Considering how many cards exist on the platform, it’s a miracle that MTG Arena works at all. Between all the new, old, and digital-exclusive cards, there are countless possible interactions and fringe rules. With this complexity in mind, it’s no wonder that, occasionally, bugs will creep into the code, allowing for unintended gameplay.
Recently, MTG Arena players have discovered a new bug that has slipped through the cracks of development. Worryingly, this isn’t a small bug, either, as it allows for some degenerate and illegal deck creation. Given the potential magnitude of this bug, we can only hope Wizards can find a quick resolution.
Conjuring a Clamity
At this point, Conjure feels like the hallmark mechanic of Alchemy. Not only is it used heavily in isolation, but it’s the basis for other mechanics like Double Team and Spellbooks. Allowing for some truly innovative designs, Conjure cards are great fun to play with. Evidently, however, these cards can cause some problems.
At the moment, you can play with Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer in Alchemy. Considering Ragavan is banned in Historic and Legacy, this is definitely a problem. Offering low-cost ramp and card advantage, this card is a staple in Modern for good reason. To say that their power level is not fitting for Alchemy would be one hell of an understatement.
Technically, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer was already playable in Alchemy thanks to Kari Zev, Crew of Two. When attacking with this card, you’d Conjure a Ragavan into play, which is a pretty neat ability. Despite Ragavan’s strength, Kari Zev doesn’t see a great deal of play outside of Brawl, as they’re a touch too slow.
For better or worse, this is the case for a lot of Conjure cards on MTG Arena that create otherwise broken cards. While cards like Ruby Collector and Oracle of the Alpha have toed the line, Conjure is fairly restrained nowadays. That said, if you get to play Conjured cards without having to Conjure them first, there would be serious problems.
As mentioned, that’s exactly what’s happening at the moment. According to multiple reports across social media and our own testing, you can simply play with illegal cards in Alchemy.
Don’t Do This
For starters, we highly recommend that you don’t do this. While it might sound like fun to crush the competition, this is definitely not intended gameplay. Wizards have banned players for exploiting bugs before, and the same could happen again here. It really won’t be worth hitting Mythic rank with an illegal deck if you get banned and/or lose your account.
With that warning in mind, this bug unusually comes from creating a Timeless deck. Since everything is legal in this format, you can include any Conjureable cards without any issue. In our testing, we threw together a deck using Lightning Bolt, Ragavan, Siege Rhino, and Hangarback Walker.
Despite none of the above cards being legal in Alchemy, you can select the deck when setting up an Alchemy game. Curiously, the game does know that these cards aren’t Alchemy legal. If you switch over the deck’s format from Alchemy to Timeless in the deck builder, they’re suddenly not playable.
Clearly, wires are getting crossed somewhere behind the scenes, which is a rather worrying thought. Not only is this MTG Arena bug dangerous, but it could be difficult to fix, too. If this is a problem with how Conjure cards are implemented outright, Wizards might have a mountain of a task on their hands.
Fixes Needed Soon
Right now, we can only hope that this isn’t a problem with the implementation of Conjure and decklists on MTG Arena. Ideally, this bug needs to be as easy as possible to fix, as fixes are needed sooner rather than later. Right now, you’re able to create some absolutely abhorrent Alchemy legal decks using Ragavan and Lightning Bolt.
Should more MTG Arena players abuse this bug and create similar decks, the metagame might become a complete mess. We can only hope that Wizards will be quick to deactivate cards if this happens to curb the problem. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to sit tight and wait to see what happens going forward, as there’s no telling how long fixes may take.
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