Alright, let’s talk about this Bloomburrow set for Magic. I’d heard the buzz, you know? Little woodland creatures, cute theme, sounded kinda different. So, I thought, okay, let’s give it a whirl. I usually try to keep an open mind with new sets.
Getting Hands-On
First step, like always, was grabbing some packs. Went down to the local shop, picked up a few boosters, maybe a pre-release kit, can’t remember exactly. Sat down, started cracking them open. The art? Yeah, okay, it’s cute, I’ll give ’em that. Lots of mice with swords, squirrels doing magic, whatever. But art isn’t gameplay, right?
Then I actually started looking at the cards themselves. Reading the rules text. And honestly? My first reaction was just… meh. Nothing really jumped out. The mechanics felt kinda… fiddly? Like they were trying too hard to make the cute theme work with game rules, and it just got complicated without being interesting.
Trying to Play the Game
Okay, opening packs is one thing. Playing is another. Got together with a couple of buddies, did a small sealed pool, tried some games. And man, it was a slog. The games felt slow. It didn’t feel like there were many cool interactions or big brain plays to make. It was mostly just playing creatures on curve and hoping your opponent didn’t draw their one big rare bomb.
I tried drafting it online too, thinking maybe it was just bad luck with the sealed pool. Same story, really. Felt like you were forced into weird archetypes that didn’t quite work. The synergy just wasn’t there, or it was super obvious and boring when it was. Lots of board stalls, not much excitement.
Here’s what really bugged me:
- The overall power level felt low. Like, really low compared to some recent sets. Nothing felt impactful.
- Complexity for complexity’s sake. Some cards had weird hoops to jump through for very minor effects. Just wasn’t worth the effort.
- It just wasn’t fun. That’s the main thing. Playing Magic should be fun, right? This felt like a chore.
Final Thoughts After Trying
So yeah, after actually spending time opening packs, building decks, and playing games with Bloomburrow, I gotta say, I stand by my initial feeling: this set is bad. Not bad in a broken, overpowered way. Bad in a boring, uninspired, kinda tedious way. The cute theme wears thin real fast when the gameplay underneath isn’t engaging.
Maybe some folks like it, I don’t know. Different strokes. But for me, based on my time actually using the cards and playing the format? It’s a hard pass. Felt like a waste of time and money, honestly. I’m already looking past it to whatever’s coming next. Hopefully, it’s better than this woodland critter mess.
