Something something Kaldheim but wholesome, how is cramming ten creature types into one set possible. Also this review will be one of the two I’ve previously written and kept together, and therefore I have the chance to add things on as I may wish.
Well, actually, this Dragonstorm arc is basically Innistrad - Kamigawa - Capenna's year retread again it seems. First set Midnight Hunt & Bloomburrow both likes their furries, admittedly one actually commits all the way. Second set Crimson Vow & Duskmourn, making people scream at NotC for these stupidly obvious tropes they stole, but in the end probably it's the goths that count. Third set Kamigawa & Death Race, which by this point is probably fair game because fantasy is just anything that isn't reality, cough cough our CRTs are actually portals. Fourth set Capenna & Tarkir, three color fun for commander value engines and misery for Vorthoses thinking about real life analogues.
They also have this in common of fucking with the release schedule. Last year hearing about both Bloom and Dusk coming both in Q3 definitely sounded a bit messed up for me, like for 3 years one set came in early September, so Q3, and the other late November, so Q4, which gives a nice 2.5 months. Well this year we mess it up to cram Foundations in after those two sets, that new age core set thing. Which honestly sounds dumb, like consider the fact we're shortening ETB to enters (which I'm still siding with arrives for) is in Bloom but Foundations does more sweeping things like enchantments all getting the Nyx frame and card names being replaced with this creature (at which point just do the riot card game thing of letting them speak in first person like when I arrive), which leads to these 2 sets having these rule texts that will be outdated in like a month. Granted, yady yada people play on Arena with auto changes these, but still.
So about the actual set itself, how do I feel about hearing about it? Especially right next to Duskmourn? To admit, I'm team goth all the way, partly out of elitism (i don't like anime too), but also because the goths does offer this sense of elegance I oddly desires, not this bloated feeling those popular things often have. Which is to say, probably alongside Thunder Junction, I wouldn't think about making a set like this with a few meters pole. So much to say, now you gotta sell me something I didn't know I want.
Bonus rant: The set code doesn't feel quite intuitive to me. Like I never translate the first word to BL, I often just go for B. Then Burrow will take the rest in like BR. BBR isn't a set yet, well probably will be a goth one when it does happen. In the meantime, why I never think this set is BLB is because that's a light bulb, aka kinda technologically advanced, or the symbol of a good idea, not sure if these furries emodiment any of that.
And about the set symbol, it's a maple leaf, you know the Canada thing, it's decent, isn't as offensive as something like LCI, cough cough. One thing to pay attention to through is the stem of the leaf, which takes vertical space, which means the leaf is smaller. In uncommons and rares and mythics, you do see the stem clearly printed as black, so the leaf makes sense. But then in the commons, since the symbol's outline is in white, the stem just dissapears. So you're left with this awkward looking black blob that feels misaligned. I remember people talking trash about original Dominaria's set symbol for using white for the commons which confuses for the silver of uncommons, but honestly now I wouldn't mind that coming back every once in a while for symbols like this.
Honestly, feels pretty refreshing to once again see this many monocolor mythics. 14, as opposed to the last 4 something sets going for around only 10. Well, 14 definitely means color imbalance, which for one targets Green only getting 2, as opposed to other colors getting 3.
Most things considered, it's a nice gradient: First row is the modal paw seasons, getting a borderless frame, second row is a calamity beasts, getting a borderless frame too but the artstyle is of the creature's anatomy, and the last row is in case of jeskai a creature that gets the showcase frame, and with black yet another calamity beast. Two of the three non-commanders there do makes copies of themselves, so the legend rule could have been problematic, and the black one is probably not a commander so that no one sits here argue which one is actually part of the true cycle.
Which leaves 6 multicolored cards, one for each pair in jund, otter ral and 2 simic + color tricolor commanders. Rakdos and Gruul's commanders are neither the main critter types of the set, Golgari's commander is the only multicolored calamity beast, an irritation definitely learnt from Ixalan, Ral got in two sets in a row (if you don't count that blandest 5 contender crossover). And the two simic tricolor frogs, which makes along with the unique buy-a-box temur frog a cycle of frogs trying all the other colors. Each have an value engine ability and a tap ability, except the fool.
The monocolored density stays pretty good there. Not like it's much balanced at all, green leads with 10 cards, blue and red follows at 9, white is down to 8 and black is once again deceptive at just 7. Well, that's because black's "8th" is actually a grixis card. Off color activations, not even to finish a cycle. What actually are cycles if one, these valley callers that buffes any of the four creature types of the caller's color. They bear the creature types of GW - UR - BG - RB - GU, so green got three reps and white only once, oddly ironic. The other cycle are the classes, of this time "talents", like a profession these creatures take on. Also starting in GW, UR, BG, it gets deceptive until you realize the red one is actually a weasel and green one a mole. So the theory of mine of each creature type gets a class is just plain wrong.
Coming to multicolored, it honestly is about as much as MOM really. No dual land cycle definitely made this low count possible. Starting off with a cycle of dual colored commanders of the main creature types, each of them provide a bonus to the creature type, it only feels obvious. Well it doesn't stop there. There's also an enchantment for the Bats, a stunny Frog, and obviously a Naya rabbit because yes, commander. Along with the Grixis black card, makes it all the more infuriating.
So that's space left for 3 lands, no artifacts, given that mabel already got one. First is fabled passage with strobies. Second is a watery trading post. And last is a fixed nykthos. So that's clearly white and black not represent.
Silly fun fact about keywords, white and black each has two gifts, green and blue each has one, and they all gift cards. Black and green has two offsprings, all in jund except one black costs 2, blue and red each have one offspring, blue leads at 4 mana.
Every set in play boosters has came with 2 uncommon cycles of signpost dual colors: one to enable, the other to payoff. This time, not so much. Personally I would consider most in this cycle to be payoffs, with the squirrel and frog to be enablers exceptions. Something to point out, some of these signposts share colors, like the rat and otter both being wizards, rabbit and mouse both being soldiers, bat and lizard both being warlocks, squirrel and frog both being druids, so that leave the bird scout and raccoon bard.