Alchemy and Historic Rebalanced Cards - October 6, 2022 • MTG Arena Zone

Table of Contents

Historic Card Rebalancing
Standard Card Rebalancing
Additional Changes

With the release of Alchemy: Dominaria on October 6, 2022, which adds 30 new cards to Alchemy and Historic, there will be some card rebalances also to come along with it:

5 Historic cards will be reverted to their original tabletop versions after they were rotated from Standard.
43 cards will be rebalanced specifically for Streets of New Capenna limited, which will be featured as Planeshifted Draft event from October 13 to 21.
No other cards are rebalanced for constructed formats, as Wizards of the Coast seeks to avoid nerfs unless absolutely necessary. This explains why powerful commons in SNC are not touched such as Jewel Thief or Inspiring Overseer.

Below is the full list of card changes as well as their reasons for the change from the MTG Arena developers.

Historic Card Rebalancing

As part of the Alchemy: Dominaria game update, the original tabletop versions of these cards will be returned to Historic. Notably, Wizards played it safe and kept A-Alrund's Epiphany the way it is balanced now – extra turn cards are becoming a nuisance these days!

Alright, let’s start off with answering some questions that we know you’re going to ask.
First, why we’re reverting these changes: When we look to rebalance cards, our standard is . . . err, Standard. During our consideration for whether a card or a deck archetype needs adjustment, much of our information comes from Standard play, as that is our most popular format, and we rebalance with the current Standard and, through extension, Alchemy meta in mind.
Now that these cards have rotated out of Alchemy, we go from having them legal in two formats to one and can balance around that. While many of these cards were powerful to the point of banning in Standard, Historic has a larger card pool and therefore more ways to interact or respond to powerful cards. As such, some of these rebalances were no longer necessary to maintain a healthy meta.
It’s important to note that this reversion is not comprehensive; not every card that was rebalanced to lower its power level is being reverted to the original version now that it’s only playable in Historic (looking at you, Alrund’s Epiphany). Similarly, while it’s unlikely we’ll “unbuff” cards that received balance adjustments to improve playability (and currently have no plans to do so), only a certain type of dark-empowered entity deals in absolutes, and we’re not them. As we said earlier, once a rebalanced card is only playable in Historic, we can balance solely around that.
Next, why we’re reverting these changes now: Ideally, reversion of balance adjustments due to format legality would happen at the same time as the format legality of these cards changes—i.e., rotation. Time constraints combined with necessary technical work prevented us from making the deadline for the release of Dominaria United, however, players should expect any similar “unrebalancing” of cards to happen alongside each year’s Standard rotation.
Lastly, as with all other rebalances, players will not be receiving wildcard reimbursement for these changes.
MTG Arena: State of the Game – Alchemy: Dominaria

Standard Card Rebalancing

After reviewing the Streets of New Capenna Limited data collected over the past few months, we found three issues with the format that we want to address and solve:

Encourage Three-Color Decks

We feel that there is not enough incentive to draft the three-color families over the more streamlined ally two-color decks. We are addressing this by reducing the cost of the three-color common “mana-fixing” creatures like Ominous Parcel, while increasing the rate of some of the three-color payoffs like Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder; Queza, Auguar of Agonies; and Cabaretti Charm.

Slow Down the Pace of Games

We want to make removal and blocking more successful against shield counters, blitz, and aggressive decks. Incriminate being more cost effective, Psionic Snoop and Midnight Assassin being better blockers, and Deal Gone Bad gaining life should help players catch up when behind and interact more successfully with creatures with shield counters.

Make More Cards Viable Draft Picks

We want to increase the strength of some of the cards that haven’t been seeing play. We believe that this will make drafting and deck building more interesting while increasing the likelihood that you’re able to draft enough playable cards while also prioritizing fixing.

Speakeasy Server
Changed “you gain 1 life for each other creature you control” to “you gain 1 life for each creature you control.”

Celebrity Fencer
Now 3/3 (from 3/2)

Buy Your Silence
Card type now instant (from sorcery)

Sewer Crocodile
Now 4/7 (from 4/6)

Psionic Snoop
Now 0/4 (from 0/3)

Public Enemy
Changed “When enchanted creature dies, draw a card” to “When enchanted creature dies, draw two cards.”

Case the Joint

Costs 4U (from 3U)
Card type now sorcery (from instant)
Changed “Draw two cards” to “Draw three cards”

Demon's Due
Redesigned to look at four cards and pick two: “Look at the top four cards of your library. Put two of them into your hand and the rest into your graveyard. You lose 2 life.”

Vampire Scrivener
Costs 3B (from 4B)

Midnight Assassin
Now 1/3 (from 1/2)

Graveyard Shift
Creature enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.

Incriminate
Costs B (from 1B)

Deal Gone Bad
Add “You gain 3 life.”

Revel Ruiner
Now 3/2 (from 3/1)

Exhibition Magician
Now 2/2 (from 2/1)

Jackhammer
Costs R (from 1R)

Ready to Rumble

Card type now instant (from sorcery)
Add “Damage can’t be prevented this turn.”

Sizzling Soloist
Now 4/2 (from 3/2)

Pyre-Sledge Arsonist
Now 2/3 (from 2/3)

Warm Welcome

Costs 3G (from 2G)
Card type now sorcery (from instant)
Changed “Create a 1/1 green and white Citizen creature token” to “Create two 1/1 green and white Citizen creature tokens.”

Most Wanted
Changed “Enchanted creature gets +2/+1” to “Enchanted creature gets +2/+2.”

Social Climber
Now 4/2 (from 3/2)

Capenna Express
Now 7/7 (from 6/6)

High-Rise Sawjack

Now 1/4 (from 2/3)
Changed “High-Rise Sawjack gets +2/+0 until end of turn” to “High-Rise Sawjack gets +3/+0 until end of turn.”

Glittermonger
Now 2/4 (from 1/4)

Paragon of Modernity
Now 2/3 (from 2/2)

Ominous Parcel
First activated ability cost now 1, T (from 2, T)

Glamorous Outlaw

Add “you gain 2 life”
Activated ability cost now 2 (from 1)

Masked Bandits

Now 5/6 (from 5/5)
Activated ability cost now 1 (from 2)

Rakish Revelers
Activated ability cost now 1 (from 2)

Shattered Seraph

Now 4/5 (from 4/4)
Activated ability cost now 1 (from 2)

Spara's Adjudicators
Activated ability cost now 1 (from 2)

Stimulus Package
Add “Scry 1” to second activated ability

Cabaretti Charm
Changed “deals damage equal to the number of creatures you control” to “deals damage equal to twice the number of creatures you control”

Riveteers Initiate
Activated ability cost now H (from 1H)

Security Rhox
Now 5/5 (from 5/4)

Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder
Now 3/4 (from 2/4)

Forge Boss
Now 4/4 (from 3/4)

Syndicate Infiltrator
Gains ward 2

Queza, Augur of Agonies
Gains vigilance

Additional Changes

Celestial Regulator
Now 1/4 (from 2/3)

Civil Servant
Changed “Civil Servant gets +1/+0 and gains lifelink until end of turn” to “Civil Servant gets +1/+0 and gains trample until end of turn.”