intro

hello! for those new here, i’m twincanine. i’m extremely excited for Bloomburrow – i come to this from reading the Redwall books as a kid and playing a ton of Root, and the few previews we’ve gotten so far haven’t given me any reason to lower my expectations. ive been keeping an eye on the Creature types they’ve been using the past few sets, and i’m definitely in the camp that’s seeing some fairly obvious plants for Bloomburrow. so i’m here today to rank the Creature types in Standard based on how likely i personally think they are to show up. 

i will say upfront that the other big touchpoint for this “genre” is Mouseguard, which i haven’t played or read but have seen plenty of art from – if there’s any other books, movies, shows or games y’all think would change my perspective on any of the below, please let me know

caveats and covering my ass

alrighty! some terminology and caveats upfront –

i am excluding the “profession” creature types like Warrior or Druid or Pirate – i have no interest in attempting to divine the likelihood of any of these being in Bloomburrow, and i suspect Outlaw of Thunder Junction was likely the mechanical payoff of any kind of profession planting with the “outlaw” batch. i am focusing exclusively on the “species” creature types. Please find the full list of these in Appendix A, below – this eliminates 31 creature types off the list.

the rest of the creature types i’ll be discussing are what i’ll call “species” creature types because i think it fits better than “race”, in terms of how race is constructed and functions, despite that being the traditional term for some of what im talking about in RPG spaces. 

i’ll spoil a large chunk of the “F” tier off the bat: i’ve categorized a bunch of these species as “Humanoid”, which are largely the civilizational species of the planes (my gut was to call these “Sapient” species but like, many Dragons and Sphinxes fit that but aren’t quite what i mean). i’ve gone ahead and filled the “F” tier with player character species that i think they’ll avoid, baseline, in the way they avoided Humans on Lorwyn, just to set it apart. this for sure cuts out another 24, though there are some exceptions i’ll get into. 

finally, many of these are “Modifier” species types, which are types that are frequently used as species but are context dependent – the big one in Standard right now is Phyrexian (in that the species type holds some weight by itself but Aron, Ambulatory Edifice, and Atraxa all share this type). the other common ones in this category are Skeletons and Zombies, though recently i’d argue the Iconic species are doing this a lot – see Shivan Devastator for them modifying each other (and the Goose Mother for a more apt example of what i mean), though Demon has done it quite a bit historically.

the boundaries here are gonna be fuzzy – i mention above that Phyrexian is as likely to be Humanoid as not, and Modifier as not, but things like Vampire really push this – some planes have species convert to Vampire, in which case it’s definitely a Modifier, but its almost more likely to just be a Humanoid species on a plane. Faeries felt like a slam dunk humanoid species with common exceptions being like, Kellan, Oko, and Tallion, but then Old Flitterfang came along and used Faerie as a modifier. go figure.

additionally, i am weighing these species as likely or unlikely to appear based on their potential to fill three different roles:

Commoner species – these are Creature types that i think will fill the “Humanoid” role on this plane. in Redwall these would be species a protagonist or their allies could be, in Root these are factions. 

Adversaries – key art for Bloomburrow shows a big ass shadowy wolf, and its not uncommon for things like Mouseguard to have regular creatures as Big Enemies to take the slots of Dragons or other monstrous races. 

Others – Does your mouse have a small beetle to carry its cart? theres a lot of space for the fauna (and flora) of the world to have stuff outside the above dichotomy, so ill be gauging if the species can fit in one of those roles as well. 

finally – as mentioned above, i’m only looking at creature types currently in standard, since im speculating on what they’re going to pay off. with that, let’s do what i feel are the least controversial first.

S-Tier: In the Set

Mouse, Elemental, Bear, Otter, Rabbit 

these are all on previewed cards. not a lot of space for debate.

Bat, Lizard, Frog, Badger, Rabbit, Wolf, Owl, Bird, Fox, Squirrel

these are all in preview art. i had Squirrel in A-Tier until i realized that they have a whole commander deck, which makes sense for a type with such heavy existing typal support. Lizard is interesting because like, Thunder Junction has a few non-Viashino Lizardfolk, but i think that’s more the design teams’ ethos in terms of the Naga/Snake vs Loxodon/Elephant splits. see in D-Tier below for my comment about the claw on the booster box art/creature in the bottom corner.

F-Tier: Syr Not-Appearing-In-This-Set

up for a very small amount of debate are the F Tier – these are creature types that i am fairly confident are not appearing. 

Human, Phyrexian, Elf, Ogre, Orc, Kor, Faerie, Dwarf, Merfolk, Goblin, Troll, Minotaur, Aetherborn, Viashino, Centaur, Djinn, Vedalken, Satyr, Moonfolk, Dryad, Kithkin, Efreet, Siren, Cephalid, Gorgon, Giant, Cyclops, Homarid

top of this list are the “Humanoid” creature types, which are usually used to represent the sapient species of a plane. a few of these (dryad, efreet, siren) could be adapted to scale but if i were designing this kind of world, all of these would be off limits from day 1. also, March of the Machine REALLY inflated this list by giving us sapient species from planes we haven’t seen in a while (looking at you Aetherborn, Kithkin, etc). i include Giant here instead of elsewhere as they’ve been using it less and less as a modifier and more to mean “a species of big people”, so extremely unlikely here. i mentioned my quibbling about Faerie above, but Troll and Cyclops might be others that would be arguably not in this tier – Bortuk Bonerattle is a “humanoid” troll in Standard, which is largely why i place them here, but they’re mostly a monstrous species that COULD be an adversary species. i doubt it though. Homarid are another weird case – they’re not literally Humanoid but they do fit the bill enough to get an outlaw in OTJ so yknow. 

Juggernaut, Dreadnought, Praetor, Assembly-Worker, Myr

thank you Dominaria, Mirrodin, and New Phyrexia. i know Sanguine Praetor is a thing but i’m not betting on them doing that ever again and technically eliminated these with the profession Creature types. unlike the plane-specific stuff i will mention later, i don’t think these are ever jumping planes beyond the nexus of Dominaria’s influence. 

okay. now to some of the stuff that’s a bit more open to interpretation.

A-Tier: Almost Certainly In

Rat, Raccoon, Porcupine, Mole, Beaver (OTJ), Possum (OTJ)

these all feel like shoe-ins. these are commonly used animal-folk, they have representation in games and books, i would bet serious money on all of these appearing and some of them potentially having typal payoffs. Rat is commonly typed outside of this plane, so the other three would be more novel to widely support. Beaver and Possum were introduced to the game with OTJ, and Porcupine was brought out of silver border. seem obvious plants. Moles only appeared in 1 recent set but, like Bats, they had a high profile addition (Anzrag and Aclazotz, respectively) and they have genre weight.

B-Tier: Pretty Solid Shot 

Turtle, Sheep, Salamander, Capybara, Armadillo (OTJ)

these are my thoughts for other Commoner races. Armadillo and Sheep seem long shots for different reasons but i believe are possible since OTJ introduced them and brought them back into Standard, respectively, and Capybara is likely a one or two rare case kinda creature. like players would love a legendary Capybara hermit or sage, esp since it was introduced to the game in the last year with LCI.

Beast, Octopus, Fish, Squid, Shark, Crab, Hyena, Wolverine, Coyote (OTJ), Snake

-some of these are possible for Commoners but could also be Adversaries. the aquatic options im not sure about – Otter, Lizard (potentially Salamander) and Frog may either invite more aquatic Commoners or take up all that space (and OTJ did give us a shark dude), but we’ll almost certainly see them fighting some big water animals. the aquatic ones listed here are the ones i think have the best bet to fill that role. Coyote is an odd one – if there are desert areas they’re likely to be Adversaries, but if its mostly woodland they’d be biome’d out and were potentially just a Coyote/Roadrunner joke in OTJ. 

Treefolk, Goat, Insect

-i’m personally doubtful but if they have any non-animal sapient creatures itll likely be Treefolk – we know Lumra is an Elemental but that indicates it’s more a Modifier than stand-alone species. goat-person is possible (tho potentially too close to Minotaurs or Satyrs), goat mounts are possible but unlikely, goat Adversaries would be funny. Insects seem likely as beasts of burden.

Cat

this is the one i am most uncertain of in B tier. Cat has fairly solid grounds as a Commoner species (one of the main factions in Root is Cats) or as an Adversary (like, mountain lions), but Magic uses them as a humanoid species as often as a creature species so either of those uses could discount them in Bloomburrow. 

C-Tier: The Even Odds Crew

Spirit, Avatar, Skeleton, Zombie, Illusion, Archon, Shapeshifter, Elder

the Modifier species i think have the best bet – these are close to professions in that i’m not making any heavy bets on which ones are in and which ones are out. 

Dragon, Angel, Demon, Hydra, Drake

i mentioned above how flexible they’ve been with the iconic Creature types – i’m excluding Sphinx here because i feel they’re less setting flexible. i would have done the same to Dragon before the Shivan Devastator mentioned above and the fact that they both jammed Dragons in previously dragon-less Ixalan AND blended dragons with a different creature type to make them fit better in Thunder Junction mean it gets bumped up, and i mentioned above how they’re willing to push Hydra so anything’s possible there. i include Drake here because there’s a bird/lizard type creature the main party is fighting on the booster box art – if that’s not a Dragon it’s a Drake. 

Unicorn, Elk, Horror, Fungus, Nightmare, Insect, Spider, Plant, Ooze, Leech

these could all pop up for sure, especially modifying other types like Elemental does for Lumra. Regal Bunicorn almost singlehandedly kept Unicorn in this spot rather than elsewhere on the list. 

Scorpion, Ox, Brushwagg, Varmint

this is the “OTJ” part of this tier, and i dunno about these. huge uptick in Scorpion and Ox in OTJ, so they may be outta the running or last minute planting. Brushwagg is kinda funny whenever they bring it back, and i have no idea what they’re plans for Varmints are.

Dinosaur, Wurm, Serpent, Griffin, Hippogrif, Crocodile, Dog, Jackal, Basilisk

Adversary potentials, but some feel a tad out of place. i’ve seen key art for Mouseguard that uses Snakes, which is why they’re above in B-Tier, but I have no idea where they’ll draw the line between Snakes and Serpents. Dinosaur is here exclusively on popularity weight alone – of the non-profession creature types, they are the fourth-most used on cards in Standard right now (behind Human, Phyrexian and Elf), and that’s equally a reason for them to be used and not used. Jackal have not been used outside the Khenra since M10, and before that since the switch to the modern border. possible to return here, but the odds are against them, and they’d be a stronger candidate than Dogs if Coyote isn’t used. 

D-Tier: Not Looking Likely

Lammasu, God, Vampire, Sphinx, Phoenix, Imp, Devil, Thrull, Nautilus, Hellion, Mutant, Pegasus, Horse, Chimera, Snail, Specter, Ouphe, Jellyfish, Whale, Yeti, Wall, Shade, Drone, Leech, Boar

these seem unlikely for a variety of reasons – God, Vampire, Sphinx, Phoenix, and Devil seem the MOST likely here, but personally, most of these would be a curveball, especially given their historical usage in Magic.

Scarecrow, Thopter, Construct, Golem, Masticore, Gargoyle

Scarecrow most likely, Thopter possible because of Ornithopter flavor text, all unlikely as artificial creature types. depending on how much glue they needed for colors, it’s possible but im betting against it, and again i think it’d be Scarecrows or nothing, personally.

Rhino, Ape, Elephant

Apes are atypical of this genre, Rhino and Elephant are both too big, wrong biomes, and too close to Rhox and Loxodon

Homunculus, Gnome, Fractal, Weird, Kavu, Pest, Mite, Lhurgoyf

too associated with other worlds. some have appeared outside, but rarely and not recently.

conclusion – what did i get wrong

aight tell me in the comments what i’m wrong about and i’ll be back soon with more music reviews.