I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass! The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow!
J.R.R. Tolkien
Said Wizards of the Coast as they BANNED Grinning Ignus from Alchemy before releasing Alchemy Horizons: Baldur’s Gate. Goodbye infinite combo! We can all breathe fresh air as we look at some of the most influential and fun cards coming to MTGA this week.
(Keep in mind these are my evaluations, and I will probably miss on some of the cards I think will be powerful or even skip a card that becomes an all-star entirely, and I will be assessing them exclusively for the Alchemy format)
I’ll stick to two cards per color since many new cards are coming, and I can’t go over them all.
White Cards
Champions of Tyr is a two of any color and two white mana 4/3 Angel Knight creature with flying and Double team (Mythic). It says, “When Champions of Tyr enters the battlefield, you get a boon with- When you cast your next creature spell, that creature enters the battlefield with your choice of a +1+1 counter, a flying counter, or a lifelink counter on it.” This card reminds me of Legion Angel, except for the choice of counters you get to put on the next creature you cast. I could see including it in many different types of decks.
(Double team- When a creature with double team attacks, if it’s not a token, conjure a duplicate of the original into your hand, and then both cards lose double team)
Archivist of Oghma is a one of any color and one white mana 2/2 Halfling Cleric creature with Flash (Rare) that says, “Whenever an opponent searches their library, you gain 1 life and draw a card.” This card seems like it will find a home in decks looking to have a toolbox of answers for a variety of diverse threats in their sideboard. Think Runes, for example.
Blue Cards
Thayan Evokers is a two of any color and one blue mana 1/1 creature with Double team (Rare) that says, “When Thayan Evokers enters the battlefield, conjure a card named Lightning Bolt into your hand, then discard a card. Whenever you conjure one or more cards, put a +1+1 counter on Thayan Evokers.” As we’ve learned, having the ability to conjure cards that aren’t typically legal in the format you’re playing is potent. This card could easily fit into an Izzet shell similar to Izzet Phoenix if you can find the cards in Alchemy to work around it. Yes, it’s more expensive than a Dragon’s Rage Channeler, but Historic is a different format altogether, and I still see potential here.
Signature Spells is a four of any color and two blue mana Enchantment (Rare) that says, “When Signature Spells enters the battlefield, seek two instant and/or sorcery cards with mana value 3, then exile them. At the beginning of your upkeep, you may copy a card exiled with Signature Spells. You may cast the copy without paying its mana cost.” I may be reaching with this one, as Arcane Bombardment never really took off like people had hoped it would. Still, combining these two in an Izzet deck sounds entertaining!
Black Cards
Mind Spike is a one black mana Sorcery (Uncommon) that says, “Target opponent reveals each noncreature, nonland card in their hand. You choose a card revealed this way. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life. If they didn’t reveal a card this way, you draw a card.” This card is close to a Duress but potentially better because if you brick, you at least draw a card. You lose life for casting it, but card advantage is always welcome.
Black Market Connections is a two of any color and one black mana Enchantment (Rare) that says, “At the beginning of your precombat main phase, choose one or more-
- Sell Contraband- Create a Treasure token. You lose 1 life.
- Buy Information- Draw a card. You lose 2 life.
- Hire a Mercenary- Create a 3/2 colorless Shapeshifter creature token with changeling. You lose 3 life.”
Wedding Announcement from Innistrad: Crimsom Vow made its mark when that set was released, and this seems like another situation where combining the two could become a powerhouse.
Red Cards
Tiefling Outcasts is a one red mana 1/1 Tiefling peasant creature with Double team (Rare) that says, “Other Demons, Devils, Imps, and Tieflings you control get +1/+0.” This card could easily fit into a mono-red deck, giving it a Fervent Champion type of effect!
Reckless Barbarian is a one of any color and one red mana 2/2 Dragon Barbarian creature (Common) that says, “Sacrifice Reckless Barbarian: add two red mana.”
This card reminds me of Skirk Prospector in the Muxus goblins decks. I could see it being included in a similar type of deck in Alchemy, possibly with Tiefling Outcasts.
Green Cards
Monster Manual is a three of any color and one green mana Artifact (Rare) that says, “Pay one of any color and one green mana and tap it; you may put a creature card from your hand; onto the battlefield. Activate only as a Sorcery.” (This is one of the cards pre-nerfed for Alchemy, if you play it outside of Alchemy, you can activate it at any time.) It also has a Sorcery-Adventure side where you pay two of any color and one green mana to “Mill five cards, then return a creature card milled this way to your hand.” Mono-green has been a powerful archetype since the rotation of Standard, and I can easily see it becoming even more powerful with some of these new cards coming out in Alchemy. Cheating giant creatures into play before you typically have the mana to cast them is always hard for the opponent to deal with.
Yuan-Ti Scaleshield is a two of any color and one green mana Instant (Rare) that says, “Permanents you control gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. Seek a creature card if an opponent has cast a spell with mana value 3 or less this turn.” Aggro decks such as mono-green usually run some type of Snakeskin Veil effect, but those spells target only one creature at a time. This card is similar to Heroic Intervention and will probably see play in the sideboard at the very least.
Multicolored Cards
Tasha, Unholy Archmage is a two of any color, one blue and one black mana 4 starting loyalty Legendary Planeswalker-Tasha (Mythic). It says, “+1; Until your next turn, whenever a creature attacks you or Tasha, Unholy Archmage, put a -1-1 counter on that creature. -2; Target opponent puts a creature card of their choice from their graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. That creature gains ward 2. -6; Target opponent reveals cards from the top of their library until they reveal three creature cards. Put those cards onto the battlefield under your control. That player puts the rest into their graveyard.” These are substantial effects for a relatively cheap planeswalker who protects herself immediately. “Steal your opponents’ deck and play it?” says Dimir. Yes, please!
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm is a three of any color, one green, one blue, and one red mana 6/6 Legendary Creature-Dragon Spirit with flying and ward 2 (Rare). It says, “Whenever another nontoken Dragon enters the battlefield under your control, create a token that’s a copy of it, except the token isn’t legendary if that Dragon is legendary.” “Tiamat, are you in the house?! We need more dragons!” Temur, or even five-color dragons, sounds like a blast. Bring in a Fearsome Whelp to reduce the cost, and go wild.
Artifact Cards
Basilisk Collar is a one of any color Artifact-Equipment (Rare) that says, “Equipped creature has deathtouch and lifelink. Equip 2.” We see a lot of new equipment cards with this set, and with the previous existing Alchemy cards for equipment and modified creatures, maybe equipment decks finally have a shot. Arms Scavenger would make it only cost one mana to equip the collar!
Meteor Golem is a seven of any color mana 3/3 Artifact-Creature Golem that says, “When Meteor Golem enters the battlefield, destroy target nonland permanent an opponent controls.” Seven mana sounds like a lot for this type of effect, but consider combing this card with a Monster Manual!
Land Cards
The land cards are mostly the same. They are gates, and all five colors of new lands have the same ability, letting you pay three of any color plus one of that land’s colors to tap it and seek a nonland card once per turn. They enter the battlefield tapped and add one mana of their color.
Baldur’s Gate, a Legendary-Land Gate, says, “Pay two mana of any color and tap it; Add X mana of any color, where X is the number of other Gates you control.” We’ll have to see if gate or shrine decks start showing up!
Summary
There are many new intriguing and unique cards in this set, and it’s exciting to see where the new meta takes us. WOTC finally fixed the infinite combo deck we’ve all had to drudge through playing against for the past month and added some new nerfs and buffs to Alchemy; there’s no telling how many more archetypes may become top-tier decks from here on out!
