Bloomburrow, despite being an all-new set on an all-new Plane, has plenty of fun throwbacks for established Magic players. It features a very explicit reference to Relentless Rats, and even a callback to one of the biggest MTG memes. In addition to these, recent Bloomburrow spoilers also feature a number of white cards that evoke the best of what the MTG color has to offer.
Whether you enjoy a good Teferi’s Protection or a Soul Warden, Bloomburrow has cards to cover you. It’s always great to see staples like this in fresh new forms. Particularly when the originals, as in Teferi’s Protection’s case, are very expensive. It also speaks to the power level of Bloomburrow that it manages to bring so many white staples to mind in the first place.
Dawn’s Truce
The first card we’ll look at today is Dawn’s Truce, a two mana instant that could be the budget Teferi’s Protection alluded to earlier. The card gives you and all your permanents Hexproof for a turn as a baseline. This is great for countering removal and burn spells, but no good against board clears or ‘each opponent’ effects.
If you’re willing to let an opponent draw a card, however, you can also make all of your permanents Indestructible to boot. Suddenly Dawn’s Truce looks a lot better against damage or destruction-based sweepers. It can also swing crucial combat steps, by protecting your creatures after your opponent has already declared their blocks.
Now, of course, this isn’t nearly as good as Teferi’s Protection. Even in its optimal state. Phasing your permanents out and preventing life loss make it nigh-impossible for your opponents to interact through a Protection. After a Dawn’s Truce, however, they can still use exile-based sweepers and non-targeting damage to get at you in various ways. Both of which, might I add, are very common in Commander, where this card is most likely to see play.
Dawn’s Truce is honestly closer to a white Heroic Intervention than a Teferi’s Protection. How good that will be in Standard depends on the meta, but I could see it as a tool for aggressive Mouse Typal decks against board clears. In Commander, it will also be a solid role-player with political applications thanks to Gift. Just don’t expect it to be a pricey staple any time soon.
Starfall Invocation
Of all the colors in MTG, white has always received the best board wipe cards, and this proud tradition continues in Bloomburrow. After all, we call them ‘Wrath’ effects after Wrath of God, the first card of its kind way back in Alpha. Starfall Invocation is a new five-mana Wrath that also comes with a fun reanimator upside if you’re willing to Gift a card.
Simply clearing all creatures in play for five mana is perfectly serviceable. We’ve seen cards like this see play time and again, in both Standard and Commander. Whether Starfall Invocation shines or not will come down to the effectiveness of that second ability. Letting your opponent draw a card is not an insignificant downside. Depending on the creature you’re bringing back, though, it could be well worth it.
It’s worth noting that you can only bring back a creature you destroy with Starfall Invocation itself, not just one you happen to have in your graveyard. That does limit things, but the potential value here is still fairly high. Getting to double down on any enters or dies trigger is nice, especially in white, where cards like the new Salvation Swan play to similar ends.
Overall, Starfall Invocation seems like a very solid Wrath that will see play in Control like always. What sets it apart, however, is its potential in Midrange strategies. Such decks tend to avoid playing Wraths as they need board presence to win. Starfall Invocation lets you retain some of that as you deal with your opponents, so it’s a nice new option to have.
Dewdrop Cure
Speaking of reanimation effects, Bloomburrow has a very nice new option lined up in that department. Dewdrop Cure lets you bring back two creatures that cost two or less for just three mana. Or three creatures, if you Gift an opponent a card. While the previous two cards from today look like they’ll be confined to Commander, this one has ‘Standard Playable’ written all over it.
Even played without Gift, Dewdrop Cure is still a fine tempo play. You’re getting four mana worth of creatures for just three, after all. In an aggressive deck, that’s a nice way of recovering after a board wipe. You can also grab specific combo pieces that your opponent has managed to deal with. The infamous Amalia Combo from Pioneer springs to mind.
This card can actually single-handedly get that combo going if you opt for the ‘Gift a card’ option. That alone is enough to give the card a real shot in Pioneer. In Standard, you can get a Manifold Mouse and a Heartfire Challenger for a hasty Double Strike swing. You can even throw in a Valley Questcaller to buff up both if you Gift a card.
Clearly, this card has a lot of potential. In practice, it plays a lot like Return to the Ranks, which was a sleeper from M15 that only later got the respect it deserved. There are pros and cons, of course. Dewdrop Cure doesn’t have Convoke, so you won’t be casting it for free. On the other hand, you can only afford to do that when you’re already ahead, so Dewdrop is much better from the back foot. It’s tough to call it at this point, but I could see this card being a serious player, in both Aggro and Combo decks.
Lifecreed Duo
The last of the new white MTG cards spoiled from Bloomburrow we’ll be looking at today is Lifecreed Duo. This is a nice, simple common, but one that has some serious heritage behind it. It’s a 1/2 flier for two, that lets you gain a life whenever another creature enters under your control. Elegant MTG design at its finest.
Immediately, this card brings to mind the Soul Sisters archetype. This is an old Modern deck that played cards like Soul Warden and Soul’s Attendant to gain life incrementally over time, thus turning on Ajani’s Pridemate and Serra Ascendant. The deck hasn’t been relevant in the Modern meta for a while, but cards that call back to it are still being printed. We saw Guide of Souls in Modern Horizons 3, and now we’re seeing Lifecreed Duo in Bloomburrow.
Since it costs two mana, Duo is a lot less efficient than its Soul Sisters peers. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad card, though. One important thing to note is that it comes with two relevant creature types: Bird and Bat. Birds so far seem to deal a lot with creatures entering and leaving, and Bats care about lifegain and life loss, so the card has applications in typal decks for both.
In addition, it’s a two mana card that can block a Deep-Cavern Bat effectively, which will likely be crucial in the coming Standard. It’s not a powerhouse by any means, and it’s not a card that will be seeing any kind of eternal play, but Lifecreed Duo is a solid role-player, and one that could see success in Standard before all is said and done.
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