Where and How to Play Bloomburrow

Looking for a cozy day (or days) playing with new and old friends at a local game store near you? What about a big adventure in competition among other friends with the aim of qualifying for the Pro Tour?

Whether your mood is cozy or adventurous, Bloomburrow—Magic's latest release and newest plane—will offer something for you. Bloomburrow features adorable critters as they join together to protect their home from the Calamity Beasts. This tiny but mighty plane features an all-animal pastoral landscape with otterfolk, batfolk, and many more villagers of the woodland variety.

Bloomburrow play starts out like most storybooks … or, well, most Magic releases. And that's at …

Prerelease: July 26–August 1

There's no better way to experience a new Magic release than with a Prerelease, and Bloomburrow is no exception in this regard.

Prerelease provides you with everything you need to adventure into the mechanics and themes of this new plane:

• 6 Bloomburrow Play Boosters 
• 1 Stamped rare or mythic from the main set 
• 1 Spindown life counter in one of the five Magic colors 
• 1 Code card for Magic: The Gathering Arena 

These are all the necessities for building a sealed deck of at least 40 cards. If you're a veteran to Prerelease, then you know the drill. If you're new, don't worry! Prereleases are laid-back events where everyone is playing with new cards for the very first time. Prerelease Packs also come with some recommendations on how to build your Sealed deck if you've never done so before, notably recommendations for the number of basic lands to include as well as a distribution of spells based on mana cost.

It all comes in a very handy deck container so that you can hold your extra cards, your 40-card sealed deck, and your other goodies without needing to bring anything with you beyond some money to purchase a Prerelease Pack!

Prerelease events take place at retail stores that are part of the Wizards Play Network (or WPN). To find an event nearest you, search the store and event locator for stores running events in your area.

Gen Con: August 1–4

Going to Gen Con in August? Then there will be plenty of chances for you to play some Bloomburrow. Dozens of opportunities, in fact.

The Gen Con event schedule has a host of Magic events for which you can sign up. And by that we mean hundreds of events. That isn't an exaggeration.

There's plenty we can share with you about Gen Con, such as a host of panels and exciting events such as the Secret Lair Showdown, but we already did that back on June 11. We recommend going through that piece for all the key highlights for what we've got going on at one of North America's biggest tabletop gaming conventions. It also has the details on how you can get a Lightning Bolt Secret Lair promo featuring the art of graphic novelist and mangaka Toru Terada.

Standard Showdown: August 2 until September 19

Standard rotation takes place with the global release of Bloomburrow on August 2, and with it, Standard Showdown gets a promo card refresh!

Standard Showdown is an opportunity to meet, game, and compete in a light-hearted environment with local players at your local game store for a shot at some awesome prize promos only available at WPN retail locations. The format for Standard Showdown is simple: it's Standard Constructed, a fun, easy-to-enter format that features cards from the last two to three years of most Magic sets, and gives you a 60-card format to strive for with all those cards you get from Prereleases as well as weekly Draft events.

Prize promos from August 2 until September 19 feature a very special foil version of Ossification, available to winners or top finishers at local WPN locations.

To learn more about this Standard Showdown promotion, including what you have an opportunity to win at WPN stores through the next year, read the full details on the promotion at the following article.

Commander Party: August 16–22 and September 6–12

There's no party like a Bloomburrow-themed Commander Party, and you'll have not one—but two chances to play in one following the release of Magic's adorable critter-fueled adventure.

For those who haven't enjoyed a Commander Party before at a WPN store, think of this experience as Commander with extras. Commander Party features a unique experience themed after the release it's based around, and not every experience is necessarily going to be identical to others.

For Bloomburrow, Commander Party feature animal party cards—of which each player chooses one—as well as a Seasonal seasons play aid. After all, seasons and weather in Bloomburrow may be affected by the arrival of Calamity Beasts, and players—representing the animal of their choice—must weather those changes to withstand the shift in elements.

Each animal party card has its own type of effect, while the seasons board—in which seasons shift based on the effects of the animal party cards—bring about potent one-time effects that may alter the state of the game.

Players who participate in a Bloomburrow Commander Party will be able to snag a copy of a retro-frame Heirloom Blade (while supplies last).

The first Bloomburrow Commander Party will take place at WPN stores worldwide from August 16–23, and the second round of the event will take place September 6–12. The experience is the same, we're just offering more opportunities to play, and players can play in one or both if they wish. Additionally, WPN retail locations that have surplus promos from the first Bloomburrow Commander Party may distribute them to participants in the second one as supplies allow.

For specific dates at a WPN store near you, check with your local game store for full information.

Additionally, if you'd like to participate in a home game or simply want to see the animal party cards and the seasons play aid in order to build a Commander deck for the experience, those files are available for download on the WPN website!

Store Championship: August 24–September 15

The Bloomburrow Store Championship provides local competitive players with an opportunity to win some sweet treasure in the post-rotation Standard format. This program is simple: bring bring a Standard deck, compete among local players at a WPN store, and snag promo cards for doing well.

This event is a great opportunity to show off what you learned through experimenting and testing in weekly Standard Showdown events, and starting with Bloomburrow, we're extending the period in which WPN stores can schedule their event for this season, giving players more opportunities to play for cool promo cards in their area.

While supplies last, all participants can snag a full-art variation of Monastery Swiftspear, a mainstay in red-based aggressive decks and legal in Standard until the next rotation later in 2025.

Top 8 players at each Store Championship receive a full-art version of Shark Typhoon, a common sight in blue control archetypes of the Pioneer format.

And finally, the winner of each Store Championship walks away with some serious bragging rights in the form of a full-art, textless version of Urza's Saga. A signature land and a key piece among many non-rotating Constructed formats, this unique variant gives fans of Modern and other formats the motivation to bring a new Standard Constructed deck to battle at a local game store. With prizes like this, it's worth taking the dive into Standard!

Bloomburrow's Store Championship features some hefty prize promos this time around, so get your Standard Constructed deck ready post-rotation, test out your strategies at a Standard Showdown, and join in for an adventure at your local WPN store for a shot at a textless Urza's Saga and those bragging rights that go along with it.

For specific details about your nearby Store Championship events, check with your local WPN store for full details, including which day it will take place during the scheduling window.

Open House: September 13–15

New to Magic and looking to learn how to play? Open House offers an entry point into playing at a participating WPN store near you!

Open House is undergoing a shift with Bloomburrow, and will be moving to the end of the set season to take place the weekend before the Prerelease for Duskmourn: House of Horror. If you're new to Magic and have been unsure of starting your in-store experience off at a Prerelease, this gives you a solid trial weekend to learn how to play before your first Prerelease event!

Open House is run at WPN stores in a few different ways, either utilizing product such as Jumpstart or Starter Kits—of which both Bloomburrow and Magic: The Gathering® – Assassin's Creed® have recent printings of Starter Kits for use in this event. These events can also be run as Two-Headed Giant, allowing someone to bring a friend who is new to Magic and to play alongside them as a mentor in their first event.

This event leads directly into Duskmourn: House of Horror Prerelease the following week, and a fun bridge from the cottagecore comforts of Bloomburrow to the hardcore horrors of Duskmourn is this retro-frame promo card featuring a very Ravenous Squirrel!

Of note, the Open House promo is available to new players at a WPN store as well as regular Magic players who bring new players to participate in the Open House. Supplies are limited, however, and this promo will only be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Check with your local game store for full details about their Bloomburrow Open House event!

Regional Championship Qualifiers: Start August 2

This change in the season isn't bringing about Calamity Beasts. It's just bringing about new Secret Lair promos and a focus on Modern Constructed for the next three months!

The new Regional Championship Qualifier (RCQ) round is starting on August 2. These RCQs will start competitive players on their journey to qualifying for the second Pro Tour of 2025.

Participating WPN stores may run RCQs during this round as either Modern Constructed or in Limited formats—which of course includes Bloomburrow Limited upon its global release.

Participants in RCQs during this round will recieve a very sweet variation of Sleight of Hand, while top finishers can get their paws on the Supreme Verdict Secret Lair prize card.

For more details on this RCQ round and its corresponding Regional Championship, please refer to this article.

Speaking of Regional Championships …

Regional Championship Formats!

While technically outside the Bloomburrow season, we're happy to announce the formats for the first two Regional Championship rounds of the 2024–25 competitive season!

The first Regional Championship's Constructed format for competition will be Pioneer Constructed. This round runs from September 28 to December 1. Full information on this round can be found here.

The second Regional Championship's Constructed format for competition will be Modern Constructed. This round runs from January 4, 2025, until March 16, 2025. Full information on this round is located here.

Bloomburrow's season is packed with tons of opportunities to experience play at your own little village and its community—your local game store. With play opportunities extending beyond that—including at a very exciting convention in Indianapolis—there's no better time to dive into the Magic play than in a few short weeks!