Accomplished Alchemist – Strixhaven
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2021
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.0
Casual: 3.75
Limited: 3.00
Multiplayer: 3.00
Commander [EDH]: 3.13
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
David
Fanany
Player
since
1995
A mana value of four is usually not where you’re looking to cast a mana-generating creature. You’ll be doing so as part of some kind of interaction, to go from four mana to about twenty on your next turn. It’s not always easy to do so without investing additional mana and thus cutting into your discount, but adding white or black for lifelinking creatures is one way and gives you multiple ways to attack your opponent (often an all-around plus in midrange decks anyway). As such, Accomplished Alchemist is not going to be the kind of card that appears in every deck, but it’ll win games somewhere and catch people unprepared.
Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 3/5 (great blocker and earlier bombs)
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander: 3/5
As far as mana dorks go, Accomplished Alchemist is not one of the better ones. The jump from four mana to…well, where this guy wants to go is usually not a remarkable jump that way, since a lot of the big break points tend to come lower on the curve. That said, green does incidentally gain a fair amount of life, and between Witherbloom and Quandrix, there is a fair amount this guy can do in terms of acceleration if you get the chance to. He only generates one color of mana, which can be a bit constraining, but if you can produce a stupid amount in one shot, it might be worth it. The body is also relatively durable, so even if you don’t need him for mana, he blocks well enough.
In all, I’m not a fan, but casual decks can spin this into a lot of fun. Note that the mana ability doesn’t look at life gain waiting to resolve, so you need to let your life gain happen before you try to draw obscene amounts of mana from it.
Constructed: 2
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 3.25
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