MTG Bloomburrow Introduces Tree Karn, Bird Narset and More!

Bloomburrow spoilers are coming out in full force, and there are a ton of neat cards for players to get excited about. If you’re a big fan of cute animals, this is the perfect set for you. Bloomburrow showcases that even the smallest of critters, or in Karn, the Great Creator’s case, trees can be quite menacing.

Speaking of critters, perhaps the most exciting aspect of the set for collectors is the introduction of Courageous Critters. Courageous Critters are reprinted creatures and Planeswalkers that have been animalized to fit the Bloomburrow plane. These cards are not part of the main set but are designed to showcase what these characters would look like if they appeared in this alternate environment.

The majority of these cards are found exclusively in collector boosters. Four specific Courageous Critters are found amongst the Bloomburrow Commander decks, with one showing up in each Precon. Recently, the WeeklyMTG Debut Stream revealed a handful of these cool reprints. Today, the next WeeklyMTG stream showed off a bunch more, so let’s take a look at each of these unique designs.

Karn, the Great Creator

First up, we have a card with really funky artwork. If you’ve ever wondered what Karn would look like as a tree, now you know. According to Zack Stella and Tom Jenkot, two employees that worked closely on Bloomburrow’s creation, the trees in Bloomburrow have metallized sap that the other animals can use to help build their weapons. In this sense, Karn appearing as a tree makes perfect sense.

Karn, the Great Creator is a very powerful card that lets you tutor up any artifact from your sideboard to help you in battle. Karn was banned in Pioneer for its role in mono-green Devotion shells and remains an integral part of Modern Tron decks. This card currently sits at about $7 in its cheapest traditional form according to TCGPlayer market price, making it a solid reprint.

Luminous Broodmoth

Up next, we have Luminous Broodmoth. Luminous Broodmoth is a sweet card that lets your creatures without Flying come back to life as fliers when they die. This card works exceptionally well in conjunction with Jackdaw Savior, a new Bloomburrow spoiler from the main set that has a lot of players excited.

Given that this card was only ever printed in Ikoria, it’s nice to see the card get a reprint with different artwork. Luminous Broodmoth is worth about $9.

Narset, Parter of Veils

Narset is a potent Planeswalker from War of the Spark. This card sometimes shows up in control decks in Pioneer that are filled with non-creature spells to dig for. Narset’s static ability also makes it a perfect card to pair with various “Wheel” effects, like Timetwister. This interaction is very prevalent in Vintage Cube, for instance.

From a value perspective, though, Narset isn’t the most enticing. You can find Commander Masters and War of the Spark uncommon versions for just over $1.

Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni

Ink-Eyes isn’t exactly the Constructed juggernaut that Karn is, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the pricier reprints here. This card is a sweet inclusion for any Ninja-focused Commander deck. Getting to reanimate your opponent’s best threat out of nowhere can certainly swing a game in your favor.

Ink-Eyes was first printed in Betrayers of Kamigawa. Despite being reprinted in Planechase variants and appearing on The List, its cheapest form costs about $11.

Marrow-Gnawer

Marrow-Gnawer is another cool Rat card for Commander with a hefty price tag. Getting to sacrifice any of your Rat tokens to make a whole Rat army in return is a great deal. Marrow-Gnawer serves as the perfect general to lead your Rat squad, which should only become more powerful with the release of Bloomburrow.

Outside of a rather unusual printing of Marrow-Gnawer in various foreign languages in 2005, the card has only appeared in non-foil back in Champions of Kamigawa. Champions of Kamigawa versions are worth a whopping $35.

Ant Queen

Ant Queen is next, and this card is much tamer from a reprint value perspective. Still, Ant Queen can be quite strong in the right Commander deck. Whether you’re playing Ant Queen in a dedicated tokens deck with Chatterfang, Squirrel General or an Insect typal deck with Vrestin, Menoptra Leader at the helm, Ant Queen can do some nice work.

Ant Queen debuted in M10 and has since been reprinted in Modern Masters 2015. Modern Masters 2015 copies currently sit at roughly $1.

Birds of Paradise

Birds of Paradise has been reprinted countless times, but the card is simply too iconic to ignore. Printed way back in Alpha initially, this card has set the standard for mana dorks over the years. It may not be quite the Constructed powerhouse it used to be with creatures like Noble Hierarch and Delighted Halfling making a splash, but it’s still an awesome card, regardless.

One of Bloomburrow’s featured creature types is Bird, so seeing Birds of Paradise make its presence felt as a Courageous Critter should be no surprise. Despite its many reprints, Birds of Paradise still holds roughly a $5 price tag in its cheapest form.

Gilded Goose

Gilded Goose is another mana-producing Bird for one mana. As a mana accelerant, Gilded Goose is certainly worse than Birds of Paradise, since you have to keep burning Food tokens to continue to make mana with Gilded Goose. However, Gilded Goose does have some nice synergy with other Food matters cards like Trail of Crumbs, which was prevalent in Throne of Eldraine Standard.

Gilded Goose has been printed in multiple Commander sets since Throne of Eldraine was released. As such, the card barely sits above $1.

Squirrel Mob

Squirrel Mob is another card that fits the Bloomburrow theme perfectly. The design is very simple here. Just fill your deck with Squirrels, and Squirrel Mob will grow large. This card was first printed in Odyssey and was later added to Modern through an MH2 reprint. It may not be up to snuff in the format, but it’s a cool card that can grow rather large in Commander. Unfortunately, Squirrel Mob is only worth about 40 cents nowadays.

Baleful Strix

Baleful Strix is a sweet card that always feels good to cast. Right away, you get to draw a card when it enters. Then, it serves as an elite blocker that is nearly guaranteed to trade for either an opposing creature in combat or a removal spell. Either way, you are happy with the exchange. Baleful Strix used to be a Legacy staple but has since been outclassed by cards like Orcish Bowmasters and Psychic Frog.

Baleful Strix’s appearance in a multitude of Commander decks has certainly lowered its price tag. This Bird sits at about 60 cents.

Derevi, Empyrial Tactician

Derevi is an awesome Commander option with some elite abilities. First of all, getting to essentially bypass the normal Commander tax when Derevi dies is awesome. You can even sneak Derevi in under counter magic. From there, you can get a pretty big mana advantage by untapping lands whenever you connect in combat. Derevi was a solid cEDH Commander option for a while, and is now worth about $7.

The Gitrog Monster

The Gitrog Monster is a perfect addition to the Courageous Critters group. As a literal Frog Horror, The Gitrog Monster fits well into a plane where cute animals show off their wild sides. This card is an awesome build-around legend in Commander, providing a flow of card advantage in a rather trivial manner.

The Gitrog Monster showed up in Shadows Over Innistrad. It was featured on The List and appeared as a Judge promo and Secret Lair variant since then. Shadows Over Innistrad version remain the cheapest at about $13.

Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker

Ishai, like Squirrel Mob, is pretty simple in structure. As your opponents continue to cast spells, Ishai grows and grows. Eventually, if you can protect Ishai long enough, you can start attacking for huge chunks of damage with your evasive threat. Ishai is yet another Bird in the Courageous Critters collection.

Ishai has been printed in a few different Commander products over the years. What’s nice, though, is that this new printing will be the first time Ishai receives alternate art. Ishai is worth about $5.

Kwain, Itinerant Meddler

Kwain is a funny card with a solid group hug appeal. This Rabbit Wizard lets everyone get in on the card drawing action. So long as you have some way to break parity or get rewarded for letting your opponents draw extra cards, such as Smothering Tithe, you’re in for a good time. Kwain is a recent addition, first appearing in Commander Legends. This rare is only worth about 30 cents.

Kykar, Wind’s Fury

Kykar, Wind’s Fury is another legendary creature that is a fun card to build around. This time, you want to fill your deck with cheap non-creature spells so you can start flooding the board with Spirits. These Spirits can then be converted into extra mana, which can lead to some incredible turns. Throw in ways to generate card advantage, like Skullclamp, and things can start to get out of hand.

Nonetheless, Kykar is not worth very much. Players can find Commander Masters copies for about 25 cents.

Teferi, Time Raveler

Last but certainly not least, we have Teferi, Time Raveler. Teferi is an outstanding card whose static ability can be a huge pain for your opponent to deal with. Not being able to cast cards at instant speed affects you more than you might think. Not only can you not cast spells on your opponent’s turn, but you can’t engage in any counter wars or even cast a powerful spell off of a Cascade trigger. Teferi is banned in Pioneer for good reason. This Planeswalker is worth just under $8.

Commander Deck Exclusives

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These Courageous Critters add a cool level of suspense to cracking collector booster packs. Some of them are bound to be worth a decent amount of money. As we mentioned earlier, though, each Commander deck will also feature a Courageous Critter that is exclusive to that deck.

So far, we know Tamiyo, Field Researcher will appear in the Bant Peace Offering Commander deck. Make sure to be on the lookout for information on the contents of each Commander deck in the near future. For now, we at least get a sense of what these Courageous Critters are all about. If you’re looking to add some pizzazz to your Commander decks, these cards should do the trick.