{"id":3344,"date":"2024-07-30T12:45:39","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T10:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/deatch\/?p=3344"},"modified":"2024-07-30T15:11:22","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T13:11:22","slug":"blb-primer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/deatch\/blb-primer\/","title":{"rendered":"Bloomburrow Set Primer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Article by Toby B\u00f6hmer<\/a><\/span><\/span>
Editing by Daniel Schuster<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are interested in translating this article, please reach out to us via JudgeApps or Discord.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Intro<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Magic is rapidly moving forward and releases Bloomburrow on August 2nd, it\u2019s the 7th set of the year, the 3rd premier set. This set is full of very cute animals. There are no humans on this plane, visitors are transformed into anthropomorphic animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article will explain all the new things Bloomburrow brings to Magic and how they work in the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s in the Bloomburrow release?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Bloomburrow release consists of two releases: the Premier Set (set code \u201cBLB\u201d) which will be Standard legal and the Commander Set (4 preconstructed decks, set code \u201cBLC\u201d) which will be legal in Commander, Legacy and Vintage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Play Booster<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The main set will be released in Play Boosters. They are a lot simpler than the ones from the previous set Outlaws of Thunder Junction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Play Boosters \u201cSpecial Guest\u201d cards can replace a common with a probability of 1.5%. \u201cSpecial Guest\u201d cards are a returning feature. They consist of reprints with new artworks and treatments, but that does not change anything about their legality in any format.
For more details about boosters and their contents see the Collecting Bloomburrow<\/a> article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starter Kits Return<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Starter Kits return with this release. A Starter Kit contains two 60-card preconstructed decks. 100% of the cards in a Starter Kit are Standard legal. They contain some mechanically unique cards that can not be found in Play Boosters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Value Booster<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After merging Draft Boosters and Set Boosters to Play Boosters Wizard releases a new type of Booster: Value Boosters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They contain mostly commons and uncommons and do not guarantee anything beyond that. They will be in some types of stores which are not WPN stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Rules Templates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a few rules text template changes in this set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEnters the battlefield\u201d becomes just \u201centers\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The \u201centers the battlefield\u201d in triggered abilities like \u201cWhenever ~ enters the battlefield \u2026\u201d gets a new template. The new template \u201cWhenever ~ enters \u2026\u201d is much shorter. It is used whenever it is possible. Some cards will still use the longer template if it is important to understand what the card is doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is an example of a card with the new template:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCARDNAME\u201d becomes \u201cthis creature\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some creatures reference themselves now with \u201cthis creature\u201d in their rules text instead of with their full card name. That seems to be the case with cards with the Offspring\u201d mechanic. On older cards this template was usually used when it gave an ability to a creature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is an example with the new template:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Main phases get renamed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cards referencing main phases no longer use the words \u201cprecombat main phase\u201d or \u201cpostcombat main phase\u201d anymore. The new template is \u201cfirst main phase\u201d and \u201csecond main phase\u201d. This is mostly just a template change, but some cards will get a functional errata to work with this change, mostly in the case of additional main phases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of the new names on cards:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>

<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Shortening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is one card, Uncharted Haven<\/a>, which has a new template for its two replacement effects as it enters the battlefield. They are now combined into one paragraph instead of two and use a much shorter wording. This is not a functional change, they are still two distinct replacement effects, as Matt Tabak and Jess Dunks point out<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New Mechanics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Offspring<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Offspring is a mechanic that lets you create baby versions of the creature it\u2019s on. Offspring is an additional cost you can choose to pay while casting the spell. You can only pay it once. When the creature spell resolves and if you paid the Offspring cost a triggered ability triggers with the creature as its source. Once that trigger resolves you create a copy of the creature, except it\u2019s 1\/1. If the creature has already left the battlefield when the trigger resolves, the copy is still created with the appropriate characteristics, except it\u2019s 1\/1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For each such baby version you can get the correct token in Play Boosters. Remember that tokens that are copies of a card retain their mana cost and everything derived from that. On the tokens in the set this is mentioned on the bottom of the card in reminder text, not on the top right of the card, where the mana cost usually lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gift<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gift is a mechanic that allows you to promise an opponent a gift and you get a more powerful spell in return. That usually happens when the spell resolves. The promise must be kept to make that happen, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The gift is written as \u201cGift a SOMETHING\u201d on cards and describes what you are promising. Most of the cards are gifting cards or small tokens.
Promising to gift an opponent something is an optional additional cost. The \u201ccost\u201d is giving the promise. There are no other costs attached to it like mana costs or life or whatever. If you are in a multiplayer game you have to choose one of your opponents. You can\u2019t choose a team mate. That chosen player will receive the promised gift later.
How the gifting works is different for permanent spells and instants and sorceries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Permanents<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For permanent spells it works like this: a trigger is put on the stack once the spell has resolved. All players can react to that trigger as usual, it\u2019s the same as every other triggered ability. Once that trigger resolves the chosen opponent receives the promised gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instants\/Sorceries<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instants and sorceries it works differently. The spell gets an additional effect. That effect happens before all the other effects that spell would have once it resolves. That effect is effectively (pun intended) the effect #0 of the spell. That effect gives the promised gift to the chosen opponent.
After that all the other effects of the spell happen in their written order, as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cForage\u201d is a keyword action. It shows up as a cost that spells and abilities can have. To forage you have to either:<\/p>\n\n\n\n