Back in September, Wizards announced the death of the Alchemy format, which never really lived up to expectations. For fans of the format and the unique cards it brings, however, you still have some time before the format completely goes away. There are even some Reality Fracture Alchemy spoilers getting previewed to provide one last hurrah, and one combo machine in particular stands out.
MTG The Bloodbile Swarm
As a five-drop that turns all other creatures into artifacts, The Bloodbile Swarm has a lot in common with Ygra, Eater of All. In many cases, though, turning creatures into Bloods instead of Food is a significant upgrade.
Right off the bat, the difference between being able to pay just one mana to sacrifice a creature like
Stitcher’s Supplier
Stitcher’s Supplier
When this creature enters or dies, mill three cards. (Put the top three cards of your library into your graveyard.)
instead of two is a big deal. On top of that, you get to rummage away huge creatures to enable reanimation spells.
If that weren’t enough, The Bloodbile Swarm even lets you recast creatures you sacrifice, helping you double up on enters and death triggers. Throw in some Edicts of your own to force opponents to sacrifice creatures, and you can cast them for yourself! While we technically don’t know what the Prismatic ability is yet, many players speculate it simply allows you to cast the creature with any colors of mana, which helps maximize this option.
For those who want to go all out, The Bloodpile Swarm’s final ability also enables an infinite loop with a free creature like
Ornithopter
Ornithopter
Flying
alongside a sacrifice outlet. If the sacrifice outlet is
Ashnod’s Altar
Ashnod’s Altar
Sacrifice a creature: Add {C}{C}.
, infinitely sacrificing and recasting Ornithopter nets infinite mana. Alternatively, you can Mill your opponent out with
Altar of Dementia
Altar of Dementia
Sacrifice a creature: Target player mills cards equal to the sacrificed creature's power.
. Adding a
Blood Artist
Blood Artist
Whenever this creature or another creature dies, target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
effect into the mix makes either plan instantly lethal.
Even with all this power, however, five mana is a big ask for The Bloodpile Swarm, likely relegating it to being a Brawl Commander.
MTG Quintorius, Fate Splitter
For Superfriends enthusiasts, Quintorius, Fate Splitter is a premium addition to Arena. Right off the bat, the more Planeswalkers you have in play when you resolve Quinrotius, the more value you’ll get out of the static ability. If you’re feeling frisky, you can always activate Quintorius’ -1 ability to find more Planeswalkers to cast.
In most cases, though, you’ll likely want to Proliferate twice with Quintorius right away, pushing toward your Planeswalkers’ Ultimates. The life cushion is significant here, too, helping you stabilize against aggressive opponents.
Admittedly, Quintorius isn’t the most powerful card unless you really lean into the Superfriends aspect. That being said, there are Brawl decks like
Esika, God of the Tree
Esika, God of the Tree
Vigilance
{T}: Add one mana of any color.
Other legendary creatures you control have vigilance and "{T}: Add one mana of any color."
that can make great use of this Planeswalker.
MTG Remnants of Beleren
Continuing the trend of elite Planeswalker support, Remnants of Beleren has incredible build-around potential. The combination of static and first-activated abilities lets you quickly Ultimate your various Jace Planeswalkers. With other Reality Fracture cards like
Jace’s Machinations
Jace’s Machinations
Until end of turn, you may activate loyalty abilities of Jace planeswalkers you control on any player's turn any time you could cast an instant.
Empower Jace 8. (Put eight loyalty counters on a Jace token you control. If you don't control one, first create a blue Jace planeswalker token with "[−1]: Surveil 1" and "[−3]: Draw a card.")
, reaching the Ultimate of any Jace Planeswalker becomes trivial.
Obviously, though, Remnants of Beleren shines in decks with lots of Jaces. While you can use this artifact’s final ability to draft Jaces, the Beleren Spellbook has many underwhelming Jace Walkers, making this unreliable. Nonetheless, adding this to your
Jace, Multiverse Architect
Jace, Multiverse Architect
At the beginning of combat on each opponent's turn, they may pay {2}. If they don't, creatures they control can't attack Jaces you control this turn.
+1: Draw two cards, then put a card from your hand on the bottom of your library.
−3: Exile another target planeswalker or creature you control. Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature or planeswalker card. Put that card onto the battlefield and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Jace, Multiverse Architect can be your commander.
Brawl deck feels like a slam dunk.
MTG Willbound Quill
By itself, Willbound Quill is a mediocre mana rock that’s not worth playing. Yet, in conjunction with Prepared spells, you can get a ton of extra value doubling up on the exiled spell. This makes Willbound Quill a slam-dunk in
Codie, Ravenous Codex
Codie, Ravenous Codex
Whenever you cast a prepared spell, copy it. You may choose new targets for the copy.
{W}{U}{B}{R}{G}, {T}: Each creature you control becomes prepared. (Only creatures with prepare spells can become prepared.)
Brawl shells.
Digging deeper, you can use
Karn, the Great Creator
Karn, the Great Creator
Activated abilities of artifacts your opponents control can't be activated.
+1: Until your next turn, up to one target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its mana value.
−2: You may reveal an artifact card you own from outside the game or choose a face-up artifact card you own in exile. Put that card into your hand.
or
North Wind Avatar
North Wind Avatar
Flying
When this creature enters, if you cast it, you may put a card you own from outside the game into your hand.
to copy cards from your sideboard. This card also pairs nicely with cards like Remnants of Jace that draft cards from a Spellbook, as well as cards that steal from the opponent’s library. With that in mind, Willbound Quill has elite potential in
Rakdos, the Muscle
Rakdos, the Muscle
Flying, trample
Whenever you sacrifice another creature, exile cards equal to its mana value from the top of target player's library. Until your next end step, you may play those cards, and mana of any type can be spent to cast those spells.
Sacrifice another creature: Rakdos gains indestructible until end of turn. Tap it. Activate only once each turn.
Brawl decks, but this Quill’s higher mana value probably rules it out of 60-card Magic.
Ultimately, even though the Alchemy format has been sent off into the sunset, there’s still a lot to enjoy about the new unique designs. If these spoilers are any indication, Alchemy seems to be ending with a bang.
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