Now that Bloomburrow is essentially entirely revealed, Commander decks aside, there’s a bone I need to pick with the set. It’s nothing to do with mechanics or power level, which both actually seem great this time around. No, what I have a problem with are the Bloomburrow anime art cards. This may seem like a strange position to take. After all, there are only 20 of these in the set, and they’re only available in Collector Boosters. But I believe that their mere existence, and their prominent place in the set’s marketing, speaks to a broader issue with MTG that’s been growing over time.
Breaking The Theme
This issue is the dilution of MTG as an intellectual property. Something you’ve likely heard a lot of people talking about, this year especially. Generally, this issue is raised when discussing Universes Beyond products, or major worldbuilding developments like the inclusion of TVs and modern shoes in Duskmourn. It can manifest in subtler ways too, however, as it has here in Bloomburrow.
As we’ll get into later, this isn’t the first time Magic has included anime art cards as special promos in a set. In each of those cases, however, it felt like a justified move. War of the Spark was a huge Multiversal mish-mash, and in many ways felt like the final arc of a Shonen anime. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty was a set drenched in Japanese culture in every possible way. Jumpstart 2022, meanwhile, was a fun supplemental product, where thematic cohesion wasn’t hugely important. Bloomburrow is different, however.
Bloomburrow, from its visuals to its storyline, is clearly inspired by British children’s fiction. Echoes of The Wind in the Willows and Redwall are rife throughout the cards here. For the most part, the artwork nails that very specific vibe. Each of the animal factions here is well-established, and everything has that light, homely feel that really defines Bloomburrow’s inspirations. Even the other alternative art treatments for the set, Showcase Woodland and Field Notes, feel like they could be pages torn from a children’s book.
A Worrying Trend
The Bloomburrow anime art cards do not feel like this. In the slightest. They just don’t match the unique atmosphere of the set as a whole. This is not just a shame, given how much painstaking effort went into capturing said atmosphere elsewhere. It’s also a bit bizarre.
You see, in addition to the Woodland and Field Notes treatments, Bloomburrow also includes a series of alternative artwork cards under the Imagine: Critters range. These are reprints of popular creatures and planeswalkers, reimagined as they would be on Bloomburrow. Jace takes the form of a fox, for instance, while Karn becomes a grumpy metallic tree. These are reprints where the artists and designers have put a ton of effort into matching the tone of the world, and the result is that they feel right at home on Bloomburrow.
This is the same philosophy that led to the creation of Special Guests, the replacement for The List that includes old cards with art set on the plane of the current set. There’s a new batch of these in Bloomburrow, too. With all of these initiatives helping to develop the plane’s identity, why throw in anime cards that do the opposite?
Widespread appeal is the short answer. These anime art cards have proven very popular in the past. Including them here will almost certainly help Collector Booster sales. The trade-off is that they make Bloomburrow feel a little bit less special. The whole thing is just a little bit more synthetic and marketed. The set has a really unique vibe, but throwing in anime art cards smacks of a lack of confidence in it. Hopefully, we won’t see more of this in the future, but I’m not holding my breath.
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