October is a big month for MTG… Or at least it will be. On October 18th, players will get their first look at the hugely anticipated Marvel crossover set. One week later, MagicCon: Las Vegas kicks off with loads of potentially revelatory preview panels. Before all that, the Alchemy: Dusmourn set is slowly being spoiled for MTG Arena players to enjoy.
In comparison, Alchemy: Duskmourn is pretty low impact given everything else that’s going on. That being said, one of the new spoilers revealed today is still incredibly exciting and could shake up multiple metagames. As if Death’s Shadow wasn’t already scary enough, this classic card just got a new best friend.
Welcome the Darkness
Revealed by the MTG Arena Gladiator team, Welcome the Darkness is equal parts really stupid and absolutely nuts. Depending on the amount of mana you have, this card can either kill you or save you in an instant. Given its final ability stops you from gaining life, the former seems like quite a likely and concerning prospect.
Despite the imminent threat of death, it’s hard not to see the synergy with Death’s Shadow. All you need is two mana to set your life total to one, allowing Death’s Shadow to swing in for 12. You even get to draw a card and create a 1/1 demon to sweeten the deal that much further.
In theory, this line sets you up for an aggressive combo kill that only needs a few lands and two cards. In reality, however, you’re putting yourself in a potential world of hurt that’s one burn spell away from death. Without Leyline of Sanctity around to keep you safe this combo may be too dangerous to be viable.
While the dream of a two mana Welcome the Darkness may be more of a nightmare, it’s not just a meme machine. In more grindy matches, especially in Brawl, this card can become quite a potent value engine. Should you have enough mana to match or increase your life total, it provides fantastic value for money.
Thanks to this, Welcome the Darkness may still have a place in Timeless, and even Historic Death’s Shadow decks. Supported by counterspells, Psychic Frog, and copy effects like Mockingbird, the deck may even have midrange legs. Whether or not that’s just a hopeful pipe dream, however, remains to be seen.
Soul Shredder
Compared to Welcome the Darkness, Soul Shredder is a significantly more tame MTG card. That being said, it’s still a very good one, which could be exceptional in Sacrifice-themed and Aristocrats decks. After being played, this spooky bike threatens to get huge unless quickly exiled and dealt with.
Regardless of whether it’s on the battlefield or in the graveyard, Soul Shredder is always a lurking threat. The minute cost of Crew 1 means it can very quickly turn scary and sideways. Even being in the bin doesn’t stop it, as it just needs two creatures to sacrifice and it’s right back.
As if coming back from the dead wasn’t good enough, those two sacrifices are a guaranteed extra +2/+2. All you’ll really have to worry about is giving Soul Shredder Trample somehow so it doesn’t get chump-blocked constantly. Considering that Aristocrats decks tend to be Rakdos, your best bet in this regard might just be a boatload of removal.
Competitively, there’s not a huge need for Soul Shredder in any MTG Arena metagame. Unfortunately, the activated ability mana cost of one keeps this card from being a combo engine in faster formats. Soul Shredder is likely to be relegated to Alchemy alone as a result.
For better or worse, it seems Soul Shredder is going straight into Brawl for the rest of its days. This, however, is no bad thing as sacrifice and Aristocrats decks are very popular in this format.
3 Down, 27 to Go
So far, each of the Alchemy: Duskmourn cards we’ve seen has been seriously exciting and decidedly playable. Whether or not this trend will keep up, however, remains to be seen. There are still 27 cards left to be revealed, and, if we’re honest, it’s pretty unlikely they’ll all be winners.
Considering that Alchemy: Duskmourn is set to be released on October 15th, Wizards doesn’t have long to reveal everything. For better or worse, it’s unlikely we’ll be getting five spoilers a day. Instead, we’re more likely to see a major spoiler reveal on Monday, ahead of the set’s actual launch.
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