Bloomburrow is my favorite MTG set in years, no question

If social media’s anything to go by, players are big fans of the new MTG Bloomburrow set. And yes, that is an understatement.

The curtain was pulled back on this Redwall-esque Magic: The Gathering set at MagicCon with new cards and mechanics on display. Alongside a look at Commander decks that wouldn’t be out of place in Disney’s Robin Hood, we also got a glimpse of Planeswalkers re-imagined as animalfolk (Jace would apparently be a fox, if you’re interested). However, it’s the painfully adorable animal artwork that seems to be sending the fans… well, wild. 

Honestly, Reddit user Environmental_Eye_61 sums up all of our thoughts with “Absolutely. Fucking. Incredible. Artwork” in a discussion thread about the reveals. Meanwhile, @MissBunFee on Twitter says that Bloomburrow “has a chokehold on our DnD group.” Honestly, I don’t blame them at all.  

Alongside artwork that’s got everyone excited, the reveal also shows off full art land cards that recreate the same location throughout the seasons. There’s an A-list lineup of guest artists too. The creator of Mouse Guard, David Petersen, has created five illustrations for the Bloomburrow set, while Mitsuhiro Arita (who has previous experience with the best card games thanks to their work on Pokemon) is also featured with a borderless take on the great bear ‘Lumra, Bellow of the Woods.’

Here’s some of that artwork so you can make up your own mind.

Alongside that gorgeous art, we got our first look at the various booster packs and Commander decks that are being included in Bloomburrow as well. Animated Army is a Red-Green combo featuring a sorcerous racoon as its face Commander, and it tasks you to “make trash, do smash.” At the other end of the scale, the stork-fronted Family Matters (Blue-Red-White) focuses on making ‘offspring’ and going wide. That’s in direct contrast to the Green-White-Blue Peace Offering deck that’s all about +1/-1 counters and a “group hug.” Finally, the Black-Green Squirreled Away lives up to its name by having you hoard tokens.

Intriguingly, a starter set is also being included in the Bloomburrow lineup. The last themed beginner box we got was for the incredibly popular Lord of the Rings crossover, so publisher Wizards of the Coast clearly has faith in this one.

Either way, it’s a very animal-friendly time at Wizards. A similar concept has joined its tabletop RPG, and this Redwall-style spin on D&D is everything I didn’t know I needed.

Bloomburrow is set to launch this August, after the Wild West-themed Outlaws of Thunder Junction – which has another pointy-eared bad boy for us to fawn over.

For recommendations on what to play before Bloomburrow lands, check out the best board games or the best tabletop RPGs.