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In one of the most unexpected announcements in Magic: The Gathering Arena history, Dominaria United’s Alchemy format is going to receive some of the most powerful cards in the game.
The Alchemy format is an online-only format, where some ridiculous, powerful cards have come into existence for players to mess around with. But through this new Oracle of the Alpha, something entirely different will arrive.
But what is the Oracle of the Alpha, and for new players, what is the Power Nine?
Magic: The Gathering Arena’s Alchemy format is about to get access to the Power Nine
When it comes to Magic: The Gathering Arena, Alchemy is a unique, fun format. Some cards have felt overpowered before, but nothing has had the potential power that this one card has.
A Bird Wizard with flying, when it comes into play, you conjure the entire Power Nine into your library, then shuffle your deck. Here’s what the Oracle of the Alpha does in Magic: The Gathering Arena.
Oracle of the Alpha
- Mana Value: 2U
- Type: Bird Wizard
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Keyword: Flying
- Stats: 2 power, 3 toughness
- First Ability: When Oracle of the Alpha enters the battlefield, conjure the Power Nine into your library, then shuffle.
- Second Ability: Whenever Oracle of the Alpha attacks, scry 1.
This adds 9 cards to your deck, and if you flicker him out and back in or simply cast more of him, this adds even more copies of the Power Nine into your deck. There’s nothing stopping you from having 4 Black Lotuses in your deck.
For those unaware, the Power Nine is a collection of cards from Magic: The Gathering’s Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited sets. They debuted back in 1993 and are considered by most of the fanbase to be the most powerful cards in the game.
They’re only legal in the Vintage format, and even there, they are restricted - only one of each can be in your deck. What do these cards do? Why are they so horrifyingly powerful?
The Power Nine
- Time Walk: 2 mana, Take an extra turn after this one
- Ancestral Recall: 1 mana, draw 3, or force an opponent to draw 3
- Time Twister: 3 mana, each player shuffles their hand and graveyard into their library and draws 7
- Black Lotus: 0 mana, tap and sacrifice this to add 3 mana of any color
- The 5 Moxes: 0 mana, 5 artifacts, each one can be tapped to add one of a specific mana type. Emerald, Jet, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire
While Mox cards are okay and undoubtedly useful, Black Lotus and Time Walk possess disgusting levels of power. Time Walk is an “extra turn” card for 2 mana and can be duplicated or copied through several effects.
Alchemy: Dominaria will show up on Magic: The Gathering Arena on October 6, and with that comes a number of new and returning cards. This one may be one of the most ridiculous and over-the-top cards in the entire expansion.
