What is Bloomburrow in Magic: The Gathering?

Bloomburrow (BLB) is a 2024 Magic: The Gathering set containing 397 cards. It is set on the plane of Bloomburrow — specifically a region called Valley — and is notable for being the first MTG plane populated entirely by animals, with no humans present anywhere in the set.

What is the plane of Bloomburrow inspired by?

Bloomburrow draws its primary inspiration from the Redwall series of novels and the cottagecore aesthetic. The animal species in Valley are largely based on creatures native to the Eastern United States, with the exception of lizardfolk, who draw from species around the globe.

Is Bloomburrow really Magic's first all-animal set?

Yes — Bloomburrow is explicitly Magic's first all-animal plane. While previous sets have featured animal creature types prominently, Bloomburrow's plane of Valley is the first setting in the game's history with no humans at all, built entirely around animalfolk civilisations.

What was the plane of Bloomburrow almost called?

The plane went through several name candidates before landing on Bloomburrow. 'Briarbend' and 'Idyllwald' were both considered. Earlier concept versions of the plane also explored a solarpunk aesthetic and a darker premise involving a post-human cataclysm, neither of which made it into the final set.

What formats is Bloomburrow legal in?

Bloomburrow (BLB) is a Standard-legal set released in 2024, which means it's legal in Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Commander. As with any set, specific card legality can vary — always check the current banned and restricted lists for your format before building.

How big is the Bloomburrow set?

Bloomburrow contains 397 cards in total. Like most modern Magic sets, this number includes the base set cards alongside variants such as showcase treatments, extended art, and other special frame versions.

Bloomburrow (BLB): Set Guide for MTG Players

What is Bloomburrow?

Bloomburrow is a Magic: The Gathering set released in 2024, carrying the set code BLB and containing 397 cards. It holds a genuinely unique place in Magic's history: it is the game's first plane populated entirely by animals, with no humans anywhere in sight.

The plane shares its name with the set - a lush, intimate world called Valley, where small creatures live out their lives in a style that feels equal parts fairy tale and rural village. If you've ever wanted to play a game of Magic where a mouse mage and a frog warrior square off against a lizard rogue, Bloomburrow is exactly that. 😄

The set draws heavy inspiration from the Redwall novels and the cottagecore aesthetic - think cosy burrows, hedgerow communities, and the quiet drama of life among creatures who are small but fiercely determined.

Lore and setting

Valley: Magic's all-animal plane

Bloomburrow's central location is a region called Valley - a world built entirely around animalfolk civilisations. There are no humans here, no elves, no planeswalking wizards in pointy hats. The inhabitants are creatures: mice, frogs, lizards, birds, and more, each with their own communities, traditions, and conflicts.

The animals of Valley speak in a dialect with distinctly British English flavour - words like mam, da', granfer, granmer, ken, and shire pepper their speech, giving the world a warmth and specificity that grounds it despite the fantastical premise.

Lore aside: Most species in Valley are drawn from animals native to the Eastern United States. The exception is lizardfolk, who pull from species around the globe - a small but telling worldbuilding detail that hints at their outsider status within Valley's communities.

A plane shaped by many ideas

Bloomburrow didn't arrive fully formed. The design team explored several very different directions before settling on the final version. Early concepts included a solarpunk aesthetic and a darker premise - a world previously inhabited by humans who were wiped out in a cataclysm, with animalfolk now living among the ruins in the style of The Borrowers.

That darker angle didn't make it into the final set, but knowing it existed adds an interesting layer to how you might read the plane. The cosy, cottagecore surface grew out of something with real shadow behind it.

The plane itself was also nearly called Briarbend or Idyllwald before the team landed on Bloomburrow.

Lore aside: Bloomburrow was also represented in Planechase content, with the plane card Welcome to Valley introducing it to that format.

Themes and mechanics

I'll be honest - the source material I have on Bloomburrow's specific mechanics is limited, so rather than speculate, I'd recommend checking the official card gallery or a rules resource for the full mechanical breakdown. What I can tell you is that the set's mechanical identity flows naturally from its setting: a world of small, community-minded creatures where the bonds between critters and the rhythms of the natural world take centre stage.

The creature types alone - mice, frogs, rabbits, birds, lizards, and others - are mechanically meaningful in Bloomburrow, which is in keeping with Magic's long tradition of tribal synergies. Expect the set's limited and constructed identity to reward players who lean into a specific community of creatures rather than mixing and matching freely.

Format check: For the definitive mechanical rundown - keywords, new abilities, and returning mechanics - Wizards' official Bloomburrow card gallery and mechanics article are the authoritative sources. Rules interactions are always best checked there or via the Comprehensive Rules.

Limited and Draft

Bloomburrow's world is built around distinct animal communities, and that structure maps beautifully onto a draft format. Each creature type tends to have its own mechanical identity, which means drafting in Bloomburrow rewards committing to a community early and then reinforcing it pick by pick - much like building an actual village, fittingly enough.

The cottagecore, small-scale feel of the plane suggests a format that rewards incremental advantage and community synergies over raw individual power - though I'd caveat that as an inference from the setting rather than a data-backed claim. Draft archetypes, format speed, and the best commons will always reveal themselves more clearly a few weeks into a format's life, and the Limited community's analysis is well worth seeking out once you're ready to sit down at a draft table.

Set legacy

Bloomburrow is, by any reasonable measure, a landmark set - not necessarily because of a single broken card or a format-warping mechanic, but because of what it is. Magic has never done a fully animal plane before, and the fact that it works as well as it apparently does is a genuine creative achievement.

The Redwall comparison will follow this set for a long time, and that's a compliment. Those books built beloved worlds out of exactly this kind of premise - small creatures, big stakes, cosy and dangerous in equal measure. Bloomburrow is Magic's version of that tradition, and it arrived in 2024 as something genuinely fresh in a game that has been running for over thirty years.

Whether it reshapes competitive formats or is remembered primarily as a beloved Limited experience, it has already earned a permanent place in Magic's history simply by being the first of its kind. ✨