Alchemy: Phyrexia Spoilers and Set Information

Last updated on February 27, 2023

Birthing Pod | Illustration Titus Lunter

Alchemy is back with another batch of digital-only fun to add to your Arena collection. Full of 30 new cards that can’t exist in paper Magic, Alchemy: Phyrexia looks to expand on the setting, flavor, and mechanics of the main Phyrexia: All Will Be One set.

But what does this digital-only supplement offer? Let’s dive in and find out!

Alchemy: Phyrexia Basic Information

Alchemist’s Gift | Illustration by Cristi Balanescu

Set Details

Set Symbol
Set Code	A23, Y23, YONE
Hashtag	#AlchemyONE
Number of Cards	30
Rarities	10 uncommons, 15 rares, 5 mythic rares
Mechanics	Perpetually, Boons, Starting Intensity, Conjure, Spellbook, Seek

Important Dates

About the Set: The Story

Black Sun’s Twilight | Illustration by Jonas De Ro

Alchemy: Phyrexia complements the Phyrexia: All Will Be One storyline. The individual cards aren’t usually indicative of specific story moments but rather add flavor to the main set, sometimes devoting a card or two to a key character or location that wasn’t featured in the main set.

Set Mechanics

Perpetually

“Perpetually” is a digital-only mechanic that permanently changes a card and tracks that change across different zones. Perpetual changes remain with that card whether it dies, exiles, returns to hand, shuffles into the library, or moves to any other zone.

Boons

Boons represent a delayed ability and trigger once their condition is fulfilled. Once the ability of a boon triggers and resolves, it ceases to exist.

Starting Intensity

Cards with starting intensity have modular abilities that increase in effectiveness the more it’s used. Some “intensity” cards only affect themselves, while others affect the intensity of other cards with the same name. Starting intensity increases are perpetual, so the increases stay with those cards for the remainder of the game.

Conjure

Conjure creates a new card that wasn’t in your starting deck. Unlike creating a token, a conjured card is a permanent game piece that can go to the graveyard, hand, or library just like any other card.

Spellbook

Spellbooks are a predetermined set of cards thematically tied to a specific card. Most spellbooks contain 15 cards, three of which are chosen at random when you draft a card from that spellbook. The player conjures one from among those three.

Seek

The “seek” mechanic randomly chooses a card from your library that fits certain criteria. This is different from searching since your library isn’t shuffled, and the contents of your library remain in the same order.

Alchemy: Phyrexia Full Card List

Notable Cards

Spawning Pod

Spawning Pod is an Alchemy take on Birthing Pod. Birthing Pod has a well-known pedigree, spawning multiple “Pod” archetypes, and has been banned in Modern since 2015. Spawning Pod mimics it, seeking the creature it finds instead of allowing the player to search for a specific one.

Available Products

While there haven’t been any concrete announcements about in-store bundles on Arena, we can assume Alchemy: Phyrexia will have a similar product line-up to previous Alchemy sets. The “Alchemist Bundle” released with Alchemy: The Brothers’ War came with 20 boosters for 3,000 gems or 15,000 gold, and we can probably expect something similar with this set.

YBRO also featured two style bundles that gave players 10 cards styles, but not the actual cards. There will likely be comparable style bundles for YONE, perhaps one focused on the Phyrexians and one focused on the rebel Mirran forces.

Remember that buying packs from the Arena Store counts towards your Golden pack progress, so you might get some added value from any bundles that include Alchemy boosters.

Wrap Up

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse | Illustration by Chris Rahn

And that’s a wrap on Alchemy: Phyrexia. Alchemy isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but those of you who engage with the format are bound to find something fun and exciting with the latest batch of cards. Players should be receiving complimentary Alchemy packs once the update goes live on February 28th, so check your Arena inbox and let me know what you opened!

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