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Greetings!  Seeing as how Archenemy was just released as an official variant format for our beloved game, I figured that my insight on the afformetnioned format would be helpful to players considering a purchase.

I did have some fun playing Archenemy, but it is not as good as Planechase, Vanguard or even EDH.  Archenemy seemed to have an inherant problem that you get the feeling of being screwed if you loose no matter what side you play on. I play ALOT of casual and alot of multiplayer, so I see what is fun and what isn't fun in casual multiplayer Magic. In any Archenemy there are almost always one of two sentiments, both of which have negative conotations. If the Archenemy is winning, players tend to chock it up to the Schemes being too powerful and thus don't have as much fun. If the allies are winning the Archenemy feels ganged up on or screwed by the Scheme deck. This leads to at least a small (if not large) negative feeling when playing the format no depending on only if you win or loose.  

The major issue with the format's balance is the schemes are pulled on critical turns pretty much decide the game from all of the times we played it. If you got a token of any reasonable size on the first few turns (the 5/5 dragon, the 4/6 golem, the 5 sapprolings or the 2/2 zombies, one per player) the Archenemy almost always won. If you didn't get that, you were often at too low a life total to win against the three players (All games I will be discussing were three allies and one Archenemy, some with the preconstructed decks and scheme deck, some with modified ones)
Another issue with  is that the format requires the same type of social contract that EDH does. Players need to agree on the approxamate power level of decks. If the Archenemy brings a broken vintage combo deck, they will likely always win if the players are not prepared for is. The reverse is also true. The one thing I havent tested to see how fair it is, is the allies all constructing decks made to create maximum synergy with each other and the archenemy constructs his deck to best abuse the schemes (with both "teams" not playing broken combo that can win against multiple players turn 1-3). I have a hunch that if the players coordinate thier deckbuilding that the Archenemy has little hope of winning. This needs more testing to verify.  Another thing I want to try is using a communal Archenemy deck that each player sets the top card in motion at the begining of thier turn (much akin to Chaos Magic of yore) seems fun, havent tried it yet but I plan on it.

Talking of Earthmonies
Switching gears a bit and talking about the value of the prodcut, the rares in each deck pretty much pay for the box themselves.  The black red deck has both the most powerful and most expensive cards. [card]Avatar of Woe[/card], [card]Vampyric Dragon[/card], [card]Reanimate[/card], [card]Scion of Darkness[/card]...it is definately the most powerful and valuable, but all of the decks have strong rares, uncommons and commons.  Great also for a newer player looking to pick up good cards for thier EDH deck or other casual decks that want non-Standard cards.  The Promo scheme is $12 on eBay as well so if you got those from the release you did good fiscally, but if not good luck affording them.  They are pretty darn good too.

Overall I was not as impressed with Archenemy as I was planechase.  One vs. All formats tend to be at least a bit unfun for one of the "teams" of players and Archenemy is no different.  The Schemes do have other much more fun connotations and will likely be used for the Chaos deck in Chaos Magic or for everyone to be an Archenemy in the same game more than the way it was designed in my opinion.

Thanks for reading, and Remember:

Use YOUR shoes as counters!

-Shoe

So, As I loved planechase and bought one of each deck to have each plane, in archenemy you can have 2 of each Scheme in your Scheme deck so I decided to do a breakdown of which schemes you will get a playset (2) of from buying all 4 boxes and which ones you will come up short. I found that there are far more schemes that you fall short on (20) than ones you have extra of (5X2). Also, the schemes that you get extras of are actually much more common (there are a total of 4 if you buy one of each deck)

Here is what you get if you buy all 4 decks. As you can see there is a psudo rarity system within the Scheme cards. The ones highlighted in green only appear as a single copy and are basically "Rares", the unhighlighted ones are basically a common and you end up with exactly what you need from the full set of 4 decks. The ones highlited in red are actually sort of a "Super common" because you end up with 2 full playsets rather than 2 copies.

Use this info as you see fit, its just a breakdown I thought would be helpful/interresting when determining value of scheme cards in trades at the release

1 A Display of My Dark Power
1 All in Good Time
2 All Shall Smolder in My Wake
1 Approach My Molten Realm
1 Behold the Power of Destruction
2 Choose Your Champion
1 Dance, Pathetic Marionette
1 Embrace My Diabolical Vision
2 Every Hope Shall Vanish
2 Every Last Vestige Shall Rot
1 Evil Comes to Fruition
2 Feed the Machine
2 I Bask in Your Silent Awe
1 I Call on the Ancient Magics
4 I Delight in Your Convulsions
2 I Know All, I See All
2 Ignite the Cloneforge!
1 Into the Earthen Maw
4 Introductions Are in Order
1 Know Naught but Fire
2 Look Skyward and Despair
1 May Civilization Collapse
1 Mortal Flesh is Weak
1 My Crushing Masterstroke
1 My Genius Knows No Bounds
1 My Undead Horde Awakens
2 My Wish Is Your Command
2 Nature Demands an Offering
2 Nature Shields Its Own
1 Nothing Can Stop Me Now
2 Only Blood Ends Your Nightmares
4 Realms Befitting My Majesty
2 Roots of All Evil
2 Rotted Ones, Lay Siege
1 Surrender Your Thoughts
2 The Dead Shall Serve
1 The Fate of the Flammable
2 The Iron Guardian Stirs
2 The Pieces Are Coming Together
1 The Very Soil Shall Shake
1 Tooth, Claw, and Tail
2 Which of You Burns Brightest?
4 Your Fate Is Thrice Sealed
4 Your Puny Minds Cannot Fathom
2 Your Will is Not Your Own

the breakdown seems to be that each box has 5 "rares" 5 Sets of "Uncommons at 2X each and One of each "Common"

"Rares" in each box
Bring About the Undead Apocalypse
1 Dance, Pathetic Marionette
1 A Display of My Dark Power
1 Mortal Flesh is Weak
1 My Undead Horde Awakens
1 Surrender Your Thoughts

Trample Civilization Underfoot
1 Evil Comes to Fruition
1 I Call on the Ancient Magics
1 Into the Earthen Maw
1 May Civilization Collapse
1 The Very Soil Shall Shake

Scorch the World with Dragonfire
1 Approach My Molten Realm
1 The Fate of the Flammable
1 Know Naught but Fire
1 My Crushing Masterstroke
1 Tooth, Claw, and Tail

Assemble the Doomsday Machine
1 All in Good Time
1 Behold the Power of Destruction
1 Embrace My Diabolical Vision
1 My Genius Knows No Bounds
1 Nothing Can Stop Me Now