Magic: The Gathering's next main set is going full Watership Down

If you're a fan of stories where adorable animal-folk band together to protect their homes or set out to find new ones, you need to watch the trailer for Bloomburrow right now. It's a gorgeously animated example of the sad animal hero story, which you may know from Watership Down, Redwall, The Secret of Nimh, or The Animals of Farthing Wood. (Or even Burrow's End, for a more recent example.) 

Magic: The Gathering has visited a lot of fantasy subgenres over the years, but this is the first time it's gone into the woods to help the rabbits, otters, birds, mice, raccoons, and so on as they unite in the face of calamity. Specifically the Calamity Beasts—predator elementals that spread disaster as they traverse the land of Valley, where Bloomburrow is set.

You might expect green to be a strong color in a nature-themed Magic set, and based on the preview card above, For the Common Good (art by Serena Malyon), you would not be wrong. It's a sorcery card that lets you create copies of a token, receiving more copies the more mana you spend on it. Said tokens are indestructible until your next turn, and you get a point of life for every one you make. It's a real Butterfly Ball kind of vibe, the beasts of field and forest coming together in a riot of fur and feather.

Bloomburrow's new mechanics are tightly matched to its theme. Gift lets you power up a spell or artifact by handing over a little bonus to an opponent—such as a fish—which fits the polite charm of the setting, while Offspring lets you summon 1/1 token versions of existing creature cards like you're inviting the next generation to take over protecting the hutch or nest. (Which would combo well with For the Common Good.) There's also Forage, which certain abilities require as an additional cost, and calls for you to either sacrifice a Food token or exile three cards from your discard graveyard. 

Forage is tied to Bloomburrow's morbid squirrel-folk, who are big on necromancy. I didn't know I needed goth squirrels in my life, but it turns out I absolutely do. Each of the animal-folk kindreds of Bloomburrow has a cultural theme, with the birdfolk as honorbound knights of the air, rabbitfolk as food-obsessed cooks and farmers, and batfolk as oddball astrologers who protect the concept of balance. The lizardfolk draw their strength from fire magic, the frogfolk from water magic, and I think the raccoonfolk gain power from their abundant collections of trash?

So yes, Bloomburrow is a whimsical set, big on personality, and probably great for introducing new players to Magic. Wizards of the Coast seems well aware of that, and has been adding to the Magic Made Easy tutorial video series begun earlier this year. If you know any kids who are aging out of the Pokémon card game bracket and need something new to spend their parents' money on, here you go. I'm sure it'll be popular with adults as well, whether because it brings back fond memories of The Wind in the Willows, or because you really want to collect a deck of goth squirrels.

Bloomburrow will be available at prerelease events from July 26 (where you'll be able to join the Mabel's Journey play season), in digital form on Arena from July 30, and in full release from August 2.