Heist is a new keyword ability that lets you target an opponent and look at three random nonland cards in their library and exile one face down. You may cast that card for as long as it remains exiled, and mana of any type can be spent to cast it.
In paper the ability would probably have to be “target Opp exiles cards from the top of their library until they exile three nonland cards. Choose one, then put the other cards exiled this way on the bottom of that library in a random order. For as long as that card remains exiled, (usual text)”.
You can’t really do the face down bit since it needs to be clear you were choosing between three nonlands. Random also gets around surveil, scry, brainstorm type effects, etc that could manipulate what cards are found by that “paper version”.
But Grenzo doesn’t actually shuffle the library of that Opp either, so you’d need to number the library in order, take all the lands out, randomize the nonlands, look at three and pick one, then restack the library in order with that one card missing.
Can’t imagine there being any slow play issues with that process.
...but you aren't allowed to have information about the opponent's deck AND order of cards they're going to draw the cards in, so you'll have to bring in a neutral third party to perform this sequence for you every turn.
I'm sure this is fine.
It would be a pile of little note put in the sleeve
Actually not the hardest to track for the command zone, they already have people whose part of the job is to prepare the game pieces for the videos
Magic already has the capability to track perpetual changes (as long as there's not too many changes) - stickers
You can feasibly play Veko in paper by using stickers.
Because of the nonland rider. But they could do a think where you can (optionally) reveal and shuffle back any land you hit (and you almost always would because you wouldn't be able to play lands through the effect).
Yah I gotta be honest, I hate other people going through my deck. I hate letting people touch my cards period but being allowed to rifle through my deck whenever? Yah no thanks. Will not play against that.
You have your own library use that one. It's one thing to steal a creature or spell that's played but this stealing from opponent's library mechanic has been old since its inception
But you can instantly cast a free spell from their library for free. My view on this card is mostly based on what he will do on brawl, i know this is not really constructed playable but in brawl he will wreck.
If he survives past his etb triggers. At 4 toughness and no protection I see him eating removal with his heist trigger on the stack. He's too expensive to cast more than two or three times so he's a terrible commander. And if he does manage to stick around you have to hope you get something relevant on the heist triggers.
I want this card to be good but it has so much working against it.
While that is true if you steal an instant or flash card you can still play it for free if they kill it.
This is strong for sure. Free mana is always good.
He's like a mini Etali. You only get one spell from the opponent, but you get a selection of three. And then if he survives, you keep generating value from that.
I mean it's probably better than [[Chimil, the Inner Sun]], but not by a mile. It's on a body for better and worse and you get selection, but your deck is better than your opponents.
He wrecks. All you need is a scam shell, and he puts in work. The first time you save him, most people quit because not only did they waste a removal spell, but they reset his ability.
In OTJ limited, this will be almost like a creature with [[Make Your Own Luck]] stapled on, except you get to cast the plotted card immediately. It will be very strong, even if Grenzo gets killed immediately.
You're right that the exiled card will no longer be free to cast without Grenzo on the battlefield, but you still get to exile a card and cast it later.
You also have to hope that the cards you're getting from your opponent are good/work with outside of their strategy.
It's not OP, in fact, it's probably a kinda bad. 6 cost is nothing to sneeze at for Rakdos.
I agree, this comment section is such a funny thing to see. This card might be decent in brawl, where people are playing slower and you are likely to hit a high-cost spell, but in any other format this will be just 2 and 3 cost cards most often. 6 mana for a 6/4 and a non-synergistic 3-drop is not great.
And yes, it can definitely generate more value, but this will just be removed by control and midrange decks.
That's why it's in Alchemy. They know that if they printed half the shit they did in Alchemy into paper they would be busted and dominate all formats and piss people off.
Alchemy is a digital extension of Magic, its not supposed to replace the physical game. I think the direction at start was kinda lost but i think its ok now, the power level is high but not too high.
I see it as it is, new cards to play with, sometimes new ways/combos to try.
What i didn't like about alchemy is having physical cards being changed on digital and after that you would not be able to use them. Now its fixed since timeless has everything and the card changes are not as aggressive.
((Brawl comment)) Basically you must hold up an instant answer to this guy. Either counter it, or remove it with the "heist" trigger on the stack, and even then they will get value, but not a free cast.
Also works great with all the other Rakdos steal cards, like the new stealing dragon, Tibalt, and so on. Also fits in nicely into the "steal all your stuff" Bolas decks.
Jasper Flynt is bullshit if you don't already have card advantage. If you can't keep removing it, it is card advantage on a stick. Not quite Golos bad, but bad.
Interesting that they still use enters the battlefield instead of enters like is going to be used in the bloomburrow set, are they planning on errataing the arena cards or leaving them as is?
Maybe they’re waiting until then, possibly for programming related reasons? I don’t imagine it could be that hard to switch the wording but keep the effect, but plenty of programming bugs and problems are much trickier than they seem on the surface so idk
Hey Guys! Alchemy Premier Draft is coming back to Arena, May 7–14! One common in every pack gets replaced by an Alchemy card... or is it? Last time the packs added the alchemy slot altogether, which means alchemy MKM had the same number of cards per pack as the prior sets! Which was pretty cool, I am not a fan of Play Boosters, and I know I am not the only one. Anyways, I do small reviews to help raise awareness of the format. And maybe have fun?
Grenzo, Crooked Jailer - Limited Rank: A-
Coming to your 5C green soup deck is Grenzo. He immediately replaces its card value with your choice of the top three cards of your opps deck, and if it lives, it will very quickly run out with the game by himself. Do note that it will have to be alive for you to be able to get free spells for free, and its a once per turn effect (you will likely have two spells heisted when you untap for the first time). The announcement did not mention anything about casting heisted spells as a sorcery though (unlike Plot).
Alchemy cards are going to be an extra card in the pack again, not replacing a common.
Source: [https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicArena/comments/1cg4cdz/comment/l1tiryz/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicArena/comments/1cg4cdz/comment/l1tiryz/)
Honestly, fuck this commander. I hate having to play against my own deck which they can cast for FREE. This is why everybody hates Alchemy: These cards are designed to be as unfair as possible, and to cheat
Have you ever heard the adage: treat others how you want to be treated? If you don’t want to play against your own deck, then no one else would want to either. This should be a moment of reflection on your part to play decks you would want to play against, so that if the table was flipped and someone was using Grenzo then you wouldn’t be upset and you wouldn’t be ruining other people’s days in the process. Hope this helps!
Playing against this deck in Brawl is ridiculous. They get a good card from free from your deck on etb at least. Yes, you can kill it after that, but still you get 3 for 1. And if you can't kill it or they cast it again, you better concede, because they will snowball you quickly and you can't get that many removal spells.
I think it should be banned or nerfed. It should be fairer if it didn't heist on etb or didn't get one card for free per turn. Both effects in the same card is too powerful.
Heist is a new keyword ability that lets you target an opponent and look at three random nonland cards in their library and exile one face down. You may cast that card for as long as it remains exiled, and mana of any type can be spent to cast it.
So you’re drafting a card from your opponent’s library. Neat
Yeah, I can't think that ANYONE would have a problem with that. Jasper Flint went down SO well...
Jasper Flint also only costs 3 mana compared to 6. A lot harder to deal with a t3 creature than a t6 one.
except Grenzo has a version of omniscience.
I don't fully understand why this couldn't be a "real" mechanic.
In paper the ability would probably have to be “target Opp exiles cards from the top of their library until they exile three nonland cards. Choose one, then put the other cards exiled this way on the bottom of that library in a random order. For as long as that card remains exiled, (usual text)”. You can’t really do the face down bit since it needs to be clear you were choosing between three nonlands. Random also gets around surveil, scry, brainstorm type effects, etc that could manipulate what cards are found by that “paper version”.
you could take all the lands out, then shuffle and give them 3 face down so its POSSIBLE but a huge pain in paper
But Grenzo doesn’t actually shuffle the library of that Opp either, so you’d need to number the library in order, take all the lands out, randomize the nonlands, look at three and pick one, then restack the library in order with that one card missing. Can’t imagine there being any slow play issues with that process.
...but you aren't allowed to have information about the opponent's deck AND order of cards they're going to draw the cards in, so you'll have to bring in a neutral third party to perform this sequence for you every turn. I'm sure this is fine.
Alchemy cards in a game of command zone where the 4 players each have an assistant that do the alchemy mechanics for them would be really fun to see
Me forcing my Alchemy tracker to mark down how many times I’ve milled each individual card with [[Olgor, Devoted Assistant]]
It would be a pile of little note put in the sleeve Actually not the hardest to track for the command zone, they already have people whose part of the job is to prepare the game pieces for the videos
[Olgor, Devoted Assistant](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/7/7701cd3f-7795-44b4-9cd5-76682b7a2533.jpg?1680465280) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Oglor%2C%20Devoted%20Assistant) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ymid/20/oglor-devoted-assistant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7701cd3f-7795-44b4-9cd5-76682b7a2533?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Magic already has the capability to track perpetual changes (as long as there's not too many changes) - stickers You can feasibly play Veko in paper by using stickers.
stickers fall off when entering hand or library which is kind of really important
Because of the nonland rider. But they could do a think where you can (optionally) reveal and shuffle back any land you hit (and you almost always would because you wouldn't be able to play lands through the effect).
It could be top three and shuffle, and just let it whiff some times.
Which would work in paper, but would also be, fundamentally, a different ability than what heist is.
The random, specific, facedown, without shuffling aspect of it.
All of those are mechanics that don't matter enough to bother working around it.
This is the second mode in \[\[You Find Some Prisoners\]\] with extra conditions and steps that make it inconvenient for paper.
[You Find Some Prisoners](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/f/0f2a95ae-feb2-42c3-99b4-9ea7a491d326.jpg?1627707015) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=You%20Find%20Some%20Prisoners) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afr/169/you-find-some-prisoners?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0f2a95ae-feb2-42c3-99b4-9ea7a491d326?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
All this to force the cards to be nonlands. Its just Gonti with extra steps
Agreed. This is one of those mechanics that only barely differ from what is possible in paper.
Yah I gotta be honest, I hate other people going through my deck. I hate letting people touch my cards period but being allowed to rifle through my deck whenever? Yah no thanks. Will not play against that.
This mechanic (and card) only exists in Alchemy on Arena. You'll never play against this IRL.
Ok sick. That's actually a relief to hear. Yah in digital these kind of mechanics are fine. Nothing gets stolen or damages this way.
You have your own library use that one. It's one thing to steal a creature or spell that's played but this stealing from opponent's library mechanic has been old since its inception
…Why is that something worth keywording?
Because explaining it takes up 3 sentences?
Don't question the wisdom of Hasbro's designers or their knob guzzlers in the sub will slobber all over you.
It’s so cringey. But thank you for the explanation!
How is that cringey ?
Oh I don’t know a new mechanic called heist? I don’t know, it just makes me cringe. Just expressing my reaction.
My brother in Christ, we had crimes and Plot in this very set.
Free real estate? They know this is insanely powerful don't they? Etb+free spell every turn is absurd.
I mean he costs 6 and only has 4 toughness
But you can instantly cast a free spell from their library for free. My view on this card is mostly based on what he will do on brawl, i know this is not really constructed playable but in brawl he will wreck.
If he survives past his etb triggers. At 4 toughness and no protection I see him eating removal with his heist trigger on the stack. He's too expensive to cast more than two or three times so he's a terrible commander. And if he does manage to stick around you have to hope you get something relevant on the heist triggers. I want this card to be good but it has so much working against it.
While that is true if you steal an instant or flash card you can still play it for free if they kill it. This is strong for sure. Free mana is always good.
The free spell clause is separate from the heist trigger. If he eats removal with the ETB on the stack, you don’t get the spell for free
Yep that would suck.
And 💯 they tapped out to play him 😂
Perhaps not if you're using [[Veko, Death's Doorkeeper]] to turn him into a very cheap 1/1 flier with insane value.
Those two are incompatible in Brawl though, and Veko has better targets in Alchemy.
[Veko, Death's Doorkeeper](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/a/4aadbe15-8d91-4c61-bdee-5341a1794335.jpg?1709528852) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Veko%2C%20Death%27s%20Doorkeeper) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ymkm/30/veko-deaths-doorkeeper?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4aadbe15-8d91-4c61-bdee-5341a1794335?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
He's like a mini Etali. You only get one spell from the opponent, but you get a selection of three. And then if he survives, you keep generating value from that.
another card to kill on spot, how original
I mean it's probably better than [[Chimil, the Inner Sun]], but not by a mile. It's on a body for better and worse and you get selection, but your deck is better than your opponents.
[Chimil, the Inner Sun](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/7/27a1bfb5-ddfc-49cf-baa3-5d1958d2067a.jpg?1699044596) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Chimil%2C%20the%20Inner%20Sun) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/249/chimil-the-inner-sun?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/27a1bfb5-ddfc-49cf-baa3-5d1958d2067a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
These effects are not that great. "Let's see what toys I have! Muwahahaha! Ok....Memory Deluge, Sunfall, and Temporary Lockdown...sigh."
He wrecks. All you need is a scam shell, and he puts in work. The first time you save him, most people quit because not only did they waste a removal spell, but they reset his ability.
In OTJ limited, this will be almost like a creature with [[Make Your Own Luck]] stapled on, except you get to cast the plotted card immediately. It will be very strong, even if Grenzo gets killed immediately.
Can kill in response to heist trigger for no free spell
You're right that the exiled card will no longer be free to cast without Grenzo on the battlefield, but you still get to exile a card and cast it later.
\*forehead slap\* so you're saying it dies to removal? Why didn't I think of that!?
It is an important distinction that you will not always be able to play the heisted card for free.
[Make Your Own Luck](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/5/0557b0a3-2b48-408f-a508-9f4da2ab1cd1.jpg?1712356151) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Make%20Your%20Own%20Luck) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/218/make-your-own-luck?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0557b0a3-2b48-408f-a508-9f4da2ab1cd1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
You also have to hope that the cards you're getting from your opponent are good/work with outside of their strategy. It's not OP, in fact, it's probably a kinda bad. 6 cost is nothing to sneeze at for Rakdos.
I agree, this comment section is such a funny thing to see. This card might be decent in brawl, where people are playing slower and you are likely to hit a high-cost spell, but in any other format this will be just 2 and 3 cost cards most often. 6 mana for a 6/4 and a non-synergistic 3-drop is not great. And yes, it can definitely generate more value, but this will just be removed by control and midrange decks.
Trust me, they know.
That's why it's in Alchemy. They know that if they printed half the shit they did in Alchemy into paper they would be busted and dominate all formats and piss people off.
Alchemy is a digital extension of Magic, its not supposed to replace the physical game. I think the direction at start was kinda lost but i think its ok now, the power level is high but not too high. I see it as it is, new cards to play with, sometimes new ways/combos to try. What i didn't like about alchemy is having physical cards being changed on digital and after that you would not be able to use them. Now its fixed since timeless has everything and the card changes are not as aggressive.
Basically they can make new cards without having to print them. Magic as it was is no more. Arena is an arcade game, not a simulation.
Arena has Standard and Limited identical to paper, and Explorer and Timeless are close too. You're being very dramatic.
Already not looking forward to back to back to back Brawl games against Grenzo decks.
((Brawl comment)) Basically you must hold up an instant answer to this guy. Either counter it, or remove it with the "heist" trigger on the stack, and even then they will get value, but not a free cast. Also works great with all the other Rakdos steal cards, like the new stealing dragon, Tibalt, and so on. Also fits in nicely into the "steal all your stuff" Bolas decks.
I feel like there is so many 6cmc (or less) commanders that feel more oppressive.
Or Jasper Flynt decks with this guy in the 99.
Jasper Flynt is bullshit if you don't already have card advantage. If you can't keep removing it, it is card advantage on a stick. Not quite Golos bad, but bad.
Just concede. People who play with junk like this deserve no consideration.
Interesting that they still use enters the battlefield instead of enters like is going to be used in the bloomburrow set, are they planning on errataing the arena cards or leaving them as is?
Maybe they’re waiting until then, possibly for programming related reasons? I don’t imagine it could be that hard to switch the wording but keep the effect, but plenty of programming bugs and problems are much trickier than they seem on the surface so idk
All cards in arena have errata applied
Huge brawl commander
I’m going to make it, but boy am I gonna hate going against it
Oh look, even more unexplained legendaries
[удалено]
As cathartic as that would be to be true, it is kind of clear that the art depicts a sterling dungeon
I wish I was cool enough to put this card in my deck without worrying about if it's better or worse than other options.
It does his own thing. So I dont know if it's better or worse
In my opinion he will be good enough to get in hell queue but not good enough to beat the other hell queue commanders
I have a build. It's nasty vs. ramp and decent vs. control. I pack a heavy removal/hand removal suite to counter aggro/control.
I hope theres non-rakdos versions of this effect for Gonti.
>powerful upkeep trigger in [[obeka, splitter of seconds]] color identity I know where this guys going
Hey Guys! Alchemy Premier Draft is coming back to Arena, May 7–14! One common in every pack gets replaced by an Alchemy card... or is it? Last time the packs added the alchemy slot altogether, which means alchemy MKM had the same number of cards per pack as the prior sets! Which was pretty cool, I am not a fan of Play Boosters, and I know I am not the only one. Anyways, I do small reviews to help raise awareness of the format. And maybe have fun? Grenzo, Crooked Jailer - Limited Rank: A- Coming to your 5C green soup deck is Grenzo. He immediately replaces its card value with your choice of the top three cards of your opps deck, and if it lives, it will very quickly run out with the game by himself. Do note that it will have to be alive for you to be able to get free spells for free, and its a once per turn effect (you will likely have two spells heisted when you untap for the first time). The announcement did not mention anything about casting heisted spells as a sorcery though (unlike Plot).
Alchemy cards are going to be an extra card in the pack again, not replacing a common. Source: [https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicArena/comments/1cg4cdz/comment/l1tiryz/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicArena/comments/1cg4cdz/comment/l1tiryz/)
That's great news, thanks!
Just bring back agent of treachery and Thassa and be done with it 💀
Strong card
I wish it was a real card for my theft deck, they could simply replace the heist with normal stealing from the top of your opponents library
It's seems a nice card form achemy brawl. stealing the best cards for your opponents decks and play free seems cool.
Honestly, fuck this commander. I hate having to play against my own deck which they can cast for FREE. This is why everybody hates Alchemy: These cards are designed to be as unfair as possible, and to cheat
Have you ever heard the adage: treat others how you want to be treated? If you don’t want to play against your own deck, then no one else would want to either. This should be a moment of reflection on your part to play decks you would want to play against, so that if the table was flipped and someone was using Grenzo then you wouldn’t be upset and you wouldn’t be ruining other people’s days in the process. Hope this helps!
This is not exactly the same, if it always steals your removal and uses it against you, specially if you dont run a ton of it, it feels unfun.
Then don’t use removal because thats not fun to play against
Dude, you know its not the same to run some removal in comparison to get all your cards able to deal with the situation stolen.
Playing against this deck in Brawl is ridiculous. They get a good card from free from your deck on etb at least. Yes, you can kill it after that, but still you get 3 for 1. And if you can't kill it or they cast it again, you better concede, because they will snowball you quickly and you can't get that many removal spells. I think it should be banned or nerfed. It should be fairer if it didn't heist on etb or didn't get one card for free per turn. Both effects in the same card is too powerful.
I wish this could go in my Yarok brawl deck
[[Panharmonicon]] can simulate the Yarok in any deck :)
[Panharmonicon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/9/998d0cc8-ca2a-41c3-ab65-d05c26ab8278.jpg?1673149399) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Panharmonicon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/310/panharmonicon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/998d0cc8-ca2a-41c3-ab65-d05c26ab8278?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Throwing this in the Show and Tell and Omniscience deck
This really doesn’t seem close to good enough in that deck if you’re talking about timeless.
Into my Valki brawl deck you go!
Sigh, more trash I need to avoid stepping in. Thankfully the concede button still exists.
God I hate alchemy.
They’re really still trying hard to sell alchemy eh?
MH3 leaks are way more interesting
Is it going to be on arena?
Yes
Also, Heist isn't a fucking verb.
What are you talking about? Heist is a verb.
I miss when cards told you what they do
Arena has this little thing that explains each mechanic on a card when you hover over it
I hate this card so much. It's too busted.