Over a week ago at MagicCon Chicago, a preview panel revealed a boatload of information about various upcoming sets. From a new Oko variant highlighted in Outlaws of Thunder Junction to a multitude of powerful Assassins showcased in MTG Assassin’s Creed, there’s plenty to rave about in the coming months.
While further down the line, we also got to see some neat spoilers for Bloomburrow. Set to release on July 30, 2024, Bloomburrow boasts a bunch of really cute animals in a unique environment for MTG. Even though there haven’t been many cards revealed as of yet, some definitely fit this description.
Perhaps no card fits the mold of being an adorable inclusion more than
Bria, Riptide Rogue
Bria, Riptide Rogue
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Other creatures you control have prowess. (If a creature has multiple instances of prowess, each triggers separately.)
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, target creature you control can't be blocked this turn.
. Barring any surprising developments in the near future, Bria will be the first legendary Otter that players can utilize as their Commander since
Lutri, the Spellchaser
Lutri, the Spellchaser
Companion — Each nonland card in your starting deck has a different name. (If this card is your chosen companion, you may put it into your hand from outside the game for {3} as a sorcery.)
Flash
When Lutri enters, if you cast it, copy target instant or sorcery spell you control. You may choose new targets for the copy.
was banned. This card is not only cute, but also quite strong in an EDH setting. If you’re going to maximize its power, though, you’ll need to build around it in a few important ways.
Token Production
The first aspect of Bria that is essential to take advantage of is the fact that your other Creatures gain Prowess. Obviously, this means that you will want a high density of non-Creature spells in your deck. In addition, though, you ideally want to create a wide board state first in order to get the most bang for your buck. The goal is to go wide with tokens in the early game and eventually find a window to chain a bunch of non-Creature spells together to get a big attack in.
Luckily, there are a decent number of cards that can help you generate tokens at will. First and foremost, we have cards that make tokens every time you cast an Instant or Sorcery spell.
Young Pyromancer
Young Pyromancer
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, create a 1/1 red Elemental creature token.
,
Third Path Iconoclast
Third Path Iconoclast
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create a 1/1 colorless Soldier artifact creature token.
,
Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token.
−2: Target artifact you control becomes a copy of another target artifact or creature you control until end of turn, except it's an artifact in addition to its other types.
, and
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, create a 2/2 blue Drake creature token with flying.
all come to mind in this category, but there are plenty of other similar cards that are worthy inclusions. Assuming you have enough cheap spells to go alongside them, it’s easy to build out a big board in no time.
You can also utilize Instants and Sorceries that naturally create lots of tokens at once. Cards like
Tempt with Vengeance
Tempt with Vengeance
Tempting offer — Create X 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste. Each opponent may create X 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste. For each opponent who does, create X 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste.
and
Empty the Warrens
Empty the Warrens
Create two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens.
Storm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each spell cast before it this turn.)
work double duty, helping you develop your board and buff your other Creatures in the process.
Song of Totentanz
Song of Totentanz
Create X 1/1 black Rat creature tokens with "This token can't block." Creatures you control gain haste until end of turn.
is a really nice inclusion not only as a mass token producer, but also as a Haste enabler. It’s quite reasonable after casting a plethora of Instants or Sorceries on a big turn to simply cast Song of Totentanz for one mana, allowing for one huge attack.
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Casting Lots of Spells
Of course, in order to make these small tokens into scary threats, you need the ability to cast tons of spells. The simplest way to ensure that you don’t run out of gas and can play multiple spells on the same turn is to fill your deck with cantrips. Cards like
Ponder
Ponder
Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. You may shuffle.
Draw a card.
,
Preordain
Preordain
Scry 2, then draw a card. (To scry 2, look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them on the bottom and the rest on top in any order.)
, and
Brainstorm
Brainstorm
Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.
go a long way in setting up your draws. They also make your Young Pyromancer-style cards reliable.
Beyond basic cantrips, consider adding in ways to actually pull you ahead on cards. Cards like
Archmage Emeritus
Archmage Emeritus
Magecraft — Whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell, draw a card.
and
Case of the Ransacked Lab
Case of the Ransacked Lab
Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
To solve — You've cast four or more instant and sorcery spells this turn. (If unsolved, solve at the beginning of your end step.)
Solved — Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, draw a card.
reward you for filling your deck with efficient spells, making it easy to churn through your library. Meanwhile,
Ojer Pakpatiq, Deepest Epoch
Ojer Pakpatiq, Deepest Epoch
Flying
Whenever you cast an instant spell from your hand, it gains rebound. (Exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast it from exile without paying its mana cost.)
When Ojer Pakpatiq dies, return it to the battlefield tapped and transformed under its owner's control with three time counters on it.
essentially gives you double usage of your Instants and Sorceries, which works perfectly with your cantrips.
Even with a ton of cheap spells, though, sometimes you may be a bit restricted in the number of spells you can cast each turn just based on the amount of mana at your disposal. In this sense, mana rocks like
Sol Ring
Sol Ring
{T}: Add {C}{C}.
and
Izzet Signet
Izzet Signet
{1}, {T}: Add {U}{R}.
are nice because they help you accelerate your gameplan, cast additional spells on each of your turns, and even trigger Prowess while doing so.
To take things a step further, there are a handful of cards that can actually provide you an enormous boost of mana all at once if you have a decent number of Creatures in play.
Sorcerer Class
Sorcerer Class
(Gain the next level as a sorcery to add its ability.)
When this Class enters, draw two cards, then discard two cards.
{U}{R}: Level 2
Creatures you control have "{T}: Add {U} or {R}. Spend this mana only to cast an instant or sorcery spell or to gain a Class level."
{3}{U}{R}: Level 3
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, that spell deals damage to each opponent equal to the number of instant and sorcery spells you've cast this turn.
, for example, enables your Creatures to help cast all of your Instants and Sorceries. If you have a way to grant Haste to your team, such as
Fervor
Fervor
Creatures you control have haste. (They can attack and {T} as soon as they come under your control.)
and multiple Young Pyromancer-style effects in play, it’s possible to chain a ton of spells together. Similarly,
Battle Hymn
Battle Hymn
Add {R} for each creature you control.
can give an enormous mana boost to enable one explosive turn.
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Winning the Game
By combining token production, cheap spells, and big bursts of mana, it’s not hard to take advantage of Bria’s abilities. Not only does Bria grant Prowess to your other Creatures, making it easy to attack for lots of damage, but Bria can even make some of your Creatures unable to be blocked. This can make it easy to chip away at your opponents’ life totals as the game goes on. That being said, it’s nice to be able to win the game all at once. Battle Hymn in particular encourages you to go off the turn you cast it.
Fortunately, there are a couple ways to help ensure victory. Likely the easiest way to close the game is to cast
Mizzix’s Mastery
Mizzix’s Mastery
Exile target card that's an instant or sorcery from your graveyard. For each card exiled this way, copy it, and you may cast the copy without paying its mana cost. Exile Mizzix's Mastery.
Overload {5}{R}{R}{R} (You may cast this spell for its overload cost. If you do, change "target" in its text to "each.")
. Later in the game, its common to have a graveyard chock full of spells. Mizzix’s Mastery lets you cast all of those spells again for free, triggering Prowess a multitude of times and making a huge portion of your team unblockable in the process. Even
Past in Flames
Past in Flames
Each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard gains flashback until end of turn. The flashback cost is equal to its mana cost.
Flashback {4}{R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
can accomplish the same goal if you have enough mana, and Battle Hymn can help a ton in this regard. Once you’re ready, cards like
Mystical Tutor
Mystical Tutor
Search your library for an instant or sorcery card, reveal it, then shuffle and put that card on top.
can help set things up.
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Other Uses for Bria
As strong as Bria is as a Commander, it can also play a potent role outside of the Command Zone. Most notably, Bria seems like an automatic inclusion in decks built around
Narset, Enlightened Exile
Narset, Enlightened Exile
Creatures you control have prowess.
Whenever Narset attacks, exile target noncreature, nonland card with mana value less than Narset's power from a graveyard and copy it. You may cast the copy without paying its mana cost.
. Narset has a similar ability to Bria, giving your Creatures Prowess. What’s nice, though, is that because each instance of Prowess triggers separately, Bria and Narset stack quite well together.
Additionally, once you cast a non-Creature spell, you can prevent Narset from being blocked, making sure it doesn’t die in combat. This is also essential for
Narset, Enlightened Master
Narset, Enlightened Master
First strike, hexproof
Whenever Narset attacks, exile the top four cards of your library. Until end of turn, you may cast noncreature spells from among those cards without paying their mana costs.
decks. The reality is, Bria is sure to find homes in lots of Izzet spellslinger decks, whether as the primary general or not. Otter fans rejoice!
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