About a year ago we were here wondering if the heist mechanic was too strong, or at least too oppressive, for the Alchemy format.
In this regard, Wizards of the Coast initially chose not to take any action, perhaps trusting in a natural evolution of the format, but then came to the conclusion that it would be better to limit its power and announced the nerf of Grenzo, Crooked Jailer first (November 2023) and that of Impetuous Lootmonger then (March 2024).
Today, heist is no longer considered a problem, but we could find ourselves faced with an Alchemy mechanic that is a bit too pushed again.
I'm talking about starting intensity associated with the Chorus cards released with Alchemy: Ixalan, which, while initially barely saw any play, started to become very popular with the buff of Hymn to the Ages, seeing its mana cost go from 5 to just 2 mana.
Chorus is a new subtype of instant or sorcery, and we currently have only 5 cards with it, one for each color. Each has its own starting intensity value, but the common feature is that each Chorus increases the intensity of all other Chorus cards we own, regardless of the game zone they are in.
This means that while Chorus cards are initially pretty fair, they progressively increase in power, more and more... until they become broken!
The Chorus Cards
Although, as mentioned, there is a Chorus for each color, we'll consider only those in the Grixis colors, since they are the only ones to be played successfully and to arguably be a problem.
- Ribald Shanty starts as a weaker Torch the Tower, but after the first Chorus, it's already an instant Shove Aside, so it reaches the power level of the Historic, since Lightning Bolt is still banned there and Galvanic Discharge still rebalanced.
In the late game it can take down almost anything, dealing even 6 or 7 damage, like only a non-nerfed Unholy Heat had dared to do so far, and can even resolve Saint Elenda on its own.
- Mycelic Ballad is the power-creeped version of Barter in Blood, as aside from starting intensity, it allows you to gain life and thus resist strategies that focus on direct damage (such as Heist with Triumphant Getaway).
For just 4 mana, it turns into a real wrath in a short time, and, gaining 6-7 life, is able to take you out of the enemy's reach and put you in the spot where you can no longer lose!
- But the best Chorus card, which can take decks to another level, and the reason why we are questioning the mechanic, is Hymn to the Ages!
Two mana to draw a card isn't the best ever, but it's fine since it's instant. It does escalate extremely fast, quickly matching Ancestral Recall despite the extra mana and going bonkers from there.
By drawing 3 or 4 cards, you may end up with another Hymn to the Ages, drawing another 4 or 5 cards and snowballing the game! This is incredibly frustrating for an opponent who may have been ahead up until that point or who may have carved out some precious 2-for-1s that were largely wasted by a single cheap draw spell.
The Decks
With such a high power level, there are obviously many decks that include these spells, or even just a couple of them, thus tending mostly towards a control strategy or with few creatures.
To give you an idea and see them at work, here are a couple of examples in the Grixis and Izzet versions, selecting those that are probably the most popular decks of the moment for these color combinations.
Grixis Monument
Grixis Monument competes with Grixis Heist for the best control deck that harnesses the power of all three Chorus cards together.
Instead of draining the opponent's life with Triumphant Getaway, this deck wins by assembling the combo between Monument to Endurance and Artist's Talent, which allows you to gain value simply by casting spells and kill the opponent by losing 3 life per turn.
Artist's Talent, in fact, makes you discard and draw a card for every noncreature spell you cast, but, when you discard, Monument to Endurance triggers and lets you draw a card, among the choices. This way you get a free card per turn simply by casting your spells, so the resource gap between you and your opponent will soon be unreachable!
Artist's Talent's looting effect is also very good on its own, both for card filtering and digging for Monument to Endurance, although it often won't be too hard to find what you need thanks to the amount of cards provided by Hymn to the Ages.
The remaining Choruses, Ribald Shanty and Mycelic Ballad, are instead concerned with managing enemy pressure and keeping the board under control, making us gain time and life!
Izzet Otters
Chorus cards are worth it even if you only play two colors, and the best pairing for them is definitely Izzet. Here aggro is divided into the Otters and Prowess versions, which are very similar to each other and vary slightly in explosiveness, mainly with Slickshot Show-Off taking the place of Enduring Friendship.
The latter and Cori-Steel Cutter form the core of the deck, developing a board and buffing it for every spell played, thus giving you the strength needed to press your opponent.
In fact, each instant or sorcery spell played buffs both the entire team of Otters and the Monk tokens, and by playing two spells per turn, you continually create a sort of small Monastery Swiftspear, so for both cases, you need a lot of cheap spells.
Their problem, however, is that, costing little, they do little, burning out quickly and leaving you without gas. Except for the fact that there is Hymn to the Ages ready to make the difference, which, together with Stock Up, takes care of giving you all the resources necessary to interact with the opponent and at the same time strengthen your army!
Possible Nerfs
As seen, Chorus, and more specifically Hymn to the Ages, is able to significantly impact the game, to the point of turning it upside down in many cases.
Is this enough to warrant a nerf?
It's certainly debatable, and everyone has their own opinion, but as far as I'm concerned, I think that a small nerf, adopted in a soft way, can only bring benefits to the format and make it more enjoyable.
How?
Here are two possible ways I've come up with to best execute this nerf, depending on whether you want to hit straight Hymn to the Ages or the Chorus mechanic in general.
Hymn to the Ages Nerf
Sorcery - Chorus
It's not much, but moving Hymn to the Ages from instant to sorcery, I think it's very important!
Control can no longer stay open for counters or removal spells and then draw spells at the end of the turn if the opponent has slowed down. Aggro can no longer use Hymn to the Ages as a trick on blockers to pump up their creatures with prowess.
If you want to draw, you have to tap on your turn, so at least I can try to resolve a key spell or take an action on mine!
One could even consider increasing Hymn to the Ages' mana value to 2U, but at that point it would face too much competition from Stock Up, while this softer approach would leave very few players unhappy!
Chorus Nerf
All Chorus cards you own intensify by 1. Intensity can not increase more than 2 of its starting value.
This time the change concerns all the Chorus, adding a part of the text where the intensity of the Chorus can increase, but not more than 2 values higher than the starting one.
This means that Ribald Shanty can deal up to 4 damage (still better than Lightning Bolt, right?); Mycelic Ballad can sacrifice up to 4 creatures per side and gain 4 life; and Hymn to the Ages can draw up to 3 cards.
Who dares to say no to Ancestral Recall for only 2 mana? I think this rebalance is very reasonable: the power of the cards remains, but a cap is added that prevents the card from breaking.
For 2 mana, drawing 3 cards is extremely strong... Drawing 5 or more is just silly!
That's all for today! These were my thoughts on Chorus in Alchemy, a particularly hot topic, especially in view of the Qualifier Weekend that will concern this format and that will be held soon on MTG Arena (May 10th). We'll see how successful they will be in this event and if there could be an air of changes in the not too distant future.
