Bloomburrow and Secret Lair drops shake up MTG

Spike or Dive: Card price winners and losers of Bloomburrow, post-launch

A multitude of cards dropped in price following the global release of Bloomburrow. But there were winners too, from anime raised foil variants to the Seasons treatment on Three Tree City. 

Bloomburrow winners from week one

• Baylen, the Haymaker anime raised foil: Around $225

• Ral, Crackling Wit anime raised foil: Around $160

• Lumra, Bellow of the Woods anime raised foil: Around $145

• Three Tree City: Main deck at $25 with Season foil treatments running from $70 to $95

• Maha, its Feathers Night Showcase borderless foil: Around $60

• Innkeepers Talent main deck foil: Around $25

• Rottenmouth Viper Showcase foil: Around $17

Bloomburrow losers from week one

• Scrapshooter main deck: Dropping to around 0.50 cents

• Whiskerville Forerunner main deck: Dropping to around 0.50 cents

• Lumra, Bellow of the Woods borderless: Dropping to around $21

• Stormsplitter main deck: Dropping to around $7.50

• Mockingbird: Dropping to around $6.50

• Deluge, the Shoreless Sea borderless: Dropping to around $5

Spicy Secret Lair drops we hope don't become flops

Many, including myself, aren't over the Monty Python Secret Lair debacle, but Wizards of the Coast is trying hard to help us get there. Celebrating 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons, it was revealed this week we're getting five D&D Secret Lair drops. Teasers featured Baldur’s Gate 3 characters Astarion, the Decadent and Karlach, Fury of Avernus. The drop has caught my attention and it'll be interesting to see the remaining chase cards. 

With the return of Mystery Booster 2 for the 2024-2025 competitive and MagicCon season, Festival in a Box is returning to Secret Lair during the Magic World Championship in Vegas. I'm a fan of both products and am looking forward to getting my hands on some wild cards in October.  

MTG on the global stage

Sliding into mainstream media twice this past week, Magic went viral from  Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance, calling his MTG play a "dorky interest" to the sprinter Noah Lyles embracing his geeky nature at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Worlds is just over two months away, featuring Duskmourn: House of Horrors and Standard Constructed. With veterans like Javier Dominquez, Reid Duke, Simon Nielsen, and Shota Yasooka competing, I can't wait to see what the meta looks like. 

Post-rotation Standard meta has me wanting to play MTG

It's a young meta and I love it, favoring an Orzhov Midrange best-of-one variation I took from Bronze to Platinum 3 this past week.  

• Deck

  4 Zoraline, Cosmos Caller (BLB) 242

  7 Swamp (SLD) 1132

  5 Plains (SLD) 1130

  4 Deep-Cavern Bat (LCI) 102

  2 Lunar Convocation (BLB) 223

  4 Ruin-Lurker Bat (LCI) 33

  4 Essence Channeler (BLB) 12

  2 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97

  3 Darkstar Augur (BLB) 90

  3 Case of the Uneaten Feast (MKM) 10

  3 Go for the Throat (BRO) 102

  2 Restless Fortress (WOE) 259

  2 Concealed Courtyard (OTJ) 268

  2 Concealed Courtyard (KLR) 282

  4 Caves of Koilos (DMU) 244

  1 Lupinflower Village (BLB) 256

  1 Mudflat Village (BLB) 257

  2 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (DMU) 198

  3 Cut Down (DMU) 89

  2 Bandit's Talent (BLB) 83

  Sideboard

  2 Duress (M19) 94

  1 Duress (M20) 97

  2 Dreams of Steel and Oil (BRO) 92

  1 Loran of the Third Path (BRO) 12

  1 Pest Control (BIG) 22

  2 Requisition Raid (OTJ) 26

  1 Liliana of the Veil (DMU) 97

  2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (DMU) 107

  2 Legions to Ashes (BRO) 215

  1 Get Lost (LCI) 14

Frank Karsten broke down the Bloomburrow Standard meta on Aug. 8, featuring Midrange builds dominating the meta with a healthy mix of Aggro and Control. Decks played were based on recent tournaments, like the Magic Online Standard Challenges and a 111-player event on Melee.

Here are the top eight best-performing decks from the first week of the Standard Bloomburrow meta, according to Karsten: 

• Golgari Midrange

• Orzhov Midrange

• Domain Ramp

• Gruul Prowess

• Boros Convoke

• Azorius Control

• Jeskai Convoke

• Rakdos Lizards

Don't be fooled by the Gruul Prowess name, as the deck only runs a single Basic Forest land. Despite being mostly Red Aggro, it’s a powerful deck when you hit Curve and encounter minimal gameplay disruption. But it often gets overpowered by Midrange decks. 

Golgari Midrange is the classic variation, alive long before rotation, but always falling shy of being a top-played deck. In an Aggro-centric meta, the build shines through three drops like Glissa Sunsllayer, Preacher of the Schism, and Kaervek, the Punisher.

Orzhov Midrange is also sitting in S-tier status, tapping into the Bloomburrow Mythic Rare, Beza, the Bounding Spring. Two copies of Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal also made the cut (for now) while the true star of the build is Zoranline, Cosmos Caller. The Legendary Bat Cleric has revived Midrange through reanimation and life gain.  

The remaining decks are previous staples that have retained status through rotation, except for Rakdos Lizards. It doesn't take much for the ping damage to scale, especially if you don't have early answers or a board wipe in hand. But it can feel clunky to play at times. I like the Lizard deck strategy, much like I like Aristocrat builds, but I don't see the new build staying in the top eight as the meta settles down. 

Next week I'll highlight the best cards in Standard that are craft-worthy in MTG Arena, for those like me who save their Wildcards. And we'll take a look at what Bloomburrow Limited looks like after a few weeks of play. I hope everyone has the power of the cards on their side this weekend and tell your friends about the Squirreled Away giveaway, as it's always wise to have karma on your side.