As one of the very first cards revealed for Bloomburrow, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods was part of our initial glimpse into the whimsical new world Wizards had created. It represented the Calamity Beasts, the set’s main antagonistic force, all of which pack huge elemental power. Said power certainly came across in the card’s abilities. Now, as recent tournament results indicate, it’s shining through in real play to boot. Most excitingly, Lumra is seeing play in Amulet Titan, one of the most established MTG decks in Modern.
Lumra In Amulet Titan?
Before we continue, it’s worth going over exactly how Amulet Titan works as an MTG deck, so we can better explain how Lumra fits into it. Amulet Titan is a kind of land-based combo deck, relying primarily on its two namesake cards. These are Amulet of Vigor and Primeval Titan. The former untaps your permanents as they enter, while the latter tutors two lands from your deck into play tapped. You can probably see where this is going.
Using Amulet alongside the Ravnica Bounce Lands, the deck makes a lot of mana early. Said mana can power out a Primeval Titan, which can then fetch up all manner of lands from the deck. Typically, Amulet Titan relies on the likes of Slayers’ Stronghold and Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion here, to buff the Titan up for a big swing. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle also features regularly, as an alternative win condition. Post-Modern Horizons 3 the deck is branching out a bit, however, and this is where Lumra comes in.
Given the number of lands the deck plays, Lumra often fills exactly the same role as Primeval Titan when it comes to putting lands into play. Sure, you don’t get to tutor for the exact lands you need, but it’s still essentially an extra copy of the deck’s best card. Lumra is much bigger than Primeval Titan most of the time, too, so it makes a fine finisher in games where you haven’t grabbed Valakut. Lumra also plays fantastically alongside Springheart Nantuko, another recent addition to the deck. Put the two together and you have an all-new combo line that can churn through your whole deck with a little luck.
Like Cultivator Colossus, Lumra is largely showing up as a one-of silver bullet in the deck so far. It may replace Colossus entirely before long though, by virtue of its much greater consistency.
The Old Standards
Just seeing play in one of the biggest decks in Modern isn’t enough for our pal Lumra, however. The card is also having a lot of success in Standard. To get the token mention out of the way: yes, Lumra is seeing play in Golgari Midrange. The card serves no real special function there beyond just being a powerful green value card, but that’s more than enough in the world of Midrange.
More interesting are the other homes the card has found for itself. Reanimator decks, be they Sultai or 4-color, are running up to three copies of Lumra as well. The card does everything these decks want. It mills cards, thus setting up your reanimation; it brings back lands, thus fixing your mana; and it’s a big body, thus making it a great reanimation target in itself. Add that all up, and it’s no surprise Lumra is seeing so much Reanimator play.
Beyond this, Lumra is also proving itself an excellent addition to Analyst decks. These are land-based combo/ramp decks that rely on Aftermath Analyst and Worldsoul’s Rage to close out games. Lumra essentially gives you both effects of Analyst, for the same combined price, with a bigger body. As Analyst is one of the deck’s key pieces, getting to run extra copies of it is a no-brainer. Lumra also helps the deck play fair and stall for time in games where you don’t draw all your pieces. Vigilance and Reach go a long way in that regard.
While it probably didn’t get the hype it deserved at first, Lumra is more than proving itself now. Don’t be surprised if this burly bear shows up in more formats soon.
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