My 5 Favorite Bloomburrow Magic Commanders

Bloomburrow is becoming one of the most anticipated Magic sets of the year. The cute fuzzy animals and interesting abilities are sparkling a lot of players’ interest, me included. While I promised myself that I wouldn’t brew a new deck until Duskmourn comes out, I find myself cobbling together some online brews just for the fun of it. This set has a lot to offer in the way of legendary creatures, so why not share with y’all the handful that sparked my commander creativity?

The Infamous Cruelclaw

Let’s start out with a surprising color combination for me: Rakdos. I am not a Rakdos girlie. Never have been, and yet The Infamous Cruelclaw makes me look at my pile of Rakdos bulk and question if I can accomplish the impossible (for me). Plus, it’s a legendary Weasel. How could I not ponder the possibilities?

You could be cheeky and run some top-of-deck manipulation, such as Sensei’s Divining Top and Scroll Rack. You could gain some value from your discards by tossing in pieces like Filth or Anger. Running the typical exile pieces like Nalfeshnee and Flaming Tyrannosaurus can also make for a deadly combo with Cruelclaw, as it exiles cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card. Filling the deck with big beaters or crazy Eldrazi and casting them for free by discarding a card makes this deck seem incredibly powerful. Finally, a place for my Secret Lair cereal Ulamog!

Maha, Its Feathers Night

Lately, I’ve been on a journey of self-discovery with monocolored decks in Magic. I’ve brewed and built in paper a deck in every color. As of writing this article, I have two black decks…and I am mulling over the idea of having three.

Maha, Its Feathers Night has all the makings for a seriously nasty deck. Maha gives all creatures your opponents control base toughness 1. In black, that is a death sentence. Toss in Toxic Deluge, Massacre, Massacre Wurm, The Meathook Massacre, Night Clubber, Black Sun’s Zenith, Kaervek, the Spiteful, you name it! Just shove in some Aristocrats payoffs like Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, Vein Ripper, and more.

It is so easy to make this ball roll. Imagine running Massacre Girl, Known Killer and just drawing dozens of cards when she hits the battlefield. Maha is such a gross enabler that I shudder at the thought of this resolving in one of my pods. 

Zoraline, Cosmos Caller

I will never blink twice at a card that makes Desecrated Tomb work. Zoraline, Cosmos Caller is an Orzhov Bat typal commander that has made a splash amongst the player base. She makes it so that you gain one life whenever a Bat you control attacks. She also allows you to pay two mana and two life to return target nonland permanent with mana value three or less from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it.

This is such a fun card because, while you get the bonus of Bat typal synergies, her recursion ability can lead to some powerful stuff. Possible inclusions are Syr Konrad, the Grim and Tormod, the Desecrator, alongside the Desecrated Tomb mentioned earlier. You could also go the Sanguine Bond, Exquisite Blood, and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose route if you wanted to be cutesy with your lifegain combos. Personally, I would just fill the deck with pieces like Ruin-Lurker Bat or Blind Hunter, just so I could have my Batty fun. 

Kastral, the Windcrested

Move over, Kangee, Aerie Keeper, we have a new Bird typal commander, and it’s Kastral, the Windcrested! Kastral ignores the concept of feather counters and instead deals in +1/+1 and finality counters. This Bird is a mean, aggressive deck that wants to go wide. Fill this deck up with as many Birds as you can! Ledger Shredder, Esior, Wardwing Familiar, the new Senu, Keen-Eyed Protector. Literally any Bird. Judge’s Familiar, Aven Mindcensor. Magic has a lot of Birds.

Pieces like Winged Words, Distant Melody, and Kindred Discovery can help aid you in your card draw. Swing fast and swing big with this deck. Personally, with Kastral, I would choose to give all my Birds +1/+1 counters whenever I deal combat damage. Maybe you are different from me and just want to put a Bird on the battlefield for free with a finality counter. While I am far from being an Azorius player, I will note that it is refreshing to see Azorius Birds get some life breathed into it with a non-Kangee option for Commander. Sorry, Kangee lovers.  

Flubs, the Fool

Lastly, we have Flubs, the Fool. This funky little dude is the Buy-a-Box promo for Bloomburrow and can only be snagged via this route.

He is my son and I love him.

I have never liked Temur as a color combination. In fact, I haven’t had a Temur deck since my run-in with Animar, Soul of Elements in 2017. Dark times. Nonetheless, I fell in love with Flubs. Not only is his art amazing (peep the killer tarot card reference), but his ability is so weird that I wanted to give it a spin. So much, in fact, that I brewed a deck around him on one of my deckbuilding streams.

But what would be good in him? Well, madness, jump-start, and flashback come to mind. You want to ultimately avoid ‘no maximum hand size’ cards, as Flubs loves being hellbent. Pieces like Containment Construct allow you to play what you discard, and Rielle, the Everwise is great for drawing just as many cards as Flubs can!

Lier, Disciple of the Drowned and Past in Flames help give all instants and sorceries in your graveyard flashback, while Creeping Renaissance can return a permanent type of your choice to your hand from the graveyard. Even the brand-new Six gives your nonland permanent cards in your graveyard retrace, allowing you to essentially have a second hand to access.

Have I figured out a way to win with him yet? No, but I have found multiple engines to create vast amounts of chaos, discard, card draw, and most importantly, fun. I think the Fool would like that. 

Brewing the Bloom

I told myself that I have to hold out until Duskmourn, but I find myself wavering a bit with all of these Bloomburrow previews. I haven’t even touched on the commander precons yet, and those are just as exciting. Whether you’re a fan of this cutesy set or not, you cannot deny the power that lies under that furry, adorable exterior. Happy burrowing, deckbuilders.

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