The Tropification Of Magic, and Bloomburrow

Magic has always played with genres and their tropes - but some sets do it better than others.
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#magicthegathering #bloomburrow #commander

[@scavenger1498]

Having read a lot of Redwall as a kid, I think what this set achieves, far more than any sort of direct reference, is the vibe. The world is beautiful, but it’s also dangerous. There are dangers everywhere outside your home, but that home is made of good company and shared meals, and a warm bed to sleep in. And it’s worth fighting for no matter what terrifying thing comes knocking. Mabel’s magic sword probably is a reference to Martin the Warrior, but it feels connected to these peoples’ lives. It comes from their own specific history, and because of that it’s able to give you that same feeling without feeling stale.

[@timbawden2577]

Mabel is absolutely an homage to Martin, but not only do you not need to know anything about Redwall to appreciate and understand the setting.

[@hennerzz3460]

@@timbawden2577 when i first saw the art i thought 'this HAS to have drawn inspiration from redwall - the artwork looks just like the cover art of the books!! Absolutely loved redwall as a child :)

[@minabasejderha5972]

Thanks for putting it better than maybe anyone could.

[@1SilverVixen1]

All of the food cards also really hit that redwall vibe too! The feasts in those books would go on for pages, and the feast cards in this set are fittingly extravagant!

[@drexciya8083]

Feel you on this. Also Jacques knows how to write with a little subtle cheekiness about the self-importance of the villains…perhaps a slight note there too.

[@stuflames4769]

For Karlov and Outlaw both it felt like the whole crew, villains and heroes, were just running around cosplaying and being overall a big young adult group of goofs and nerds. It felt closer to a friend group dressing and doing an escape room than the actual characters fighting and scrambling and naturally getting into conflict due to high stakes.

[@roychen5235]

I think people have it backwards the issue isn't that the sets don't feel enough like "magic" it's that they feel too much like "magic" (stories, characters and how the magic works) and not enough like it's own thing. A good plane is one where I feel like I would watch a TV show, or read books based on this setting if it had nothing to do with Magic. If you wrote a good murder mystery or a western it would never look or feel like it does in MKM or OTJ.

[@warrentang7459]

That's a really look into things that I hadn't considered. It's just the quality of the writing ​@@roychen5235

[@sc149]

It was like a star trek "planet of hats" except without the big social/political theme everything was about with some actual dilema you have to think about solving. It was like....a secondary or tertiary themed marvel tv show, rather than the next book in a series about different worlds.

[@KT-pv3kl]

@@roychen5235 those two sets feel nothing like magic. They feel like what happens when critical role fans that have no clue about magic larp as magic characters with just a hint of surface level understanding. No real stakes, surface level references and largely pointless focus on unimportant story points in the grand scheme of things. Compare this to the rath cycle for instance. Day and night difference. If you erase those two editions from the canon absolutely nothing would change. Remove rath and the entire story would collapse.

[@11DaltonB]

⁠@@roychen5235Exactly. Planes used to feel like their own contained & interesting world. Recent ones have felt like field trips. There’s definitely a way to make Western work in MtG but idk it was missing something.

[@awsomeman350]

i feel like this set isnt based solely on redwall, but rather any small animal story that exists. there's a ton, watership down, redwall and secret of nymph just to name a few. This is a very old trope going back years, and its not just a single reference to a single book series.

[@Dark_Jeff]

Secret of Nimh, secret of nymph is a very different movie 😂

[@Grimmlocked]

Yeah the rescuers and great mouse detective

[@drugsdelaney2907]

I like to imagine them as the woodland critters from south park.

[@kylegonewild]

It's not just Redwall, it's drawing on traditions at least as old as Aesop's Fables, but a lot of the actual visuals seem to borrow most heavily from the Redwall series and its derivatives. That's not a bad thing though.

[@styfen]

The Deptford Mice Trilogy!

[@davepyrah1414]

A stout is a beer. A stoat is more like a weasel than an otter...

[@oinkleberry]

And they're absolute units too, they commonlyl hunt rabbits that are like 4 times their own bodyweight by crushing their necks.

[@countOfHenneberg]

I read your comment before hearing Vince say the phrase... Confusion lifted!

[@robinpeel2517]

A weasel is weasily recognised, the others are stoteally and otterly different.

[@revenantproxy9100]

THE NOBLE STOAT

[@dontstealmydiamondsv3156]

Stoats are actually robots

[@AxlStrife0]

The lack of humans and the break from a major focus on one specific character's desires REALLY does justice to the fantasy theme that Magic has arguably lost.

[@ArixOdragc]

Couldn't agree more. Although I can't say I liked the story overall, I absolutely appreciated the fact that it was (mostly) allowed to be its own thing - its own world, with its own heroes and its own citizens, not just window dressing for whatever the planeswalker of the week was farting around with. I've always thought Magic's story worked best as an anthology style thing, and this absolutely cemented that opinion.

[@mrknarf4438]

​@@ArixOdragc yeah, once the Jacetice league begun running around and being everywhere something was lost. I really liked how each plane had their own heroes and villains - with some overarching sagas, but ever shifting.

[@fosterark]

Whimsy is apparently in dire need by the majority of Magic players.

[@awsomeman350]

and not just endless call backs. im so excited for any magic sets that have new characters and new things and not just giving us the same old characters again and again

[@coffeedudeable]

In dire need by the majority of people. The world ain't looking so great out there and people just want to get away from it all.

[@anthonydelfino6171]

@@awsomeman350 I think the callbacks to characters in this set, though, are also handled really well. Seeing the planeswalkers we know transformed into animals was a really fun touch, and didn't feel like how we've been seeing lately with random characters popping up everywhere because omenpaths exist.

[@deviousj5868]

YES! F*ck!

[@Scottynsb765]

You summed it up perfectly, we’ve all grown cynical and needed something pure

[@dr.badguyreviews6785]

As a writer, it really isn't the tropes that are the problem. It's more the problem with filler in TV shows. People can tell when a story isn't doing something with its material, when it isn't building on it in a notable way, and is just... using it.

[@jinxed7915]

Well it's not tropes that are the issue (or even the complaint) it's the "tropification" that's the issue. And yes, the filler stories that don't add up to anything or aren't even given enough sets to be interesting in their own right ARE an issue.. but a separate one altogether

[@Volkbrecht]

Thing is, for the majority of Magic players the story is just decoration. It provides the aesthetics, the card style. Maybe the occasional interesting character, especially when they stick around for more than one set. So the tropes do matter quite a bit, because when you don't care about how things play out, the way you react to the visuals is all there is. That said, at this point Magic has portraied so many different settings, cute little critters don't really stick out any more. I do ask myself who this is for, but as the example of Vince shows, apparently there are enough people that get excited over children's cartoon aesthetics to justify making a set full of them. And in the end, it's not a big deal. The next one will be around in no time.

[@Demonarrows1]

Thank god we have a writer in the room

[@90spepe]

@@Demonarrows1 😆😆😆

[@rudeoldguy]

Idk if Bloomburrow is pushing the overall story line though, so isn't it just filler too? I am more excited for Bloomburrow than OTJ, but OTJ was actually pushing the story further along. If anything, Bloomburrow being a more anticipated set while still being a "filler episode" just kind of points out how boring the actual main story is right now.

[@nosrin1988]

While bloomburrow doesnt really fit into magic of old, it's a breath of fresh air and a lovely sight compared to the last year or two of schlop that they've given us.

[@hero_kage]

I think what makes me feel the best of how Bloomburrow looks, is that looking at the art and art direction I immediatly compare it to Lorwyn, which is my favorite set ever. Not because it was the "best" but I felt a connection looking at the cards. With Bloomburrow I have the same feeling again. The art seems more like old school book covers while a lot of the latest set looked samey, just with different hats. As Vince said the hats are a main culprit. With Bloomburrow I finally feel like I am finally being back in a Fantasy story again. I think this set will be me for many younger people what Lorwyn is to me: Not the strongest set but the one the remember most fondly looking back.

[@SSolemn]

I love Lorwyn, so happy we'll return there next year, and I hope that set can keep the atmosphere it had before. I'm a Faerie player, and I'm making two decks with Bloomburrow Frogs (Glarb and Helga)

[@jiratrello]

I wish we got a bloomburrow block !

[@anthonydelfino6171]

this definitely should have been the case. They made a set where creature types matter, but I believe only 3 of the 10 have a decent legacy to pull from to build around, with otters being hit the hardest with currently only 21 (20 in paper) existing in the entire game. They could have even done just two sets to help round out those creature types and give enough to build around. OR they could have made some of the commander decks themed around those creature types to help build up the numbers. I'd bet that an otter typal precon deck would have flown off the shelves.

[@vileluca]

Why do that when you can shill more AssCreed

[@samwild6630]

I haven't played Magic for years; life gets in the way. My wife has loved Redwall and Watership Down her entire life and my eldest is 12 this year and is open to all sorts of fantasy. This was the perfect excuse for me to buy the starter decks and I even bought the preorder just to give everyone a full taste of the Magic experience. If it's a hit between us, I'll probably buy the Commander decks too. There isn't 30 years of Magic lore attached to this set. It can be taken as is for what it is, I don't have to explain anything or make everyone read wikis or watch lore videos. This is a form of accessibility that lets everyone both new and veterans explore a new world together. Products like this, I hope, is what brings new people to the game. It reminds me of how I felt when the original Ravnica came out, where you could pick your flavour. It was straight forward and easy to digest and feel like your role playing your favourite team in a brand-new world. Being two colours and having every combination represented means no one misses out and everything is supported. It was very likely I would have never touched a Magic product again in my life until this set popped up. I hope that we see a block of this set in the future and that other Games Workshop IP's can learn a lesson from this about how to attract new audiences and bring back players who have left.

[@zerochill4096]

Tropes aren't bad, but the misuse of tropes can make something really goofy when you were intending for it to be taken seriously. The idea of a desolate Plane that has a bunch of villains in it is a neat idea on paper, but then you have to ask yourself "what's the reason all of these known villains and characters are here for? Why couldn't you just create new characters to enrich the worldbuilding and unique setting of Thunder Junction and Magic as a whole?" That's pretty much how the success of tropes boil down to; use it to flavor the world, but don't douse it in that flavor or it just becomes goofy and one-note

[@somejerk5662]

It could have worked if it was revealed to be some sort of elaborate prison plane designed to keep them rampaging against illusory entities and each other instead of trying to break out, or they did some other clever payoff... But nope, it was just "yeehaw, grab the popular villains, we're going to westworld!"

[@beerman2000]

Yes. Use a trope as inspiration to create a plane/set that's unique and interesting. Stop trying to just force mtg into a stale box of a trope. There's a HUGE difference

[@williamedge5130]

I think Thunder Junction also suffered from having it be the set just after MKM, a set that was also nominally about crime and justice. Really a lot of the stuff could have been smashed together to make a set that really focused on how Ravnica looked at law, order, and the lack thereof. A bunch of extra planar villains pulling a heist on Ravnica while it’s still recovering from the invasion, combatted by an unlikely group of would-be law keepers without official Guild support? That’s a story

[@beerman2000]

@@williamedge5130 You should submit an application. That's the best MTG idea I've heard in a while. It think would have been great. Could have had the old west "detectives" called Pinkertons..... can't imagine how that would be a problem....

[@FlashPlayerGames]

We actually have confirmation in a card that Bloomburrow citizens who leave the plane remain as animalfolk but they are scaled up to the average human size. Check out the commander deck's Chaos Warp for the art of it

[@vileluca]

Furries

[@ashmarten2884]

They know who they’re marketing to…

[@Aarenby]

Kwain too

[@failfurby]

Brian Jacques Redwall series was literally my entire childhood. Which led me to The Legend of Drizzt. Which led me to MTG. Bloomburrow is literally bringing my MTG arc full circle. It's going to be the first pre-release I attend since Lorwyn. The Squirrel pre-con is going to be added to my collection. I'm going to buy more singles than ever before so I can build an Otter tribal spell-slinger Commander deck.

[@devonkparr1]

I think this set feels the most "Magic: The Gathering" since Kaldheim

[@bartoszganko5290]

Wilds of Eldrain? It's a classic high fantasy fairy tales set

[@jubeat4451]

@@bartoszganko5290 classic high fantasy and especially fairy tales are not Magic's identity. Eldraine was the first fairy tale setting ever. Lorwyn focused on British mythology. Magic's first ten years of storytelling are characterized by apocalypses and planar ruin, whether Dominaria or Rath. Only in the last ten years has Magic embraced easily recognizable plane worldbuilding hooks like Western, Cyberpunk, and Greek Myths. Real-world influences on Magic settings for two decades were only part of the setting's premise (Jamuraa), obscure (original Kamigawa), or both (Lorwyn).

[@TheUltimateRey]

I miss Kaldheim too bro

[@banjothulu]

Dominaria United didn't feel like Magic to you?

[@drakegrandx5914]

​@@jubeat4451I didn't even know Jamuraa was somethint that existed.

[@RukiHyena]

i think the artists are the ones to thank for this one

[@LeBecBec]

I've never longed for at least 2 blocks back more than with Bloomburrow. I wish we could stay here just a little longer. Also, biscuits!

[@Dalenthas]

"La-soo" is a hilariously British way to pronounce lasso.

[@Hemlocker]

The original word was actually "lassoo".

[@davepyrah1414]

@@Dalenthas it's how id always said it until recently. Ted Lasso made me fix it

[@boringmonkey6958]

​@davepyrah1414 You mean Ted La-soo?

[@KunouNoHana]

Otters and Stoats are not the same thing, but both are in the Mustelidae family (weasels, badgers, martens and such).

[@bumfricker2487]

...and Ral is an Otter

[@WiLDRAGE777]

Biscuits. OTJ just felt like they tried to get Borderlands for Universes Beyond and couldn't; especially after I saw the trailer for it. As for Bloomburrow, it not only feels original, it's probably the least generic fantasy set they've made in a decade. The art just pushes it over the top.

[@chaosfellow7407]

Karlov Manor should have been set in New Capenna, which would have fit the theme much better

[@sagecolvard9644]

Or Fiora, where the Conspiracy sets take place.

[@KriegWaFFen]

Upon first previews, I thought immediately of Mouse Guard. Lo and behold some of the showcase art for the set is done by the author and illustrator for Mouse Guard!

[@horrorfan117]

That's my favorite fun fact for the set.

[@benjaminloyd6056]

Mouse Guard!

[@maellelamour8216]

I did enjoy a lot of Redwall as a child an teenager, and beyond the "small size animals / no human" part, I don't really see a lot of other similarities. From my memories, Redwall is more a medieval themed world, with monastries, castles, lords, wars and no magic beyond some prophecies and some ancestors communicating with the living. And just the fact that the Bloomborrow world is more bulit and inked in nature than Redwall with its castle and monastries makes a huge difference in the vibe. So I do't think it's a big copy of it. An inspiration, but with a lot of uniqueness that make it really enjoyable. A nice biscuit to enjoy.

[@jacksonkoski3343]

Crazy that I haven't seen The Tale of Desperaux mentioned with Bloomburrow, love that book

[@chayadol]

I think you got it on the point. This furry set has more though and plan way more than the last two standard set that we got. if there's no plan and thought behind it, we as human can feel it right away regardless of how much we know about Redwall. The theme and even design in both game and character really well thought out. Even Precon deck all look really fun to play with. This set really is really true banger

[@ChiralWolf]

Extremely amused that you picked Teysa for the murdered at karlov manor because while she does also get killed the story is fully kicked off by the death of Zegana (who's featured on the card Murder)

[@hoodiegal]

I didn't even realize Murder was in the set, and I played both prerelease and Arena standard. On top of that, like three weeks into the set, I tried googling who died in the set and the only results I got was Teysa.

[@warp9988]

Talking (and otherwise anthropomorphic) creatures plane is a great set idea and I'm glad it's here. These things are little mice and frogs and other critters, wearing clothing, fighting with magic and weapons, who eat cake. Love it.

[@ssvr6]

It's Secret of Nimh-esque. :)

[@blackslashmail]

Someone else that immediately goes to Secret of Nimh 🎉

[@kylegonewild]

Only reason I go to Redwall before NIHM is NIHM happens in a very modern setting with modern science and experimentation while this is clearly going for a medieval atmosphere.

[@GK-dc2oe]

This set is the first one that has me as excited as when I started with the game during neon dynasty

[@Bladius_]

I feel like Bloomburrow has a sorta of... Seriousness to it? If you look at most of the art, it's "funny little animal doing people thing" but they treat it with a layer of seriousness that grounds it. Mabel's art as example is taken as "this is a real, bad ass fighter that can and will mess you up" despite being a mouse with flowers on her jacket. (There's a few silly card arts, which is good because whimsy is fun.) A lot of the art of the calamity beasts too, it's a "cute" plane but it's danderous and exciting. Also from reading the lore so far, the set being about folk hero's defending these little homesteads and fighting for their families, gives it an actual reason to exist. Even down to giving people fish, it's silly in a way mechanically, but it reminds you of trade and friends sharing; it grounds it as a "real", living place that needs to be defended.

[@onlyRicky_x]

It feels like an old set where the story is enclosed to the planes. There are denizens of the planes with their own plot.

[@rhysbenson2061]

Outlaws of Thunder Junction should've been named "Super Smash Brothers: Magic the gathering"

[@dyne313]

We went from "Hat Sets" to "Entire fursuit sets". Ral has an Otter Fursona!

[@Dawnfeethers]

Given how frustrated he was with his tail, he might be a little frustrated with his assigned sona lmao

[@user-et3xn2jm1u]

Whoever made Ral an otter knew exactly what they were doing

[@kal2489]

The saddest part for me is the idea of Trostani having murder fits because of how much trauma they have from the worldsoul being ignited by realmbreaker is actually wildly cool. But it got lost because it barely shows up on cards and it's way less obvious than just weirds in hats.

[@oshawhat87]

They confirmed that the natives of Bloomburrow stay the same if they leave, it's like how Segovia works. Also, I picked up Redwall because of Bloomburrow and so far it has a diffferent vibe. The use of explicit magic in Bloomburrow helps differentiate it quite a bit, however both stories do feature mice with a fondness for biscuits.

[@emilykirova533]

I had some of the same thoughts you did. I think the reason for why many of the recent MTG settings feel trope-y or gimmick-y is because of the current 1-setting-1-set 4-6 sets per year (I honestly cannot remember how many sets we get) schedule. It's not like the creative team people at magic (art direction, writing) suddenly became less creative, it's that the same amount of people used to work on the same setting for a whole year (3 sets in a block and a core set, which didn't have much worldbuilding), and now they have to create 4 or 5 or however many settings with totally different themes and feels, so they kind of have to rely on familiar retreaded themes and tropes to sell you on the new set and make in recognizable.

[@STS-qi1qy]

They've now said that Bloomburrow is Kwain's home plane so I think it would feel weird to have the locals transform on leaving. True his card presumably depicts him at home but we've known him as a rabbit-guy for almost four years now so it would be weird to swap him up.

[@BeaglzRok1]

My main gripe with MurderS (Zegana and Tolsimir also died, as well as introduced-in-the-set Kylox and several other literally whos) is that a detective agency to the size that rivals a Guild of Ravnica™springing up in like a month after MotM completely ruins my suspension of disbelief, and I don't care how much the devs say "As we were building the plane, it kept looking like Ravnica, so we stopped being creative and made it Ravnica." If you wanted Detective Noir, they literally made New York Mafia: the Set with New Capenna, with the criminal organizations now at the weakest they've ever been. We were robbed of a great "Cops and Robbers" dichotomy.

[@RaunienTheFirst]

I think Wizards has really been taking the biscuits with tropification lately. Bloomburrow is a refreshing change from "what if cowboys?" and "noir detective fiction but we've never read a single noir novel in our lives to the point where we didn't even set it on the noir plane". Bloomburrow feels thought through. Like some actual effort went into it beyond tired clichés and hats.

[@RybackStun]

Did you just call Thalia a silly hat? 😂 EDIT: Also Biscuits

[@Wintertalon]

Biscuits! I feel as though you encapsulated my thoughts on the set. 😊

[@AlteredNova04]

I love the look of this set. This doesn't feel like a lazy crossover or shallow gimmick set. It feels like some very passionate writers took inspiration from a bunch of other souces and successfully copied the "vibe" of the whimsical animals going on adventures genre, while still being mostly original in the specific implementation.

[@JonNuclear]

Totally misread the title, I was thinking "Bloomburrow doesn't happen on a island does is?"

[@sortasurvival5482]

Same. Tiki bar? Hell ya...

[@johnrobertson1]

I believe that the word you’re looking for is ‘cookies.’

[@SuperMerryGo]

Cookies 🇺🇸 🇺🇲 🌎

[@stephenbradford8524]

Honestly, my big problem with MKM is that it doesn't seem to deliver on what I thought the set was supposed to be about: an emphasis on the non-guild citizenry of Ravnica.

[@flurbleflurb5588]

I think what irks me most is as you said the lack of worldbuilding on the other planes. Having some kind of intermediary xzorganisation in place of the Azorious or the Boros run by the guildless fed up with bureaucracy or millatarism could've been super interesting if explored in the right way. Same with Thunder Junction- a whole new plane previously inhabited where groups of people stumble across through the Omenpaths would've been a great concept- how they interact and adapt to this world, with the big sting being that the Fomori had already left the plane barren centuries before. Marchesa randomly being there could've been woven into her story- a sudden questioning of her authority which leads to her striking forth to conquer other worlds as a way to regain trust in her people, and the army being seperated from their leader in the Omenpaths. Something like that. If we had a bit more time to explore these planes than maybe one set, I feel like it could be so much better than just soulless reflections of pre-existing concepts. I do feel for the writers having to cram so much into such a tiny window before they're being ripped away to another plane and another setting.

[@svanirreads4448]

Yeah I can imagine each color pair in OTJ being represented by a different plane's visitors, with less pronounced cowboy hats, just their normal aspect + some ponchos and bandanas to adapt to the desert conditions and give the whole set some artistic cohesion. Red black ixalani pirates, black white orzhov capitalists, blue black kamigawan shinobi. Just a whole slew of bad guys from across the planes, but each group with their identity, and maybe finding clues to the Vault and each deciding to race for It, or just to take the plane for themselves

[@BestgirlJordanfish]

I find it quite aesthetically very charming and refreshing, and I love its focus on world and concept that feels like such a refreshing new world. You could really make a whole game with this vibe (and I guess that's partially what ROOT and Wanderhome are). There's a lot of charm here, and I'm kinda fine with more if it retains flavor and depth.

[@alexanderpokatilo6432]

They also took a lot of inspiration from Boardgame Everdell

[@Peheal]

For me it just reminds me of Wilds of Eldreaine

[@crackcorn0404]

I love the once a year my fantasy game gets a fantasy set. It's so exciting.

[@JeguePerneta]

Just to correct something, all the random detectives in Karlov Manor were actually trying to solve different murders of not important people that were happening all over the plane, meanwhile all our heroes focused on solving the murder of famous people, ignoring the huge murder spree that has been happening

[@andresmarrero8666]

Bloomburrow feels like an actual world with its own stories and rules instead of a one dimensional setting that everyone must adhere to. The fact that it isn't being hijacked by some multiversal threat or planewalkers helps a lot.

[@coreystelton6551]

Biscuits. AKA Cookies.

[@dely9999]

And besides i'm the only one realising that Outlaws is basically Borderlands? i mean they even have the Alien Vault with a treasure that isn't what the "Heroes" think it is, and the one giving the instructions isn't really who we thought he was and he is the only one that knows that real treasure behind the Vault and is only using the "heroes" to obtain that treasure

[@scottcole1881]

Who needs weasels???? WE ALREADY HAVE YOU!!!!!

[@DiabolicTutor_]

Talking about weasels. Don't forget Voxy, who gives us crabs too!

[@ashmarten2884]

There can never be too many weasels!

[@Anuxinamoon]

Hope they make a "biscuits" themed set after this.

[@Qdrew78]

Quick note friend Kenobi, I heard that the plane changes all species from other planes into one of the species found on this plane. Which I kind of love, but I would have liked a Walker from this plane. Cheers and always love and laughter in your lives my friends :)

[@XXDevinReevesXX]

Oh man. I feel like I'm not a good representative for the MTG community as a whole but the last set I got this excited for was lost caverns of Ixalan. I love the art of this set. It's so beautiful and fresh and I am a sucker for whimsy. I have always loved animals and this feels like it was tailored to me specifically. 10/10 very excited. (Ps: biscuits)

[@styfen]

Honestly Vince, read the first Redwall book, it is a genuine masterpiece of adventure and Basil Stag Hare is one of the greatest literary characters of all time.

[@rhysgabrielguevarra4990]

Mah man..

[@thatguyintherain3168]

If you ever draft Karlov Manor again, always go for Rakdos aggro. It's so good. Grab every menace, flying, and suspect creature and a handful of kill spells and your enemy is screwed

[@thekillers1stfan]

It's interesting to see how most fans of Magic view the style/worldbuilding of these different sets. I got into magic pretty recently, so I think it's partially because I'm not attached to most magic lore (although I have watched a lot of lore to catch up on a lot of the main figures). There's sets/planes like Ixalan, Eldrain, Theros, Innistrad, or Dominaria/Brother's war that are just kind of innately typical and for the most part I think most people I talk to about this enjoyed them and then there's the off sets and I feel like I almost always feel the opposite of the veteran players. I started with New Capenna and I though the flavor was awesome, the art design was magnificent, and it interested me so much I seriously got into Magic partially because I liked the set so much, but I hear everyone online say it's shit and cringe and the prices of it online are way lower than the average set. There's a few I was kind of on the fence about like Thunder Junction or March of the Machine, that honestly once it was released and I had the cards, I really loved. Then there's sets that I thought were pure cringe that are some of the most beloved recent sets, the biggest being Kamigawa which tbh I felt looked like shit in its art style and the setting felt stupid to me. Phyrexia AWBO was the same where I'd hear people say how pretty the full art lands are and to me they look like absolute trash. It's good to see people talking good about Bloomburrow because I think this is 100% a set that could have been hated on easily and I think it's rightfully unique and interesting. Not saying anyone is wrong or right but I do think how you view the lore and what you are exposing yourself to online and in terms of the media you consume has a big affect on how you view these kinds of sets that are risks.

[@joshsykes3670]

I totally agree that Bloomburrow feels like a return to the Magic of old, where everything wasn't just shallow tropes. Have you ever had biscuits and gravy?

[@EnCFusion13]

I'm a huge fan of Redwall and I couldn't be more excited for this set! I didn't care for the recent stuff with how fast they've been coming out but just like you said, I can't explain what got me so excited!

[@williamedge5130]

I think Bloomburrow has done one of the important things in that it’s given the colour combinations a new (or less explored) context through which they can be viewed Boros has always been the colour of plucky heroes and brave warriors, but that hits differently when the warriors are literal mice fighting things thousands of times their own size, like a wolf or a bear Is set has always been creative and chaotic, buts it’s rarely been as playful as it is with the BLB otters Tying necromancy to keeping useful resources tucked away for when they are needed like the Squirrels is something that isn’t as explored in Golgari Bats have all the usual Orzhov pseudo-religious tropes that tend to come with BW, but at the same time linking it to the night sky and having them act as a balancing force guided by the inscrutable will of the stars is wonderful I think a big part of that is by having these strong typal identities but not tying those to an internet-typal conflict. The world is obviously not without conflict, both interpersonal and “environmental”, but the identities feel like they could exist outside of that context of conflict. Beyond that, it makes a world that allows for narratives that don’t feel like they have to be tied to something much bigger than itself. In a world where you can be wiped out by forces well beyond your control, where you’re just a kitty mouse or squirrel or raccoon trying to live your life, that gives permission for the narrative to be about the little joys in life. And because of that this initial set feels like a jumping off point that writers can use to tell many stories of many different scopes. Anyway, I’m of the opinion that BLB is going to be a hit on a flavour and aesthetic level of nothing else, and if there are issues on a mechanical end, those can be addressed with a return

[@RedHatRuss]

I was lucky enough to work with an mtg artist a few years ago when I designed a bunch of dogs and cats as D&D minis... She later told me that a bunch of the mtg Dev team had commissioned her to draw their pets as heroes to play D&D as animal heroes! I think it's surprising bloomburrow took this long, the love for little furry heroes at wotc is strong! 😊

[@MrDrewwills]

I think it's a lot of things. Redwall being a story closer to magics identity, world of hats feeling shadow, murder mystery being a genre aggressively unsuited for a magic the gathering set (who thought a genre focused on small groups of telling a short contained story could power an entire set?). But I think the universal love for cute animals should not be ignored. I showed some bloomburrow art to a friend who knows nothing about magic, and her first response was "I want more of that lizard and those bats. Wait they have hamsters? Fuck yeah." Also biscuit.

[@KevinHwoarang]

Otters are big overgrown "glad to be in the water" Weasels. Weasels are tiny creatures that hunt your garden pests. (Vicious, on a tiny scale). I just got into Magic again and this Bloomburrow collection just hugs your eyes. I'm getting my family matter set later this month. Probably topping it off with some collector boosters.

[@OmniOtaku]

“Weird West” has been around as a trope for a long time and if you’re not worried about the narrative of the magic, and only the art of the cards and gameplay, then OTJ pulled it off pretty well. The character art and mechanics reflected things like cowboys and quick draw in a western plane. And yeah it looked like some of them were cosplaying cowboys but that was the point lol. I wonder when it will sink in that Bloomburrow gave the planeswalkers fursonas?

[@Aguila1138]

Sweet BISCUITS and gravy! I'm so excited for this set!

[@ralixoaken2125]

Biscuits? But, to your talking points. I get a moderate amount of Redwall from the set (I was a big fan of those books as a teen). A big name I don't see as many people talking about is "Humblewood", a Dungeons and Dragons 5E supplement out of Hit Point Press. It's got anthropomorphised characters living out of forest environs and facing off against elemental forces of evil. Still, it feels unique enough to Magic that I'm not calling foul of copying. Excited for the set :)

[@horrorfan117]

Oh thank God. I though I was the only one who saw that. Though if memory serves Humblewood was supposed to be more bird focused. It just got so popular that they had to expand to more animalfolk.

[@seanmcdonald1111]

Maybe it's just because we're in Texas, but me and all my homies loved Thunder junction. I had been wanting a western set for so long, and OTJ delivered for me.

[@danielg6420]

This new set is giving me the feels. Very excited!

[@DarBowsong]

Biscuits As someone who absolutely adores Redwall (side note: Brian Jacques and therefore Redwall, is English), this set feels perfect to me. It's clearly inspired by that genre but is different enough to still feel fresh. Otters are spellslingers here, Squirrels are hoarders, Raccoons exist! These are all subversions of how these animals are characterized in Redwall, and that's fantastic.

[@blankfate9531]

As a lifelong enjoyer of silly little guys in Magic and someone who's been wary of the tropification of Magic setting in ever since Throne of Eldraine, I don't think I've been as excited for a set since Zendikar Rising. I want to watch these silly little guys go on silly little adventures and eat their silly little biscuits - it's so cute and charming I could just explode.

[@Muhahahahaz]

17:14 Keep in mind that 2 different tribes in this set always have Flying (Azorius Birds and Orzhov Bats), so they had to make cards like this as an answer to keep Fliers in check

[@generaldysentery7428]

As someone who read redwall as a kid, i would say it's more inspired by redwall, i can't recall redwall having much magic

[@olipod5470]

Biscuits. Beings born on Bloomburrow stay in their animal form when they leave the plane. Kwain was confirmed to be from Bloomburrow recently, so you have a good example of this.

[@nosrin1988]

I absolutely loved the 1995 wind in the willows, i watched it so many times, it was so beautifully done and there were a lot of ones that just didnt handle the story right but the 1995 one nailed it!

[@legruntdu94]

MKM and OTJ showed people/planeswalker/legendary creature in a theme park, one detective, the other cowboy. Bloomburrow only brought Ral Zarek in the main story and added guests only in the commander or collector products, making it less of a trope and more of a fleshed out world with glimpses of some "what if" inside of it.

[@Hemlocker]

Otters being the spell-slinging ones feels like a nice callback to Lutri

[@jamesshepard3]

I loved Redwall and Bloomburrow is the most excited I’ve been about a new set since Kamigawa Neon Dynasty. Aside from the fact that Redwall also has little critters in a medieval setting, it’s not really a fantasy story and so bloomburrow doesn’t feel derivative of that. It’s not like Redwall has a monopoly on critters with swords. And I love how whimsical this new set is. I can’t wait to really play with it.

[@deathshop2172]

I really like bloom-burrow, it's pretty and cute. Also, as someone who read Redwall as a kid, the references are awesome. Redwall in general is an awesome book series.

[@hoodiegal]

I wonder if Bloomburrow has any food tokens depicting biscuits?

[@Rannulfus]

We actually have one instance on a card of a raccoon finding its way to a different plane. They remain a raccoon. The reasoning for people changing into animals when entering bloomburrow seems to be that there are no humanoid races on the plane, so a humanoid being there physically doesn't fit with some kind of foundational logic of the plane itself.

[@josephhawkins7974]

My favorite thing about Vince saying he doesn't know about Redwall because he's British is that Brian Jacques was also British. Nothing wrong with not knowing that, though!

[@OninRuns]

The kind of tropification I've started to hate is when they "say the line." Feels like it started in Kamigawa with something like "You're already dead," and it really made me angry when Duskmourn's "Let's play a game" was revealed. That card doesn't even fit the plane's worldbuilding. There is no Saw figure. But that doesn't matter, SAY THE LINE BART! Bloomburrow has none of that. It doesn't pander to specific expectations. Instead, it takes an existing concept and gives it a unique Magic spin. That's how most good Magic sets are made.

[@Randomguynumber3]

Biscuit, i grew up reading redwall and would love any media paying tribute to it. Im stoked about the set. Looks wise, really good.

[@demus89]

Bloomburrow is as far from where i wanted the art direction to be coming back to the hobby.

[@jonlangthorne7924]

Biscuits! I honestly thought that Bloomburrow would pass me by. After seeing the card list and how fun the commander decks are I am sold. The artwork is beautiful and fun, and the set feels like a deep fresh take on a trope/setting.

[@gnomersy1087]

So I read something like 10 Redwall books when I was younger and have played Magic since Mirage. This world definitely feels inspired by Redwall. Martin the mouse with a special sword was the original Redwall hero and there's Mabel with her magic sword in Bloomburrow but it feels very unique/distinct from that inspiration. I don't remember any significant magic or magical entities in Redwall(they might have had soothsayers/healers but I don't remember) the primary villians in Redwall were other races of small furry animals that people usually identify as vermin(Weasels iirc were the main one but also rats) there was no calamity beast equivalent they didn't really interact with forces of nature from what I remember. It also helps that Redwall is quite old the last Redwall book was in 2011 but the height of their popularity was in the 1990s. In contrast to film tropes there haven't been any modern remakes of Redwall to drain the nostalgia well and overall small woodland critter society is a relatively lightly explored realm and the cards don't feel like obvious tropes so far. But others who have read the books more recently might disagree with me.

[@kylegonewild]

There were challenges with real "forces of nature" aka shit like floods but it's a very medieval low-fantasy setting. It introduced things like community, bigotry, war, death, etc. to a young audience in a thoughtful way.

[@silvertail7131]

I believe i heard something called mouse guard was the central inspiration, but there are many to choose from. I fear we'll have more thunder junctions than bloomburrows in our future, since the "hey, it's all the people you know, but on this plane now..." Has kinda been their thing for a while... But since i guess they wanted to print only one planeswalker going forward, they now have the omenpaths. All the planes we knew about before are connected, any character can come from anywhere. Even bloomburrow apparently has a dragon from tarkir bleeding through, omenpath or not. Those planes that are little pocket realities, knowing only their own problems, with their own troubles, may be rarities... I love bloomburrow though, i dearly hope they take us back, to explore the calamity glarb saw, to the wilds beyond valley. It's like lorwyn meets ravnica, ten mechanically different factions, each deeply flavourful, and synergistic with each other

[@pleasethedragon]

I don't know if anyone brought this up, but there's a version of Chaos Warp in Bloomburrow that kinda answers the question of what happens to Creatures of the vale in other planes, and it seems they remain as they are just a bit bigger. (Chaos Warp shows a racoon folk falling through an omenpath on Kamigawa and it is still a raccoon)

[@colbybastian17]

This set is absolutely wonderful. It has been so long since a set made me feel this drawn in to a world. Honestly, since original Eldraine I don't think a set has been this honest and earnest in what it was portraying. They've all felt so cynical, and this just doesn't.

[@MartinHultquist]

Karlow Manor was a wonderful draft experience :) Done 10+ drafts, and love the set from that perspective.

[@ashtongaskill3980]

Biscuits. There's usually one or two arts each preview season I show my wife but this set has had art that gorgeous revealed every day. Mechanics look fun, world looks creative, art is beautiful. Love this and hope it's indicative of what's to come. I don't think it's just you not being familiar with Redwall, that wasn't the only source of inspiration and while certainly an obvious one it doesn't feel as served-straight as the other sets you have issues with.

[@ArchetypeGotoh]

I know about Redwall, this set may be “inspired” by it in a way, but it isn’t just a pile of references

[@Wanderer042]

I am loving bloomborrow. I never been this hyped since Innistrad. I too been raised in Redwall, American Tail, as well as Robin Hood (Disney), and Secret of Nimh.

[@bradyseigfried2395]

Magic will always use tropes. It's because tropes are unavoidable, in a sense, for worlds of fiction. We have seen them do a good job, and a bad job with handling relevant tropes to enhance a setting. Original Ravnica plays with different tropes to craft the identities of the guilds. It informs the players about the setting and serves to enhance the setting. Whereas the detectives on Karlov manor are not using tropes to tell us about the setting, they are showing us a detective hat and thats all it is to it. We don't see how the Izzet guild uses their inventions to investigate the crimescene or how the Dimir use gossip to gather information and rumours. We aren't using those tropes to expand the world, rather we are using the world to showcase a trope. Detectives took over the plane of Ravnica, and not Ravnica the plane is in a plane-wide investigation. That's why a lot of people (myself included) thought that Capenna would have been a better setting. There are clear film noir vibes on Capenna, and besides being a place we want more information about, seeing the 'nonpolice force' investigations that occur would or could expand on the setting. How do the people of Capenna deal with crime? How does the killing of Family head resolve? Do the families work together? Do they hire detectives? Are there other factions we didn't see? Detectives fit more naturally on this setting and would give us clues into things that haven't been explored. But also, the tropes of detective fiction could help us understand more about the world. Capenna is a more undefined setting in that sense, than Ravnica.

[@sethb3090]

My friend, Redwall is from a British author and features almost exclusively British animals with assorted English accents. It is very low fantasy though. The extent of the magic is occasional prophecies and sometimes a warrior's spirit visits the hero to give them courage (less than once a book). And the Sword of Martin the Warrior is...well, basically indestructible and really sharp, but not supernatural.

[@volosguidetomonsters3440]

To be fair to Markov Manor, Connecting the Dots is an incredible card

[@4242Smatt]

I am a firm believer in that if a piece of media (e.g., Magic: The Gathering) inspires you to look into some other piece of media (e.g., Redwall), that original piece of media is doing something great. I went and read Redwall after 20 years since my first read through purely because of how cool Bloomburrow looked. And I have to say, Bloomburrow seems even cooler after reading Redwall. I hope MTG continues down this design path - homage and inspiration instead of tropification and fan-fiction

[@davidbrasher3595]

Fact check: The Murders at Karlov Manor storyline was about a string of murders, not just the murder of Tesya Karlov.