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Insidious Roots MtG Art from Murders at Karlov Manor by Jeremy Wilson

Bo3 Alchemy Metagame Tier List and Rankings

Our latest post-rotation update to the Traditional Best of Three Alchemy (Bo3) metagame tier list in MTG Arena comes with the latest up to date decklists and descriptions, their weaknesses, and when it is good to play.

Introduction

Discover the best Magic: The Gathering Arena Alchemy decks and archetypes that the players are using to climb the ranked ladder and win tournaments. Our MTG Arena Best of Three (Bo3) Alchemy metagame regularly reviews and ranks the top decks in the format. We also follow up our choices based on a variety of factors and sources, with comprehensive analysis from the data available. Updated post Alchemy: Karlov Manor release!

Alchemy Best of Three (Bo3) Meta Tier List

  • Tier 1: Decks that are both popular and have few weak spots against other top decks, making them formidable in the current meta.
  • Tier 2: Decks that are strong in executing their game plan, but struggle against some number of the Tier 1 decks, making them strong choices but not the best in the current meta.
  • Tier 3: Decks that struggle against several of the Tier 1 and 2 decks, or are largely unproven. They likely are quite linear and struggle against the interaction the control and midrange decks have, or need to be further tuned to break out into a higher tier.

Tier 1 Decks

Esper Rusko Control

Esper Control by IronicVelvet
by Vertyx
Buy on TCGplayer $412.04
Alchemy
best of 3
7 mythic
36 rare
10 uncommon
7 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (8)
Instants (15)
1
Stern Scolding
$1.29
1
Cut Down
$2.29
2
Get Lost
$15.98
4
Reprieve
$5.96
2
No More Lies
$7.98
Sorceries (5)
3
Sunfall
$25.47
Artifacts (3)
2
The One Ring
$119.98
Enchantments (4)
3
Porcine Portent
$0.00
Lands (25)
2
Island
$0.70
2
Plains
$0.70
1
Swamp
$0.35
2
Adarkar Wastes
$16.98
2
Seachrome Coast
$9.98
2
Caves of Koilos
$2.58
2
Darkslick Shores
$11.98
1
Undercity Sewers
$12.99
2
Mirrex
$19.98
60 Cards
$393.27
Sideboard
1
Stern Scolding
$1.29
2
Cut Down
$4.58
2
Negate
$0.78
1
Duress
$0.35
1
Stone of Erech
$0.39
15 Cards
$27.34

There are several different ways that Esper can be built in this format, but the key cards are frequently the same across different versions. The deck’s most powerful card is Rusko, Clockmaker both in its ability to slowly drain the opponent if left unchecked, but also providing ramp and an eventual draw 7 to refresh the Esper player’s hand with the Midnight Clock he conjures. The deck’s main strategy will be built around getting Rusko into play and then controlling the board until they refresh their hand and then continue to grind out the opponent.

Outside of Rusko, the deck is usually filled with various removal spells such as Porcine Portent, which serves as both removal on the adventure side and a threat later in the game, Go for the Throat, and board wipes such as Sunfall. The other threats vary across versions but can include Oracle of the Alpha, Juggernaut Peddler, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Some versions will play counterspells like No More Lies, Reprieve, and Saruman's Trickery, as well as hand disruption in the form of Phantasmal Extraction. Common card advantage spells include Sauron's Ransom, Hymn to the Ages, and A-The One Ring.

Playing Against this Deck: When playing against this deck it is important to apply pressure early, while being prepared to remove Rusko, Clockmaker and/or the Midnight Clock he conjures immediately. Hand disruption and counterspells can help break up their card advantage or removal suite.

Why Tier 1? I’ve placed Esper Rusko Control in Tier 1 because it generally has good matchups against all of the other midrange and control decks due to their ability to answer every permanent type efficiently and refill their hand later in the game. They range of answers they have access to in the sideboard shores up their matchup versus aggressive decks and combo decks, making Esper Rusko a good choice if you like grinding your opponent out.

B/W Dollmaker Combo

Orzhov Midrange by luigimonte
by Vertyx
Buy on TCGplayer $296.95
Alchemy
best of 3
6 mythic
34 rare
11 uncommon
9 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Instants (8)
1
Get Lost
$7.99
4
Reprieve
$5.96
Sorceries (1)
1
Sunfall
$8.49
Enchantments (12)
4
Porcine Portent
$0.00
Lands (24)
4
Plains
$1.40
4
Swamp
$1.40
4
Caves of Koilos
$5.16
4
Mirrex
$39.96
60 Cards
$298.37
Sideboard
3
Cut Down
$6.87
2
Get Lost
$15.98
2
Duress
$0.70
1
Sunfall
$8.49
15 Cards
$53.51

This is a midrange deck that tries to create an insurmountable board state by resolving Three Blind Mice and then resolving Dedicated Dollmaker targeting the saga, creating a token copy of it, which can then target itself with chapters II and III on later turns, making more sagas and more mice tokens every turn. The deck protects itself and the combo by playing disruptive creatures such as Deep-Cavern Bat and Juggernaut Peddler, and Reprieve to buy time to assemble the combo. Rounding out the deck are removal spells like Go for the Throat and Porcine Portent, as well as other threats like Virtue of Loyalty, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, and Raddic, Tal Zealot, which is very hard for the other top tier decks to remove.

Playing Against this Deck: When playing against this deck it is important to have a plan to answer Three Blind Mice either the turn they play it, or the first turn after they use Dedicated Dollmaker to exile it and create a token copy. It is important to note that while enchantment removal will work on the saga before and after it is exiled with Dollmaker, the token copy will be an artifact as well, so colors with no enchantment removal like red can try to use their artifact removal instead after the Dollmaker has resolved and exiled the saga.

Why Tier 1? I’ve placed B/W Dollmaker Combo in Tier 1 because it is able to consistently execute its gameplan due to its ability to disrupt the opponent and answer the opponents threats. Their backup plan of playing a fair midrange game is very strong as their card quality is very high regardless. This is the deck for you if you like playing a midrange deck that can assemble an unbeatable combo to go over the top of other grindy decks.

G/B Roots

G/B Roots by Gary3K
by Strickles
Buy on TCGplayer $298.71
Alchemy
best of 3
8 mythic
22 rare
14 uncommon
16 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (4)
Instants (2)
2
Pile On
$0.98
Artifacts (4)
Enchantments (4)
4
Insidious Roots
$17.96
Lands (22)
5
Forest
$1.75
5
Swamp
$1.75
4
Llanowar Wastes
$11.16
60 Cards
$325.35
15 Cards
$24.62

A relatively new combo built around Insidious Roots, this deck looks to fill its graveyard with surveil creatures such as Faerie, Rubblebelt, and Snarling Gorehound, stall the board, and eventually make infinite Propagator Primordium creatures and plant tokens.

While difficult to explain in a paragraph, the key cards are Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler, whose minus 2 fills the graveyard, brings back a creature, triggers the roots, and gives all of the plant tokens haste to tap for mana, and Chitinous Crawler, which while able to recur various pieces of the combo from the graveyard, is also the engine for the combo. With a Chitinous Crawler in a play and a Propagator Primordium and at least 7 other permanents in the graveyard, the Chitinous Crawler can activate and allow the player to cast the Propagator Primordium. When the Propagator Primordium comes into play it will conjure two copies into the graveyard, which means that the Chitinous Crawler will still be at Descend 8 or above. If there are two copies of Insidious Roots in play (it is possible with one Roots but much faster and consistent with two copies) and a Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler to give those plants haste for mana, the two plants created by the Propagator Primordium leaving the graveyard will be able to tap to cast another Propagator Primordium, which will create two more plants, and so on and so on.

While able to just play a grindy game by gumming up the board with plants and recurring creatures from the graveyard, the infinite combo can come out of almost nowhere, as a Chitinous Crawler can come down with a stocked graveyard and cast previously dealt with Insidious Roots and Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler. While it can seem like the deck requires a lot of pieces to combo, because of its ability to stock the graveyard, an unanswered Chitinous Crawler can usually assemble the combo itself over 1-2 turns.

Playing Against this Deck: When playing against this deck it is imperative to have a plan to remove Insidious Roots from play, to keep the graveyard clean, and to answer Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler and Chitinous Crawler as quickly as possible.

Why Tier 1? I’ve placed G/B Roots in Tier 1 because of how resilient of a deck it is. Even if your graveyard gets answered once, you can refill it with a few cards and be back to business. Even if your Roots or Tyvar are destroyed, they can be brought back. If your Crawler is killed, it can be exiled to Agatha's Soul Cauldron to give your plant tokens the activated ability. Hating out on this deck is hard to do and even the grindy midrange and control decks are going to struggle to close out the game before you can reassemble. If you like scrappy graveyard decks, give this deck a try!

Tier 2 Decks

Legendary Creature Combo

Ratadrabik Combo by Cardakeys
by Altheriax
Buy on TCGplayer $334.73
Alchemy
best of 3
3 mythic
44 rare
8 uncommon
5 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
60 Cards
$207.31
Sideboard
3
Cut Down
$6.87
2
Tear Asunder
$6.98
2
The End
$0.98
1
Stone of Erech
$0.39
2
The Stone Brain
$3.58
14 Cards
$218.78

A Legendary Creature combo deck based around Ratadrabik of Urborg the deck looks to have Ratadrabik of Urborg in play alongside Boromir, Warden of the Tower, and either Smeagol, Helpful Guide to mill the opponent out or Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim to drain the opponent out. With Ratadrabik of Urborg in play, Legends that would die return as 2/2 tokens but they aren’t legendary. However, when Boromir, Warden of the Tower is sacrificed, in addition to giving creatures indestructible the “Ring Tempts You” causing a creature to be chosen as a ring bearer. If the ring has tempted you at least once, the ring bearer is legendary, so when the Boromir, Warden of the Tower token is chosen as the ring bearer it will become legendary. Thus, when it is sacrificed again, it will return again as a token and can be chosen as the ring bearer again, creating a loop of infinite sacrificing and returning. With Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim in play, the opponent will die to creatures dying trigger, and with Smeagol, Helpful Guide in play, the opponent will mill out as the ring is tempting you an infinite amount times causing Smeagol, Helpful Guide to take all of the lands out of the opponent’s deck and milling them in the process. The card plays other legendary creature synergy cards such as Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee as well as War of the Last Alliance to find their missing pieces.

Playing Against this Deck: When playing against this deck it can be difficult to find spots to find removal as Ratadrabik of Urborg has ward 2, and Boromir, Warden of the Tower can protect their other creatures. Killing Boromir in response to a Ratadrabik being cast might be able to help delay the combo, giving time to remove Ratadrabik itself. Stone of Erech is an essential sideboard card against this deck, as it negates Ratadrabik all together, and gives you time to remove their key creatures. Exile sweepers such as Sunfall are also effective.

Why Tier 2? I’ve placed Legendary Creature Combo in Tier 2 because while it is a strong and consistent combo deck, the most powerful hate card against it, Stone of Erech, is currently played in most sideboards, and the difference of piloting the deck when the opponent doesn’t have a Stone in play and when they do are day and night in terms of the potency and enjoyability of the deck. If this deck wants to push into Tier 1, it will need to solve its Stone problem with its sideboard cards. Regardless, the combo is quite hard to interact with in game 1, and your opponent isn’t going to always have the Stone or Sunfall in the sideboard games, making this a deck to try out if you like creature combo decks like the Birthing Pod decks of old.

Jund Midrange

Jund Midrange by Minimoy
by Altheriax
Buy on TCGplayer $390.45
Alchemy
best of 3
13 mythic
35 rare
7 uncommon
4 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (2)
Instants (5)
1
Cut Down
$2.29
Sorceries (4)
3
Duress
$1.05
Enchantments (1)
Lands (23)
1
Swamp
$0.35
3
Karplusan Forest
$11.97
4
Llanowar Wastes
$11.16
4
Copperline Gorge
$13.96
2
Plaza of Heroes
$18.98
59 Cards
$432.8
15 Cards
$81.58

Built around powerful 3-drop legends Crucias, Titan of the Waves and Jarsyl, Dark Age Scion, this deck looks to get on the board early with turn one Deligted into turn two 3-drop legend and disrupt the opponent with discard spells such as Dreams of Steel and Oil, efficient removal like Cut Down and Go for the Throat and powerful top end cards such as Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and A-The One Ring. The deck grinds incredibly well through 2 drop adventure creatures Mosswood Dreadknight and Questing Druid, as well as the recursive ability of Jarsyl, Dark Age Scion.

Playing Against this Deck: When playing against this deck, removing their 3-drop legends before they get value is important, while also putting on a clock before they establish insurmountable card advantage.

Why Tier 2? I’ve placed Jund Midrange in Tier 2 because it struggles to broadly answer as many strategies as other midrange and control decks do. While the deck does grind very well, and can definitely compete with Esper Rusko Control, it doesn’t have the same answers to aggressive and combo strategies that Esper and B/W decks do. There are good sideboard options for Jund against G/B Roots and B/W Dollmaker Combo, but both of those decks are hard matchups for Jund, so as long as they remain popular Jund will have to sit just below them. Regardless, if you like playing a midrange deck that beats up on control decks, this is a good deck to try.

R/G Fiery Inscription Burn

G/R Fiery Inscription Burn by yerffej03
by Strickles
Buy on TCGplayer $97.69
Alchemy
best of 3
0 mythic
19 rare
19 uncommon
22 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (9)
4
Questing Druid
$19.96
Instants (11)
4
Melt Through
$0.00
3
Shock
$1.05
Sorceries (13)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (23)
1
Forest
$0.35
7
Mountain
$2.45
4
Karplusan Forest
$15.96
4
Copperline Gorge
$13.96
1
Hidden Volcano
$0.35
60 Cards
$67.84
15 Cards
$45.59

Built around the namesake card Fiery Inscription, this deck is the premiere aggressive deck in the format. The goal of the deck is to resolve a Fiery Inscription on turn three, by either drawing it naturally or fetching it with a turn two Perilous Iteration, which is guaranteed to find the Inscription as it is the only mana value 3 or greater card in the deck. From there the deck looks to cast burn spells at the opponent’s face, such as Ranger's Firebrand, Shock, and Lightning Strike, all of which will do an extra two damage from the Inscription. The deck keeps the gas coming through Wrenn's Resolve and the adventure side of Questing Druid. Aggressive creatures such as Monastery Swiftspear round out the deck.

Playing Against this Deck: When playing against this deck it is critical to have a plan to remove the Fiery Inscription as quickly as possible, as if left unchecked it can easily do 8-10 damage over 2-3 turns. Life gain can help buy time but it is more important to establish a board presence and finish the game before they burn you out.

Why Tier 2? I’ve placed R/G Fiery Inscription in Tier 2 because of its lack of consistency. As an aggressive strategy, you want to be consistent in killing the opponent after find your key cards. Taking turn 3 off to cast an enchantment that doesn’t impact the board can leave you dead if the opponent has a way to remove it, which many players do due to the high amount of relevant artifacts and enchantments in the format. However, when the opponent doesn’t have the answer to Fiery Inscription it is very consistent in killing the opponent very quickly. If you like aggressive decks that ignore what the opponent is doing and just going face, give this deck a try.

Esper Midrange

Esper Midrange by nora
by Vertyx
Buy on TCGplayer $364.23
Alchemy
best of 3
5 mythic
37 rare
17 uncommon
1 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Instants (9)
2
Cut Down
$4.58
3
No More Lies
$11.97
Artifacts (3)
3
Cryptic Coat
$14.97
Enchantments (4)
4
Porcine Portent
$0.00
Lands (25)
1
Swamp
$0.35
3
Caves of Koilos
$3.87
4
Seachrome Coast
$19.96
4
Darkslick Shores
$23.96
2
Restless Reef
$2.58
2
Mirrex
$19.98
60 Cards
$409.6
15 Cards
$51.73

Similar to the U/B midrange deck in Standard, this deck looks to resolve early creatures like Spyglass, Deep-Cavern Bat, Juggernaut Peddler, gain card advantage through cards like Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor and Cryptic Coat, and remove the opponents threats with cards like Porcine Portent and Go for the Throat. Reprieve or No More Lies helps protect threats and delay the opponents strategy. At the top end a variety of four mana creatures are available to round out the deck, such as Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Rusko, Clockmaker, Raddic, Tal Zealot, and/or Ertai Resurrected.

Playing Against this Deck: When playing against this deck, removing Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor to prevent it from drawing cards or Cryptic Coat from bouncing over and over are the most important things to prepare for. While the rest of their cards are very efficient, they are usually able to be answered one-for-one.

Why Tier 2? Esper Midrange is in Tier 2 mainly because it is a fairly new deck and has to compete against Tier 1 Esper Rusko Control for the spot of top Esper deck. While this deck is good at drawing cards and disrupting the opponent, when its card advantage engines are removed it can struggle to keep up with the more powerful individual cards coming out of other top decks. Regardless, it is fairly good at executing its game plan, and could easily move up into Tier 1 in the weeks leading up to the Qualifier. If you like tempo-y midrange decks, this Esper deck could be for you.

Tier 3 Decks

G/R Doors of Durin

Doors of Durin by Gary3K
by Strickles
Buy on TCGplayer $212.92
Alchemy
best of 3
4 mythic
35 rare
3 uncommon
18 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Artifacts (4)
4
Doors of Durin
$2.76
Lands (18)
6
Forest
$2.10
3
Mountain
$1.05
4
Karplusan Forest
$15.96
4
Copperline Gorge
$13.96
60 Cards
$191.81
15 Cards
$44.78

This deck looks to put its namesake card Doors of Durin into play early using ramp creatures, such as Delighted Halfling, Intrepid Paleontologist, and Bramble Familiar, then attacking and put big value creatures such as Etali, and Trumpeting Carnosaur into play with the Doors of Durin trigger. The deck can be quite resilient, as even after removing a Doors of Durin, they can still cast their top end off their ramp, as well as the Intrepid Paleontologist providing recursion for the big dinosaurs, and the Bramble Familiar also having a powerful adventure.

Playing Against this Deck: When playing against this deck it is important to remove their early ramp creatures, and have a plan to remove a Doors of Durin the turn it resolves to prevent any triggers. Putting pressure on the board and ending the game quickly before they can hardcast their top end is also important to keep in mind.

Why Tier 3? G/R Doors of Durin is in Tier 3 because while it is powerful when the opponent is not interacting with them, most of the top decks have plenty of removal to pick off early mana creatures and artifact removal to answer Doors of Durin the turn it comes down. However, as a linear strategy it is well built to do-the-thing so when the opponent stumbles or keeps a sketchy hand the Doors can slam shut on them, so to speak. If you have an inner-Timmy and want a competitive way to put big creatures into play, this deck could be worth a try!

Golgari Food Combo

Golgari Food Combo
by Altheriax
Buy on TCGplayer $220.17
Alchemy
best of 3
0 mythic
33 rare
14 uncommon
13 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Instants (4)
4
Pile On
$1.96
Sorceries (5)
4
Many Partings
$1.40
1
Duress
$0.35
Enchantments (4)
Lands (21)
4
Forest
$1.40
3
Swamp
$1.05
4
Llanowar Wastes
$11.16
2
Mirrex
$19.98
60 Cards
$139.21
15 Cards
$126.54

This is a combo deck based around Peregrin Took and Experimental Confectioner. With both creatures in play and three food tokens, the player can sacrifice the three food tokens to Peregrin Took to draw a card, the food tokens being sacrificed will cause the Experimental Confectioner to trigger three times and create three rat tokens, which will also create three food tokens due to Peregrin Took other text, this creates a loop that can be used to create a very large amount of rat tokens and draw the entire deck. The deck supports this plan by playing food makers such as Many Partings and Tough Cookie, and tutors such as The Huntsman's Redemption and Beseech, to find their combo pieces. Pile On is able to be convoked with rat tokens making it a “free” removal spell while the deck is comboing off, and cards like Go for the Throat and A-The One Ring provide more removal and card advantage.

Playing Against this Deck: When playing against this deck, saving removal for their combo creatures is essential, as is pressuring their life total as the deck is very good at reassembling the pieces.

Why Tier 3? Honestly, this deck has fallen off a lot in the last few months and has almost disappeared. It is mostly on this list as it is an Alchemy exclusive combo that I don’t want any to be surprised by. All that being said, the deck isn’t bad, but it is reliant on having two creatures in play. When the top decks are control and midrange decks that are packed to the brim with efficient removal, it is hard to reliably have two creatures sit in play together. If the format skews away from control and midrange decks in favor of more combo decks like G/B Roots, then it could be a good time to break this out and show them how to combo. If you like creature combo decks it is worth a try anyway!

It’s a great time to try out Alchemy!

There are a few other decks not covered here that are seeing play in the format and with the release of Alchemy: Murders at Karlov Manor dropping earlier this week, the format is ripe for experimentation and new decks are likely to be popping up as more players explore the format and prepare for the Qualifier. Keep your eye on this page as it will be updated again before the qualifier on March 22nd, to give the final word on what you should prepare to face against in that event!

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Strickles
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