MTG Strixhaven’s Accomplished Alchemist provides Lifegain bonus and mana ramp

Lifegain synergies got a buff today with the Strixhaven: School of Mages spoiler Accomplished Alchemist. 

Strixhaven: School of Mages (STX) will be released in April, containing five colleges represented by mana colors at odds with one another. Witherbloom College has a theme of life over death, representing the Magic colors Black and Green. Today’s STX spoilers showcased the power life and death can have within the new set via Accomplished Alchemist, which was revealed by the Good Luck High Five podcast.

Accomplished Alchemist

Accomplished Alchemist should be a solid card pick in the Limited format. It’s possible that Accomplished Alchemist could also thrive in other formats like Commander, Historic, and possibly Standard. 

• CMC: 3G
• Type: Creature—Elf Druid
• Rarity: Rare
• Stats: 2/5
• First ability: Tap to add one mana of any color
• Second ability: Tap and add (X) mana of any one color, where (X) is the amount of life you gained this turn. 

Several spoilers within the Witherbloom College archetype that have already been revealed provide Lifegain. Pest Summoning, a Sorcery Lesson, provides one life when the 1/1 token dies and Witherbloom Apprentice gains a player one life via the new STX mechanic, Magecraft.

Both card options are ideal in the Limited format. Commander players can also use Witherbloom Command, a Rare Sorcery that offers an option of Lifegain. 

Accomplished Alchemist has a high casting cost, which could prevent it from being played in Standard. Within the Limited and Commander formats, though, the mana ramp value provided far outweighs its casting cost. 

Players can dive into crafting Witherbloom archetypes in Limited when STX is released digitally on April 15. A tabletop launch date is scheduled to take place on April 23.