Hiding just around the corner is Magic’s next Standard-legal set: Bloomburrow!
If you’ve been playing Magic you’ll know that each Standard set comes with a multitude of new goodies for Commander. Let me tell you, Bloomburrow does not disappoint!
Featuring critters of all kinds, Bloomburrow has a lot of support for typal synergies and introduces some exciting new mechanics with Gift and Offspring. Gift lets you get a stronger effect from your cards by giving something to your Opponents … which can actually also benefit you in a game of Commander. With Offspring, you get a token copy of the Creature you cast for a little bit more mana. What’s better than one super great Creature, well two of course (or more if you’re using token doublers).
This set has a good mix of support for much-loved Commander strategies, so I’m sure you’ll find a few cards to add to your favorite decks.
Like other top 10 articles we’ve shared, we’ll skip over Legendary Creatures in favor of cards that can be broadly used and enjoyed. Let’s dive right into the exciting new cards that are sure to create some awesome memories.
1. Dawn’s Truce
Saving your board from a Wrath can be a game-winning play, if timed correctly. Dawn’s Truce acts like a Heroic Intervention if the Gift cost is paid, and if not, can still stop some pesky targeted removal. At first glance this may look worse than its Green counterpart, but on the contrary, Gifting a draw to an Opponent can be used to buy some time or direct some attention towards a shared Opponent. Gifting gives you a strong tool to utilize other players’ cards against an Archenemy! There are many more cards in the set with Gift, so I’d recommend giving those a second look factoring in the added benefit.
2. Whiskervale Forerunner
Casting Spells for free can be really great, and doing so in a repeated fashion can be even better. Whiskervale Forerunner offers this for Creatures with mana value lower than 3 benefitting from the Valiant keyword. Once per turn if this little Mouse is targeted with a spell or ability you control, then you can free-cast a 3 mana value Creature in the top five cards of your deck. To get the most value you’ll want to look for Artifacts or Lands that target your Creatures, and it’s even better if they can be used on your Opponent’s turns! Creature based decks can swarm the board pretty quickly if your Forerunner is left unchecked.
3. Wishing Well
Speaking of casting Spells for free, how does re-casting Spells for free sound? Pretty great, right? Well, Wishing Well lets you do just that. Similar to As Foretold but a little more limited, you can tap this Artifact to cast an Instant or Sorcery from your graveyard that has a mana value equal to the number of Coin counters on it. If you’ve already put 2 and 2 together, you could free cast an Instant or Sorcery spell with As Foretold then do it again with Wishing Well. Pretty neat!
4. Darkstar Augur
Dark Confidant is an iconic Magic card from Modern that often sees play in Commander due its strength at drawing cards. With Darkstar Augur, we have a redundant Creature that costs a little bit more, but comes with a significant upside. Yes, Offspring lets you create a second Darkstar Augur, doubling the amount of cards you draw per turn. Of course you’ll want to be mindful of mana values as this Bat (and its little) will quickly eat away your life total.
5. Coruscation Mage
Creatures with strong effects are always better in multiples, and Guttersnipe is no exception. While Coruscation Mage isn’t limited to Instants and Sorceries, the damage it does is half of Guttersnipe so it’s not a one for one comparison, but if you pay the Offspring cost then it acts as a higher costed Goblin with a bit more cast coverage. If you want one Guttersnipe, you probably want more, so you’ll want to run this Otter as well.
6. Festival of Embers
Some would reckon Underworld Breach was a mistake with how powerful it is. Festival of Embers appears to be a fixed version, there is limited range, a higher mana value and some more difficulty for infinite combos. Nonetheless, this will still pack quite the punch in the right decks. Getting to recast your Spells can be a great way to win games and there are less options for Spellslinger decks relative to Creature decks. This Enchantment is a welcome addition for the archetype.
7. For the Common Good
Very often in Token decks you won’t be casting a lot of board wipes, but what if there was a way to do so to push your advantage? For the Common Good offers a way for you to create more Tokens, protect them, and gain some Life so you can stay in the game. You’ll need to pair it with your own board wipe for maximum value, but given your tokens Indestructible can be a solid game plan to attack more aggressively without fear of losing your army.
8. Wear Down
Yes, we have another Gift card in this list. It was just too good to pass up. Wear Down lets you remove trouble Artifacts and Enchantments on the cheap, and as mentioned earlier the Gift is actually a solid upside as well. I’ll be running these in a few of my decks, and I’d recommend you do the same!
9. Ygra, Eater of All
Now, I did mention earlier that we exclude Legendary Creatures from these top 10 lists, but Ygra, Eater of All introduces something so unique to the game I think it’s worth running in the 99. This Elemental Cat makes all Creatures Artifact Food in addition to their other types. This means you can Sacrifice them to gain some life, or you can use your Artifact removal on your Opponent’s Creatures. This is the type of card that will lead to some memorable stories because of some unforeseen interaction between it and other decks. I can’t wait to see what gifts Ygra will give us.
10. Three Tree City
Getting a lot of mana can mean winning the game and Three Tree City is sure to help that happen in Typal decks. Similar to Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx without the devotion requirement and Gaea’s Cradle with some flexibility on colors (and way more accessible) this Land will definitely make a splash. It also comes in a few varieties (one for each season) so you can match the feel of your deck.
With Bloomburrow right around the corner there are tons of new cards to add to our decks! There are even more in the full catalog, so I'd recommend digging in and seeing what other gems you can find for your decks. With strong Typal cards and a bunch of support for previously under-represented Creature types, Bloomburrow will bring about a bunch of cool new decks while also spicing up some of our pre-existing ones. This set is wild and I can’t wait to test out these new goodies!
Were there any cards you’re excited about that I missed? Let me know in the Chimera Gaming Discord, or reach me directly on Twitter.
Did you know we usually have 20 pods firing for Commander night on Tuesdays? Tables fill up fast and I hope to see you there!
