Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Creature — Human Wizard
Abilities Partner
Power 1
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Ludevic rewards interactive gameplay, providing valuable card draw without extra mana or actions.
  2. His ability triggers each turn, subtly boosting resources and speeding up your strategy execution.
  3. Instant speed interactions with Ludevic allow for adaptable, cunning plays to outmaneuver opponents.

Text of card

At the beginning of each player's end step, that player may draw a card if a player other than you lost life this turn. Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)

"How does one become a self-taught genius? Naturally, it requires brains."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: This captivating commander not only encourages an interactive playstyle but also rewards you with card draw each time you participate in the high-spirited race of slinging spells. What distinguishes Ludevic is the ability to gain a card that could be the key ingredient in your spell stew—without expending extra mana or needing a separate action.

Resource Acceleration: When teamed up with other creators of mischief and mayhem on the battlefield, Ludevic’s genius truly shines, as his ability can trigger each turn. This consistent card draw subtly boosts your resources, offering you the tools needed to accelerate your plans and leaving opponents continually wary of what tricks you hold up your sleeve.

Instant Speed: The appeal of engaging at instant speed is that it keeps adversaries guessing, leaving you free to adapt with dexterity to the ever-changing tides of the game. With Ludevic in command, your cunning ploys and quick reactions draw you into an ever-deepening pool of strategies and tactics, allowing you to remain one step ahead in the grand game of arcane prowess.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with Ludevic Necro-Alchemist necessitates that each player must discard a card, which might be a strategic setback. While it’s designed to balance gameplay, having to toss a valuable card from your hand can potentially cripple your strategy, especially if you’re already struggling to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Ludevic’s casting cost includes blue and red mana, demanding a commitment to a particular color combination. This specificity can be restrictive for players who don’t prefer or have the resources for a blue-red oriented deck, reducing the card’s versatility in a broader range of deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing a total of four mana, two of which are colored, Ludevic may appear costly especially when weighed against other commanders or creatures that provide more immediate value upon entering the battlefield. While his ability to foster card draw is an asset, some may find the investment steep when planning a mana curve or considering alternative cards that could fulfill similar roles with less mana expenditure.


Reasons to Include Ludevic Necro-Alchemist in Your Collection

Versatility: Ludevic Necro-Alchemist offers a unique blend of group hug and indirect strategy, which can be a powerful addition to Commander decks that focus on political gameplay or that want to encourage opponents to attack elsewhere.

Combo Potential: With this card, the opportunity to draw additional cards can be combined with other effects that trigger on card draw or during each player’s end step, setting the stage for powerful interactions and combos.

Meta-Relevance: As the Commander format continues to evolve, Ludevic can be highly relevant in metas that favor longer games and complex board states. Its ability to shape opponent behavior while providing card draw makes it a card that can adjust well to different types of opponent strategies.


How to beat

Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist is a unique commander in MTG, known for incentivizing strategic gameplay and pushing players to think outside the box. One successful strategy to counter this card is through targeted removal spells that don’t allow Ludevic to stick on the battlefield for long. With Ludevic’s ability to encourage drawing cards, it’s essential to keep your opponent’s field clear to prevent them from gaining the advantage of the extra card draw.

Another tactic involves using cards that punish your opponent for drawing or having a large hand size, such as Underworld Dreams or Narset, Parter of Veils, thereby nullifying Ludevic’s benefits. Additionally, since Ludevic thrives in multiplayer formats, forging temporary alliances to manage threats can be key. It’s about disrupting the synergy Ludevic creates without exhausting your resources. In doing so, you keep the power in balance and avoid letting Ludevic’s controller dictate the pace of the game.

By considering these methods, you can effectively navigate against Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist, preventing opponents from exploiting its unique draw mechanics and gaining the upper hand in your MTG duels.


BurnMana Recommendations

Deepening your MTG tactics means understanding both the powerhouses and the peculiarities. Engaging with commanders like Ludevic Necro-Alchemist requires tact, acknowledging both the draw advantages and potential drawbacks. At BurnMana, we aim to broaden your horizon, showing how this card can mesh with different strategies, shaping the way matches unfold. Could Ludevic spice up your blue-red combos or redefine your multiplayer dynamics? We suggest giving this cerebral commander a shot. Dive deeper with us into MTG’s strategic depths and discover how Ludevic can be a crafty addition to your arsenal or a captivating challenge to overcome.


Cards like Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist

Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist stands out in the Magic: The Gathering universe as a multifaceted commander designed for blue-red decks. His ability to draw cards by incentivizing damage shares a conceptual link with the likes of Nin, the Pain Artist. Nin offers direct card draw in exchange for damage dealt to creatures, showcasing similar trading patterns between damage and reward yet differing in its precise execution and synergy potential.

Comparatively, Kess, Dissident Mage provides another interesting parallel. While Kess does not offer card drawing per se, she enables casting spells from the graveyard, suggesting a kinship in card advantage tactics but diverging in approach. Kess looks backwards at past plays, where Ludevic encourages ongoing aggression to maximize future draw.

The elemental blend of strategy and advantage embedded in Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist gives players a unique tool for card draw and fostering a spirited multiplayer dynamic. Amidst the cosmos of commanders and card advantage conundrums, Ludevic’s gambit for knowledge through strife stands as an ingenious strategy, cementing its place in many MTG enthusiasts’ decks as well as their gaming hearts.

Nin, the Pain Artist - MTG Card versions
Kess, Dissident Mage - MTG Card versions
Nin, the Pain Artist - Commander 2011 (CMD)
Kess, Dissident Mage - Treasure Chest (PZ2)

Cards similar to Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist by color, type and mana cost

Frenetic Efreet - MTG Card versions
Whirlpool Warrior - MTG Card versions
Yusri, Fortune's Flame - MTG Card versions
Aegar, the Freezing Flame - MTG Card versions
Veyran, Voice of Duality - MTG Card versions
Jori En, Ruin Diver - MTG Card versions
Wee Dragonauts - MTG Card versions
Gelectrode - MTG Card versions
Frenetic Sliver - MTG Card versions
Jhoira of the Ghitu - MTG Card versions
Noggle Hedge-Mage - MTG Card versions
Crackleburr - MTG Card versions
Noggle Ransacker - MTG Card versions
Izzet Staticaster - MTG Card versions
Spellheart Chimera - MTG Card versions
Whirler Virtuoso - MTG Card versions
Nivix Cyclops - MTG Card versions
Enigma Drake - MTG Card versions
Protean Raider - MTG Card versions
Adeliz, the Cinder Wind - MTG Card versions
Frenetic Efreet - World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)
Whirlpool Warrior - The List (PLST)
Yusri, Fortune's Flame - Modern Horizons 2 Promos (PMH2)
Aegar, the Freezing Flame - Multiverse Legends (MUL)
Veyran, Voice of Duality - Commander 2021 (C21)
Jori En, Ruin Diver - Duel Decks: Mind vs. Might (DDS)
Wee Dragonauts - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Gelectrode - The List (PLST)
Frenetic Sliver - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Jhoira of the Ghitu - Modern Masters (MMA)
Noggle Hedge-Mage - Eventide (EVE)
Crackleburr - Eventide (EVE)
Noggle Ransacker - Planechase Anthology (PCA)
Izzet Staticaster - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Spellheart Chimera - Duel Decks: Mind vs. Might (DDS)
Whirler Virtuoso - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Nivix Cyclops - Duel Decks: Mind vs. Might (DDS)
Enigma Drake - Core Set 2019 (M19)
Protean Raider - Rivals of Ixalan Promos (PRIX)
Adeliz, the Cinder Wind - The List (PLST)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Commander 2016, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2016-11-11 and 2020-11-20. Illustrated by Aaron Miller.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 861662015normalblackAaron Miller
22016-11-11Commander 2016C16 372015normalblackAaron Miller
32016-11-16Treasure ChestPZ2 522015normalblackAaron Miller
42020-11-20Commander LegendsCMR 5252015normalblackAaron Miller

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2020-11-10 An effect that checks whether you control your commander is satisfied if you control one or both of your two commanders.
2020-11-10 Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards (or 58 cards in a Commander Draft game) of your deck are shuffled to become your library.
2020-11-10 Damage dealt to a player causes that player to lose that much life.
2020-11-10 If a player lost life and subsequently lost the game, the player whose turn it is may draw a card.
2020-11-10 If something refers to your commander while you have two commanders, it refers to one of them of your choice. If you are instructed to perform an action on your commander (e.g. put it from the command zone into your hand due to Command Beacon), you choose one of your commanders at the time the effect happens.
2020-11-10 If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can only include cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders' combined color identities. If Falthis and Kediss are your commanders, your deck may contain cards with black and/or red in their color identity, but not cards with green, white, or blue.
2020-11-10 Ludevic's ability checks only if another player lost life during the turn, not whether that player's life total decreased over the course of the turn. For example, if a player other than Ludevic's controller lost 2 life and then gained 8 life this turn, the player whose turn it is may draw a card.
2020-11-10 Ludevic's ability looks at the entire turn to determine whether the player may draw a card or not. It doesn't matter whether Ludevic was on the battlefield when the opponent lost life.
2020-11-10 Ludevic's triggered ability triggers at the beginning of each player's end step, including yours, even if no player has lost life that turn. Whether or not a player has lost life is checked only as the triggered ability resolves.
2020-11-10 Ludevic's triggered ability will allow the player to draw a card if any player other than Ludevic's controller, including the player whose turn it is, lost life this turn.
2020-11-10 Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won't have to pay an additional the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 damage from any one of them, not from both of them combined.
2020-11-10 Only one card may be drawn no matter how much life was lost or how many players lost life.
2020-11-10 To have two commanders, both must have the partner ability as the game begins. Losing the ability during the game doesn't cause either to cease to be your commander.
2020-11-10 You can choose two commanders with partner that are the same color or colors. In Commander Draft, you can even choose two of the same commander with partner if you drafted them. If you do this, make sure you keep the number of times you've cast each from the command zone clear for "commander tax" purposes.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks