Bloomburrow may have launched a few weeks ago, but the set isn’t completely done and dusted yet. This is all thanks to MTG Arena, which gets a healthy helping of new cards after each Standard set. Much to the dismay of many, these are Alchemy cards, but these aren’t as unplayable as they once were.
Thanks to Mystery Booster 2, MTG Arena exclusive cards are finally coming to paper and eternal legal formats, including Commander. Should these prove popular enough, more and more Alchemy cards may make their paper debut in the future. We might even see mechanics like Conjure in a black-bordered set without the Acorn symbol before too long.
With this in mind, we can’t help but get extra excited for the mini-spoiler season for Alchemy: Bloomburrow. Not only are there bound to be plenty of adorable critters to admire, but there’s bound to be a powerhouse or two as well. At first glance, that appears to be exactly what Bramblearmor Brawler is. Sadly, looks can be deceiving.
Bramblearmor Brawler
- Type: Creature – Raccoon Warrior
- Rarity: Rare
- Text: The Spell can’t be countered.
Trample
When an opponents casts a noncreature spell, creature cards in your library perpetually get +1/+1.
On the surface, Bramblearmor Brawler is everything that a mono-green deck wants. They’re a decently costed sizable threat with Trample that can’t be countered. If you’re building a mono-green beat-down deck, Bramblearmor Brawler is an auto-include, especially in Alchemy or Brawl.
As if that wasn’t good enough, Bramblearmor Brawler also comes equipped with the mother of all anthems. Buffing every single card in your deck whenever an opponent casts a non-creature spell, this card is insanely powerful. Even if they’re immediately removed, every single creature in your deck will get +1/+1. For four mana, a deck-wide buff isn’t to be scoffed at.
Sadly, the strength of Bramblearmor Brawler is also its downfall, since it only buffs creatures in your deck. This means their real strength will always have a delayed activation that is far from guaranteed. Even against a spell-slinging opponent, if you get flooded by lands, the buffs mean nothing.
To make matters worse, mono-green has few options for reliable card draw to speed things along and improve consistency. As a result, Bramblearmor Brawler is essentially just an engine to make your top decks that much more powerful. In theory, this could work wonders, providing additional beatdowns even with mana dorks. In reality, however, this card may be your own worst enemy.
Heisted Again
Thanks to the Heist mechanic from Outlaws of Thunder Junction: Alchemy, buffing your own deck is a terrible idea. Sure, you can make threats like Hulking Raptor that much scarier, but chances are you won’t get to play it. Not only is there the chance you don’t draw it, but your opponent might beat you to it.
Since Heist only finds nonland cards, Heist players won’t struggle to find cards buffed by Bramblearmor Brawler. This deprives you of resources and gives the Heist player an even bigger advantage. Spells like Grave Expectations and Weave the Nightmare push this advantage even further as they buff your deck before Heisting.
Sadly, Heist isn’t a rare mechanic to come across when playing Alchemy and Brawl. Not only is Grixis Heist and Grenzo, Crooked Jailer decks incredibly popular, but other decks often run Heist cards too. If you have red in your deck, you’re often better off running Impetuous Lootmonger since this mechanic is so strong.
Ultimately, this makes Bramblearmor Brawler kind of unplayable in almost every format on MTG Arena. It’s too slow for Timeless and Historic while being completely countered in Alchemy. In theory, Bramblearmor Brawler could work in Brawl, but facing Grenzo will be a bad time. This is a real shame as on the surface this Racoon looked like an absolute riot.
More Spoilers Soon
While Bramblearmor Brawler may be a bit of a bust, thankfully Bloomburrow: Alchemy will have a lot more to offer. In total, this micro set should contain 30 extra cards to spice up Bloomburrow Limited and Constructed formats too. These cards are set to be revealed throughout this week ahead of Alchemy: Bloomburrow’s release.
In case you, like me, can’t wait for more Alchemy cards, Alchemy: Bloomburrow launches on August 20th. Thankfully this means it won’t be long before we’ve got more cards to admire and play with. Hopefully, the rest of Alchemy: Bloomburrow will be more playable, but no less interesting, than Bramblearmor Brawler.
Read More: New $65 MTG Standard Precon Is a Weirdly Amazing Deal
