The Bloomburrow MTG card Alchemist’s Talent has shot up in price, rising from $8.90 at the beginning of September to $28 now, according to MTG Goldfish’s price tracker. It’s just one of numerous ‘talent’ enchantments released in the woodland animal-themed set to see a price spike in recent weeks.
Alchemist’s Talent is a class enchantment card which comes down with one effect, and lets you pay mana to unlock more. Each ability is themed around treasures. First you get two of them. Then you double their effectiveness. And finally, you start dealing chunks of damage to each opponent whenever you cash in your pots of gold to start casting spells.
Not part of the main MTG set, Alchemist’s Talent is an EDH card, currently sold only in the Animated Army Commander precon deck led by Bello, Bard of the Brambles. It’s a pretty good fit, since Bello can turn it into an indestructible 4/4, and this deck does a good job pressuring life totals, which the level 3 mode can help with.
But Bello is far from the only MTG commander that can make use of an Alchemist’s Talent. Treasure is a very popular theme in the format, and there are tons of recent popular commanders that want this effect, from Mr House, President and CEO, to Edward Kenway.
While it can’t repeatedly make treasures, this card is one of the most effective ways to increase their value. Its Level 2 ability is basically the same effect as Goldspan Dragon, and since it’s an enchantment, Alchemist’s Talent is far more likely to stick around for a few turn cycles. The damage-dealing effect you get at level 3 seems like a great wincon too.
Alchemist’s Talent is far from the only Bloomburrow talent card to undergo a price spike. This whole series of cards seems to have been badly underestimated at first, and we’ve seen Caretaker’s, Innkeeper’s, and Scavenger’s Talent all blow up one after the other. They each provide a couple card’s worth of value bundled into a single card, which has made them great pickups for Commander.
For more Magic: The Gathering content, check out our MTG release schedule guide, or our list of all the MTG Arena codes.