share your enthusiasm for the reptile kind. 

So how do we take advantage of these creatures entering stronger? Warstorm Surge jumps to mind immediately. Alena, Kessig Trapper gets to have some shine as a beefy mana dork for the Gev engine. The OG nonlegendary Brion Stoutarm, Bloodshot Cyclops, Doom Weaver, and Disciple of Bolas love to see creatures with higher power. Body Launderer entering with an extra three power means that you can immediately bring back some strong creatures. There's also the walking time bombs, like Feral Ghoul, Dreadhorde Butcher, Flaming Tyrannosaurus, Juri, Master of the Revue, Orca, Siege Demon, and Rapacious Guest. Don't pack Mikaeus, the Unhallowed in this deck, but do put Flayer of the Hatebound in the 99, too!

I'm coming around on Gev, Scaled Scorch. As you can see earlier, I wasn't too hot on it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not rushing to go build this deck, but I am thinking that maybe my prized Lyzolda, the Blood Witch deck will give this a shot in the flex slot. I know Marchesa, the Black Rose players didn't need much convincing that this card is good. Gev is a permanent inclusion in those decks as far as I am concerned. This card has a lot more depth than I initially gave it credit. 

Kastral, the Windcrested

The collective flapping of all the Kangee, Sky Warden players unsleeving their de facto Bird commander to make room for Kastral was heard all over the word the day The Windcrested was previewed.

WotC really woke up and said, "Oh, you want a Bird commander? Friggin' fine!" and made one of the strongest kindred leaders I've seen in a minute. Take your early turns to establish your board on curve and then slam Kastrel, the Windcrested to poke each opponent with a Bird the turn it comes down for three effects of, honestly, incredible choices. Being in white means that you can play True Conviction for extra value while cushioning yourself from the crack back. 

While I'm a big fan of Solemnity in decks that want to avoid putting finality counters on their things, like Shilgengar, Sire of Famine, in a Kastral deck, that would mean not putting +1/+1 counters on your Birds. So Nesting Grounds, Power Conduit, Scholar of New Horizons, Sanctuary Warden, and maybe even a cheeky Chisei, Heart of Oceans (one of my favorite pieces of art in Magic) will be solid inclusions to take full advantage of Kastral's ability to return Birds from the graveyard. There are nearly 300 Birds in these colors to choose from. 

As far as a 99 inclusion, Kastral's likeliest home is a Bant shell including Tawnos, the Toymaker and Birds of Paradise could be part of the same flock. Falco Spara, Pactweaver Bird kindred lists are probably best for Kastral to nest in the 99 given that Falco can turn those pesky finality counters into card advantage, Kastral can force a draw of the next card to let Falco continue the value train and Kastral can pop a ton of +1/+1 counters on all your Birds. 

Kastral is exactly what it advertises - solid value for a niche. 

Muerra, Trash Tactician

Finally, a ferocious Raccoon to screech into the red zone. 

Muerra marks the first appearance of the expend mechanic which triggers when you use a certain amount of mana to cast spells. The real juice is in the eight-mana mark which lets you impulse draw two cards until the end of your next turn. Remember expending mana means that you use the mana and doesn't care if you reduced costs or used alternate ways to pay for something like with energy for Primal Prayers.

Muerra also front loads your turn with mana for all your Raccoons. Unfortunately, there aren't many great Raccoons in other sets. Bloomburrow is the main supplier for the kindred effect, but that doesn't mean there aren't any good changeling creatures, like Chameleon Colossus and Taurean Mauler, or any enablers, like Maskwood Nexus. 

Muerra's most relevant line of text is the impulse draw line which of course absolutely means that Rocco, Street Chef, Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald, or Temur builds of The Thirteenth Doctor will consider Muerra's inclusion in the 99 to take advantage of the incidental life gain and the extra mana here or there. I assume this commander will only get more and more popular as more Raccoons are created. 

Vren, the Relentless

I won't mince words for this one. I mean, it's in his name! A Relentless Rats commander that isn't just mono-black! While Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm and Marrow-Gnawer have been the most popular Rat Colony and Relentless Rats commanders, it's about time they get a chance to hang out in the 99 of a commander that seems specifically created to take their place and open them up to another color. 

Vren is such a wonderful hate piece, I haven't played against it yet and I cannot stand him! I need my creatures to die! Quit being like Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet and Gisa, Glorious Resurrector! That said, a Vren deck feels like it would have to be full of removal and would likely favor some "unfun" (to some) play patterns with cards like Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos. Put this in your decks as a hate piece for the player in your playgroup who loves the graveyard too much (me) and watch them shake their fist at the sky. 

Wick, the Whorled Mind

This is the other legend I've been eyeing to brew from this set. Wick offers an interesting avenue to build around and provides a plan from the command zone. Do you want to build this as your new Rat commander? Relentless Rats and Rat Colony getting another option for expanding from mono-black to Vren in Dimir and now Grixis with Wick. 

Do you want to build Wick with Rats or do you want to turn everything into everything with Maskwood Nexus or choose Rats or Snails with Conspiracy, Arcane Adaptation, and Xenograft? If these pieces are too important to the strategy, you're in black so plenty of tutors for you if you're into that or you can draw your way into them with all the blue. By turning all your creatures into Rats, you can really chain together some kind of combo with the likes of Phyrexian Altar and stuff like The Locust God, Synapse Necrosage, Siege-Gang Commander, Totentanz, Swarm Piper and some reanimation loop to trigger Wick into turning your Snail huge for devastating activation to kill the table. Be careful though! You don't want to draw your deck at the same time. Look out, Toxrill, the Corrosive, a new Snail legend is kicking around. 

This is another legend that belongs in the command zone and will have a hard time finding a spot in the 99 of decks because of how specific it is. kindred-kindred lists are sure to include Wick if it works for them, but I can't think of anywhere else Wick can fit well. 

Uncommons & Commons

Burrowguard Mentor

A two-mana Crusader of Odric with trample is definitely some power creep worth noting in case you've got a swarm deck with these colors. 

Fireglass Mentor

Solid card advantage engine for those exile casting matters decks (trying really hard not to just say Prosper, Tome-Bound) that like to keep their curve low. 

Mind Drill Assailant

Repeatable surveil for mana on a defensively stated flexible to cast creature isn't bad at all, and I have a feeling The Scarab God decks that run Training Grounds might want to take another look at this one. 

BLOOMBURROW, MORE LIKE BOOMBURROW

The set looks so sweet and I am looking forward to working up a list for Wick and Baylen. What cards from the set have your brewing gears turning?