After over 30 years of development and over 100 different card sets, the designers behind Magic: The Gathering continue to produce fascinating new products. Wizards of the Coast releases its next set, titled Bloomburrowon August 2nd and it’s unique for a very unusual reason. No, it’s not introducing a new gameplay format or changing the way packs are sold in the store. Its claim to fame is that it’s the first set of cards in Magic history in which no character is a human, but an anthropomorphic animal.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Leading the way is Mabel, one of the animal heroes of this set. To provide her art, Wizards tapped New York Times bestselling author David Petersen, the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning cartoonist and illustrator behind the Mouse protection series.
“When I was approached to do (…) Mouse People,” Peterson said at a recent press conference, “I had to kind of relearn what I was going to do. I had to think about redesigning my sensibilities for Magic; looking at real mice again for anatomical reference for how the feet work, how the hands work, how the ears work – all very different from what I normally do.”
Mabel is not alone. Bloomburrow will introduce 10 different types of animal people, each representing a new type of creature. Here is a brief summary, including sample cards, for each of the new types.
Bird people: They are described as “noble, common carriers of aid and other animals,” and their mana colors are white and blue.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Mouse people: They are described as “brave, loyal seekers of adventure and glory” and their mana colors are red and white.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Rabbit people: They are described as “talented chefs and community-minded farmers” and their mana colors are green and white.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Bat people: They are described as “eccentric and mysterious night defenders” and their mana colors are white and black.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Raccoon people: They are described as “free-spirited wanderers, collectors, and entertainers” and their mana colors are red and green.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Lizard people: They are described as “grumpy fire worshippers and expressive artists” and their mana colors are black and red.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Squirrel people: They are described as “pathological stewards of land and the cycle of life and death.” Their mana colors are black and green.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Rat people: They are described as “isolationist keepers of secrets and ancient relics” and their mana colors are blue and black.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Otter people: They are described as “clever gamblers and storm-chasing daredevils” and their mana colors are blue and red.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Frog people: They are described as “curious, pessimistic practitioners of divination” and their mana colors are green and blue.
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Image: Wizards of the Coast
Other highlights of the set include an extensive series of maps depicting the four seasons; maps speculating on what popular planeswalkers would look like as animal folk; and a series of anime-inspired alternative graphical edits.
The set also includes three new mechanics. The first, called Offspring, allows you to spend additional mana to use low-powered copies of a given creature. While useful, these young clones are always limited to one attack and one defense when cast. The Gift ability allows players to share a 1/1 blue fish with every player at the table – which is sure to lead to plenty of politicking during hotly contested games of Commander. Finally, the new Expend ability (see the Raccoonfolk above) allows you to receive additional buffs whenever you meet a mana requirement spent that turn.
Below is a gallery of all the other cards revealed in Tuesday’s preview.
Bloomburrow Preview tickets begin rolling out today, with the set’s pre-release weekend scheduled for July 26. Official retail release is August 2. Pre-orders are available now, both online and at retailers like Amazon and with local game stores.