Winners and Losers of Alchemy Rotation 2024

Hey all, believe it or not Alchemy Rotation is just around the corner with the release of Bloomburrow on Magic Arena on July 30th. This rotation is particularly big for Alchemy because Modern Horizons 3 was not added to the format (thank goodness) to take the place of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth, so Alchemy is going to be at its smallest ever size after rotation.

Here is what is rotating out:

• Dominaria United + Dominaria Alchemy
• Brother’s War + Brother’s War Alchemy
• Phyrexia: All Will Be One + Phyrexia Alchemy
• March of the Machine + March of the Machine: Aftermath
• The Lord of the Rings: Adventures in Middle Earth

Here is what is staying:

• Wilds of Eldraine – Eldraine Alchemy
• Lost Caverns of Ixalan – Ixalan Alchemy
• Murders at Karlov Manor – Karlov Manor Alchemy
• Outlaws of Thunder Junction – Thunder Junction Alchemy
• Bloomburrow

So the question we are asking today is: which meta decks are the biggest winners from this rotation and which ones are the biggest losers? In other words, which decks are being left in the past, and which ones are we taking into the future? Let’s dive in and discuss.

General Rotation Notes

There are several cards that are not specific to any one archetype but are worth noting because they see play across a variety of archetypes.

Lands

The allied fast lands are all leaving us, while the enemy fast lands, just printed in Outlaws of Thunder Junction are here to stay.

All ten pain lands, printed in Dominaria United and Brother’s War are gone.

Utility lands like Mirrex, Mishra’s Foundry, Plaza of Heroes, Minas Tirith and Demolition Field are also rotating.

Mana bases in a post rotation world will be confined to the ten creature lands from Wilds of Eldraine and Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Surveil lands from Murders at Karlov Manor, Enemy fast lands, ping desert lands from Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Captivating Crossroads, and whatever lands we get in Bloomburrow.

This means that multicolor decks are going to be playing a lot more tapped lands, perhaps leading to the rise of more aggro decks to punish these slow mana bases.

We also lose the land cyclers from The Lord of the Rings, meaning that splashing off of surveil lands or playing a low land count are both off the table.

White

White loses powerful sweepers in Sunfall and Temporary Lockdown, possibly raising the playability of No Witnesses and Final Showdown as replacements. Finally, Reprieve is rotating, meaning our spells will resolve on turn two against white midrange decks again.

Blue

Blue is out Negate, unless it is reprinted in Bloomburrow, and Stern Scolding to counter small creatures. It does, however, keep Disdainful Stroke to come in out of the sideboard and counter top end plays.

Black

Black Removal is taking a huge hit. Go for the Throat and Cut Down are both rotating, leaving us with the likes of Shoot the Sheriff and Bitter Triumph, both of which have notable downsides.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse also leaves us, and while she isn’t as highly played as she once was, I’m sure plenty of players are happy to see her go. Sideboard mainstay Duress is also gone unless reprinted in Bloomburrow, and fan favorite Nazgûl is also rotating.

Red

Red loses Monastery Swiftspear, so unless a new one drop is printed in Bloomburrow, red aggro decks may have to turn to Embereth Veteran, Frantic Scapegoat, or Harried Spearguard to fill out their early curve.

Green

Green says goodbye to Delighted Halfling, slowing down a variety of archetypes, unless of course a new one mana value mana creature is printed in Bloomburrow, and they also bid farewell to powerful sideboard options of Tranquil Frillback and Tear Asunder.

Colorless

In colorless we have A-The One Ring and Palantir of Orthanc leaving us as powerful card advantage engines, and A-Haywire Mite is also gone.

A lot of the best answers to Artifact and Enchantments are leaving the format, but most of the best of those permanent types are also leaving, so we will have to see how much we miss them.

Multicolor

Multicolor sees the departure of several key legends, some of which will be covered below, but also Atraxa, Grand Unifier, likely bringing the end of silly four and five color greedy midrange and control decks, and Jarsyl, Dark Age Scion as a grindy card advantage machine for midrange decks and aggro decks alike.

Alright with those general notes out of the way, let’s get into specific decks and evaluate how much they will be impacted by the rotation.

Biggest Winners

Heist Decks

Commonly Played Rotating Lands: Sulfurous Springs, Shivan Reef, Underground River, Blackcleave Cliffs, Darkslick Shores, Mirrex

Commonly Played Rotating Non-Lands: Crucias, Titan of the Waves, Rusko, Clockmaker, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Cut Down, Go for the Throat, Stern Scolding, Glistening Deluge, Negate

The new kids on the block, the core cards of this deck are here to stay, but they are losing a few key pieces. As discussed above, black’s removal in general is getting worse, and playing a three color deck after losing so many dual lands is going to be more difficult. This deck also loses Crucias, Titan of the Waves, which should slow down its ability to quickly find and cast Grenzo, Crooked Jailer, hopefully making the deck feel much less explosive and more fair to play against.

The best card in the meta against this mechanic, Reprieve is rotating, so that could also add some power to this deck.

Orzhov Dollmaker

Commonly Played Rotating Lands: Caves of Koilos, Mirrex

Commonly Played Rotating Non-Lands: Juggernaut Peddler, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Raddic, Tal Zealot, Go for the Throat, Reprieve, Cut Down, Legions to Ashes, Palantir of Orthanc, Duress

Orzhov is going to have to shift some pieces around post rotation. Juggernaut Peddler is out as their main early disruption, and Raddic, Tal Zealot the mirror-breaker is also gone. However, Porcine Portent is not rotating, and neither is Dedicated Dollmaker or Three Blind Mice, so I would not be surprised if Orzhov shifted back to being built around the Dollmaker combo in the new format.

Biggest Losers

Esper Rusko

Commonly Played Rotating Lands: Adarkar Wastes, Caves of Koilos, Underground River, Darkslick Shores, Seachrome Coast, Mirrex

Commonly Played Rotating Non-Lands: Rusko, Clockmaker, Oracle of the Alpha, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Go for the Throat, Reprieve, Sauron's Ransom, Sunfall, A-The One Ring, Lorien Revealed, Cut Down, Stern Scolding, Temporary Lockdown, Negate

Rusko, Clockmaker is finally rotating! No more ramping, draining, and card refilling. (My anti-Rusko bias may be showing through here). Oracle of the Alpha is also a notable rotation, but if you look at this deck list it is almost all cards that will be rotating, making me believe that Esper as a deck is not going to exist in a post rotation world. Especially as mana bases are going to get a bit more clunky, I expect most three color decks to be the biggest losers in the new format.

Naya Legends

Commonly Played Rotating Lands: Brushland, Karplusan Forest, Razorverge Thicket, Copperline Gorge, Plaza of Heroes, Great Hall of the Citadel, Minas Tirith

Commonly Played Rotating Non-Lands: Delighted Halfling, Skrelv, Defector Mite, Merry, Esquire of Rohan, Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard, Squee, Dubious Monarch, Samut, Vizier of Naktamun, Flowering of the White Tree, Animist's Might, Arwen, Mortal Queen, Loran of the Third Path, Boromir, Warden of the Tower

Another victim of the upcoming rotation, this deck will lose the majority of its cards. However, it is worth noting that they do get to keep Inti, Seneschal of the Sun, Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, and Tajic, Legion’s Valor, so perhaps this deck can morph into more of a Boros Legends or Boros Aggro deck, especially since Inspiring Vantage is still with us.

Gruul Fiery Inscription

Commonly Played Rotating Lands: Karplusan Forest, Copperline Gorge, A-Thran Portal

Commonly Played Rotating Non-Lands: Fiery Inscription, Monastery Swiftspear, Melt Through, Ranger's Firebrand, Perilous Iteration, Wrenn's Resolve, Rally at the Hornburg, Urabrask's Forge

While not a super popular deck anymore, the rotation of Fiery Inscription, Perilous Iteration, several shock variants, Wrenn’s Resolve, and Monastery Swiftspear mean this deck is going to remain a relic of the past.

Other Combo Decks

Several unique to Alchemy Combo decks are dying off with this rotation. Gruul Dino-Pod loses its namesake card of Spawning Pod, but keeps all of its other dino cards, Ratadrabik of Urborg and Jodah, the Unifier are gone as top end for legends combo decks, and Quintorius Kand combo is losing Surgical Metamorph as one of its ways to clone Quintorius and combo off.

Decks that need to figure out some changes

Naya Convoke

Commonly Played Rotating Lands: Battlefield Forge, Brushland, Karplusan Forest, Razorverge Thicket, Copperline Gorge, Mirrex

Commonly Played Rotating Non-Lands: Knight-Errant of Eos, Resolute Reinforcements, A-Haywire Mite, Reprieve, Delighted Halfling

Knight-Errant of Eos is rotating…kind of. You will still be able to draft it from Emmara, Voice of the Conclave’s spellbook, but without that main source of card advantage, I wonder how this deck will adapt to shore up that loss.

They are also losing Resolute Reinforcements, which could slow down their draws centered around Warden of the Inner Sky. But, their natural predator in Temporary Lockdown is also leaving. I expect this deck will evolve to be all in around getting Emmara into play and finding ways to blink or replay her to continue to get value, and to possibly drop Red all together as the mana is getting much worse after rotation.

Insidious Roots Combo

Commonly Played Rotating Lands: Llanowar Wastes

Commonly Played Rotating Non-Lands: Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler, Pile On, A-Haywire Mite, Voldaren Thrillseeker

Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler is out, while awkwardly enough the rest of this deck gets to stay around. Without Tyvar this deck cannot have their crazy infinite tokens turns, but they still have the tools to be a grindy deck that clogs up the board and finds other creative ways to finish off the opponent. So I expect this deck to adapt and survive in the new format.

Putting it all Together

Biggest Winners: Orzhov Variants, Heist Variants

Biggest Losers: Esper Variants, Naya Legends, Fiery Inscription decks, Three color (or more) decks in general, Unique Combo decks

Need to figure out some changes: Roots Variants, Convoke

Biggest Questions

• How do Black midrange decks adapt to their removal suite changing so dramatically?
• With slower mana bases, slower sweepers, and worse removal, do aggro decks rise to the top of the meta?
• Does Heist remain dominant, or does the overall reduction of power level and possible shift towards aggro force it down a peg?
• With so much artifact and enchantment removal leaving the format, does Dollmaker Combo become problematic?

Wrapping Up

Rotation is always the best part of the year for Magic. The top meta decks either fall apart or dramatically shift, and new decks rise to the top. It is the perfect time to brew and to jam some games. While it is still a month away, I hope this article was helpful as you look over your own collection and plan for what you will be looking to play or craft after rotation. As always, best of luck in all of your games and happy brewing once Bloomburrow spoilers start!