Secrets of Strixhaven may have been out for a few weeks at this point, but Wizards isn’t done with the set yet. As always, this Magic Multiverse set is also getting an Alchemy set with its own mini spoiler season. While the initial kickoff wasn’t that inspiring, things have picked up very quickly. A trio of new Alchemy: Secrets of Strixhaven spoilers have just been revealed, and they seriously don’t disappoint.
MTG Ursine Guide
While it’s not a two mana 2/2, Ursine Guide is still one hell of a bear. Essentially, any time you cast a spell you Conjured into existence, you get a Bear Cub for free. This then feeds into the new Ranger’s Merit Prepared spell that should buff most of your board. In theory, this makes Ursine Guide a very easy Brawl legend to build around; however, it’s not quite so easy.
With only 23 Brawl legal mono green bears in MTG, and 21 mono green Conjure cards, deckbuilding options are very limited. Technically, you can jam all of these cards together and make something workable, but it’s not the most compelling deck. Due to this, Ursine Guide may be waiting a long time before it ever becomes a truly viable option.
Unfortunately, Ursine Guide isn’t even that much better in the 99. Even if it is a self-contained value engine for other Conjure decks, there are simply better options available. Unfortunately, this may leave Ursine Guide feeling like a bit of a waste within Alchemy: Strixhaven’s limited mythic slots.
MTG Rebounding Phoenix
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, Rebounding Phoenix perpetually gets +1/+1.
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If 5 or more mana was spent to cast that spell, you may exile Rebounding Phoenix. Then return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner’s control. This ability triggers even if this card is in your graveyard.
While it might not be a mythic, Rebounding Phoenix certainly packs a punch like one. According to translation efforts from the community, this card is an absolute monster, and at two mana, it could be a genuine problem. Not only does this card have a Perpetual mix between Magecraft and Prowess, but it can ever recur itself for free.
Thankfully, there are a few caveats to this recursion that should limit its competitive potential. For starters, you’ll need to cast a five mana, or greater, spell to essentially trigger Opus. From there, Rebounding Phoenix will come in tapped, so you can’t attack or block with it immediately. While this is a pretty damning downside, Rebounding Phoenix still offers a recurring win condition, which can seriously upgrade deckbuilding for control decks.
Considering there’s a new Izzet Opus deck floating around Standard, this new card could easily push it to Alchemy, too. While it’s definitely slower than Colorstorm Stallion, the upside of not having to cast it could excel in grindy-er games. Whether or not this archetype will actually end up making the jump, however, remains to be seen.
MTG Paradigm Shifter
When this creature enters, draft a card of your choice from a Paradigm Spellbook into your hand.
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T: Add two mana of any combination of colors. This mana can only be used to cast instant or sorcery spells.
At three mana, Paradigm Shifter is another remarkably well-costed Izzet spell in Alchemy: Strixhaven. Upon entry, you’ll pull from this card’s Spellbook, which is all of the Paradigm spells from the main set. After this, once you clear summoning sickness, Paradigm Shifter is a mana dork, creating two of any color to fuel your freshly conjured card.
Thanks to drafting a card from Paradigm Shifter’s spellbook, you should always be able to cast what you find next turn. Since you’ll essentially be untapping with six mana, only Improvisation Capstone and Restoration Seminar are slightly too expensive. Since you can easily draft your way around these, Paradigm Shifter should always set up an explosive turn four.
Realistically, while there’s no denying the strength of the Paradigm spells, this line isn’t ideal. Dedicating your entire turn four and five to casting one spell, even if powerful, hardly guarantees you the win. In Brawl, however, this card will be an absolute godsend, as the easier you play a Paradigm spell, the better.
Only One Fifth Done
While this new trio of Alchemy: Strixhaven cards definitely looks impressive, we’ve only scratched the surface. So far, six out of the thirty cards from the set have been revealed, so we should be getting plenty more later this week. With the full set expected on Monday, ahead of its release on May 19th, it shouldn’t be long before everything is revealed.
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