Magic: The Gathering’s Bloomburrow set doesn’t have any people in it
After more than 30 years of development and over 100 different sets of cards, the designers behind Magic: The Gathering continue to turn out fascinating new products. Wizards of the Coast is releasing its next set, titledBloomburrow, on Aug. 2 and it’s unique for a very unusual reason. No, it won’t be introducing a new gameplay format or changing how packs are sold at retail. Its claim to fame is that it’s the first set of cards in Magic history where none of the characters are humans: They’re all anthropomorphic animals instead.
Leading the way is Mabel, just one of the animalfolk heroes of this particular set. To handle her art, Wizards turned to New York Times best-selling author David Petersen, the Eisner- and Harvey-award-winning comic writer and illustrator behind the Mouse Guard series.
“When approached about doing [...] mousefolk,” Peterson said during a recent press briefing, “I had to kind of relearn what I was going to do. I had to think about redesigning my sensibilities for Magic; looking at real mice again for anatomical reference for how the feet work, how the hands work, how the ears work — all very different from my normal kind of thing.”
Mabel isn’t alone. Bloomburrow will introduce 10 different varieties of animalfolk, each representing a new creature type. Here’s a quick synopsis, including sample cards, for each of those new types.
Birdfolk: Described as “noble, communal transporters of aid and other animals,” their mana colors are white and blue.
Mousefolk: Described as “plucky, loyal seekers of adventure and glory,” their mana colors are red and white.
Rabbitfolk: Described as “talented chefs and community-focused farmers,” their mana colors are green and white.
Batfolk: Described as “eccentric and mysterious nocturnal defenders,” their mana colors are white and black.
Raccoonfolk: Described as “free-spirited wanderers, collectors, and entertainers,” their mana colors are red and green.
Lizardfolk: Described as “cantakerous fire-worshipers
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