Burgeoning is a rare example of a Magic card whose power level was genuinely misjudged at the time of its original printing, not because the design was flawed, but because the format it would eventually dominate did not yet exist in any organized way.
The card's journey from an overlooked common to a widely played Commander rare says as much about the evolution of multiplayer Magic as it does about the card itself.
This guide traces Burgeoning's printing history and explains why its reputation only caught up to its actual power level decades after release.
Burgeoning first appeared in Stronghold, the second set in the Tempest block released in 1998. It was printed at common, the lowest rarity tier, reflecting the design team's assessment of the card's power level at the time.
In the constructed and limited formats that dominated competitive play in that era, almost entirely one-on-one, Burgeoning's ceiling was capped at one extra land drop per opponent turn. That output was useful but far from format-defining, which explains the modest rarity slot it received.
For much of the following decade, Magic's competitive scene remained centered on one-on-one formats where Burgeoning's trigger condition offered limited upside. Ramp decks in that era had access to more consistent, unconditional ramp spells that did not depend on an opponent's actions.
Casual multiplayer games existed throughout this period, but they were not the primary lens through which most players or deck-building resources evaluated card power, so Burgeoning's multiplayer ceiling stayed largely undiscussed.
Commander, originally known as Elder Dragon Highlander, grew from a niche playgroup format in the 2000s into one of the most widely played ways to enjoy Magic by the early 2010s. Its default structure, typically three or four players per pod, fundamentally changed how many cards were evaluated.
Cards whose value scaled with opponent count, previously a minor consideration, suddenly became genuinely relevant deck-building information. Burgeoning was perfectly positioned to benefit from this shift, since its entire design already scaled directly with the number of opponents at the table.
Wizards of the Coast reprinted Burgeoning in the Commander 2016 product, specifically as card number 143 in that set, and elevated its rarity to rare. This reprint reflected the format's community having already recognized the card's real power level well before the official reprint occurred.
The Commander 2016 printing gave the card a modern frame and made it far more accessible to players building landfall or ramp-focused green decks, cementing its place as a readily available Commander staple rather than an obscure Tempest-block pickup.
Burgeoning currently sits in well over 160,000 decks tracked by EDHREC, a figure that reflects sustained, long-term adoption rather than a short-lived trend tied to a single powerful commander or archetype. The card appears across a wide range of green-based decks rather than being tied to one narrow strategy.
This kind of broad, format-wide adoption is a strong signal that a card's power level is genuinely understood by the playerbase rather than a temporary fad driven by a specific combo or synergy piece.
Burgeoning is a useful case study in how a card's power level can shift dramatically based on the format it is played in, even without any change to its printed text. The same effect that looked modest in 1998's one-on-one metagame became a defining ramp piece once Commander's multiplayer structure took hold.
Collectors and players evaluating older cards for modern relevance should keep this kind of format-dependent power shift in mind, since a card's original rarity or reputation does not always reflect how it performs in the format it is actually played in today.
It first appeared in Stronghold, released in 1998 as part of the Tempest block.
It was printed at common in its original Stronghold release.
It was reprinted at rare in Commander 2016, card number 143 in that set.
No, both printings are functionally identical and legal in Commander.
Whether you track down the original 1998 Stronghold printing or the more accessible Commander 2016 version, Burgeoning is a genuinely interesting piece of Magic's design history to own. The original printing especially deserves careful handling given its age, and something like the EVORETRO perfect fit inner sleeves adds a snug layer of protection before an outer sleeve or toploader.
Once your Commander deck is built around either printing, a dedicated case keeps the whole list ready for the next pod. The EVORETRO plastic deck box holds a full hundred-card build without issue.
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