“To most, a terrifying apparition. To a necro-alchemist, a potent fuel source.”
Cleave
Alchemist's Retrieval
Card Rules and Details
Card Type: Instant
Mana Cost: {U}
Oracle Rules Text: Cleave {1}{U} (You may cast this spell for its cleave cost. If you do, remove the words in square brackets.) Return target nonland permanent [you control] to its owner's hand.
Flavor Text: To most, a terrifying apparition. To a necro-alchemist, a potent fuel source.
Set: Innistrad: Crimson Vow (#47), Rarity: Common, Artist: David Auden Nash
Instant
Blue
Common
$0.27
Regular
$0.32
✨ Foil
€0.10
Euro
Prices as of Sep 03, 2026. Market values fluctuate; double-check current pricing before purchasing.
Historical Printings & Sets (3)
1 Languages
Official Rulings (4)
2021-11-19
If you cast a spell for its cleave cost, that spell doesn't have any of the text in square brackets while it's on the stack.
2021-11-19
You can't cast a spell for both its cleave cost and another alternative cost. For example, if an effect gives an Alchemist's Retrieval in your graveyard a flashback cost of {U}, you can't cast it from your graveyard for its cleave cost.
2021-11-19
A cleave cost is an alternative cost that's paid instead of the spell's mana cost. Casting a spell for its cleave cost doesn't change the spell's mana value.
2021-11-19
If an effect allows you to “cast a spell without paying its mana cost,” you can't cast that spell for its cleave cost.
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