[PhilD]

Originally posted by NTJedi:
Alchemists are rarely worth the purchase unless it's a huge game. The alchemist stone is definitely a great jewel !

Depends on how the game is proceeding for how often alchemy is needed... at least in my experiences.

Are you talking about the Master Alchemist Ulm pretender, or the random site Alchemist?

A Master Alchemist is clearly a design choice (I like Rainbow pretenders, even though I don't play them well), and even though Ulm tends to have a use for all Earth and Fire gems it can get, the bonus isn't a small one.

Random Alchemists I've always thought were a great find. I tend to play nations with little access to Fire magic, while I like missile troops, so finding Fire mages is always nice; when not making money, they can be used as forgers or fill in a battle position.

An Alchemist has a Gold cost of 300, so an Upkeep cost of 20. If you're alchemizing about 4 Earth gems a turn, or 3 Fire, that pays for his upkeep. Not exactly early game, but I'd say that's easy to reach in a non "purely blitz" game, and definitely worth it in solo play (of course, you have to add in the 200 Gold for a Lab, and the 300 upfront cost of the Alchemist; but that's just 34 Fire gems before you get the Alchemist, or 23 after it).