Yes, specialize is an activated ability that can be used any time you could cast a sorcery as long as you can pay the mana cost and have a colored card or land to discard. It’s unclear whether it’ll be used again in future Alchemy sets. This was the first time the mechanic was used in an Alchemy release on Arena, and it can have no equivalent in paper given that physical cards only have two sides, not six. That flavor is recreated with mixed results in the versions of the specialized characters on the various flipped sides. Specialize is an attempt to use the flavor of the background mechanic in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate in existing Arena formats where the Alchemy Horizons: Baldur’s Gate cards are legal.

The card generally remains the new specialized version even when it hits the graveyard or is bounced back to hand. That specialized card, either 2-color or a pip-added monocolor card, are versions of the original creature with a different set of abilities and sometimes slightly different stats. Each of those versions adds a pip of that mana to the card’s new mana value. The colors or mana symbols (for lands) on the discarded card opens determine which of the five specialized versions the card can flip into. Wilson, Refined Grizzly | Illustration by Ilse GortĪ creature with specialize is cast normally, and the player can pay the mana cost and discard a card to activate the specialize ability at sorcery speed. This is a pretty big leap in terms of the flip mechanic’s complexity, not the least of which because physical cards only have two sides.Īs controversial as this new mechanic is, you will need to understand how these cards work and whether they are worth including in a deck if you’re playing Alchemy, Historic, or Alchemy Horizons: Baldur’s Gate Limited. But instead of only one option on the other side, there are five (one for each color). With specialize we’re confronted with a digital-only mechanic for Arena that allows the player to permanently flip a card if a cost is paid.

These cards, initially a bit controversial, have become popular aspects of the game. Some transforming cards flip back and forth. Transforming ones sometimes flip on triggers, and you have a choice to generate that trigger or flip it in response on some cards. Modal double-faced cards allow you to decide which side of the card you’ll play. Lae’zel, Vlaakith’s Champion | Illustration by John Stankoĭouble-faced cards work in various ways in Magic.

Mtg forge card images