Forbidden Alchemy
Forbidden Alchemy: Instant, Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander. Look at the top four cards of your library. Printings, prices, and format legality on Mana Grove.
- Mana cost
- {2}{U}
- Mana value
- 3
- Type
- Instant
- Colour identity
- Blue and black (UB)
- Rarity
- Common
- Set
- Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander (TDC)
- Released
- 2025-04-11
- Collector number
- 152
- Artist
- David Rapoza
- Keywords
- Flashback
Build around this card with Grover
About Forbidden Alchemy
Forbidden Alchemy is a Magic: The Gathering card, a common blue and black instant from Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander (TDC), a Commander product released in April 2025. It is collector number 152 in that set, with art by David Rapoza. It costs {2}{U} (two generic and one blue mana) to cast, for a mana value of 3. Its colour identity is blue and black. It is legal in Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, Pauper Commander, Brawl, Historic, Timeless, Gladiator and Penny Dreadful. It has been printed in 14 sets, from Innistrad (2011) to Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander (2025). The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $0.21 (normal finish, as of 2026-10-23).
Card text
Look at the top four cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.
Flashback {6}{B} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Market price
Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $0.21 (as of 2026-10-23).
The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.
Format legality
Legality of Forbidden Alchemy by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.
| Modern | Legal |
|---|---|
| Legacy | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper Commander | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Penny Dreadful | Legal |
Other printings of Forbidden Alchemy
Forbidden Alchemy has been printed in 14 sets. The 12 most recent other printings are listed here, newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.
| Printing | Rarity | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Innistrad Remastered (INR) #355 | Uncommon | 2025 |
| Innistrad Remastered (INR) #65 | Uncommon | 2025 |
| Ravnica: Clue Edition (CLU) #86 | Uncommon | 2024 |
| Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC) #191 | Common | 2023 |
| Shadows of the Past (SIS) #15 | Common | 2023 |
| Double Masters 2022 (2X2) #49 | Common | 2022 |
| Forgotten Realms Commander (AFC) #84 | Uncommon | 2021 |
| The List (PLST) #MM3-38 | Common | 2019 |
| Ultimate Masters (UMA) #56 | Uncommon | 2018 |
| Modern Masters 2017 (MM3) #38 | Common | 2017 |
| Duel Decks: Blessed vs. Cursed (DDQ) #43 | Common | 2016 |
| Friday Night Magic 2012 (F12) #7 | Rare | 2012 |
Official rulings
Seven official rulings apply to Forbidden Alchemy, newest first.
- You can cast a spell using flashback even if it was somehow put into your graveyard without having been cast.
- "Flashback [cost]" means "You may cast this card from your graveyard by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost" and "If the flashback cost was paid, exile this card instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack."
- You must still follow any timing restrictions and permissions, including those based on the card's type. For instance, you can cast a sorcery using flashback only when you could normally cast a sorcery.
- To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost (such as a flashback cost) you're paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was.
- A spell cast using flashback will always be exiled afterward, whether it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack in some other way.
- If a card with flashback is put into your graveyard during your turn, you can cast it if it's legal to do so before any other player can take any actions.
- If you have fewer than four cards in your library, you'll look at all the cards there and put one into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.
Similar cards
Other instant cards with a blue and black colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.