Hey everyone! I hope you are all as excited as I am to get out there and jam some Bloomburrow. The pile of adorable critters is certainly a change up from the usual doom and gloom we get in most Magic sets. This will be live right before the prereleases start so here is your guide to help you take down your matches and scoop up some of those extra packs.
I’ll be going over how to build your sealed deck as well as adding a bunch of tips and tricks.
The long awaited Alchemy and Standard rotation happens on July 30, 2024 to MTG Arena! Learn all about Bloomburrow and find all our related articles in our hub.
Building Your Sealed Deck
The very first thing you want to do is sort out your key cards. These are going to help you shape your game plan whether you are planning to win by overall power level, settling into a more controlling build, or possibly trying to go low to the ground aggro. An honest assessment of your pool will give you the best idea of which axis will be the appropriate plan of attack.
Your key cards are your bombs, mythic uncommons, and high-end removal. They are cards that you feel can have an extreme effect on the game. Once you’ve determined what type of build your sealed pool can support, we can move on to mana fixing.
Bloomburrow doesn’t have a ton of mana fixing especially compared to Modern Horizons 3 where it was everywhere. In my opinion, it has the appropriate amount for enabling what the format wants to do.
You’re almost always going to be playing every Uncharted Haven you open no matter what deck you build. I also like playing one Hidden Grotto even if you aren’t splashing something off of it. Fabled Passage is another auto include, but it’s rare so much less likely to come up.
There are some other mana fixing options running around like Heaped Harvest, Patchwork Banner, Fountainport Bell, Three Tree Rootweaver, and Three Tree Mascot. The lack of a dual land cycle means that you are more likely to default to a two-color deck splashing a third then to be able to go full out five colors.
Next you need to sort out your pool by color. While you are doing this you want to separate each color into cards you actively want to play, cards you’ll situationally play, and cards you hope you don’t have to run. While you are making these evaluations keep in mind what you decided your path to victory is. Don’t be afraid to reevaluate that decision if that plan isn’t properly supported.
Now you should have a good idea of what colors are possible to play and which are better off as splashes. Next you should start building different combinations so you can identify any weaknesses in mana curve, removal suite, or ways to win the game. Once you settle on the right build, you are just a mana base away from running the table.
Since Prereleases are bo3, you should also have potential builds to switch into in mind. Its always good to have an aggressive deck ready to do in case you run into a pool that you can’t compete with in a fair game.
Tips and Tricks
Sealed tends to be slower than draft because the decks are less focused. Sometimes someone busts the nuts deck, but its rare. That means you usually have time to play more expensive cards and card draw spells are better.
Counterspells also perform better in sealed because almost everyone has some powerful late game cards they are trying to resolve. There are six packs so its rare that they don’t have something that is worth countering.
Threshold and forage work against each other since one wants a full graveyard while the other empties it. Be careful about playing too many of them together.
There are a lot of synergies in this set so the power level of individual cards is going to fluctuate wildly based off of the other cards in your pool. A great example is that Bonecache Overseer is either a great engine or unplayable trash based off of how much food/foraging you open.
On that note, the value of cheap cantrips such as Might of the Meek skyrockets if you have multiple Valiant creatures.
A card that I feel will overperform expectations is Cache Grab. It is so good in the foraging Squirrel deck.
While aggro looks really strong this set, there are multiple mechanics that can hold it back. Food and an entire archetype based around gaining life throw some major road blocks in the way of trying to burn them down.
Unlike MH3 where there was a ton of reach creatures (stupid Writhing Chrysalis), flying actually matters in Bloomburrow.
While this is admittedly over a very small sample size so far, two for ones seem like they actually matter since there aren’t as many “OMG they played this” cards. It feels less like you’re throwing haymakers and more like you’re trying to win over time.
A lot of the class cards require very specific things to be good so they are less likely to be good in sealed. However, the green ones, Hunter's Talent and Innkeeper's Talent, are just bonkers in any deck.
While you don’t have to worry about most of the Special Guests, sometimes your opponent is going to have straight up Swords to Plowshares. Sword of fire and Ice can be quite the beating as well. The poor guy who busted Frogmite or Relentless Rats in the ultra rare slot is not going to be nearly as happy.
There are a ton of playable combat tricks in the set so you need to be wary of blocking attacks that seem too good to be true.
Downwind Ambusher is a good one to keep in mind before attacking into an opponent with open mana and cards in hand.
Creature types matter in this set so that can make a great tie breaker between cards of a similar power level.
Crumb and Get It being able to pump and give indestructible for one mana can be a huge swing even if they get a food out of it.
Don’t forget about Sonar Strike. Sometimes its right to use a spell like Might of the Meek or a pump effect from Warren Elder before attacking.
Per usual, I would highly recommend busting a ton of sick bombs. Outside of that I’d say the most important thing is to have fun.
Wrap Up
Thanks for reading! Hopefully this helps you lay some serious beats at your prerelease. I’ll be back tomorrow with my limited review of the Green cards of Bloomburrow. Until then, stay classy people!
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below.
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