Standard: 5 Decks with Bloomburrow for Bo3

Alongside Bloomburrow, we also got a new rotation for Standard, and thus many important cards have left the metagame. This opened up some space for new strategies in a metagame full of treasures, which should last for the next following weeks until the format stabilizes.

I highly recommend you read my last article if you want to take a look at the most relevant cards for Standard in this new set.

This is the perfect moment to test out new decks or try to revive some old deck that didn't see much play in the past and is still viable.

In this article, I'll show you five decks, old and new, with the new cards. I was able to test out each of these new decks exclusively during Magic Online's Streamer Event, so these lists already feel competitive, but there is a lot of space for refining.

Rakdos Reanimator

The Infamous Cruelclaw and its cascade ability (which triggers any time you deal combat damage) turned the Reanimator archetype into one of the strongest options for this new Standard.

Cards like Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Etali, Primal Conqueror are still in Standard for this rotation, and are perfect for this type of deck. Cruelclaw is excellent in this list: it will let you cast spells for free while you discard the creatures you intend to reanimate, and, as a bonus, you can cast one of these creatures with its effect if you exile one of them.

This strategy is centered around feeding your graveyard with high-impact creatures, and putting them in play as fast as possible. To do that, this list has reanimate spells, like Rakdos Joins Up and Coiling Rebirth, which are from the new set and have Gift. Gift spells give some type of advantage to your opponent when you cast them in exchange for another bonus for you, which, most times, is worth it.

For Coiling Rebirth, while you gift (draw) a card to your opponent, you'll be able to reanimate a creature and copy it if it's non-legendary. Its Gift cost is also optional, which makes it even more interesting.

Orzhov Bats

Zoraline, Cosmos Caller is more than enough reason to build a Bat deck. Besides this card, this format also has strong creatures like Deep-Cavern Bat, and the new Darkstar Augur.

Valley Questcaller and Jackdaw Savior aren't Bats, but they give a lot of value to this strategy, so that's why they're in this list. Lunar Convocation fits this deck perfectly, as it creates value through card advantage or puts more Bats on the board.

In the sideboard, I'll highlight Dawn's Truce, which will protect your creatures against global removals and should see play not only in this deck, but also in other creature-focused decks.

Temur Lands

Temur Lands was one of the best decks in the format before the recent bans, and lost Capenna's fetch lands to this rotation. These lands not only gave this deck more consistency, but also bought it some time against aggro decks because of the lifegain they brought. Without a question, this archetype will deeply miss them, but there are a few options you can use to replace these cards, besides new cards that should give you a lot of value as well.

Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, Fabled Passage, and Escape Tunnel are a few new cards that should start seeing play in this list. Apart from them, the deck still has the same core as before, with Aftermath Analyst and Nissa, Resurgent Animist to accelerate mana, and Worldsoul's Rage as your main finisher.

From the new set, we have Ral, Crackling Wit and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods as the most important additions for this game plan and as alternative win conditions as well. Ral will help you control the game, besides creating tokens that can finish the game on their own. Its ultimate also brings you a lot of value with Worldsoul's Rage. Lumra is perfect for this deck, as it is another source of ramp and puts on a lot of pressure fast and efficiently.

Mono-Black Midrange

The good and reliable Mono-Black will still be a safe option for Bloomburrow's Standard, with new additions like Darkstar Augur and Maha, Its Feathers Night. It also plays Cruelclaw's Heist, which is one of the best cards to deal with other midrange and control decks in the format.

Darkstar is definitely one of the most interesting cards in the entire set, as it creates value while putting pressure on your opponent. Its 2/3 body is also relevant against aggro decks. Maha is an interesting creature; it makes your opponent's creatures weaker and puts a significant amount of pressure on them as well.

The deck's game plan is still the same: kill everything in your path while you build a board that will bring your opponent's life points to zero as fast as you can.

Otter Storm

I confess this was the deck I was most excited to build. Stormsplitter stood out to me straight away, and quickly showed me it was one of the most fun and interesting creatures in this set, with its new ability. Can we already call it this set's Splinter Twin? It might be even more than that, as its ability is really similar to Storm, but Stormsplitter is a creature, and each instant and/or sorcery you cast represents a new copy in play. This means you'll increase the number of creatures on your board exponentially.

Standard can't really use this card in a way that makes it incredibly dangerous straight away, but this Izzet build definitely has potential. It might even inspire some discussion about future bans, as this card easily spirals out of control.

To give even more value to this strategy, we have Stormcatch Mentor, which not only discounts the cost of your spells, but also puts pressure on your opponent, particularly next to Coruscation Mage. Ral, Crackling Wit was also essential, as it is an Otter and puts even more creatures on the board.

This Izzet base combines the best cantrips around with spells that interact with your opponent really well, and thus let you answer them effectively and protect your strategy.

Bloomburrow will certainly renew Standard, and give us many lines of thought to explore. Tell us in our comment section below what do you expect from the new set, and please don't hesitate to give us your suggestions and feedback as well!

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!