Wizards of the Coast has snuck a new spoiler for the upcoming animal adventure set Bloomburrow into a recent MTG story article, and it shows off an excellent badger character who’s an absolute unit. Hugs, Grisly Guardian is his name, and crushing skeletons with his bare (sorry, we mean badger) hands is his game.
This MTG Bloomburrow character puts us in mind of Lord Brocktree from Redwall, only broader. A badger badass covered in scars, he’s clearly a mighty warrior. However, this card’s flavor text says that while some of his scars tell tales, others tell jokes, so perhaps some of them were gained in a not particularly heroic manner.
In the story, released July 3, Hugs is described taking on a bone beast raised by squirrel necromancers, which is also what his artwork depicts. Interestingly, that artwork is a bit inconsistent. He looks like a Eurasian badger in the standard card art, but the alternate showcase art depicts him as an American badger instead. In both versions, though, what stands out is he’s an absolute chonker.
As for this MTG card’s effect, it’s a pretty regular Gruul creature, though pretty damn powerful. A 5/5 trampler for four mana is nothing to sneeze at. That would have been a great card by itself a few years ago, but creatures need to have more immediate impact on the board these days – such is the nature of power creep. Fortunately, Hugs offers plenty of upside in his other abilities.
For starters, you can play two lands a turn once you have Hugs on the field. If you play this creature early, it can help you ramp up to even more powerful cards.
However, draw Hugs late and he’s still plenty good. You can pay extra mana to impulse draw some cards. Those cards stick around till the end of your next turn, so it’s likely you’re always going to be able to play at least one of them. This power pairs nicely with the extra land drop too.
We’re not sure Hugs is going to see much play outside of Limited, but we’re loving the character design for Bloomburrow thus far.
For more great content, check out our MTG release schedule guide, and don’t miss our rundown of the best MTG commanders.
Source: Wargamer
