MTG Arena Alchemy Format Explained: Historic & Timeless Decklists (Artisan Optics: Alchemy — Part I)

Greetings and Salutations my fellow spell slingers!

I hope you've all been drawing the perfect ¾ splits since the last time you came by, and that you haven't had resources come in tapped on a turn you needed them!

But, if neither of those things have been the case, surely your luck will change in the near future. ;)

Today I wanted to discuss and examine what I believe to be the most loathed and controversial element of Magic: The Gathering played on MTG Arena. Even if you hadn't read the title of this article, I'm willing to bet you'd guess right.

I am talking about Alchemy.

Resistance… Why MTG Arena Alchemy Divides the Community

What is Alchemy, exactly? Glad you asked! "Alchemy" refers to an experimental format which is playable exclusively on MTG Arena. Cards within the Alchemy format are open to "rebalancing", id est, updates can be made on the fly by the development team if said team does deem those cards ripe to rebalance. This means that cards' actual text will occasionally change to be buffed or nerfed if it is felt that the change will improve the health of the format. But more importantly, with Alchemy-specific releases it also gives designers some space to stretch their legs a bit using the miracle of digital technology.

Generally speaking, each standard legal set that is released will have a small release of Alchemy cards, three weeks later. Many cards among these sets would be completely impractical to try and play in a paper deck.

(For example, trying to paper the Alchemy card "Perilous Iteration" would look something like, "...okay now take all the two mana cards out of your deck and put them in a pile, then take out all the three mana cards and make a separate pile with them. Shuffle them both separately and then draw one card out of each pile, and then shuffle your deck all back together. You don't have to show me what they are, but you have to discard them at the end of your next turn if you haven't cast them. Now, don't cheat and discard different cards than you seeked!").

While I am beginning to warm up to the broader idea of Alchemy, and the cards that this ruthless and maniacal spawn has spawned, I started off feeling as many do. Those feelings?

"These cards are stupid. I hate them."

And it was for a good enough reason. They did weird, silly things. They were offensive toward the idea of what I believed Magic cards should be, and I felt they were crossing some kind of line I didn't previously even know existed.

"'Seek' a card? Do I even shuffle?! 'Draft' a card from your 'Spellbook?' What in the name of Gix is that? 'Heist' a card from your opponent's library!?!? That's it, I'm done with this nonsense!"

I decided to simply shut them out, pretend they didn't exist as best I could and, while playing formats other than standard, I would scoff as hard as I could muster a scoff if I ever came up against them… or even worse, lost to them.

…is Futile: Coming Around to Alchemy in MTGA Artisan

After a fairly lengthy break from Arena, I was lured back in by our beloved Artisan format and the fine folk of MTGA Artisan. As I got back into the game and signed up for my first actual competition, I decreed that I would use all the tools available to me to brew killer piles and lay waste to all comers! And that meant, especially after seeing the power of some of them in action, I had to actually take a look at those cursed, malevolent abominations within the Alchemy releases.

As I assessed them, I realized I had made a mistake with my earlier judgement. While, yes (at that point), I likely could've still said I hated them, I came to the realization that the reason was not because they were 'stupid,' but because they were different.

I've been playing Magic a long time, the large majority of my life and the life of the game in fact, and these cards made it necessary for me to update how I thought about and played Magic. Not sure if any of you have heard how new tricks and old dogs relate, but it eventually dawned on me that I may just be an old dog who subconsciously preferred that things were left unchanged.

But, then …where's the fun in that!?

As I was brewing away one day (somewhat unsuccessfully as usual) I realized that I was only familiar with a handful of the Alchemy cards that were available in the Artisan format(s). I decided I would compile a list of all the cards available to us Artisanal wizards (we the ...Artisazards?) and go through them thoroughly for any gems that could help me put together a truly remarkable 75. And then I thought, "Heck, why don't I bring my wizardy friends along for the ride?"

Set and Select: The Full List of Artisan Alchemy Cards

I felt the most effective way for me to give the community a little alchemical nudge would be to simply have a link set up to all the available alchemical artisanal allowables, so that you can have a look through and see if anything catches your eye.

Hopefully this gets a little bit of creative juice flowing, or gives you some new ideas.

Afterwards I'll showcase a few decks that I've run into in tournaments, or on the testing grounds, as an example of what these zany cards can do and then, to get your britches bristling, I'll brew up a deck with a choice pick of mine (Just don't judge me for it. ha).

So without further adieu!

Let's get,

Alchemical!

Here is a list of all available Artisan Alchemy card →

I strongly recommend that everyone who plays, or is thinking of playing, in a format that allows them to investigate that link (which takes you to a list of all available Artisan Alchemy cards up to secrets of Alchemy: Strixhaven). Read it through once and I am sure that you will find something interesting to fuel your brew-o-matic. Read through it again and, if I'm bettin', I'd bet you'll snag a few more. Who knows what might happen if you find just the right way to exploit these weird and different cards.

—- Investigation Intermission —-

Now that you're familiar with the cards of Alchemy, I'll give a run-down of some very interesting Alchemy inspired decklists from Historic and Timeless Artisan.

And then, for better or for worse, I'll take a crack at a brand new list with my rudimentary brew-powers!

Stay tuned, my friends, for some heavy-hitting Alchemy tech and some flimsily-hitting Alchy tech-jankery!!

Decks of Alchemical Annihilation: Alchemy Decklists for Historic & Timeless Artisan

Azorius Prison: A Historic Alchemy Control Deck

We'll start with a Historic deck that I respect, but loathe.

A 75 that was given the (fitting) name "Azorius Prison"...

As you can see, the point of this deck is to stunt your opponent's turns so badly they die of frustration, exhaustion or annoyance. To do so, it relies especially on the unique power of Alchemy Cards: Nightclub Bouncer, Thought Partition and Wingbright Thief. I found Thought Partition to be particularly good, almost feeling like a white Thoughtseize without the life loss. Even if a Partitioned card gets cast, it is still a bad tempo hit.

I played against this deck in testing before the Cup tournament it made an appearance in. I can't express my gratitude to the matchmaking gods for not having to face this stack during the swiss segment. In testing I simply could not get past the wall of Remands, Reprieves, Reflectors, Drowners, Bouncers, and Partitions. On top of that I didn't even want to cast my spells half the time because of Wingbright Thief. In test games I was also driven up the wall by Sandcloud Harbinger, a card that didn't make it into the tournament list, but which is one additional piece that makes the game feel impossible to play!

In all seriousness though folks, this deck seemed very effective, and I was surprised it didn't find its way into the top 8. My only thought could be that it didn't have an aggressive enough threat package to close out games once it had people stuck in the sand. Who knows, maybe a tuned version of this deck will wreak havoc on people's nerves in the future!

No Dredge Dredge: A Graveyard Deck Supercharged by Alchemy

The second Historic list that I would like to showcase is one that I absolutely love. It was never registered for an event, but I still thought it was strong and interesting. And for the purposes of this article it is a great example of a deck that took a deck that was 'ok' and added an Alchemy card that supercharged the whole idea to the point that it was a totally different deck. I'm going to hazard a guess that the prevalence of Soul-Guide Lantern in the majority of sideboards sank this ship before it sailed, but it is still a great build.

This deck played a graveyard strategy that you might have seen in the past, with a ton of the staple cards of dredge-like decks, but the Alchemy additions take it to the next level. Cantor of the Refrain is among my most played and beloved Alchemical cards (who doesn't love endlessly recursive threats that grow each time!?), but it's the Elvish Elegy in the deck that makes it into something completely different.

And I tell you, Timeline Culler, for example, is fairly dangerous, but coming at you as a 4/4 or even 5/5, is an immediate death sentence if you can't exile it fast-fast. And when it's bringing along its 5/3 or 6/4 Cantors (or bigger), it gets pretty ridiculous. It's not just them that are coming back swollen, huge Haunted Dead and Silversmote Ghouls are also crawling out of graves to rend you.

While the designer of this deck thought it was missing something to carry forward, the thoughts presented within are truly something to be considered.

Gruul Energy: A Timeless Artisan Aggro Deck

The next decklist I would like to look at is an unassuming but deadly Timeless energy stack. The deck managed a very respectable 3rd place finish in a very competitive field of Lightning Bolts, Swords to Plowshares and Mishra's Baubles.

The deck played a 1-drop energy muncher and a pair of very strong 4-drops for its Alchemy inclusions; respectively, Longtusk Stalker, Wingbane Vantasaur and Switchgrass Grazer (aka, 'Horse').

My favorite (pretty absurd) play, by far, from this deck is the "Turn 2 Amped Raptor into Horse" powered by a turn 1 Attune the Aether. Such a beating. And the Raptor can even climb onto the hasty 4/4 Horse and make sure nothing and no-one is blocking.

Vantasaur provides removals for a wide range of permanents, and the littlest Longtusk helps maintain the energy, or gobbles it up while pumping itself and a creature in your hand.

This strategy seems pretty straightforward: Lay the beats. Play efficient threats, remove enemies in the way, smash face! With other energy staples like Galvanic Discharge, Longtusk Cub and Unstable Amulet, the cards flow and the damage keeps coming while the big threats land to do the heavy lifting. I always liked this list, and I hope to see it around again sometime.

Rimekin Burn: The Reflective Rimekin Deck Dominating Timeless

The last deck I will pluck from my colleagues and competitors on MTGA Artisan is one that is surely going to go down in the history books. While it only plays a single Alchemy card, that card is Bananas. So bananas that it was instrumental at shooting the deck to a 1st Place finish in a previous Timeless Cup, and has now, as of this writing, placed two decks into top 8 of the Cup tournament currently nearing completion. Having played with it and against it, I can tell you this stack is without a doubt the real deal.

When Reflective Rimekin was spoiled, everyone discussing it knew it had a terribly high ceiling. There are so many absurdly powerful 3-mana instant and sorcery cards available in Timeless that it seemed it was only a matter of time before someone found the right companion spells for the cheeky Rimekin. And it turned out cards like the above-rate Stock Up, high damage Galvanic Blast and card-efficient Illuminating Lash were the ones to take the elemental to the top.

And just imagining some play sequences are enough to see why. Turn four double Stock Up for four perfect extra cards, or turn four, for 2 mana, Illuminating Lash drawing two cards off the top and sending 6 damage to the face (or killing a couple of creatures or a mix between). I even saw turns where multiple Rimekin triggers were stacked for a lethal 8, 12, or even 16, damage from a single Galvanic Blast.

The jury was in: Rimekin was nuts.

But what I consider is the craziest thing this deck can do, which my poor Rakdos Deck took a beating from in the current TA Cup, was turn two Rimekin off an Amped Raptor that was amped up by a turn one Aether Hub. Turn 3 I watched a follow-up illuminating Lash perform a painful 4-for-1, killing two of my threats and drawing my opponent two cards. I just couldn't make it back in the game after that rollout, and I was impressed.

The rest of the deck is well composed of a great mix of staple Timeless and Historic cards that come together to create an inferno of card advantage, removal and direct damage.

We'll have to see if the elemental hurricane that is Reflective Rimekin can take the TA trophy a second time!

And Finally… Building an Original Alchemy Brew

"Prepare Another Wave Maestro! The Enemy Yet Stands!!"

Jeu de Cartes Alchemical a le Scithos (My French-speaking friends, please make fun of me as much as you want)

Ponder, ponder I did, for quite some time, on which Alchemy card or cards I wanted to try to build around for this anxiety inducing part of my first Optics article. I knew I wanted it to be a card I had never seen in a list before, which rules out most of the obviously OP ones. I wanted it to be a card I had never personally tried before either (So that ruled out my beloved Bail Out. What a good card). I was originally going to try and build a more competitive deck, and see if I could put it through the trials. But after I plunked away for a while, I decided I would just have some fun with it this time!

(And then in Part II of this Optics: Alchemy ramble, after examining what digital-only cards Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate and the Jump-Start series had to offer, I would attempt to build a historic Decklist. [Pun intended])

The new cards from Alchemy: Strixhaven delivered some bangers for us. I feel that Unbreakable Remnant and Inspiring Easel were standouts, but all the cards had some kind of draw.

For funzies here today, I decided to take arguably the worst one as my build around.

After tinkering for a while, I came up with this Masterpiece!! I give you! …

CONWAVE.dec: A Historic Artisan Brew Built Around Crescendo Conductor

For our Alchemy inclusions, we have the central figure: Crescendo Conductor, the zany xerox machine: Goblin Morale Sergeant, one of my long-time pet cards: Mine Security. There is also one other 'digital only' card, Longtusk Cub, though it is not technically an 'Alchemy' card. I will touch on that nearer the end of the article.

So, yes, you probably will look at this list and think "That's not going to win any events." And you're right! Likely not! But of the half-dozen or so lists I roughed together, this was my favorite. And it does showcase some of the weird talents that Alchemy cards bring to the table.

Though I won very few games in the pub historic queue, where I trialed the pile, the combination of Morale-Sergeant, Mine Security and the wild card machines that are Lead the Stampede and Winding Way did steal a few games. I especially liked how the perpetually 0 to cast FTKs could be enlisted to conjure free to cast 5/2 haste FTKs! The Molecular Modifiers, though plain 'normal' cards, did help to keep my flimsy Sergeants and FTKs alive so they could make more than one swing, which wasn't terrible.

Crescendo Conductor only really came online once, and I did manage to fire off a few Boltwaves! But it was a bit mana-hungry and a bit difficult to set up. The setup also didn't get through the rare-powered life gain or sweepers I was running into. When I can nail down some Artisan players for a match or two, I'll see if ol' CONWAVE has any real bite.

That's All(chemy) Folks! Final Thoughts on the MTG Arena Alchemy Format

And there you have it! Alchemy in a (sort of) nutshell!

I hope that you found this piece helpful or informative in some way, and I really hope you took a good look through the Alchemy card list that I linked. I do strongly feel there are some sleepers in there that have not been given their due chance to shine. If anyone brews up something interesting with unproven Alchemy tech, I'd love to hear about it!

The Final Word(s)... Longtusk Cub and What's Coming in Part II

But what about that Longtusk Cub? It surely is not a "normal" magic card!

There are two other sets of cards that contain 'digital only' releases, but I was finding that all together it was just too much to try to go over in a single stretch. I decided that I would chop the total in half, so that I could focus on these two groups of cards and give them the attention they deserve (read: need) in Artisan Optics: Alchemy - Part II.

Those two groups of cards are:

Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate - Arena's only stand-alone, fully draftable Alchemy set. It seems it was a bit of an experiment, as I haven't heard of any plans for them to do another. There are many reprints within the Baldur's Gate set (Mostly from the Forgotten Realms cards), but there is also a pile of interesting digital only cards.

&

The Jumpstart Series - There are currently three jumpstart releases listed on Arena, though I believe only the "Historic Horizons" set contains Digi-only material. The release is mostly made up of recycled cards from older sets, but, within the lists there is some spice, and some gold, for sure.

This was a bit of a longer one, and so if you made it this far, thanks a lot for reading!

And until next time,

Happy spell-slingin' my wizards.

— Scithos