Fans are going nuts over Redwall-style MTG set, Bloomburrow

The heroes of Bloomburrow line up on the battlefield — (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Judging by social media, the new MTG Bloomburrow set (which is basically Redwall meets Magic: The Gathering) is going down very well.

After being given the spotlight at MagicCon, this new world starring anthropomorphic animals showed off Commander decks, unique features, and a rendition of what some Planeswalkers would look like in animal form. (Jace is apparently a fox, if you're interested). However, it's the painfully adorable animal artwork from MTG Bloomburrow that seems to be sending fans… well, wild.

Reddit user Environmental_Eye_61 sums up all of our thoughts with "Absolutely. Fucking. Incredible. Artwork" in a discussion thread about the reveals. Meanwhile, @MissBunFee on Twitter says that MTG Bloomburrow "has a chokehold on our DnD group." Honestly, I get it - no matter whether it's character artwork or land cards that depict a location during each season, this set is nothing if not eyecatching.

A pair of A-list guest artists are supporting the project too. The creator of Mouse Guard, David Petersen, has created five illustrations for MTG Bloomburrow, while Mitsuhiro Arita (who has previous experience with the best card games thanks to their work on Pokemon) is also featured with a borderless take on the great bear 'Lumra, Bellow of the Woods.'

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A mouse wielding a flaming sword stands ready in Bloomburrow — (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Artwork aside, we got our first look at the various booster packs and Commander decks that are being included in MTG Bloomburrow as well. Animated Army is a Red-Green combo featuring a sorcerous racoon as its face Commander, and it tasks you to "make trash, do smash." At the other end of the scale, the stork-fronted Family Matters (Blue-Red-White) focuses on making 'offspring' and going wide. That's in direct contrast to the Green-White-Blue Peace Offering deck that's all about +1/-1 counters and a "group hug." Finally, the Black-Green Squirreled Away deck lives up to its name by having you hoard tokens.

Intriguingly, a starter set is also being included in the Bloomburrow lineup. The last themed beginner box we got was for the incredibly popular Lord of the Rings crossover, so publisher Wizards of the Coast clearly has faith in this one.

Either way, it's clearly an animal-friendly time at Wizards. A similar concept has joined its tabletop RPG via D&D Beyond, and this Redwall-style spin on D&D is everything I didn't know I needed.

Bloomburrow is set to launch this August, after the Wild West-themed Outlaws of Thunder Junction (which has another pointy-eared bad boy for us to fawn over) hits shelves.

For recommendations on what to play before Bloomburrow lands, check out the best board games or the best tabletop RPGs.

I've been writing about games in one form or another since 2012, and now manage GamesRadar+'s tabletop gaming and toy coverage. You'll find my grubby paws on everything from board game reviews to the latest Lego news.