Much digital ink has already been spilled since WOTC announced the new Alchemy format for MTG Arena earlier this month. Without getting into the topic of whether this is a good thing or not for Magic, I do want to share at least one reason why I’m not a fan of the format.

For those who do not play Arena or have missed the news, Alchemy is a new digital only format. It is a rotating format that is comprised of the sets currently in Standard as well as supplemental digital-only mechanics and cards. 63 Alchemy-only cards were unveiled with the launch and we can expect more as new sets are launched. Alchemy will also include rebalanced (ie, nerfed) cards. While it will not impact the Standard format itself on Arena, it will impact other formats such as Historic where Alchemy cards will be supported – something that is not going down well with many Historic players.

Where I think that Alchemy is doing its greatest disservice to Magic is the fact that two cards with the same identical name may now work differently depending on the format you are playing. For example, if you play Luminarch Aspirant, it allows you to put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control. Playing in Standard, this happens at the beginning of the combat phase. But if you’re playing the new Alchemy format, the counters are only added at the beginning of your end step. It’s a relatively simple change but one that can significantly alter the outcome of combat and the overall turn.

Here are the two cards: The regular card on the left and the Alchemy one on the right with its Arena designation to the left of the name. Same art, same nearly everything except for the text.

New players getting into the game are already overwhelmed by the number of ways that Magic can be played and the breadth of cards available (even before getting to bans and errata). There is now an extra hurdle for those players, particularly when they come across from Alchemy to paper formats (Going the other way should be easier if no less confusing since Arena tracks so much of the interaction for the player). Suddenly, the cards that they are familiar with may behave differently in certain circumstances. But only some and without much discernible rhyme or reason as to why.

Even more experienced players may get caught out by the changing rules. Imagine being at a tournament and forgetting to put that Luminarch Aspirant +1/+1 counter on your creature at the start of combat. It could alter the outcome of the game and perhaps even result in a call to a judge later when that player then tries to add it at the beginning of the end step.

Our trusty ‘read the card explains the card’ rule becomes a little muddled now. Yes, you can argue that it still holds but we all memorize cards and often recognize them based on the name alone. Now, that name is not enough to remember what that card does.

WOTC has in the past banned cards or updated them with errata. A recent and drastic example would be the Companion cards and mechanic. One card was banned from Commander even before the new set was released. Not long after, the Companion mechanic itself was revamped as well. It forced us to readjust our decks and our strategies but the rules applied consistently across formats. But I’m not aware of a single case in Magic’s history where a card or mechanic was modified in such a way that it was different across different formats. Until Alchemy that is.

Hasbro, WOTC’s parent company, will continue to “enhance” Arena in ways that allow it to make more money from it. We should expect to see new sets, new formats and new events continue to appear. It will also continue to adjust cards when they are found to be overpowered and skewing the meta too far in a single direction (for better or worse, this is sometimes needed for the good of the game after all). And some of those decisions will go down better than others with players. None of that is very much different from paper Magic, albeit the pace of change seems to be faster.

Alchemy, and the fact that it is a digital-only format, allows WOTC to do things that it cannot do in paper. I’m not a fan of this digital-only strategy but I can understand the need to appeal to a broader base than just paper players. I see Alchemy as a poorly thought out way to adjust the game to encourage more digital play (and spending) but others may like this new format. After all, playing against an overpowered Alrund’s Epiphany for the umpteenth time is tiresome.

Ultimately, I will adjust how I play Arena. I will focus more on Standard, despite knowing that Alrund lurks around almost every corner, and eschew the use of modified Alchemy cards as much as I can. I’ll still dabble in events like the Midweek one but will play with unmodified cards where I can. I certainly won’t be using wild cards for new Alchemy cards.

Let’s see how this plays out. If the reaction from players impacts the bottom line negatively, expect WOTC to respond quickly. But if it translates to more sales, we’ll have to get used to Alchemy being around.