With a new set and Standard rotation comes the conundrum about where to spend our limited in-game resources in Arena to maximize the return on our digital investments. As always, I recommend having a deck in mind before crafting anything, but if you can target specific cards in your builds that provide flexibility and could work in other archetypes, well, you might save yourself a few dollars down the line.
Let's look at the top ten cards from Bloomburrow that I believe are worth spending wildcards on if you plan to build decks in Standard. We aren't looking at any of the Special Guests as they aren't Standard legal, and I won't include any commons or uncommons as those wildcards aren't quite as precious as our mythics and rares. Whenever looking through content like this, make sure you check how much value you'll get from the specific card. Let's get into it.
10) Fabled Passage
It's our good fortune that Magic: the Gathering Arena has been around long enough for Standard reprints to include cards that are already on the client, so there's a good chance you already have these. If you don't, however, this is probably the most universally useful card on this list and I would highly recommend you invest in a playset of them. Mana bases lost a lot in the rotation and Fabled Passage acts as a practical replacement for the slow lands, not to mention its utility alongside the landfall builds.
9) Essence Channeler
Essence Channeler is pretty focused and really wants to be in a lifegain deck, which is why it isn't higher on the list. It's the Ajani's Pridemate of this set that arrives right as Voice of the Blessed is rotating out, but I would actually argue that Essence Channeler is better than Voice. In fact, Essence Channeler might be the best Pridemate we've seen in some time. The problem with cards like this that pay you off by growing is that they're easily chump blocked and if they're removed, you get nothing in return. Essence Channeler cleanly answers both of those problems by having situational flying (which is activated by a simple pain land) and handing its stats off to another creature if it's shot out of the sky. It's great in bats specifically, but any lifegain deck in other formats could probably benefit from this guy as well.
8) Vren, the Relentless
If you like rats, this legendary should catch your attention. Even if you don't, any Dimir or Esper midrange deck could easily run Vren, the Relentless. Vren feels very similar to Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet except that Vren protects itself and creates tokens that are significantly larger than Kalitas's zombies. Coming out of sideboards against death trigger decks or being an aggressive curve-topper in rat decks, this card will have applications for many months and possibly years to come.
7) Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
Lumra, Bellow of the Woods looks far more narrow than it actually is. Casting six-drop creatures is often difficult, but not when you're ramping with Spelunking and Aftermath Analyst. The number of sacrifice fetch lands (Fabled Passage, Escape Tunnel, etc.) and self-mill strategies that are available really boost Lumra's appeal in my eyes as either a card you ramp into for value in a Nissa, Resurgent Animist list or as a powerful Squirming Emergence target. If your graveyard gets answered, Lumra's abilities become much less impressive, but nearly any graveyard strategy will be happy to have this bear on board at least as a one-of.
6) Keen-Eyed Curator
Speaking of answering graveyards – this little trash panda is a replacement for Scavenging Ooze by offering the ability to spend a single mana and pinpoint a graveyard threat to ensure effects like Coiling Rebirth, Cruelty of Gix, and Reenact the Crime get absolutely stuffed. Its heavy green casting cost is mitigated by its activation being colorless, so it is viable in multicolor decks if your mana base has a lot of early green. And did I mention its stats? It's the 3/3 for two that green has needed for a long time and it can even grow if you exile four different card types with it. I think this card will come and go in favor over the next three years of Standard depending on how competitive green is and how common graveyard strategies are, so you might as well craft them now.
5) Sunspine Lynx
Some people just like to see the world burn, and some cats do too apparently. Sunspine Lynx provides a crazy powerful curve topper in any red-based aggro deck that also hates on lifegain and even protection like The One Ring (in older formats, obviously). If you need to hammer a nail in the coffin of your Ancient Cornucopia Domain opponent, this card can get you there. It's at least going to see sideboard play in mono-red and will likely do so for a very long time.
4) Beza, the Bounding Spring
Every single control player I've spoken to or followed on Twitter has gushed about this card and I can see why. It's overstatted, so it provides stability on the board, but its enters trigger gives you more of whatever you need: cards, blockers, mana, and/or life. If you need to get to the late game to enact your gameplan, this card will make sure you get there while also possibly putting your opponent on a clock. It's also especially nasty if you're running blink effects like Salvation Swan or Parting Gust.
3) Mockingbird
I think Mockingbird is one of, if not the single, most underrated cards in Bloomburrow. At the very least, it's a 1/1 bird for one which isn't much, but it can be an on-curve threat in the right deck. Its floor, however, is just being a second copy of the best creature you or your opponent have in play. If your opponent hits a turn three Preacher of the Schism, even if you're on the draw, no sweat, because you have one too but yours flies. The main reason this card is so good is that the mana cost of the copied creature isn't equal to X, it's equal to the total mana spent, which includes the blue pip. To copy a 2B Preacher of the Schism, you only have to pay 2U. Or to copy a Sheoldred the Apocalypse, 3U. Have fun and get creative with this one.
2) Emberheart Challenger
This one goes out to all my red mages. Bloodthirsty Adversary has been a staple in mono-red decks for some time in Standard and it just rotated out. The upside on Adversary was almost never used, with it rather being used as an on-curve hasty threat. Well, Emberheart Challenger is an onboard hasty threat, but it also has Prowess and a Valiant ability that draws cards. This is a strict upgrade in that spot that gives those decks a huge boost and alternative threat to Slickshot Showoff that will leave your opponent's head spinning.
1) Iridescent Vinelasher
This lizard is already seeing pretty significant play in Aftermath Analyst piles due to its obvious synergies. We've come a long way since Spitfire Lagac and the cost reduction plus offspring potential makes this an absolutely insane combo kill engine in those decks. It's a perfect alternative or supplement to Worldsoul's Rage to keep a landfall deck at the top of the meta even after the once-great Splendid Reclamation is no longer with us. If you don't like the current landfall deck, maybe this isn't a day-one craft, but I honestly think that deck or some variant of landfall will stick around for a long time because it's clearly an archetype Wizards of the Coast is supporting moving forward. We see cards like Jolrael, Voice of Zhalfir, or Awaken the Woods every few sets, so you can count on this lizard skulking around those deck lists.
