MTG Bloomburrow meta heats up

Cards you need, Duskmourn news, and more.

Author

Daniel Forster
August 16, 2024

MTG Madness news

Welcome to the fifth installment of MTG Madness as we close out the second week of August. 

Image via WotC

Bloomburrow continues to spice up the Standard meta in Magic: The Gathering, but don't get comfortable because spoilers for the next Standard-legal set are two weeks out. Announced on Aug.14 by Wizards of the Coast, the first big round of Duskmourn spoilers will drop on Aug. 31 at PAX West. Spoilers officially begin on Sept. 1 and run through Sept. 13 during "the 13 days of Duskmourn spoilers."

WotC is testing Standard and Brawl preconstructed decks on MTG Arena, and as with all launches of a new product, a bug was messing with orders, so sales were discontinued for around 36 hours until the team resolved the issue. I like the concept but am disappointed in the deck selections, the power levels of the decks, and the best-of-one restrictions. These drops are likely a litmus test and I'm hoping after the World Championship in October, another round of truly competitive decks will land in the shop. I'm even down for some FOMO rotating decks if it means competitively viable decks for best-of-one and best-of-three play are available in the MTG Arena shop.  

We didn't have any Secret Lair releases for our Drop or Flop segment this week but WotC did release more Dungeons & Dragons 50-year Secret Lair spoilers. Volumes one and two of Death in the Eyes of the Beholder will capture fans' attention immediately through wild and stunning art. I'm more interested in the Exhibition of Adventure drop, though. 

A healthy Limited meta

The Bloomburrow meta is wide open several weeks after launch thanks to a design that encourages players to play two-color pairs instead of three to five-color builds. It's nice to see Uncommons like Burrowguard Mentor and Thought-Stalker Warlock have win rates over 55 percent, according to 17 Lands. According to Untapped.gg data, seven color pairs have a six-plus win rate of 16 percent and up. 

Image via WotC

Here are the most popular color pairs being played in Bloomburrow Limited Draft:

  • Golgari (Black and Green)

  • Selesnya (White and Green)

  • Rakdos (Black and Red)

  • Orzhov (White and Black)—also my personal favorite

  • Boros (White and Red)

  • Gruul (Red and Green)

I called it during Bloomburrow Prerelease that Carrot Cake was a Limited card to play around and many are discovering how good the Common is with a 79.4 percent pick rate, according to 17 Lands. And don't keep sleeping on Hop to It as the Uncommon is just as good thanks to its hybrid cost flexibility. 

One Bloomburrow card I keep seeing getting passed on during Drafts is the Enchantment Lunar Convocation. At time of writing, I'd say it's the most slept-on Rare from Bloomburrow, even in Aggro-style decks. The Enchantment slots best into builds with at least some lifegain, providing card advantage while also putting a 1/1 bat token with Flying on the battlefield. 

Here are some other top-performing cards I recommend slotting into your Limited Bloomburrow Draft builds:

  • Brightblade Stoat

  • Whiskerquill Scribe

  • Intrepid Rabbit

  • Run Away Together

  • Agate Assualt 

A developing Standard meta

The Standard meta is also healthy, especially if you like best-of-one quick games through Aggro decks on MTG Arena. The best-of-three meta looks a little different with a new deck showing up at the Standard Japan 2024 Open. Here are the latest stats from the decks played on MTG Arena. 

  • 4-Color Atraxa: Around a 60 percent win rate

  • Rakdos Lizards: Around a 55 percent win rate

  • 5-Color Domain Atraxa: Around a 61 percent win rate

  • Mono-Red Aggro: Around a 55 percent win rate

  • Boros Mice: Around a 60 percent win rate

  • Boros Convoke: Around a 57 percent win rate

  • Golgari Midrange: Around a 54 percent win rate

  • Simic Cookies: Around a 57 percent win rate

  • Mono-Black Midrange: Around a 61 percent win rate

  • Azorius Aggro: Around a 57 percent win rate

A new Azorius Mentor deck piloted by Soohan Yoon stands out from the Japan Open. I recommend watching MTG Pro Jim Davis play the build on MTG Arena. It's a tempo reanimation build that I am excited to test out this coming week. 

Image via WotC

Here are the most played Bloomburrow cards in Standard so far:

What's going on in Pioneer?

Frank Karsten dropped a new metagame update for the MTG Pioneer format on Aug. 15, with Rakdos Vampires dominating the format. The Amalia Combo build is also performing well, along with Izzet Phoenix. Top Bloomburrow cards thriving in the Pioneer meta include Cruelclaw's Heist, Beza, the Bounding Spring, and Heartfire Hero. 

And that's a wrap for this week's MTG Madness installment. The Squirreled Away giveaway is still running, so be sure to pass it around. Have a great week, be kind to others, and may the power of the cards be on your side.