Recent MTG sets have had some absolutely fantastic mechanics. Between Plot, Disguise, and Discover, there’s been a lot to love. Despite these recent successes, both casually and in constructed formats, not every new mechanic is a winner. For better or worse, some MTG mechanics are seriously, and rather problematically parasitic.
As much as the name might fit, we’re not talking about Germs from Living Weapon here. Instead, parasitic mechanics in MTG are ones that don’t interact with things from outside the set it debuted in. While these mechanics aren’t great for cohesion, they can still be incredibly enjoyable and make a set stand out.
Toxic, for example, might not play well with Infect from back in Scars of Mirrodin. Despite this, the mechanic was incredibly fun to play with and made Phyrexia: All Will Be One feel distinct. Thankfully, even though this mechanic isn’t getting any new cards, it’s about to get a lot better. Well, it’s getting better in Standard, at least.
Revival Through Rotation
In case you’re unaware, Standard is rotating very soon. As soon as Bloomburrow becomes legal on the 26th of July, Standard will rotate on paper. Following this, MTG Arena will rotate on July 30th, since that’s update day. When this happens the Standard metagame is going to be completely inverted.
While we’re yet to see what post-rotation Standard looks like, there appear to be a few decks that’ll be sticking around. Boros Convoke, for instance, will mostly be unaffected by rotation. Similarly, Mono-Red Aggro is bound to survive thanks to interesting new cards debuting in Bloomburrow.
On top of these established archetypes, Standard rotation may well bring back a short-lived, but nonetheless fun, deck. As alluded to at the start of this article, Toxic decks, and Selesnya Toxic specifically, may be in for a resurgence.
Selesnya Toxic had its time to shine, but it wasn’t the strongest deck in Standard, or Alchemy for that matter, for long. Despite this, the deck is a known quantity that can post some decent results. Thanks to the deck’s cards almost exclusively being from Phyrexia: All Will Be One, it’s essentially rotation-proof. This may allow it to gain some ground once again once the new Standard drops.
Will Selesnya Toxic break out to become the next best Standard deck? Honestly, while I do enjoy playing it, the answer to that question is probably not. Even without a clearly defined metagame, Boros Convoke and Mono-Red Aggro are superior aggressive decks that pile on the pressure. Still, don’t be surprised if you see this deck popping up while the Standard meta settles.
Rotation 2: Electric Boogaloo
For better or worse, Standard isn’t the only format that will be rotating soon. Once Bloomburrow is released on MTG Arena, Alchemy will be rotating too. Since this format is still on the two-year rotation schedule, this will seriously mix up the metagame. At long last, some of the format’s best cards are rotating out, not to mention all of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.
While post-rotation Alchemy is bound to be an incredibly exciting time, there is one glaring problem on the horizon. Already lamented as an overpowered and un-fun deck to play against, Heist is getting a significant upgrade.
First introduced in Alchemy: Outlaws of Thunder Junction, this digital-exclusive mechanic is literally the most parasitic thing to exist. Not only is it parasitic in the MTG sense, only appearing on six cards, but it’s literally parasitic, too. Thanks to taking cards out of your opponent’s decks, it’s hard to call Heist anything other than a parasite.
Beyond just being parasitic in nature, Heist is also pretty horrible to play against. Not only does the deck have a win con in Triumphant Getaway, but it takes your win con too. Outside of ultra synergistic lists made of otherwise unassuming pieces, and those running Coveted Falcon, this is incredibly difficult to deal with.
As some small silver lining, some of the best midrange cards in Alchemy are being pushed out by rotation. Now that Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Crucias, Titan of the Waves won’t be around, there will be fewer threats to steal. That being said, even if the post-rotation midrange options aren’t as enticing, Heist will still gleefully take them from you.
A Suspect Solution
Even before rotation actually happens, MTG Arena players seriously aren’t looking forward to playing against Heist. Since it’s almost entirely rotation-proof, this deck is bound to become a lot more popular once rotation rolls around. This could turn Alchemy into a bit of a lame-duck format unless Wizards tweaks the power of Heist.
Thankfully, tweaking Alchemy cards is absolutely on the table, even if it doesn’t happen all too often. According to Wizards of the Coast, there will be a rebalancing for Historic on August 6th. Considering the plight that Boros Energy is in the Historic metagame, this rebalancing is sorely needed.
Hopefully, if we’re lucky, Alchemy might get some love here too, however, that does feel a little unlikely. Since the new Standard rotation would have only been out for a week, Wizards likely wouldn’t want to change anything too soon. Instead, if Heist does indeed turn out the be the problem that players are expecting, it’ll likely take a few weeks to fix.
The Parasitic Problem
Ultimately, parasitic mechanics often have an incredibly tough being being competitively relevant in MTG. This is largely thanks to Midrange being king right now, especially in formats like Standard. Now that Standard rotation lasts for three years, there are always plenty of compelling midrange options.
For better or worse, MTG Foundations could make this problem even more severe. Should this set provide a non-rotating core for multiple archetypes as expected, Midrange decks may never go away. Hopefully, this fear won’t turn into reality, but whether or not that will happen remains to be seen.
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