Matt Capra

[Bracket 3] Ms. Bumbleflower

Decklist

https://moxfield.com/decks/m2ljZ5IklUqjcJQJZZ7g5Q

Credit: Breezykiwi

Primer

https://moxfield.com/decks/V6TB_5VN4E2fFmajDMHgGg/primer

Introduction & general thoughts

First of all, I would like to thank you for your interest in this deck and for taking the time to read this primer!

…

Over the course of this primer, I’ll talk about the playstyle of this deck in more detail. For now, here’s a GIF that pretty much summarizes how this deck plays: Attack Let’s start to take a closer look at our commander:

Ms. Bumbleflower is a 1/5 Rabbit Citizen with vigilance for 1GWU and says: “Whenever you cast a spell, target opponent draws a card. Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. It gains flying until end of turn. If this is the second time this ability has resolved this turn, you draw two cards.”

Summary: Once our commander hits the battlefield, any spell we cast will trigger our little rabbit, and we are going to do the following things:

  • force an opponent to draw a card
  • put a +1/+1 counter on any creature on the battlefield + give it flying until end of turn

If this ability resolves a second time in a turn (not only our turn), we get to draw two cards!

While Ms. Bumbleflower appears to be a simple “grouphug”-commander at first glance, at second glance she’s much more than that! Yeah, she hands out cards to our opponents BUT it’s not like a Howling Mine/Kami of the Crescent Moon-effect, it’s targeted draw which means we don’t hand out resources to everyone. If you’re wondering what’s so much better about it -> We can really control which opponent we give cards to and we can make sure that we don’t give more resources to the player who is the most threatening at the moment + this could either be used to help someone out, who is far behind, we could let opponents draw cards for political deals, we could commit crimes this way or this can be used to calm someone down after we have cast a counterspell/removal (as a way of apologizing 😜).

I would like to make a small remark: I know the “peace offering”-precon is labeled as a grouphug-deck but let’s just talk about this archetype since it’s so controversial. The majority of the edh-community seems to consider decks of this archetype as a non-wincon/randomly handing out resources/kingmaking/game-end delaying/ -mess. This is also confirmed by the entry on MTG Wiki: “Group Hug is a deck archetype for multiplayer games. Often Group Hug decks do not have a way to win on their own. Instead, the goal of the player piloting is to extend the game as long as possible by supporting whatever player is currently behind and moderating the effects each player can play and resolve.” (Source: MTG Wiki, 11.07.2024). Regardless of what the “peace offering”-precon will look like on its release day, this deck will not end up like this! We won’t flood this deck + the whole table with random Howling Mine/Kami of the Crescent Moon/… -effects or Rites of Flourishing/Heartbeat of Spring/Veteran Explorer/Magus of the Vineyard/… -effects, play no wincons and watch the world burn while the already fastest deck accelerates like an F1-car (thanks to us) and wins the game. If you want to play cards like these you need to try to be able to benefit more from them than your opponents (break the parity), you should play a heavy control-package to deal with threats and you definitely should play wincons and try to win the game, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy to help others when they are far behind! There is nothing more unpleasant than having a player at the table that is not able to enjoy the game, because he is missing some land-drops or get unfairly targeted by other players. I feel sorry for them, because everyone knows what it feels like to have a game of commander where you are not able to do anything and just watch the whole table have fun for the rest of the game. Perhaps Ms. Bumbleflower is going to help you draw that much-needed land drop! I really enjoy games where everyone is having fun. That’s why the games where each deck gets to show what it can do are the best (at least in my opinion)! Who doesn’t have fun when their deck is allowed to do its thing?

Buuuuuut once you have too much fun and try to run off with the win or to kill us, the rabbit-/fun-police might has to chase you down and take control over your threatening boardstate 🐇🚨! Police

Our Commander is quite versatile, we could play cards that care about..

  • ..putting +1/+1-counter on our own creatures, like Danny Pink, Fathom Mage, Rishkar, Peema Renegade or Kami of Whispered Hopes/Incubation Druid
  • ..putting +1/+1-counter on other players creatures, for example: Nils, Discipline Enforcer, Generous Patron and the commander for putting counter on other players creatures himself: Kros, Defense Contractor
  • ..giving creatures double strike (Trostani, Three Whispers, Duelist’s Heritage) and heavy hitting creatures in general (Forgotten Ancient, Managorger Hydra, Cephalid Constable) since we can grant evasion until end of turn in the form of flying
  • -> these double strike-enabler (Trostani, Three Whispers, Duelist’s Heritage) and the ability of our commander itself (letting other people draw cards or turn some creatures [not only our creatures!] into flying blockers at instant speed are powerful tools) could lead to a political playstile: Master of Ceremonies, Council’s Judgment, …
  • ..targeting our opponents creatures (with the +1/+1-counter), like Willbreaker or Dismiss into Dream
  • ..commiting crimes, since we target our opponents with the card draw and their creatures with the +1/+1-counter: Freestrider Lookout, Hardbristle Bandit, Omenport Vigilante, Seize the Secrets, etc.
  • ..our opponents drawing cards. These cards are pretty good in general but become even better with Ms. Bumbleflower forcing them to draw cards. For example: Smothering Tithe, Smuggler’s Share, Faerie Mastermind, Wedding Ring, The Council of Four, Consecrated Sphinx, Heliod, the Warped Eclipse, etc.
  • -> Running these kind of cards could also lead us to run more cards that make our opponents draw cards: Struggle for Project Purity, Cut a Deal
  • -> Making our opponents draw more cards/Handing out resources to our opponents puts us in charge of controlling the battlefield a little more than usual, which shouldn’t be that hard in bant, with cards like Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Dovin’s Veto, … and running more (instant-speed) interaction probably allows us to trigger our commander two times per turn more often which means we get to draw the two cards quite frequently
  • -> Forcing our opponents to draw more cards could also lead us to the playstyle, that punishes them for drawing/having a lot of cards: Iron Maiden, Viseling, Black Vise
  • -> Handing out cards to others could also lead us to the direction of some kind of grouphug-ish pillowfort strategy: Propaganda, Ghostly Prison, Nils, Discipline Enforcer, The Second Doctor, etc. -..creating infinite cast-trigger. Yeah, you just read that right! Our little Rabbit-Citizen can become a combo-machine and is able to win us the game with infinite cast-trigger, since her primary ability isnt limited to a specific amount per turn and this would lead to our opponents drawing their whole library und eventually losing the game/winning us the game! Exemplary combo-lines for infinite cast-trigger: Isochron Scepter+Dramatic Reversal+mana producing nonland Permanents, Hullbreaker Horror+Sol Ring+Everflowing Chalice, Hullbreaker Horror+Astral Cornucopia+Spellbook, Peregrine Drake+Deadeye Navigator, …
  • -> However, this should be treated with caution, as our opponents could also draw answers to our combo and interrupt it. We should at least ensure that our opponents are tapped out or if we are trying it really hard, we could try to limit their ability to cast spells by playing stax-pieces, like: Grand Abolisher, Archon of Emeria, Tidal Barracuda, etc.
  • -> Trying to make our opponents lose the game by drawing their whole library could also be established, without going infinite, in a more casual way by playing cards like: Forced Fruition, Heartwood Storyteller, Folio of Fancies, …
  • ..allowing us to cast multiple or at least two spells per tun (not only our turn) to be able to draw as many cards as possible by Ms. Bumbleflower’s ability. For this purpose, we could use cheap instants (Brainstorm, Consider, Frantic Search, Opt, etc.) or spells that are essentially free to cast (Snap, Rewind, Unwind, …) and some kind of reactive/controle-ish playstyle with the already above mentioned cards (Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Dovin’s Veto, …) and to be able to implement this plan even further we could run cards like Seedborn Muse or Wilderness Reclamation
  • -> playing a lot of cheap instants could also lead to some sort of spellslinging with cards that take advantage of that: Archmage Emeritus, Murmuring Mystic, Deekah, Fractal Theorist, Monastery Mentor, … Bant-Spellslinger?! Might be working 🤷🏻‍♂️😅

All of the cards listed above and the ability of Ms. Bumbleflower could lead to the following archetypes/strategys or a mixture of them:

  • +1/+1-Counter
  • Control
  • Combo
  • Politics
  • Grouphug
  • Pillowfort
  • Spellslinger / Storm
  • Cheerios

Overview

(👍) You should play this deck if you:

  • take great pleasure in playing a commander that is able to -help out other players that are far behind to ensure that everyone is having a great time/-smooth out the game for the whole table
  • like reactive/interactive decks
  • love a mixture between playing aggressively/defensively and trying to judge when each is the best play
  • …

(👎) You souldn’t play this deck if you:

  • don’t like decks with a learning-curve
  • only like straight forward/linear decks
  • have bad threat assessment -> aren’t willing to learn about threat assessment
  • are impatient
  • …

How to navigate the deck (Gameplan)

  • Get Ms. Bumbleflower out as fast as possible (optimally with ramp) or set up some kind of value-engine (Earlygame)
  • … (Midgame)
  • Take full control over the game and grab the win! (Lategame)

Packages

Ramp (21)

The ramp-section is divided into a pre Ms. Bumbleflower -section and a post Ms. Bumbleflower -section. The cards listed under pre Ms. Bumbleflower should give us the opportunity to cast our Commander pretty consistently on Turn 3 and some of them are quite synnergistic with Ms. Bumbleflower and become even better in the mid-/lategame. The cards in the post Ms. Bumbleflower -section are going to shine with our commander in play and ramp us even further ahead of our opponents.

pre Ms. Bumbleflower (12)

  • Arcane Signet
  • Sol Ring
  • Hardbristle Bandit
  • Incubation Druid
  • Sakura-Tribe Elder
  • Growth Spiral
  • Planar Genesis
  • Nature’s Lore
  • Three Visits
  • Into the North
  • Rampant Growth
  • Farseek

post Ms. Bumbleflower (9)

  • Crystalline Crawler
  • Freestrider Lookout
  • Kami of Whispered Hopes
  • Misleading Signpost
  • On the Trail
  • Seedborn Muse
  • Smothering Tithe
  • Smuggler’s Share
  • Wilderness Reclamation

Control (25)

Due to the fact that we hand out cards to our opponents, we should run a pretty heavy control-package consisting of removal, interaction and some other cards!

Removal (14)

  • Beast Within
  • Petty Theft
  • Council’s Judgment
  • Generous Gift
  • Parting Gust
  • Path to Exile
  • Pongify
  • Rapid Hybridization
  • Reality Shift
  • Resculpt
  • Sink into Stupor // Soporific Springs
  • Stroke of Midnight
  • Swords to Plowshares
  • Witch Enchanter // Witch-Blessed Meadow

Interaction (7)

  • An Offer You Can’t Refuse
  • Arcane Denial
  • Hydroelectric Specimen // Hydroelectric Laboratory
  • Long River’s Pull
  • Narset’s Reversal
  • Sink into Stupor // Soporific Springs
  • Split Decision

Others (5)

  • Gitaxian Probe
  • Kros, Defense Contractor
  • Misleading Signpost
  • Portal Manipulator
  • Willbreaker

Wipe(s) (1)

Yeah, I know … We probably don’t play enough boardwipes and definitely not the best one, but I don’t like boardwipes (even if they are necessary) and this one is thematically appropriate and actually quite fun. :)

  • Promise of Loyalty

Card Advantage/Selection (12)

Ms. Bumbleflower is probably going to be our main source of card advantage but it never hurts to have more. I mean who doesn’t like drawing cards?

[Everyone loves drawing cards -> Ms. Bumbleflower is able to hand out cards to everyone -> Everyone loves Ms. Bumbleflower! (easy peasy! 😝)]

  • Arcane Denial
  • Brainstorm
  • Consider
  • Faerie Mastermind
  • Fathom Mage
  • Frantic Search
  • Generous Patron
  • Gitaxian Probe
  • Growth Spiral
  • Opt
  • Planar Genesis
  • Smuggler’s Share

Combos (3)

As already described, we can win together with Ms. Bumbleflower in play as soon as we have infinite cast-trigger. This leads to our opponents drawing their whole library and losing the game. If you go through the following combos you will probably wonder why I have chosen exactly these. My requirements for the combos for this deck are firstly that they somehow fit into the deck/theme and secondly that each card that is part of a combo should also be usable individually without a combo which means no combo piece should be a “dead”-card/-draw.

(Update #1: This deck will not contain any infinite-combos for the time being. Previous playtests have shown that (at least for my taste) you have to give up too many slots in the deck to really be able to play the combos consistently. But the idea of playing combos is still in the back of my mind and will continue to be part of my thoughts in the future!) (Update #2: Now that I’ve finished the first version of the deck, some combo-lines have accidentally found their way into the deck. 😅 We don’t play any tutors to increase the chances of getting the combo-lines online but with all the card advantage/selection in the deck, it’s definitely not impossible.)

Line #1

Ms. Bumbleflower + Crystalline Crawler + Shrieking Drake Requirements:

  • Ms. Bumbleflower on the battlefield
  • Crystalline Crawler on the battlefield
  • Shrieking Drake in hand
  • At least U available

Steps:

  1. Cast Shrieking Drake by paying U
  2. Shrieking Drake goes on the stack, triggering Ms. Bumbleflower
  3. Target an opponent of your choice with Ms. Bumbleflowers ability to force them to draw a card + target Crystalline Crawler with her ability as well, giving it a +1/+1-counter and flying until end of turn
  4. Shrieking Drake enters the battlefield, triggering itself
  5. Resolve the Shrieking Drake-trigger, returning itself from the battlefield to your hand
  6. Remova a +1/+1 counter from Crystalline Crawler, adding U
  7. Repeat (Possible) Results:

  • (Almost) Infinite ETB

  • (Almost) Infinite LTB

  • (Almost) Infinite cast-trigger/storm count -> Making your opponents draw as many cards as you want/as they can -> Make your opponents lose the game by forcing them to draw their whole deck Notes:

  • This combo-line is only able to operate in sorcery-speed

  • Oponnents might draw into an answer (removal, counterspell, etc) -> Make sure our opponents are either tapped out or have your own counterspells in your hand to protect the combo

Line #2

Ms. Bumbleflower + Crystalline Crawler + Kami of Whispered Hopes + Whitemane Lion Requirements:

Ms. Bumbleflower on the battlefield Crystalline Crawler on the battlefield Kami of Whispered Hopes on the battlefield Whitemane Lion in hand At least 1W available Steps:

  1. Cast Whitemane Lion by paying 1W
  2. Whitemane Lion goes on the stack, triggering Ms. Bumbleflower
  3. Target an opponent of your choice with Ms. Bumbleflowers ability to force them to draw a card + target Crystalline Crawler with her ability as well, giving it two +1/+1-counter (thanks to Kami of Whispered Hopes we are able to put two +1/+1-counter on Crystalline Crawler) and flying until end of turn
  4. Whitemane Lion enters the battlefield, triggering itself
  5. Resolve the Whitemane Lion-trigger, returning itself from the battlefield to your hand
  6. Remova two +1/+1 counter from Crystalline Crawler, adding 1W
  7. Repeat (Possible) Results:

  • (Almost) Infinite ETB

  • (Almost) Infinite LTB

  • (Almost) Infinite cast-trigger/storm count -> Making your opponents draw as many cards as you want/as they can -> Make your opponents lose the game by forcing them to draw their whole deck Notes:

  • This combo-line is able to operate in instant-speed

  • Oponnents might draw into an answer (removal, counterspell, etc) -> Make sure our opponents are either tapped out or have your own counterspells in your hand to protect the combo

Line #3

Ms. Bumbleflower + Smothering Tithe + Shrieking Drake Requirements:

Ms. Bumbleflower on the battlefield Smothering Tithe on the battlefield Shrieking Drake in hand At least U available Steps:

  1. Cast Shrieking Drake by paying U
  2. Shrieking Drake goes on the stack, triggering Ms. Bumbleflower
  3. Target an opponent of your choice with Ms. Bumbleflowers ability to force them to draw a card + put a +1/+1-Counter on a creature of your choice and give that creature flying until end of turn
  4. The opponent that drew a card is going to trigger Smothering Tithe (+giving us a treasure-token)
  5. Shrieking Drake enters the battlefield, triggering itself
  6. Resolve the Shrieking Drake-trigger, returning itself from the battlefield to your hand
  7. Sacrifice the treasure-token and add U
  8. Repeat (Possible) Results:

  • (Almost) Infinite ETB

  • (Almost) Infinite LTB

  • (Almost) Infinite cast-trigger/storm count -> Making your opponents draw as many cards as you want/as they can -> Make your opponents lose the game by forcing them to draw their whole deck Notes:

  • This combo-line is only able to operate in sorcery-speed

  • Oponnents might draw into an answer (removal, counterspell, etc) -> Make sure our opponents are either tapped out or have your own counterspells in your hand to protect the combo

  • Make sure your opponents aren’t able to pay for Smothering Tithe more often than you are able to cast Shrieking Drake before generating treasure-tokens