Bloomburrow Lore & Story Summary

Last updated on August 26, 2024

Dawn's Truce | Illustration by Mariah Tekulve

Magic’s Multiverse is filled with worlds populated by legendary warriors, massive armies, dragonlords who rule over every other living being, unfathomable horrors, and angelic protectors. They’re places of legendary deeds and epic storylines. They’re also places of terrible tragedies, horrible crimes, and Bitter Downfalls.

Bloomburrow, with its animalfolk inhabitants, its cute mice and otters and rabbits, and its cozy houses built into tall trees, is no different. As cute and cozy as this Magic plane may look, it has its own share of conflict, with threats looming closer than you’d expect.

After the long-winded story arc of the Phyrexian invasion, we got two new arcs: first, Kellan’s journey of self-discovery through a few planes that had been heavily affected by the invasion. This story culminated in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, where he found his father, and we all found two characters we had thought lost: Vraska and Jace.

Bloomburrow is the first stop of a new arc. Vraska and Jace have come through this plane, probably not too long before the events of the story, but there’s also a new, strange beast that’s not one of Bloomburrow’s Calamity Beasts. This creature is called the Storm Hawk, and the planeswalker Ral Zarek is key to figuring out what the beast truly is, and how it ties to Magic’s new Dragonstorm Arc. You can take a good guess given the name of the arc, though.

Let's talk about the story behind Magic’s newest, latest plane: Bloomburrow.

What Is Bloomburrow About?

Mabel, Heir to Cragflame | Illustration by Aurore Folny

The story for Bloomburrow follows a group of animalfolk adventurers as they investigate a series of attacks carried out by their plane’s Calamity Beasts, massive creatures that bring about climatic changes and events that can threaten the lives of the smaller folk.

In their quest to solve these strange attacks, they come across the planeswalker Ral, Crackling Wit, who joins them in their quest for his own personal reasons.

Even though the story for Bloomburrow already lays the ground for the upcoming multi-planar events, it’s ultimately a story with lower stakes. The characters aren’t looking to save the multiverse or even their entire plane, but rather just want to help neighboring villages and prevent any more harm from coming to their communities. It’s a smaller story that gracefully introduces a new plane and its characters.

Bloomburrow Setting

Bloomburrow’s story takes place on the plane of the same name. This is a plane solely inhabited by animals. A large part of its inhabitants are sapient, extremely able animals known as animalfolk. Unlike the anthropomorphic beings of other planes like leonins or nezumi, the animalfolk in Bloomburrow have their regular animal bodies and sizes. Otterfolk are otter-sized, mousefolk are mouse-sized, and so on.

Although what we've seen of Bloomburrow is admittedly small, it would seem that it wasn’t affected by the New Phyrexian invasion.

Humans, human-like beings, and even other non-anthropomorphic creatures not only don’t exist on Bloomburrow, but simply can’t exist. Any planeswalkers (or Omenpath travelers) who find their way to the plane become animal versions of themselves, often retaining some features of their original shape but modified to fit in with Bloomburrow’s solely animal-like inhabitants.

The animalfolk of Bloomburrow live in the area known as Valley, a somewhat small part of the plane, although big enough to have various biomes that house the different sentient species. The area of Valley has settlements like cities, as well as various farmlands and villages. It also has areas of explored, and even inhabited wilderness, such as irontree forests, marshes and bogs, tall grass fields, hills and cliffs, and even a place called the Calamity Graveyard. The unexplored areas around Bloomburrow are known as the Outer Woods and are mostly considered wild and dangerous, avoided by most of the inhabitants of the Valley.

The story itself takes place in the year 4564 AR, which is around a few years after the New Phyrexian Invasion of the Multiverse, and soon after the events of Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

Main Characters

Helga

Helga is the first character introduced in Bloomburrow. She’s a young frogfolk who lives in the small town of Pondside. She struggles with her role in her community, as she struggles to keep jobs, and even had to drop out of her studies after a mistake that filled her with shame.

She carries around a sketchbook in which she constantly draws and journals. She occasionally gets augurs that she either speaks out loud or draws in her book, but her neighbors disregard her visions due to their perception of her as aloof and irresponsible.

Helga is heavily implied to be neurodivergent, and specifically having ADHD, as she struggles to keep attention to things that don’t catch her interest, while simultaneously being able to develop a strong hyperfocus for the things that do. Her struggles with keeping a job (since none of them seem to catch her interest) as well as her arguable clumsiness also feed into this idea.

That, and the fact that, as someone with ADHD, I read the first few paragraphs about her and immediately went “ah, so she just has ADHD.”

Maha

Also known as the Night Owl, Maha is one of Bloomburrow’s Calamity Beasts. Unlike the animalfolk, Calamity Beasts don’t seem to have an advanced level of sapience, behaving more like wild animals. Maha attacked Helga’s town, Pondside, seemingly out of the blue. While attacks from Calamity Beasts are normal, Maha’s attack seemed unusual.

Mabel

The main protagonist for Bloomburrow‘s storyline, Mabel is a mousefolk from the town of Goodhill. She’s a baker by trade (and proudly so) and a mother of three. She’s also an experienced soldier and swordfighter, with some magic combat abilities, and the heir of the legendary hero Lily of Valley. As such, she carries a legendary magic sword known as Cragflame, a family relic crafted out of a fang of the Wildfire Wolf ages ago.

She has a strong sense of justice and honor, which is what drives her to help Helga to figure out why a Calamity Beast attacked her village. She not only does it out of heroic altruism, but also as a way to protect her family and neighbors from future attacks.

Ral Zarek

A long-time character in Magic’s storyline, Ral Zarek is a planeswalker from Ravnica, current guild-leader of the Izzet League () and husband to Tomik Vrona of the Orzhov (). Ral was a close friend of Jace Beleren and was present on Thunder Junction when it was revealed that Ashiok had actually been Jace all along.

Ral has since been trying to find Jace, both out of care for his friend as well as out of hurt, since he had assumed Jace to have died during the New Phyrexian invasion. However, Jace was alive, and not once did he reach out to Ral in any way, not even when face to face on Thunder Junction.

His search for Jace leads Ral to the plane of Bloomburrow, where he finds himself turned into an otterfolk. There he joins Mabel’s group of adventurers, seeing them as a path to Jace.

Finneas

Finneas is a rabbitfolk from Goodhill, Mabel’s village. He’s a farmer who partakes in archery, becoming so good at it to the point of being banned from participating in local competitions to prevent him from being the sole champion.

He’s the first to join Mabel’s party out of a desire to help and a sense of adventure.

Hugs

A huge, strong badger warrior from Goodhill, Hugs is a member of the group of adventurers known as “the Striped Rapscallions,” currently consisting of Hugs and his friend Gev. Sometime before, there was a third member, a skunkfolk called Kiki. The three once traveled to the Outer Woods. It’s not known what truly happened, but they apparently underwent an event that was so traumatic that Hugs simply refuses to talk about it.

He volunteered to join Mabel’s party right after Finneas by simply nodding his head.

Gev

Hug’s friend and the other member of “the Striped Rapscallions,” Gev is a lizard mercenary that sports two maces that he can set aflame. He can produce heat and breathe fire.

Gev is upbeat and talkative and likes to tell tales. Those around him seem to agree that most of his tales are exaggerated or even lies, and they serve as a way for Gev to cope with the traumatic events that the Striped Rapscallions underwent in the Outer Woods.

Despite his upbeat and adventurous attitude, he only begrudgingly joins Mabel’s party after Hugs volunteers, arguing that he has to accompany and protect his friend.

Zoraline

Zoraline is a batfolk cleric from Goodhill, and the final member of Mabel’s party. She can steal magic from other mages, releasing it through prayer-songs.

She joined Mabel’s party as she was unsettled by the stars and believed she was needed.

King Glarb

A famously powerful frogfolk wizard, Glarb is the ruler of the city of Fountainport. He used to be Helga’s weaving teacher, which ended poorly due to her struggles with attention.

He mostly wields water and ice magic, and he’s notably ambitious.

The Plot

I’ll recount of some of the more important events of the Bloomburrow storyline, but I wholeheartedly advise reading the original stories. They’re fun, well written, and give all the characters and events much more depth than I could possibly give here.

Besides, it reminds WotC that the online short stories are a good idea, lest they try to remove them again.

Maha Attacks Pondside

Calamity Beasts were always a known threat on Bloomburrow. While much more contained than they had once been, they still bring danger, climate change, and the more dangerous parts of the wilderness and nature.

Despite being aware of the danger Calamity Beasts could pose, the inhabitants of Pondside never expected Maha, the Night Owl, to descend upon them in attack. Helga, the young outcast frogfolk, is caught by surprise and terrified. In the stress of the moment, she opts to quickly run towards the closest village, both to warn them of a possible attack and to enlist help for her own neighbors.

Helga escapes the Night Owl’s attack, but by the time she makes it to the neighboring town of Goodhill, she’s hurt and tired. There she’s rescued by Mabel, who decides to take the young frogfolk to her own home to rest.

Mabel’s Birthday Party

Helga awakes right before Mabel’s birthday party. She speaks of Maha’s attack on Pondside, warning her hosts of a possible attack and asking for help for her own town. Goodhill’s mayor, Oliver, disregards Helga’s stories, much like her own community does.

Mabel, however, believes the young frog, something that has never really happened to her. During her own birthday celebration, Mabel gives a speech where she asks her neighbors to accompany her to Pondside to help. Finneas, Hugs, Gev, Zoraline, and Helga all join her and form a party.

The Ruins of Pondside

It doesn’t take long for the party to reach Pondside. Once there, they find the ruins of Helga’s town. Most of the inhabitants have apparently fled south, however, the ruins aren’t entirely abandoned. The party is ambushed by two squirrelfolk necromancers who’ve been looting the remains of the village. They seem aware of Maha’s attack and even talk about it as though they expected it. The two also mention someone named Cruelclaw, who seems to be important to the attacks.

After a confrontation with the group of adventurers, the squirrels flee. Mabel’s party opts to follow them, assuming the villagers can take care of themselves, and prioritizing the possibility of preventing another attack.

Three Tree City and the Weird Otterfolk

The chase of the necromantic squirrelfolk leads Mabel’s party towards Three Tree City, a large hub where many different animalfolk live in harmony.

Once there, the party sets out to find any leads on the squirrels they were chasing or on Cruelclaw. As they go through the city, the group comes across a weird otterfolk who seems to be looking for something. However, he moves in weird ways, almost as though he isn’t aware of things like his own tail.

The otterfolk asks about someone, at one point mentioning two stripes on his target’s face. This catches Helga’s attention, who, in visions, has apparently seen a foxfolk that fits the otter’s description. Jace Beleren has passed through this plane, and Ral finally has a lead.

Since Helga and her visions are the only thing close to a lead Ral has come across so far, he decides to join Mabel’s party so he can stay close to Helga.

The Flood Gar and the Ratfolk

Before the party can move away from Three Tree City, the river begins to swell quickly. The waters rise and a massive wave rushs through the ports of the city: The Flood Gar (Eluge, the Shoreless Sea), another Calamity Beast, is passing through. The massive wave catches the entire party and drives them away from the city, rushing them down river.

The party washes ashore in a marsh-like area. They’re quickly surrounded by rats, who view the strangers as a threat. However, before the situation escalates, an older, seemingly wiser ratfolk named Coffey approaches the two groups and calls for peace.

Coffey offers hospitality and help to the questing party. He explains the guards’ hostile reaction as a reflex after the previous band of strangers that had passed through: Cruelclaw’s mercenaries. He informs them that the Night Owl followed in Cruelclaw’s wake, wreaking havoc. The Flood Gar seems to also follow the mercenary weasel and his band as they apparently stole the egg of one of the Calamity Beasts.

Resolute, the band decides to give chase to Cruelclaw and attempts to recover and return the egg to its rightful place.

The Storm Hawk

The party resumes their journey, this time towards the city of Fountainport, where Cruelclaw is headed. The group is torn between two possible roads, as one is faster but appears to be stalked by a beast known as the Storm Hawk. Helga has seen the beast in her visions, and it looks nothing like the other Calamity Beasts. It has four wings, which end in webbed fingers like those of bats, and has a strange crest on its head. The few who’ve run into it seem to think it isn’t a Calamity Beast at all, but something new entirely. However, the field is faster, so the group head that way.

It isn’t long before the sunny sky suddenly turns gray, covered with clouds as thunder booms. The Storm Hawk has appeared. Ral almost immediately recognizes the beast through its animal-shifted state: a dragon. The beast notices the group and begins its attack. The storm grows over their heads as the Storm Hawk dives for them.

The group combines their strengths to fight off the beast. Finneas lodges a copper arrow in the dragon’s mouth, Zoraline uses her song spells to disorient it, and finally Ral harnesses his storm magic to shoot a massive lightning bolt at the dragon-turned-lightning rod.

As Ral shocks the monster, the rest of the party runs for cover, as Helga casts a shelter spell to protect them from the rain. The Storm Hawk is far from defeated, but it certainly has no interest in keeping the fight up as it flies away.

Arrival at Fountainport

Not too long after, the party reaches the city of Fountainport. Most of the party looks in awe at the giant fountain, but Helga doesn’t share their marveled looks. She’s flooded with memories of her failures as King Glarb's student.

They mostly agree that speaking to Glarb is their best option, and Helga is their key to reach the powerful frogfolk. She goes along with this, as she explains her shame-inducing mistakes in her time as apprentice.

The party earns a meeting with Glarb as they mention both Helga, which sparks a look of recognition in his aide, and the Calamity Beasts’ attacks.

Glarb’s reception of the party is much less warm than they expect. He treats Helga with sarcasm and disdain, and dismisses the worries the rest of the party have.

With a quick spell, Helga uncovers a curtain she’s been eyeing since they’d arrived, and she reveals the stolen egg sitting in Glarb’s throne room. As the infamous Cruelclaw emerges from behind of the king’s throne, the frogfolk explains to the party how he’ll use his weaving to transform the creature within the egg into something he can control, using it to fight off the other Calamity Beasts. He’s convinced that he can go against the creatures that are incarnations of nature itself.

Mabel’s party confronts the delusional frog and his weasel mercenary. The party gains the advantage over their enemies, although not without effort. Before they’re done with Glarb, thunder roars, and a storm brews over them. The Storm Hawk descends upon Fountainport, prompting Glarb, Cruelclaw, and most of his mercenaries to escape the fighting.

Mabel refuses to run and prepares to face the dragon as it swoops towards them. Before they clash, Maha, the Night Owl crashes into the Storm Hawk. The two beasts fight briefly, and the owl is so aggressive that it causes the dragon-hawk to fly away. Mabel swiftly runs and takes the egg, the offers it to Maha.

Maha takes the egg, noticeably becoming calmer, then silently flies away.

The Party Returns to Goodhill

Glarb and Cruelclaw are nowhere to be found, although several of the weasel’s mercenaries are taken into custody by the city’s law enforcement. The adventuring party journeys back to Goodhill, still in Ral’s company. Zoraline flies ahead to inform the town of everyone else’s return. The reception is warm, with everyone celebrating the questing party.

As celebrations take place throughout the town, Helga, who’s decided she wants to stay where she feels appreciated, is overtaken by a vision. The words, “The kings in the dark will return. The mage in blue will bring about the end” leave her mouth before she returns to normal, completely unaware of what’s happened.

But this is enough of a lead for Ral to move on with his own search.

Ral planeswalks away, and Goodhill is once again safe. Helga has a new home, the Striped Rapscallions (or, more specifically, Gev) have new stories to tell, and Mabel is reunited with her family, safe and snug.

Story Spotlight Cards

Cruelclaw’s Heist

At the orders of King Glarb, the mercenary Cruelclaw steals an egg from Maha, the Night Owl’s nest. This heist unleashes a series of attacks by the Calamity Beasts as Cruelclaw and his mercenaries attempt to run back to Glarb.

Maha, Its Feathers Night

Helga’s village of Pondside is brutally attacked by the Calamity beast Maha, also known as the Night Owl. Leaving the dark skies of closed night in its wake, Maha destroys the village as it hunts for Cruelclaw and his mercenaries, who’ve stolen her egg at the orders of King Glarb.

Valley Rally

Moved by Helga’s story, and believing her augurs, Mabel uses her birthday speech to rally the inhabitants of Goodhill, asking them to aid her in a quest to go help the destroyed Pondside. A party is eventually formed, and they set out on an adventure that’ll turn out to be larger than they expect.

Portent of Calamity

Helga has seen the Calamity Beast in her visions… but also other things that allow Ral to pick up Jace's trail.

Calamitous Tide

The Flood Gar passes through the Long River, flooding the docks of Three Tree City as it joins Maha in its pursuit of Cruelclaw. The massive wave carries Mabel’s party away into the ratfolk’s den.

Dragonhawk, Fate’s Tempest

Turns out that Ral Zarek isn’t the only out-of-plane being in Bloomburrow: A four-winged dragon, animal-shifted into a hawk, has been terrorizing the field of Valley. Given its shape and four wings, it’s likely to be a member of Dragonlord Kolaghan’s brood, from Tarkir.

Conduct Electricity

As the party is under attack by the Storm Hawk, Ral manages to gather the storm’s electricity and power to shock it and make it leave.

Mabel’s Mettle

Mabel becomes enraged at Glarb after finding out the Calamity Beast attacks were due to him stealing one of their eggs. She unleashes all her strength against him to stop his schemes and to prevent him from hurting Helga anymore.

Dawn’s Truce

Full of understanding since she’s a mother herself, Mabel offers Maha’s egg back to her. This brings her brutal rampage to a close, as she flies back to her nest with her egg safe and sound.

The Flavor Text

If I’m being perfectly honest, the flavor text in this set is great, but I’d rather uplift something else: the art. I think the art in this MTG set excellently balances the inherent cuteness and coziness that comes with a setting like this one, while also showing the darker sides of it.

We have something like Stocking the Pantry (which also has one of my favorite flavor texts in the set) showing a squirrel looking very silly as it stocks up in nuts and seeds, while we also have Consumed by Greed showing a bunch of squirrels dying, victims of their own greed.

The design for the Calamity Beasts is also great. They seamlessly mix the feeling of predators along with the sheer power of the natural phenomena they embody. It gives this cozy, homely-feeling plane an additional layer of danger, making it feel grounded.

Another thing I want to uplift, because it’s something we hadn’t seen in a while: All the factions on the plane are shown interacting. We have the duo cards that depict two of the animalfolk together; the mentors all feature students of different species; even mechanically, the land cycle that interacts with all the typal archetypes that use that color helps make it feel like the plane is fully interconnected. Sure, we have some species that seem to be more naturally insular and secluded like the rats or the squirrels, but even they’re shown interacting heavily with everyone else. This is, by far, my favorite part about this set’s flavor.

Wrap Up

Hugs, Grisly Guardian | Illustration by Steve Prescott

That’s it for Bloomburrow’s story, one that I liked more than I expected. That’s a double-edged sword though, because it also makes me really miss three-set blocks that allowed us to properly explore the depths of these planes, especially those that tend to have much more than what we get at first glance.

I also think Zoraline is a painfully underused character; she spends most of the story just sleeping on Hugs’ back, which is really cute, but also a misuse of a character with such an esoteric background as the bat-clerics.

But enough about what I think. Did you like the story for this set? Who’s your favorite character? What do you think we should expect from the Dragonstorm Arc? Leave a comment letting us know!

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That’s all from me for now. Have a good one, and I’ll see you next time!