MTG Arena’s Newest Card Combines Two Cherished Fan Favorites

Last updated on April 25, 2025

Siege Rhino | Illustration by Volkan Baga

Did you know a group of rhinos is referred to as a Crash of Rhinos? People who were around for Mirage probably knew that, but it wasn't until Khans of Tarkir that players learned how a rhino could really crash a party.

Poor Siege Rhino was a product of its time. The Standard powerhouse was the face of power creep when it released 10 years ago, but now Magic's at a point where it's debatable if the uncommon Skirmish Rhino is just better anyway.

But never count a good rhino out! With some help from MTG Arena and the digital-only Alchemy cards, Siege Rhino might be getting a second wind. Two second winds, actually.

Call the Crash!

MTG Arena users got a sneak peek at an upcoming Alchemy: Tarkir card, set to release digitally on Tuesday, April 29. Call the Crash is essentially 6 mana for two Siege Rhinos, which is about as awesome as it sounds. Whether you suspend it first or just hardcast it later, around turn 6 you'll be dropping 8/10 worth of stats across two bodies and draining 6 life from your opponent. That's definitely one way to put the spotlight back on everyone's favorite rhino!

It's not just the scourge of Khans Standard that this card is referencing though. Modern Horizons gave us Crashing Footfalls, a suspend card that makes — would you know it — two rhinos! Footfalls has been a defining part of Modern since its release as the key card in the affectionately-named “Temur Rhinos” deck.

Those of your with great luck might've seen the card in Murders at Karlov Manor drafts, where Footfalls occupied one of the set's Special Guests slots. That also brought the card to Arena for the first time, though it has much less of a presence there than it does in Modern. Either way, the combination of these two rhino cards definite crash together into a pretty elegant Alchemy design.

Alchemy, You Say?

Alchemy is a controversial topic for players, but recent digital-only releases have been tuning the Arena-only cards to feel more like Magic cards. Alchemy: Aetherdrift featured a number of cards that could've literally been printed in paper with no questions asked (Deviant Skytech, Wish Good Luck), and many Alchemy cards are a word or two away from making perfect sense in paper.

Call the Crash is one such card that would need a tweak to exist as a paper card. We've seen physical Magic cards that create named creature tokens, with examples like Disa the Restless and Ral and the Implicit Maze doing exactly that. Creating Siege Rhino tokens is doable in paper, but there's the matter of that “conjure” text. Conjure is a digital-only mechanic that literally creates new cards, not just tokens. The Rhinos created by this Abzan spell exist in the game as if they were in your starting library; bouncing them, killing them, or exiling them sends them to the appropriate zone, where they do not cease to exist like a token would.

Call the Crash is also an example of the best types of Alchemy cards: Ones that dig up old classics that aren't really playable anymore, and repurpose those cards into something new. Siege Rhino's not winning the average game anymore, but a card like Call the Crash allows players to play with an old fan-favorite in the context of something actually playable, and even powerful, at that.

Alchemy's at its absolute best when it's doing this. Thieving Magpie probably shouldn't make a deck ever again, but Landlore Navigator gives the old bird new meaning. Similarly, some Cube enthusiasts who play on Arena might vouch for Dragonfly Pilot. Dragonfly Suit is absolute garbage, but it's way more interesting when you don't actually have to dedicate a slot in your deck to it. These conjure cards that revitalize some beloved oldies are a great use of the digital-only space, and Call the Crash is definitely capturing the feel of slamming some iconic rhinos into play, without the burden of actually using a deck slot on them.

Where Can You Play It?

Skirmish Rhino | Illustration by James Bousema

Call the Crash and the rest of Alchemy: Tarkir will be playable in Arena formats where Alchemy cards are legal. That mostly means Alchemy, Historic, and Brawl, though the card can also pop up in Cubes when those come around again.

A special Alchemy Draft queue will be added to Arena for a short time, which will operate like a normal Tarkir: Dragonstorm Draft, except with one common card replaced by a random card from the Alchemy: Tarkir batch. For those who haven't played or misclicked their way into an Alchemy Draft before, these tend to be incredibly juiced up versions of the normal Limited sets, with fewer commons and more cards of higher rarities.

And you know what? Abzan needs the help! Many high-level players consider Abzan the worst color trio in TDM Limited due to the make-up of the format: Fast aggro gets underneath the midrange decks, and they fold to the late-game dragon piles that make up a large percentage of the current meta.

Call the Crash is the exact type of Abzan powerhouse that can push people into the wedge more often. Though if we're being honest, the Dragonstorm Globe decks will probably just take this too. Just image: Cast Crash, then follow up with Kishla Trawlers and do it again next turn!

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With the right fixing and matchups you might find yourself reliving the old Standard meme once again. And hey, Mystery Booster 2 actually printed some Alchemy-only cards in paper last year, so maybe you can Call the Crash in tabletop Magic some time soon, too.