The Hidden Lore of Alchemy: Phyrexia

Every major MTG set nowadays comes with an Arena only expansion attached called Alchemy. I haven't paid any attention to Alchemy in the past and I suspect that's true for many magic the gathering players. But that doesn't mean there isn't interesting lore and flavour contained within these digital cards! Let's delve into the Alchemy set attached to Phyrexia: All Will Be One and see what's hiding in there. Whilst this set did come out a few weeks ago, there's still time to reflect before March of the Machine arrives and Elesh Norn's current antics take centre stage again.
/ silvermyr
/ asilvermyr
/ silvermyrjame
#mtg #magicthegathering #lore #mtgarena

[@silvermyr]

How do you feel about Alchemy? It seems to have a pretty bad reputation from the outside but given how the cards don't affect me personally, I'm just excited for the extra lore available

[@MrBreakmind]

In theory, it's an intriguing concept having re-balanced and digital only cards. In practice, it's a money grabbing scheme, where the new cards can be busted and of high rarity, and even if the card gets nerfed, you get nothing. If they had the miniset as a big pack like the Anthologies, probably people would be more open to the format, but right now, f@ck Alchemy.

[@gabelincoln5129]

I don't have strong feelings on Alchemy either way beyond saying that a lot of people seem to hate it for seemingly very little reason. But I have had minimal interaction with it either way. I also want to mention that Surgical Metamorph at 1:40 isn't a paper thing because if you draw that 7 turns into a game there's no way you're going to remember who went first. In addition, I will point out that Arek increases in intensity even if she's in your library meaning that in paper to accurately represent her you'd need to track the number of times a creature entered the battlefield under your control all game every game as long as she's in your deck which would be a huge tell that either you have her in your deck or you've sideboarded her in. There seem to be 3 reasons for Alchemy cards to not be made in paper, 1) The "needs a giant pile of cards that aren't in your deck" type(Ghalma the shaper, Contagion Dispenser, there's one that conjures the Power Nine into your library) 2) The "needs a bunch of shuffling to work" type(basically any card that seeks and any card that conjures into the library) 3) Memory issues cards(Basically anything that says perpetually or cards like Arek)

[@Otacon2099]

if mtgo can get the p9 and stickers and other commander shenanigans, i personally dont hold any malice towards alchemy...some cards are annoying and some are genuine fun

[@L1v3W1r3d]

Maybe the real guildless were the myr we met along the way

[@colemankorb6311]

Ghalma is rad, DEFINITELY not overpowered. Personally I think the cool Mirran art Tempered Steels are a creative and fun idea, but I think only a small group of people would have gripes about a stack of real Tempered Steels ready to be conjured. Its not like Ghalma is a custom card. Excited to see the build!!

[@ajd74]

Ghalma The Shaper looks really cool. It seems pretty powerful, but depending on how you build it you should be able to make at a reasonable power level, obviously. I think making the Tempered Steels have unique art is a very cool idea.

[@christopherb501]

I'll say this much about Ghalma in print: we already have "cards" in existence which don't take any deck/sideboard slots, in dungeons, sticker sheets, "the monarch", day/night status, and the dual-state dungeon/status that is initiative. As far as conjuration goes, it *should* be a-okay as long as you provide what you're conjuring and you're prepared - with either proper card backs for proxies or sleeves - to treat them as cards that can be interacted with in all the regular ways. Offers/conditions can be handled with a list and dice, spellbooks just need a list...the rest is a bit beyond me, but as long as you provide proper cards, conjuring *specific* cards should be fine.

[@KiuhKobold]

Adding to the argument, there is but a single card in real life that sorta "conjures" a card, Ghar One-Eye I think, who can simply "cast" Black Lotus by tapping itself. So if those cards specified what they were creating like Ghar, it COULD work, but still runs into the issue of "can you represent the card and remember all of its effects". Would just end up with proxy printing.

[@brunopintaric8997]

I think that's the first monowhite commander that I've seen and made me go "I kinda want to play this"

[@BloomingMarsh]

Recently read The Gathering Storm, definitely one of my favourite magic stories! I think it has the best balance of interpersonal and planar development and the more grand multiverse plots wizards was cooking. Ral and Vraska are also my favourite magic characters so having such an extensive time with their POVs and motivations was fantastic

[@teddyholthaus7618]

I would absolutely love seeing more of these. I did not realize that they put in the effort to put flavor text onto Alchemy cards and I like your going through them, because their flavor can go missed if you don't play arena.

[@gillablecam]

If I was in your playgroup, I'd be happy for you to run Ghalma in the way you've described. If you wanted to make it feel more like a traditional paper magic card, I'd replace the attack trigger with "whenever Ghalma attacks, you may pay {3}. If you do, at the beginning of the next main phase, create an enchantment token with "artifact creatures you control get +2/+2" " Making it entirely colourless to pay for would counteract some of the weakness introduced by not putting the card in your hand that you then have more flexibility with.

[@stratavosstuff7575]

for a decent 5 colour manabase, look into the Gates, and to help offset the "comes into play tapped" there's amulet of vigor, gond gate, and there's also an artifact creature from dominaria united commander... Tiller engine!

[@burke1jd]

The Gathering Storm is excellent. The chapter where Kaya asserts her authority as guild leader is an epic moment.

[@silvermyr]

I like Kaya infinitely more after reading GS, she was great

[@TheBreadboxboy]

Always happy to see a Silver Myr upload

[@tikamajere316]

I never thought of putting appropriately themed art on cards I would want to play in a particular deck... This opens up so many new ideas!

[@ThatOneSomethingg]

Guildless part 3 next, huh. Nah I'm pulling your leg; love your vids :)) Also wouldn't mind the shorter vids on sets!

[@jeffbrownstain]

I didn't expect to watch a video about myr today but I gladly will

[@wellwhatever2787]

I do enjoy the idea of playing Alchemy in paper through proxying! I am a proxy enjoyer in general and a firm believer that every Magic player should be able to print and play any magic card there is. Such a great idea

[@infernotitan1158]

So I built Urtet without fetchlands, but with every artifact land instead. I'm also running Jor Kadeen(the original one with Metalcraft), along with Nettlecyst, All that Glitters, and Cranial Plating as a voltron subtheme. It's a ton of fun, and feels fairly powerful still.

[@GeekoTreecko]

21:14 hey look thats me! I'm right there in the middle left!

[@Squiggypie]

I made a custom version of Vexyr, Ich-Tekik's Heir to play in paper for the same reason you were excited about it: to play Golem tribal and jam the Splicers. I replaced the Seek line of text with the following: "If you would search your library for any number of cards, instead reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal that many cards that the spell or ability could have found. You may put the cards found this way into your hand. Then create a 3/3 Phyrexian Golem Artifact Creature token. (You still shuffle.)" I'm fully aware that it's written incorrectly, but it's not like it's getting played in any tournaments. It gets the job done, and people understand what it's supposed to do. And, most importantly, it's really fun! It changes how you play the game and how tutors work, and so long as you don't run Mana Severance or Selective Memory, it seems really balanced. I'm not a fan of Alchemy, how it discourages gathering to play Magic, or how it produces cards that people can't play with. But every once in a while they come up with a really good idea, and I feel compelled to transfer its design to paper. Vexyr was the first time I actually took the leap, and I loved how it turned out.

[@totally_innocent1072]

It's a good day when SIlver Myr uploads

[@Gureiseion]

All I know is that if you asked me if you could run Ghalma at our table, I'd say yes.

[@tralchemist]

The Gathering Storm prequel was released chapter-by-chapter via email-based newsletter AFTER War of the Spark came out. An absolutely baffling decision on release schedule that didn't do it any justice.

[@gorkemyavuz3520]

Hey nice to see you again! Well, to hear you, actually. Seeing you in the videos was really fun.

[@GFreeGamer]

I wouldn't mind going up against a Ghalma rule 0 commander. You would definitely run Losheel, Staff of the Storyteller, Welcoming Vampire, Esper Sentinel and Tocasia's Welcome. Also, MoM story is starting off great.

[@silvermyr]

Excellent suggestions cheers! I haven't had the chance to dig into the MoM story just yet but that's reassuring

[@saibathekidh7936]

Would love if you made a video about each new set, I love ur voice and I love learning more about magic lore

[@Yesnomu]

This was a cool video! I'm glad to see them making fun card concepts with these mini-sets. YBRO had some fun ones too, characters that I hadn't heard of like Crucias, Jarsyl, and Rusko. If you make that Ghalma deck, I wanna hear how it turns out! I'd definitely be down to play against it.

[@Glitterblossom]

For the alchemy haters: wotc_Ian has explicitly stated that legends, and we can assume cards in general (including characters, art, flavor, and even higher mechanical designs) are never created for alchemy at the expense of main sets-they’re always inserted into alchemy only when they would’ve been cut from the main set. Essentially, alchemy’s existence doesn’t rob paper of anything, just gives players something that would’ve never otherwise seen print. So as far as lore goes, it’s a strictly positive addition! Also, seconding The Gathering Storm. My favorite mtg story, after Godsend. But I’m biased because I adore Elspeth.

[@silvermyr]

It's true as someone who doesn't play arena I'm just excited for all the extra lore

[@owenvandevelde1439]

That’s cool, I think however if you are okay with Ghalma, you would also need to be okay wish effects that pull from outside the game, cause that’s basically the same as what Ghalma is doing

[@PBJessica]

I think for "Conjure" would be a good keyword for "card you own outside of the game"

[@tralchemist]

I think the thing that really burns me about Alchemy is that there are quite often some really neat, flavorful cards that with just a LITTLE tweaking could ABSOLUTELY work in paper but they just didn't. I'm not saying it's all or even most cards. But there are enough that it kind of bums me out.

[@enmanuelrondon9700]

As an arena player I feel the same way looking at the commander only sets they release with the standard set.

[@paperwatt]

I also had no idea alchemy had lore cards. And theres a lot of fun flavor!

[@foxoninetails_]

Ghalma could work decently in paper, but would need some tweaks to be able to function under existing rules officially, since conjure doesn't exist in paper for obvious mechanical reasons. Probably the simplest way would be "Whenever Ghalma the Shaper attacks, create a 1/1 colorless Myr artifact creature token. Then you may pay 1WW. If you do, create a white enchantment token named Tempered Steel with "Artifact creatures you control get +2/+2."" It removes the option to hold that card and play it later, or use it with discard/reanimate synergies or the like, but it's straightforward and workable.

[@ncuco]

Whenever Galma attacks you may pay 2. If you do create a 1/1 myr artifact creature token and create an artifact token that reads "Equip 1: when equiped artifact creatures you control get +2/+2" Maybe more fare. Easier to deal with artifacts, and can't recur tokens from grave.

[@maget300]

Please do the alchemy investigation thing, this was fun!

[@richardsmith2719]

Ghalma could be Rule Zeroed by ‘When she attacks, you may pay 1/W/W. If you do, create a Token Enchantment named Tempered Steel, which says “Artifact Creatures you control get +2/+2”. Additionally, create a 1/1 Myr Artifact Creature Token.’ Give Tempered Steel Flash, make it a strictly worse Dictate of Heliod. It’s what we deserve.

[@kassybirdy]

definitely go for a ghalma deck. very fun!

[@doctorcocaine8520]

Guildless, never heard of them. All I need is Myr and Phyrexians.

[@Sky-dy4vn]

I think it would fit more with paper if you generated tokens you could sac for a temperd steel effect, but that's just so you can't loot the cards away

[@hostileeldritch2686]

brawl is not failed thank you very much 😌 lmao it's just mostly on arena

[@unixtreme]

Brawl is so dead everywhere but to each their own as long as you are having fun who cares.

[@Bonzomad]

Agree, HBrawl is a very popular format on Arena, really took off last 6+ months. Alchemy cards fit right into it too, big agree.

[@silvermyr]

Fair play I'm glad to hear its thriving there at least. And I would definitely have taken more brawl decks in paper

[@kkpratt]

In fairness, Rothga shouldn't really be red as a beast of Vorinclex's sphere. They provide the green mana in Lukka's card.

[@thegrimmone6111]

I thought about doing the same thing with a stack of tempered steels too

[@notgonnasay09]

Would love to see Ghalma come to paper Magic. Maybe they could replace the Tempered Steel search for an artifact or enchantment of mana value 3 or less?

[@MurasakiHaru_]

super cool video

[@jstragman1004]

I love alchemy and am down with the idea of trying to convert some of the cards to paper

[@DarkLadyMarie]

Gathering Spark is great! @MoiselleTheFae did a narrated the whole story because its cool and so obscure now. You should check out her work!

[@MrBreakmind]

The Hydra piss me off so much. I don't understand why it's not made as a Brilghtsteel. Even in the story Jin Gitaxias wants to complete Tezzeret by converting his new Darksteel body into Blightsteel one.

[@RPGFanboy14]

Honestly you probably don't need a super high power 5c mana base for Urtet since your deck will be primarily made up of artifacts. But, gates have had a pretty nice uplift after Battle for Balders Gate, could always use them. Lots of ways to search them out of the deck now. Just gotta always tutor up the gate that lets all gates enter untapped first to get around their normal slow nature.

[@EpsoofKyiv]

Tnx for new video

[@christopherb501]

14:45 So, elephant-lady is a metalbender.

[@wonderlilane3724]

Huh, this is the first time I've heard of the Alchemy format.

[@aidan8473]

It's hell

[@thijskroon5634]

You could try playing with Galma (in paper) against your patrons, personally i would be down for that

[@gustavosousa5246]

Rahilda is one i wanted since alchemy come out, it even has a card to template how it work in paper with robber of the rich, still anoyed that we have werewolf set, only 2 legendary werewolf, and one is sn alchemy card

[@johanneshermansson7630]

6:25 LOVE lukkas consistent characterization as the biggest moron in the multiverse

[@Itachi45481]

Would have been cool to get SOME of the alchemy cards in paper flavor text included

[@GFreeGamer]

Your voice sounds good raspy.

[@nathanieldewalt1707]

It should've been in paper with something like when it attacks put a +1/+1 counter on it Artifact creatures you control get +1/+1 for each counter on Ghalma

[@prinnynaito]

we also have not seen the hero of Oxid Ridge as a legendary creature

[@diamondrecords8034]

fwiw there is a bant golems commander kinda. ich-tekik can be paired with ishai and thats a bant golems list right there

[@yoav.kats6328]

I've read the gathering storm when it was sent in chapters on mail, one of the weirdest things WotC ever done. Also what do you think about the theories that Arek is the mother of Reyana from the side story Cinders?

[@shark_2283]

this feels a lot like how lor has a lot of mechnecs that create cards in deck or can outright replace the deck like with azir. i would personally love to see a ahmonket set that just rips off empire of the ascended. but i think with this they are experimenting with stuff because wotc don't wont to have to like have a conjure deck that sits outside the match until someone conjurs and every player must have maxed copys of every conjure for both players incase of wired shits happening.

[@robertoppermann2620]

In one of your Phyrexia video's you asked "Where is the Mirari?" Well I noticed something. The image on the Phyrexia All will be one Pre-Release pack ... look at the negative space in the center.. looks like an Orb on a pedestal to me... could it be Mirari? just musing to the community.. I'd love to know what you think..

[@robertreed7767]

March of the Machine wooooooo

[@phyrexian_dude4645]

On the Ghalma issue, it could be fixed by just saying "Create an enchantment token named Tempered Steel with Artifact creatures you control get +2/+2". How does it put it in play could be by also attacking, ETB effect of something, whenever a Myr does something or just paying as an activated ability. On why Alchemy is disliked, besides the fact that a lot of cards are broken and pushed on purpose, is that it also breaks a fundamental rule that was implemented on early Magic history: Card limits. Like the 40 lighting bolts deck, aka the reason why the rule even exist to begin with. And if you add that one of the argubly best Alchemy card can litterally tutor for the fucking Power 9 into your deck and its a creature... you can get quite creative.

I think Phyrexian Harvester could be real if you changed the wording from "seek that many cards" to search your deck for that many cards" imo

[@jimpachi98]

Somehow learning about the "lore" of phyrexian alchemy makes me hate alchemy even more than I already did. "Oh you know that random common legendary no one cares about or that character quoted in obscure flavor text 10 years ago? Here's a card for it that only works on Arena!"

[@enxman7697]

When we will see some commander actual play?

[@thegammingbolaschannel7529]

I feel like most alchemy cards with some tweaks would be usable in paper formats. Also in my own custom Magic sets I’ve utilized conjure as a way to create abnormal tokens or tokens I want to elsewhere besides the battlefield Also if you want someone to attempt to make some of the alchemy cards usable for paper I’d love to give it a go (I’ve considered doing it already)

[@charlesfarley28]

Is the author of WotS the same Greg Weisman who created Disney's Gargoyles? If so, that's neat to know.

[@damianpark5819]

PLEASE COVER KRARK

[@silvermyr]

I briefly mentioned him in the Rise of New Phyrexia video, but he probably deserves at least a short at some point

[@cheshirecreeper3743]

"quick" it's 22 minutes not complaining, just. pointing it out.

[@shark_2283]

i find it so funny that as a outsider looking in that mtg fans are also mad at arena. like i wanted to play commander but without a good simulator i cant. so i never will until they actually do the work that yugioh has and just make a online client with every card.

[@idlemindedmage6925]

You don't need a perfect landbase to make a 5-color myr deck! Most of your mana producers are colorless!

[@shybard]

I haven't played competitively in so long, I really have no way of gauging card balance. Maybe someone else can help with that.

[@martincireg3862]

The older cards just look better.

[@manvsmanatee1793]

I think alchemy is cool

[@AutumnReel4444]

Alchemy = Cool idea, probably not good for Magic overall and I will never touch the stuff. Ghalma seems sick

[@hajot2582]

Guildless????

[@KiuhKobold]

Alchemy: great card art and flavor text wasted on cards that don't exist for the sake of money.

[@johnquiett1085]

I dislike Alchemy because it's got ita own meta to learn and I can barley wrap my head around the standard meta. Some of the cards are quite broken. Card draw is so powerful already and having the ability to conjure from a list is nuts...even though they have printed a card that does that in paper now. But one paper card versus all the ones online is manageable.

[@wilux2469]

Alchemy stinky, but historic (brawl) is kinda fun. All the arena cards in one place.

[@TenchiFanatic3]

I very much hate alchemy.. I hate that when I go to play a match it's the at the top of things to select even when I just got done playing a regular match. I hate that when I try to throw together a deck really quick the game always tries to get you to use dumb alchemy cards.... Any time there's a mid week thingy... And it has to do with alchemy I'm like well I'm not playing that 🖕. Then when they wanted feed back on arena.... I'm all like maybe a way to grind more gold, maybe not as many dumb card art pushed in store....., Even was like I hate alchemy I don't wanna see any that has to do with it.., oh and stuff like quick draft and premier events maybe offer multiple sets? Like both old and New... Standard playable and older sets ?.... Nope just gonna keep pushing garbage alchemy.🤢 No wonder Wotc was caught secretly dumping excess card in landfills.....and is losing money. I mean other then them basically trying to steal from other successful IP's and claim it's theirs 🤢. ( Most recent is DnD , now I'm grossed out to see LOTR)

[@86kingrat]

im sorry but i just wanted to say that you're so cute

[@thebestlife1341]

I hate alchemy so much, it feels excessive and just a money grab

[@D-Skotes]

I was super into Historic and Alchemy fucked over a decent number of cards for that format.

[@thebestlife1341]

@@D-Skotes same, and now I can only play standard because of how ruined historic is

[@unixtreme]

Alchemy doesn't really add anything of value to the game.

[@arttukeskinarkaus8598]

Eh I don’t see it hurting anyone. I play a lot of Arena and it adds some fun really janky cards with effects like Conjure and Perpetuals.

[@lockstepsavior]

Alchemy has fun cards. I drink your tears.

[@daylearmstrong4447]

It's weird, some of the art looks like unused art for the main set, but a lot of it looks really bad. Borderline AI generated