Yesterday, spoilers for Alchemy: Edge of Eternities began with two new legends being shown off. Thendar, the Overminer, in particular, looks like a brutal card to play against. With the official release of Alchemy: Edge of Eternities on MTG Arena less than a week away, we expect these spoilers to come out of the woodwork in short order.
Speaking of which, today, another rare legend was officially previewed. This card utilizes a brutal mechanic that dominated Alchemy for much of last year. For better or worse, though, this new card may have some difficulty finding a home in the format post-rotation.
Axavar, Fate Thief
Axavar, Fate Thief is a unique card that mashes new and old mechanics together. The goal is to trigger Void in order to Heist your opponent’s library.
While this sounds really cool, the fact that you have to discard a card means you aren’t actually ahead on resources in the process. Heist gives you some card selection, but because these cards come from the opponent’s deck, they may not synergize with your game plan at all.
Part of what made Heist so appealing when Alchemy: Thunder Junction came out was the multitude of payoffs that were available. Cards like Triumphant Getaway and Grenzo, Crooked Jailer served as massive rewards for sticking with the Heist theme. On top of this, there were enough Heist cards that you could reach critical mass and simply steal your opponent’s game plan outright.
The issue is that these cards have since rotated out of the format. As a result of this, Axavar may struggle to see play within a dedicated deck. Technically, you could build around it in a Rakdos Midrange shell, but Heist is less powerful when it’s used in isolation.
The one thing Axavar does really well is serve as an efficient discard outlet. It’s possible that a Reanimator strategy built around Zombify could make use of this card. Still, barring Reanimator making a splash or some other major haymakers getting spoiled that synergize with Axavar, it’s unlikely this card makes a big splash in Alchemy.
Axavar in Brawl
The good news is that Alchemy isn’t the only place for players to make use of Axavar. Brawl is a hugely popular format on MTG Arena, being the client’s Commander alternative. Even though Axavar doesn’t look like the strongest option to lead your squad, it can make for a great piece of filler in the right deck.
Grenzo, Crooked Jailer shells look poised to make great use of Axavar. Grenzo’s ability to let you cast some Heisted cards for free makes Axavar a much more intriguing prospect.
There are also some legends that reward you for casting cards from exile. Prosper, Tome-Bound, for example, gifts you Treasure tokens every time you cast a Heisted card. Even this minor upside could be enough to make Axavar really pop off.
Finally, as a Pirate and therefore an Outlaw, Axavar is a nice inclusion in Laughing Jasper Flint decks. Laughing Jasper Flint already encourages you to cast opposing spells, making Axavar a natural addition.
We’re excited to see what Axavar can do upon release. It’s hard to fully count out a card with such a cheap Warp cost. Brawl certainly feels like the environment best suited for the Rakdos rare. We’ll just have to wait and see if it makes an impact elsewhere.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!