The Cutest and Cuddliest Combos from Bloomburrow
Welcome to Bloomburrow! In a world with no humans, extraplanar invasions, evil dragons, or Jace, we get a glimpse at a truly peaceful place within the multiverse. Ok wait, it seems that almost none of that was true, but at least a new set means we should get a couple new combo pieces for all of us Commander players to enjoy. So let's take a look at some of those now before Jace mucks it all up.
Kitsa, Otterball Elite
Everyone, meet Kitsa, Otterball Elite. She's a for a 1/3 with prowess and vigilance, which are all awesome abilities that help her stay alive while also getting some damage in, or out if you intend to use her as a hyper-efficient blocker. She also has this other bit of text that allows her to loot for more win cons, which is super swell. Looks like there's a bit of extra text there that says...pay ...tap Kitsa to...copy a spell... oh my gosh they put Isochron Scepter in the command zone. Minus the smallest bit of set up with getting Kitsa's power up, which is made easy with prowess, we now have a commander that can start threatening some of the Dramatic Reversal combos from the get go. Mind you, this is in effect just Stella Lee, Wild Card from Outlaws of Thunder Junction in a mono-blue package, and nerfed massively by requiring in order to activate. Kitsa also can't imprint the spell onto herself, so at least we're not looking at the end of the game yet. Yet.
Twenty-Toed Toad
Now this one is entirely unique and new from Bloomburrow Commander and one that has quite a few ways to get it done. Twenty-Toed Toad will win you the game if you have at least twenty cards in your hand and you attack with them. Note that it's not just attacking and eliminating the player you are attacking, like we've seen with similar cards like Atemsis, All-Seeing. This one-two punch is cast Peer into the Abyss, or Enter the Infinite, or some way to draw a ton of cards, then swing with our Twenty-Toed friend here, and then bam, the game is over! This is one super cool Toad that will end many a game once it starts hitting more decks, especially in the multitudes of new Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student decks who often have half their deck in their hands by turn three.
Maha, Its Feathers Night
This is the most talked about and heavily debated card in all of Bloomburrow, hands down. Mono has many avenues to getting a burst of mana pretty early to cast their commander sooner than most. It also has access to many cards that give -1/-1 to your opponents' boards, like Kaervek, the Spiteful and Night of Souls' Betrayal for a one-two punch that locks your opponents out of owning creatures while Maha is out.
While running interaction and removal is important in Commander, wise Maha players will set up by playing those -1/-1 cards first and then casting her, which, barring counterspells, will have extremely limited chances for interaction before state-based actions are checked. Even if you end up putting Maha in the 99 of the deck, pairing her up with cards like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Crovax, Ascendant Hero in an Orzhov deck will give you even more ways to crush your opponents' dreams.
Stormsplitter
Now let's look at the card that probably has the most number of combo-tastic cards with it from the set, while also being the cutest little demon Otter you've ever seen! Stormsplitter creates a token copy of its hasty self every time you cast an instant or sorcery spell, and you exile the token at the beginning of the next end step. Pfft, the next end step, huh? That's almost as cute as this little guy. But there won't be another end step when you start casting spells with buyback. Buyback might be a mechanic that you're not quite familiar with, but the gist of Seething Anger and other spells like it is that you pay the initial cheap cost of the spell and then an additional cost that will allow you to place the card back into your hand upon resolution.
So now, once you get your hands on ways to turn your creatures into mana, be it with Phyrexian Altar, Thermopod, or Sorcerer Class, you'll very quickly overwhelm the board with infinite angry and adorable Otters.
Fortune Teller's Talent
Who would have thought that the best version of Mystic Forge would not only be an enchantment, but a Class at that? Fortune Teller's Talent, while taking a bit more time to set up, can end up being multiple cards in one that can cause artifact decks to storm off. Combine this with your tried and true Sensei's Divining Top and you have anywhere between a two and three card combo (depending on your Class level) that draws out your entire deck. In between each cast you'd be able to play any spells costing off of the top of your deck as well, ensuring that you'll have more than enough mana to cast your Twenty-Toed Toad and Lightning Greaves to swing in for the immediate win! Time will tell where Fortune Teller's Talent ends up, but I believe it will have place in multiple decks that are looking to cast cards from anywhere but their hands.
Beza, the Bounding Spring
The first of the "Calamity Beasts" on the list that will answer all of your flicker needs. Beza, the Bounding Spring answers the question "Is there such a thing as too many Fish?" Beza says "no, no there is not." Combine Beza, the Bounding Spring with flicker creatures like Eldrazi Displacer, Deadeye Navigator, or Emiel the Blessed plus an Ashnod's Altar and you have multiple infinites happening on your board that should ideally end the game. As long as you make sure that you have a board state and hand size that will trigger on Big Beza's ETB, you'll find yourself at the end of the game in no time.
Gossip's Talent
The last Class that we'll be covering today is Gossip's Talent. When this Class is leveled up to the max, you already have a very good card that is enabling your valuable ETB's each turn, which is already a ton of value worthy of looking at. However, one game-ending combo we've found is adding Torpor Orb and a Wormfang Manta which will give you infinite turns once this flying manta makes contact with someone's face. Since decks tend to be ones that care the most about leaving and entering the battlefield, you'll have multiple options besides Torpor Orb, in the form of Tocatli Honor Guard, Hushwing Gryff, and Hushbringer, to name but a few. While Gossip's Talent is making Ranar the Ever-Watchful decks that much better, adding a fitting infinite turn combo can help you close out those grindy matches.
Sunshower Druid
Another strategy featuring the Phyrexian Altar sacrificing something entirely too adorable and undeserving is the new Sunshower Druid and Evolution Witness combo. Evolution Witness has already proven itself to be an incredibly powerful card, partnering with the Alter as it sacrificed the defenseless (literally a 0/0) Iron Apprentice to create infinite loops. But now, you won't even need to have some sort of Blood Artist trigger to put your opponents in a potential headlock. With Sunshower Druid's additional bit of text that says "you gain 1 life," you immediately have a life total that you'll reasonably be able to ask your opponents if they'll be able to do anything about. While it might feel like something this Druid would never be party to, having conversations like these can help the table accept the existence of combos and promote simply moving on to the next game. And if they decide to stay, get ready for the fight of your life! Be sure to gain 1,000,000 more life before passing turn though, just to be safe.
Starfall Invocation
Starfall Invocation is the new premiere board wipe in Bloomburrow, and wow is it the gift card that just keeps on giving, pun entirely intended. But how can a board wipe be an infinite win combo you ask? Well by group hugging your opponents out of the game, of course! Here's the play: cast Starfall Invocation and promise an opponent the gift of a card draw. While holding priority, cast either Naru Meha, Master Wizard or Dualcaster Mage with their enter triggers targeting Starfall Invocation. Now while Starfall Invocation might seem like your typical board clearer, once you pinky swear a gift, you get to bring a creature back from your graveyard to the battlefield after all creatures are destroyed. So after your Wizard or Mage die, you'll get to bring them back just so that they can target the original Starfall Invocation again and again and again until you've promised each of your opponents their entire decks. This combo is a very interesting abuse of the gift mechanic to deck out your foes in Jeskai colors, but this is a goofy new world for Magic and I'm all for it!
Season of Gathering
Looking for a way to draw yourself out of a deck instead of your opponents? Well look no further than Season of Gathering and Body of Research. While Body of Research produces a big giant scary token, once you remind your opponents that it doesn't have trample, they'll pay it no mind as it sits there (menacingly) protecting your Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. That's when you hit them with your brand new Season of Gathering, which will draw you cards equal to your walking thesis paper and empty your deck. Once you do this, either Jace, Laboratory Maniac or Thassa's Oracle will clutch you the game. Ever Since the first Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student ultimate, we've really started to view Simic as the "win by drawing your deck" colors. And if the Psychosis Crawler dropped a turn too late, Season of Gathering will make up for it.
Camellia, the Seedmiser
If you thought that the Lord of the Rings set was the pinnacle of what we could do with Food, Bloomburrow both takes and eats the cake. Look no further than Camellia, the Seedmiser, who pays you in Squirrels every time you sacrifice a Food token. Of course, when talking about Food tokens, Peregrin Took's second breakfast has to be mentioned. When you sacrifice a Food to the likes of Extruder, Arcbound Ravager, Krark-Clan Ironworks and more, Peregrin Took is producing an additional Food token alongside every Squirrel token from Camellia, the Seedmiser. This veritable feast gives you your preference of Infinite LTBs, ETBs, Sac triggers, Death Triggers, and +1/+1 counters for your new scurry of Squirrels. While Chatterfang, Squirrel General currently reigns supreme as THE Squirrel commander, Camellia is the queen to "match his freak," as it were, and Heliod help anyone who dares disrespect his queen.
Ygra, Eater of Al
Turn back, I told you to look no further for Food! Because to Ygra, Eater of All, we are all food. Now Ygra does go hand-in-hand with Camellia, the Seedmiser, easily taking the place of Peregrin Took as your Food token producer. But the Beauty to this Calamity Beast is actually Experimental Confectioner, who turns every Food-creature sacrificed to a Blasting Station into a brand new creature-Food to feed Ygra's endless hunger. Altar of Dementia joins its siblings here for yet another infinite, while Carrion Feeder, Bloodflow Connoisseur, and Yahenni, Undying Partisan each have a hunger that rivals Ygra. This deck can fit every single Marionette Apprentice of the Vault plus every Artist in Zulaport in here to become one of the most insta-kill decks has ever seen!
End Notes
There are more silly little combos, like Plumecreed Mentor, Combine Chrysalis and Scurry Oak/Herd Baloth/Basking Broodscale.
Or even goofier things like Wick, the Whorled Mind and Conspiracy, which may or may not end with you drawing out the game immediately (shrug).
However, we are out of time and there are still more combos to be discovered by you once the set actually comes out! Thank you for exploring the Bloomburrow combos with me. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see you on the battlefield with your spicy brews! Be sure to add the coolest tricks you find to the Commander Spellbook, database and I'll make sure I look at them with with this exact face:
More Bloomburrow Fun:
Bloomburrow - A cEDH Set Review
How Fun Are The Bloomburrow Commanders?
