Phyrexia: All Will Be One: The Tribal Evaluation
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By: Kumagoro42, Gianluca Aicardi
Mar 02 2023 11:34am
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PHYREXIA: ALL WILL BE ONE

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 The first "event set" of the New Phyrexian Invasion (which will culminate with March of the Machine in the spring), Phyrexia: All Will Be One uniquely presents the conflict from the point of view of the villains. This leads to an almost unprecedented focus on a single creature type (the last time something like this happened was with Spirit in the original Kamigawa block). With Magic's 30th anniversary celebration in full swing, the game's oldest recurring antagonists, the Phyrexians, are given over pretty much the entire set, reaching almost 400 members only a couple of years since their official introduction.

 With only 11 creatures in the set not having the Phyrexian subtype, and even Human appearing at the unbelievably low rate of just two new additions, the room for other creature types is very limited and the tribal synergies are virtually non-existent. The small Mirran Resistance side still causes Rebel to return to the game for the first time since Future Sight, while a few other unusual tribes randomly get new members through the Phyrexians, including Basilisk, Hyena, Masticore, and Squid. The token-based type Mite also makes its debut with a single member being given a proper card. The high number of Phyrexians also influences the quantity of creature with a triple subtype, with the most common secondary Phyrexian types being Beast, Cleric, Horror, and Warrior.

 Four creatures only appear in the Jumpstart packs associated with the release, which are still considered part of the main set. The green member of this cycle is the enchantment Goliath Hatchery.

   

 Time to have a look at these new, mostly Phyrexian creatures and their tribes. As always, the main focus is on all the Constructed applications, though Limited is occasionally touched upon; the tribes are presented alphabetically, and you'll find a hypertextual list at the end.

 NOTE: Alchemy cards, Acorn cards, and other non-tournament legal cards aren't counted toward the tribal totals.

 Infodump

  • Cards: 266 (+10 duplicated basic lands, and including 5 Jumpstart exclusives)
  • New cards: 252
  • New creatures: 136
  • Reprinted cards: 14
  • Reprinted creatures: 2 (Phyrexian Obliterator, Thrummingbird)
  • New Legendary creatures: 28
  • New Snow creatures: 0
  • New artifact creatures: 25
  • New enchantment creatures: 0
  • Triple-subtype creatures: 14
  • Creature types affected: 55
  • Tribes with more than 5 additions: Phyrexian (+125), Warrior (+15), Beast (+12), Cleric (+10), Horror (+9), Wizard (+9), Soldier (+6)

Advisor: +2

 

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 New Tribal Total: 82, online: 73

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Low

 Highlights: We can see right from the start two of the three mechanical themes of the set, all of which are strictly interconnected: oil counters and proliferate (the third being poison/toxic). Glistener Seer exploits oil to scry, and it's a very playable one-drop in Limited. Scheming Aspirant is a draining payoff for incidental proliferate. The ONE Limited format is pretty fast and unforgiving, so both of these are useful as high-toughness blockers of the many one- and two-powered creatures that already populate the board on turn two, threatening a quick death via poison counters. They're of little to no use in Constructed.

Angel: +3

  

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 New Tribal Total: 225, online: 222

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Angels can famously be "compleated" (the old-timey word, an archaic spelling of "complete", that means being transformed into a biomechanical monstrosity and assimilated into the Phyrexian collective). Atraxa was the result of a joint compleat operation from all the Praetors except Urabrask (hence her lacking of a red identity) and first debuted in Commander 2016 as Atraxa, Praetors' Voice. The new incarnation is possibly even more bombasic of her Commander-oriented card. She has the same collection of combat keywords, a much bigger body, and a potentially massive card-drawing effect on ETB (which mentions, future hint!, a still mysterious "battle" card type). Of course the old free proliferate every turn had a larger strategic value, but the Grand Unifier is a crazy finisher for a crazy cost; she replenishes our hand and threaten the opponents with a fast clock if left unchecked. Still, it's hard to see where she might find a home, since she's clearly less suitable as a commander than her previous self.

 The two monowhite Angels are solid Limited fare – especially Basilica Shepherd, which gives us a flying body and two Mites. The fact that toxic, unlike its progenitor infect, still deals regular combat damage eliminates any awkwardness in the mix of toxic and not-toxic creatures in our army. Apostle of Invasion showcases the corrupted ability word, which is meant to reward partially poisoning the opponent, opening the use of toxic creatures as a means to a strategic end and not just as wincons.

Artificer: +3

  

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 New Tribal Total: 181, online: 177

 Related Tribes: Goblin, Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Slobad is one of the many Mirrodin characters that began their stories as Resistance members (or at least neutral survivors) and then fell victims to the Phyrexian ploy, just like his best friend Glissa. He now works as Urabrask's waste disposal technician, so at least he's not actively fighting the good guys. Just like the original Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer in Darksteel, his card is all about sacrificing artifacts for gain – in this case, to repurpose their mana value into new artifacts. It's a meaningless ability in Limited, where Slobad is just a 3/3 for three, but it has high potential in Constructed; at the very least, as the commander of an artifact-heavy build that turn smaller, death-friendly cards like Ichor Wellspring into curve-toppers like Portal to Phyrexia.

 The two blue Artificers are part of the white-blue "artifacts matter" Limited archetype. Unctus's Retrofitter combos nicely with two-drop artifacts like Prophetic Prism or Malcator's Watcher, giving us a sizeable board presence on turn three. Transplant Theorist helps filtering through our deck, if the artifact density is sufficient – which is not hard to achieve, since most Phyrexians are part machine, after all.

Basilisk: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 12

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Low

 Highlights: In most sets, green gets at least one small deathtouch critter of some sort. It's usually a Snake or a Scorpion, but ONE decide to resurrect the Basilisk subtype, which had appeared only once in the past 13 years (Underdark Basilisk in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms). This one is also toxic, which makes it annoying to let through in Limited, although it's slightly expensive compared to the average creature serving the toxic strategy. Sad to say, but most of the existent deathtouch Basilisks are better positioned than Ichor Basilisk in Constructed (well, relatively speaking), because toxic is not a meaningful keyword outside of a dedicated deck.

Bat: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 25, online: 23

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Even discounting toxic (which, as noted, is a parasitic keyword that does nothing in the larger Magic context without being surrounded by more instances of itself), this little Bat has strong stats for a two-drop, and built-in recursion through proliferate, which is a more widely useful mechanic. It's actually one of the very few candidates for Constructed relevance among the toxic creatures. Within the set's Limited environment, Voidwing Hybrid is the signpost for the blue-black pairing, which is not that good of an archetype overall. It remains an appealing uncommon – and also, strangely enough, the first blue Bat ever printed.

Beast: +12

  

  

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 New Tribal Total: 460, online: 450

 Related Tribes: Boar, Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium to High

 Highlights: Beast is the third most common subtype in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, and the second race overall after Phyrexian (if very very far from its grand total). The green rares dominate the new additions and have Constructed potential. Bloated Contaminator has stats above the curve and its proliferate on connection might gain a slot in some kind of "+1/+1 counters matter" build. Evolved Spinoderm is a callback to classic Blastoderm. In fact, it might even be strictly better than its blueprint, since it gets trample during its last two turns, when it's unlikely the opponent would want to use removal on a creature that's about to die anyway. Also, hexproof beats obsolete shroud.

 Migloz, Maze Crusher is one of the best oil creatures in the set. It has the same body/cost ratio of the Contaminator, but a triplet of useful activations, although they're mostly focused on combat performance. Migloz and the Contaminator actually form a tremendous pair of three-drop Beasts, with the latter fueling the former's abilities. If oil ever emerges as a viable Constructed strategy (maybe with the help of March of the Machine), Migloz is going to be part of that deck. And so does the terrific uncommon Armored Scrapgorger, which is a mana dork, a midrange beater, an oil source and a graveyard hater, all rolled into a single two-drop.

 The Rakdos Beats are less exciting. It's hard to fathom what the sacrifice ability of Kethek, Crucible Goliaht was designed for. It's basically a reverse Birthing Pod where we get to downgrade our creatures into random, less expensive ones. It's an okay deal if the sacrificed creature was hindered by some Pacifism-like Aura, but that's not very likely to happen in Constructed, is it? Or at the very least, it's extremely situational. The only saving grace is that the whole process is free of charge and non-mandatory, while Kethek's body/cost ratio is decent. The uncommon black-red Beast, Charforger, is meant as the Limited signpost for its color pair, which doesn't really translate into an archetype because the Rakdos Sacrifices strategy it hints at is not really supported in the set. Charforger is still a solid three-drop, though. It creates two non-Mite bodies, so they're all able to block; and the oil/proliferate payoff is impulsive drawing, which is just one step removed from outright drawing cards. In Constructed, where we can actually build a functional sacrifice deck, it might even be more effective in producing oil counters.

 Other good Limited Beasts include the flexible three-drop Contagious Vorrac, a strictly better Centaur Courser that either self-replaces with a land or provides a round of proliferate. Among the red ones, Sawblade Scamp and Furnace Strider are at the opposite ends of the "oil matters" spectrum, but both supply good payoffs for their cost. Shrapnel Slinger is not that good on turn two, but it doubles as a sorcery-speed Shatter later on.

   

 The only blue Beast in this lot, Escaped Experiment is designed as an aggressive, if frail, early beater in the "artifacts matter" Limited deck. It's not too popular, though, and neither is the curve-topper Skyscythe Engulfer, which has no synergy whatsoever with the set's mechanics. It might well be the largest creature on the average ONE battlefield, though.

 

Bird: +3

  

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 New Tribal Total: 321, online: 307

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: All three new Birds are valuable cards in the set's Limited environment, but they expose the larger issue with ONE: how hard it is for its cards, and its creatures particularly, to matter in Constructed, due to their mechanics being so parasitic. Take Flensing Raptor, for instance; it's a top-notch three-drop in a white toxic deck. But is toxic going to be a thing outside of ONE Limited? The same goes for Tainted Observer, the signpost for blue-green – even if proliferate is more universal (it affects planeswalkers, after all), it's still a very specific mechanic most decks won't care for. The Observer provides a whole lot of it within any creature-heavy build, which could suggest a +1/+1 counters list, just like with Bloated Contaminator. In fact, the two of them might well be part of the same deck. And it's probably the kind of longterm repeatable effect that's going to thrive in Commander. But how often is it going to feel relevant?

 At least Gitaxian Raptor is self-sufficient for a while, albeit its value resides mostly in being a semi-impassable blocker on turn three. But with no proliferate around, it'll quickly outlive its usefulness as an attacker.

 All this said, the common rarity on a few of these creatures might impact Pauper, if nothing else.

Boar: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 44, online: 42

 Related Tribes: Beast, Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium to High

 Highlights: Contagious Vorrac immediately takes its place among the best Boars in existence, and it might well be the best three-mana common Boar ever printed – barring recursion shenanigans with Brindle Boar and the likes.

Cat: +3

  

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 New Tribal Total: 260, online: 250

 Related Tribes: Cleric, Phyrexian, Rebel

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium to High

 Highlights: Cat lady Kemba is back, and miraculously, she hasn't turned into a Phyrexian yet. Kemba, Kha Regent only asked to be equipped to attract other Cats to her cause. The new version is cheaper, though, and attaches Equipment for free – crucially, in a Cat tribal build. She also boosts the equipped creatures' stats, which is designed to work in the set with the For Mirrodin! Equipment, a new take on living weapon. Also, Kemba still summons Cat tokens, although this time for a steep cost. All in all, there's the potential for a good commander/tribal lord hidden within Kemba's crowded rule text, but it's one with many moving parts that have to align for it to properly deliver on its promises.

 The other two new Cats are both 3/2s for three mana, if in different colors. Leonin Lightbringer is hard to get rid of early on and wears Equipment well; Chrome Prowler is a bad Frost Lynx that triggers artifact synergies. They're both okay in Limited, negligible anywhere else.

Chimera: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 22, online: 21

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Severe

 Highlights: Pretty much all of the modern-framed Chimeras have hailed from Theros (a lone exception was Hour of Devastation's Majestic Myriarch). So it's curious to find one of them on New Phyrexia. It's not even an artifact, so it doesn't call back to the tribe's semi-forgotten origins in Visions. Creative considerations aside, Serum-Core Chimera is arguably the set's single best payoff for the oil mechanic. It's not just able to sustain itself very easily, which makes it non-parasitic, at least to the extent that including a large number of noncreature spells (and not even just instants and sorceries) in an Izzet deck is not going to feel like a deckbuilding restraint at all. What this Chimera does with those oil counters is the most we could ask for: drawing cards and killing things. Or, to be more precise, turning our less useful cards into zero-cost removal spells. And its body/cost ratio isn't even bad, with a healthy toughness quota. Easily one of the top uncommon creatures in the set, definitely one of the most impressive Chimeras of any rarity, even if it takes a little while to get going – but it's one of those cards that reward you for just playing the game.

Cleric: +10

  

 

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 New Tribal Total: 537, online: 506

 Related Tribes: Cat, Phyrexian, Zombie

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The Clerics make for another relatively crowded group in ONE, due to the Phyrexians having a pronounced religious side to their doctrine – for one, Elesh Norn's faction is called the Machine Orthodoxy; it's bound to have priests. Ironically, though, the only rare here is also the only non-Phyrexian, Cat leader and Equipment enthusiast Kemba. The best new Cleric overall is Annex Sentry, a three-mana exiler in the manner of recent all-star Skyclave Apparition and Brutal Cathar, but with a bigger butt that could ensure longer survival. It's clearly not at the same level as the Apparition, and its exiling is conditional, whereas Cathar's isn't. It also doesn't offer any extra value except for toxic, which might be irrelevant. Still, a new white exiler is always welcome, and the Sentry might compete with Brutal Cathar in current Standard. It also challenges both Fiend Hunter and Banisher Priest for the role of the tribe's main exiler. It's less versatile but more durable, and especially more splashable.

 The other uncommon Clerics are all very efficient in Limited, but they're inexorably linked to the toxic mechanic, which makes them hard to picture as Constructed cards. Slaughter Singer in green-white and Necrogen Priest in black-green are the very best at what they do, and reason enough to draft and build around those color pairs. They're both toxic 2 and both boost the whole toxic team, with the Singer being cheaper and the Priest having more overall impact and a stronger defensive body. Outside of a toxic deck they have no value at all, though. And it's worth noting toxic doesn't mix well with infect, either. Vivisection Evangelist might, since the poison counters needed for corrupted are the same infect generates; but it's a five-drop maybe-removal in colors infect doesn't use. It has Limited written all over it.

 The common Clerics of the set divide their attention between several different strategies. Some of them are generic, some play into the "artifacts matter" deck, while the most prominent ones, Plague Nurse and Indoctrination Attendant, are once again toxic players.

    

Construct: +4

   

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 New Tribal Total: 177, online: 176

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: With the Phyrexians now representing such a major component of the world's identity, it's easy to forget New Phyrexia was once called Mirrodin, and it was an artificial plane made by Karn where most everyone was either a robot or some sort of cyborg. Constructs are still running around, even if they've been all taken over by the new dominant lifeform. All these are meant for Limited, with Incisor Glider shining in toxic decks (or decks with at least some toxic elements) and Swooping Lockout being a viable one-drop in "artifacts matter" decks. Ambulatory Edifice distinguishes itself by having a killing ETB trigger – it's restricted to one-toughness creatures, but there are many of those that are worth taking out. As a black three-drop with adequate stats, it's not inconceivable it might find some use in Constructed, too.

Demon: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 148, online: 142

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Low

 Highlights: Archfiend of the Dross is only the third Demon we met during our now seven visits to Mirrodin/New Phyrexia (the other two were Reiver Demon in original Mirrodin and Carnifex Demon in Scars of Mirrodin). It's the last in a line of aggressively costed monoblack four-mana 6/6 flying Demons with a catch. Grinning Demon makes you lose life; Abyssal Persecutor prevents you from winning while it's around; Desecration Demon can be tapped by the opponent; and Demon of Catastrophes cannot be cast unless we sacrifice another creature first. Archfiend's catch is the most extreme so far, as it's the only one that actively loses you the game. That seems enough to disregard the guy entirely. Losing a game to Heartless Act is pretty dire, and the Archfiend's clock isn't even enough to bring an opponent down from 20 life to zero, since it can only attack three times.

Dinosaur: +2

 

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 New Tribal Total: 123, online: 122

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: By now a couple Beasts, one Lizard and even a Spirit from the previous Mirrodin sets have been retconned into Dinosaurs, so the tribe already had a foothold in the plane. The green ones in particular were Tyrranaxes as well, just like these two, which sport the highest toxic factors in the set, only surpassed by the over-the-top Paladin of Predation.

 The mythic Tyrranax Rex is a big hasty trampler that can't be countered and is hard to target, so it's pretty much guaranteed to poison the opponent. It still takes three attacks to kill them, though, so it's not exactly a new Blightsteel Colossus. It might feel a tad slow in Limited, and for seven mana, including triple green, Constructed has better options, like Titan of Industry. On the other hand, Tyrranax Atrocity is a solid curve-topper for Limited toxic decks. But once again, Constructed-wise, it doesn't even start comparing in a vacuum with cards like Froghemoth. After all, toxic 3 means very little if it's the only instance of poison in the deck – the Atrocity would need four connections to finish the opponent via toxicity, so we're probably winning with regular damage before that.

Dragon: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 315, online: 310

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The Phyrexian version of the Obligatory Dragon offers an interesting variant on the things Dragons usually get to do. It ideally wants to be in monored, because the dream goal is to cast it for just triple red. That can only happen in the late game or in a self-milling deck, though, so it's probably not a large factor. For the full six mana, we get a 4/4 flyer, which would be severely below the curve if it weren't accompanied by the free recursion of a noncreature spell from our graveyard, chosen among three cards that were in turn picked at random. Now, there's no guarantee those three random cards even contained an eligible spell. For Capricious Hellraiser to shine, or even just function, we need a specific build, likely control-oriented, in which our graveyard gets quickly populated by removal spells, or Sagas like Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, or noncreature artifacts like Reckoner Bankbuster – both ways to smuggle creatures onto the battlefield circumventing the noncreature clause. Some Standard decks are pairing it with The Elder Dragon War, which fills the graveyard and then ends up in the graveyard itself, to be capriciously cast again.

Drake: +2

 

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 New Tribal Total: 97, online: 96

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: No matter if they're compleated or flesh-and-blood, Drakes will always be Limited filler material. Quicksilver Fisher isn't even that good in Limited, while Trawler Drake is technically playable in Constructed, since it self-maintains its own oil counters, but it just amounts to a worse Sprite Dragon.

Drone: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 64

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Drone is such an obscure creature type, it's amazing to learn there are actually 64 of them. The vast majority is a subset of Eldrazi, though, which is the most visible type on those creatures. Since the last Eldrazi set, Oath of the Gatewatch, only one Drone was printed, Searchlight Companion from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. In that case, the term "drone" was used more in the sense we commonly associate to the word in real life, i.e. a small aircraft with surveillance and recon functions. As the name implies, Malcator's Watcher follows that definition, being one of the flying monitors in the service of Jin-Gitaxias's lieutenant Malcator. It's a smart two-drop that replaces itself upon death and in Limited it's a prime target for Unctus's Retrofitter, or a carrier of Equipment.

Druid: +3

  

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 New Tribal Total: 276, online: 272

 Related Tribes: Elf, Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Phyrexians have learned the concept of Druid, apparently (the Glissa's quote in Cultivator's flavor text makes a good argument for its sense). Interestingly, this trio showcases all three different mechanical applications of phyresis. Adaptive Sporesinger is the less effective, as its proliferate is not enough to justify a three-mana 2/2. More notably, Rustvine Cultivator is the set's Arbor Elf. If not proliferated on, it only works every other turn, but it's also an enabler of oil synergies, which is central to red-green identity in the set. And the extra toughness is not irrelevant in an environment infested with 1/1 Mites.

 Venerated Rotpriest is the real Constructed-friendly Druid. Can a heroic style of poison decks exist in any meta? It's unclear, but if it does, it's entirely because of this guy. Even infect decks in Modern could consider it, given that they already run a plethora of pump spells, and with the right timing a Rotpriest could deal the last few points of poison without the need of attacking.

Elephant: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 63, online: 62

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian, Wizard

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The Loxodons, the humanoid Elephants found in a few planes, have been mostly exterminated on New Phyrexia. Malcator was compleated by Jin-Gitaxias, and is now one of his servitors in charge of quality control of the Great Synthesis (a semi-heretical alternative take on what it means to be a perfect Phyrexian). Malcator's card doesn't really reflect any of this, and is mostly just a blue-tinted variant of Blade Splicer, i.e. a 3/3 plus a 1/1 for three mana. In fact, he's almost a strictly worse Splicer, since his Golem doesn't have any ability. But there's a chance to get more of them, even if it's not too easy to achieve. Of course the way to go is by using a single card that creates three artifacts at once, as opposed to try and resolve three artifact spells in one turn. The first that comes to mind is Precursor Golem, which however would make all the Golems vulnerable to a single removal spell (on the other hand, it could also have them all saved by the same combat trick). But even in a deck that's capable of triggering Malcator's secondary ability, in average it's not going to happen more than once over the course of a game. So, we're mostly back to "less effective Blade Splicer" as a tagline for Malcator. He's also the second blue Elephant in the game after Avalanche Tusker from Khans of Tarkir.

Elf: +5

  

 

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 New Tribal Total: 519, online: 505

 Related Tribes: Druid, Phyrexian, Scout, Warrior, Zombie

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium to High

 Highlights: The trio of monogreen Phyrexian Elves has value in Limited: Rustvine Cultivator provides steady oil synergy with a bit of mana acceleration; Branchblight Stalker threatens two poison counters on turn three, especially on the play; and Predation Steward is mostly a filler-ish strictly better Grizzly Bears. Then we have two compleated legends, one in Simic, one in Golgari, both already converted to the Phyrexian side before the events of the set. 

 Bandit lord Ezuri is mostly known for his original incarnation, the Elfball finisher Ezuri, Renegade Leader. We learned he had fallen to the corruption of Jin-Gitaxias in Commander 2015, where he got the new moniker of Ezuri, Claw of Progress. As the Stalker of Spheres, he maintains the same cost and body, but is now a "proliferate lord". Turning every instance of proliferate into a self-replacing cantrip is a huge incentive to build around that mechanic in any format, but especially in Commander. There's also a kicker-like option of having Ezuri proliferate twice on ETB for three extra mana, which mainly reads as an attached Divination rider for the late game. Of course Ezuri is entirely dependent on a proliferate build, and does absolutely nothing elsewhere.

 Different is the case of Glissa, who's instead completely self-reliant. The days of her inter-racial friendship with Slobad and her heroic defense of Mirrodin are long gone. The only trait that survives of Glissa Sunseeker is the dramatically inversed epithet of Glissa Sunslayer. This latest incarnation is a direct improvement over Glissa, the Traitor, her first Phyrexian form after the conversion via Vorinclex. Same cost, same body, same killer combination of first strike and deathtouch, which makes nearly impossible to win a combat against her. The old, convoluted recursion ability is replaced by a more straightforward saboteur trigger, with three modes. The baseline is of course drawing cards, a la Curiosity. But killing enchantments can be pivotal, and removing counters from permanents might deal with a planeswalker, and is in general a unique skill. On the battlefield, this new Glissa is singularly proficient at both attack and defense, and can function as a continuous source of card advantage, making her one of the most powerful three-drop creatures in the game – which is fitting for the de facto leader of all green Phyrexians from the Vorinclex faction.

Fungus: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 52, online: 51

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium to High

 Highlights: A triplet of modes is always a good thing to have to choose from, and it works even if they're sacrifice modes. Plus, Cankerbloom is otherwise a substantial two-drop 3/2, more aggressive than any other Fungus has ever been at that point in the curve. Doubling as a Naturalize with a proliferate option is what pushes it into hyper-efficiency, to the point that it might even court Constructed. The Phyrexians really do nature better.

Goblin: +5

  

 

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 New Tribal Total: 402, online: 386

 Related Tribes: Artificer, Phyrexian, Rebel, Warrior

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: We already covered Slobad's artifact recycling deal. The other new legendary Goblin is Jumpstart exclusive Rhuk, Hexgold Nabber. He's the armorer of the Mirran Resistance, specialized in procuring and forging hexgold, a rare alloy that protects against phyresis. His card depicts Rhuk's propensity for scavenging Equipment left behind by fallen comrades. To be fair, the ability also triggers when an equipped creature simply attacks, which casts Rhuk's actions in a more morally ambiguous light. The main idea behind this design was moving the For Mirrodin! Equipment from their standard 2/2 vanilla token to a slightly more effective 2/2 trampler. Rhuk's applications are in general kind of narrow, but it's something to be expeced from a Jumpstart rare.

 The other Goblins are all fairly playable in Limited. Exuberant Fuseling is a solid foundation to oil-centered builds, although it's not as good as the green counterpart Evolving Adaptive. The other one-drop Cacophony Scamp is valuable as sacrifice fodder, especially if equipped, and has a small chance of being able to self-immolate to unlock the built-in burn. Despite being common, Chimney Rabble is the best of the trio, as a way to stabilize the board on turn four, while also potentially swinging for three right away if the path is clear.

Golem: +3

  

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 139

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The Phyrexians easily took over all the machines on Mirrodin; Construct, Myr, and the Golems too. The lower rarity ones are MVPs in Limited. Dune Mover ensures a land drop and fixes our mana, while also being a two-powered toxic beater on turn two. Ichorplate Golem is a key centerpiece of oil decks, enough to push us into the strategy if drafted early, regardless of the color pair we chose.

 And then there's Soulless Jailer, which is completely unplayable in Limited, but also not too great in Constructed as a slightly twisted on-legs version of established sideboard cards like Grafdigger's Cage. The Jailer prevents all permanents from moving from graveyard to battlefield, not just creatures; however, it allows cards to be cast from the library, but not from exile, so it punishes impulsive drawing rather than Future Sight effects. At the same time, it lets creatures through in both of those cases, so cascade is unaffected as is any instance of impulsive drawing that just happened to reveal a creature. It's a mixed bag, and the 0/4 body might in theory double as a measure against aggro in game two, but it also makes the whole deal more fragile. If its main pull is graveyard hate, then there's no real reason to pick the Jailer over the Cage – or another half a dozen noncreature options.

Horror: +9

  

 

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 262, online: 261

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The Horror subtype has been associated with Phyrexians since the beginning – in fact, it was their one defining tribe back in the original Yawgmoth era, when the Phyrexian subtype wasn't even conceived. It only feels right, then, to see Horror used here for the most notable cycle of Phyrexian baddies since the Praetors. The five Domini are color-coded manifestations of the Spheres, the regions of New Phyrexia that came to be when Mirrodin was transformed. Their god-like nature, which sometimes even escapes the control of the Praetors, is represented by the indestructible counter they are all able to acquire through some kind of sacrifice. Potentially indestructible body aside, their effectiveness on the battlefield is directly linked to the static ability each of them wield, and which is their main attractive.

 The monowhite Mondrak has a reworking of the text from Parallel Lives, so it's easy to exploit in token decks; its body/cost ratio is acceptable and the indestructibility costs as little as one mana and two expendable artifacts or creatures. In blue, Tekuthal has less power but gets flying as an extra keyword, and only requires the sacrifice of counters to become indestructible – which implies we do have permanents with counters around, though the doubling of proliferate clearly points in that direction; it's not an amazing payoff, nonetheless. Even less impactful is the black representative, Drivnod, whose body is extremely skewed towards power, making the indestructible counter more or less a necessity – to acquire it, Drivnod asks for the least consequential sacrifice and only Phyrexian mana, so possibly no mana at all; we still need to have those three creatures in the graveyard, though, which is hard to accomplish early (dredge decks could, but they certainly wouldn't care for a five-drop), and the passive ability enhancing death triggers is also pretty narrow. The monored Solphim boasts the most advantageous body/cost ratio of the whole lot (in fact, the same as Hazoret the Fervent), can just discard a couple of excess land to attain indestructibility, and has an always relevant damage-doubling ability, even if it only influences noncombat damage (notably, that also includes fight and bite spells). The most powerful ability is the Unnatural Growth of the green Dominus Zopandrel, who's also the most expensive of them all at seven mana; the reach body also looks unimpressive for its cost, although it actually engages every combat as a 8/12, and the counter activation might be free of charge mana-wise, but sacrificing two creatures is not trivial and goes directly against the Unnatural Growth plan.

 All in all, the Domini look like cool creatures with some Commander potential, but very little weight elsewhere. Zopandriel is the more bomb-y in Limited, even with ONE being a fast & furious format, while Mondrak is the easiest to build around in Constructed.

 We also get a mirrored pair of Phyrexian Horrors, with the reprint of Phyrexian Obliterator being accompanied by a white counterpart, Phyrexian Vindicator – a flyer rather than a trampler, with a super-charged version of the Boros Reckoner damage reflection ability married with damage prevention. Just like for the Obliterator, the success of a card like this is severely hindered by the prohibitive color requirement, which can only be expected to work in monocolored builds. And the problem with quad white is further compounded by the fact that monowhite usually favors low curves.

 

 The minor Phyrexian Horrors in the set have a place in Limited, particularly Crawling Chorus as a persistent toxic threat that can get online on turn one. Gulping Scraptrap is a midrange beater that potentially performs a double proliferate, while Ravenous Necrotitan is a corrupted payoff designed for decks that are capable of poisoning the opponent early on, yet don't play to win that way.

  

Human: +2

 

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 3030, online: 2824

 Related Tribes: Rebel, Scout

 Impact of the New Additions: Still Irrelevant

 Highlights: Aside from the Lorwyn/Shadowmoor sets, where the complete absence of Humans was kind of the whole point, it's hard to come up with another case where the super-tribe ended up be so casually underrepresented. Of course it's an effect of the Phyrexian subtype working the same way Zombie does, that is adding a race only when the affected individual wasn't Human – otherwise most Phyrexian creatures, just like most Zombie creatures, would have Human as a secondary type. Nevertheless, non-Phyrexianized Humans get to be in the Mirran Resistance – there's no neutral faction in this conflict. Therefore, here's new cards for prominent war heroes like Auriok general Jor Kadeen as well as the prospective savior of them all, the phyresis-adverse Melira.

Hyena: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 5

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Severe

 Highlights: It might not look like much, but Kuldotha Cackler – a serviceable if unexciting payoff for oil decks in Limited – is a crucial addition to its tribe. Mainly because it's the fifth Hyena ever printed, and most of the others are vanilla or semi-vanilla dorks like Gibbering Hyenas, Trusty Companion, and Hyena Pack. We might as well mention Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel too – which is at least a legendary rare. So that's the whole Hyena tribe, somehow distributed between three different colors, mechanically unsound, and as baffling as its existence is to begin with.

Imp: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 41, online: 39

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Low

 Highlights: This is a disappointing 2/2 flyer for three that has the chance of being upgraded to a slightly less disappointing 2/2 flyer with deathtouch and lifelink, although it has no way to achieve that goal on its own. It's a low pick in drafts too, so nothing even a small tribe like Imp can really work with. Corrupted is, at the end of the day, even more parasitic than toxic is. Sure, it works with infect too (as well as the old poisonous and its non-keyworded precursors, for what it's worth), but it's probably beside the point, since infect already does its own self-contained thing. Corrupted is essentially dependent on another parasitic keyword to function. Pretty hard to find any use for it in the wild.

Insect: +5

  

 

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 197, online: 193

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Insect has a sizeable group of new Phyrexianized members in ONE, but they're mostly Limited role players. Bilious Skulldweller and Pestilent Syphoner are the two main source of poison counters in black toxic decks, using deathtouch and flying, respectively, as a way to connect and infect the opponent in the early game – which is sometimes enough to attain inevitability via proliferate. It's a strategy that'll likely remain confined to Limited, since Standard doesn't seem conducive to it (if that'll change in the near future, Voidwing Hybrid is going to be the key) and it can't compete with infect's more broken explosiveness in the larger formats.

 On the oil side of things, Lattice-Blade Mantis is a solid four-drop, while Necrosquito takes too long to grow to relevant proportions. Just like the Mantis, Atraxa's Skitterfang is kind of independent from oil and/or proliferate synergies, as it can grant one of a series of substantial keywords to one of our creatures each combat, and it has enough native oil counters to do it three times before running out. Whereas the Mantis can attack as a vigilant 5/4 during its first two combat phases. They clearly get better if we can refuel them, but any Constructed playability is still out of reach even in theoretical proliferate builds.

Jellyfish: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 14

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Somebody in the creative team really loves Jellyfish, because they're still finding new ways to incorporate them on different planes: the Avizoa on Dominaria, the Esperzoa on Alara, the Gomazoa on Zendikar, and now this Blisterzoa on Mirrodin/New Phyrexia. They're making them fly too, in order to make them more appealing – as well as bizarre, because they're not giving the same treatment to other marine creatures, and they all float in water so they could be easily translated to floating in the air. Watchful Blisterzoa is big and expensive and can replace itself upon death, potentially even generating card advantage if we happened to proliferate before its demise. The body is a bit small for six mana, and the whole deal is quite cumbersome, but overall it's not an unplayable card. It might even be advisable in a Commander deck that's really built around proliferate shenanigans.

Juggernaut: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 20, online: 18

 Impact of the New Additions: Null

 Highlights: The Juggernaut to end all Juggernauts! According to its lore, Graaz is a former Leveler that doesn't know what it's doing anymore, so it's turning everything it comes in contact with into... an original Limited Edition Alpha Juggernaut. Graaz itself is a bit bigger than that, but still sports the two iconic abilities of being forced to attack at every combat and being unblockable by Walls (the latter really betrays the 30 years that have passed since this design was made). It's a cute callback, but at the preposterous cost of eight mana, it's more of a meme than a real card. It also comically downgrades several of its fellow tribesmembers.

Knight: +4

   

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 356, online: 343

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The Knight tribe offers some interesting Phyrexian iterations in ONE. After all, it's a creature type that immediately communicates a sense of being the most elite member of an army – not just any Soldier, but a valiant Knight. The valor, where Phyrexians are concerned, coincides with their toxicity. So the bombastic Paladin of Predation amazes with its impressive and unrivaled toxic 6 line, and it can't even be chump-blocked. At seven mana, though, it's not even a must-play in green toxic decks, although it's still a two-turn poison clock all on its own. More exciting when one's drafting poison is the versatile Venomous Brutalizer (which also uses the correct adjective for once: when you bites it, it's poisonous; when it bites you, it's venomous!). A comfier 4/4 for four, it has pretty much maximum toxicity (only the aforementioned Paladin and Tyrranax Rex exceeds toxic 3, and only Tyrranax Atrocity equals it) and a kicker that lets us proliferate for just two extra mana. Nimraser Paladin completes the toxic ranks by being the strategy's own conditional Gravedigger.

 Unfortunately, none of these toxic players has a future in Constructed – the Paladin might be the most self-contained, but it's far from being a seven-mana finisher of choice in any circumstance outside of Limited. Disappointing is also the legendary Ria Ivor, Bane of Bladehold, who finally gives a name to the character depicted in the artwork for Hero of Bladehold. Too bad her post-compleation form doesn't live up to her past glory. Mana value and body remain the same, and she also retained battle cry, despite being a lone instance of the keyword in the set. But now in order to create tokens she needs to connect, or to have another creature connect. There's the potential for generating a large army of tokens at once (Ria on her own can make three of them), but they're only attacking the following turn and can't block, so they don't affect the board until one turn later. Pumping the Mites through battle cry is also kind of pointless, if they're going to poison the opponent anyway, and we miss regular damage to create them in the first place. One can see the idea was to make Ria into an evil version of her former Hero self, but the various elements of her design didn't properly click together.

Masticore: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 6

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Severe

 Highlights: Two of the previous five Masticores, Razormane Masticore and Molten-Tail Masticore, were from Mirrodin. Argentum Masticore (which strangely references the original name of the plane as envisioned by its creator Karn) more closely resembles the former, but it's a much stronger take on Razormane's deal. It's still a formidable 5/5 first striker for five mana, and we're back to the design of the original Masticore from Urza's Destiny, in which a card needs to discarded at every upkeep. But now the payoff isn't just a fixed amount of damage, but the destruction of any nonland permanent, based on the cost of the discarded card. So excess lands are already good to kill your average token, and everything else gets essentially turned into a makeshift removal spell. Protection from multicolored is extremely situational, but it's just a bonus keyword.

 It's hard for a card like this to impact Constructed, but Argentum Masticore is definitely one of the best Masticores since the subtype exists.

Mite: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 1

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Extreme

 Highlights: New set, new creature type. Let's welcome Mite into Magic's bestiary, although it's mostly in the form of tokens created by other cards. They all seem to have a defined identity of being toxic and unable to block, which would exclude the potential retcon of Haywire Mite – especially since that one was printed so recently which is unlikely they would just miss it. They're probably going to work as a specific subset of Phyrexian, the same way Processor has been for the Eldrazi. The only Mite to get its own card so far is the legendary Skrelv, who is a one-drop with a partial Giver of Runes activation. It can't be used to block, but it's still a way to dribble removal and push an attacker through. So pretty good, with a chance of finding a home in Standard. It's unclear if Skrelv's "defector" moniker is to intend literally or as a (perhaps erroneous) synonym of "defective" – the lore speaks of him avoiding to be turned into scrap metal, but it doesn't indicate that he's now fighting against his Phyrexian masters (some say he's chomping on a Phyrexian hand in the artwork, but it's still not a strong signifier of his allegiance; he literally lives in a junkyard!).

   

Myr: +3

  

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 41

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Low

 Highlights: Some of the Myrs endure! Not Myr Convert, though, which is a surprisingly functional two-drop mana dork in Limited, despite the life cost of its activation. Myr Custodian is purely filler, and Myr Kinsmith is hardly playable, with only two common Myrs in the set. Definitely not for that cost and that body. Overall, a poor showing for Mirrodin's quintessential creature type. Times really are dark around these parts.

Nightmare: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 66

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium to High

 Highlights: The first Izzet-colored Nightmare is quite the majestic fiend. Big, flying, warded body and a spellslinging synergy that creates bursts of hasty Goblins? Sure it's expensive, but it's the kind of card that can't be left unchecked or it'll take over the game very quickly. It could easily be the finisher of choice in an Izzet "noncreature matters" deck. Perhaps it won't be, but it could.

Ogre: +2

 

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 112, online: 107

 Related Tribes: Rebel

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: These two big dumb French vanilla curve-toppers wave the Ogre flag within the Mirran Resistance in Limited. If the stars properly align, Oxidda Finisher might drop as, say, a 7/5 trampler for five – which is not too shabby. Resistance Skywarden is already a five-drop with okay stats, especially within an environment where 4 already plays as a big score for either power or toughness. The mix of menace and reach might feel awkward, but it's actually a sign of versatility.

Phyrexian: +125

  

  

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 385, online: 383

 Related Tribes: Advisor, Angel, Artificer, Basilisk, Bat, Beast, Bird, Boar, Cat, Chimera, Cleric, Construct, Demon, Dinosaur, Dragon, Drake, Drone, Druid, Elephant, Elf, Fungus, Goblin, Golem, Horror, Hyena, Imp, Insect, Jellyfish, Knight, Masticore, Mite, Myr, Nightmare, Praetor, Rat, Rogue, Scout, Skeleton, Soldier, Sphinx, Spider, Squid, Troll, Vampire, Vedalken, Warlock, Warrior, Wizard, Zombie

 Impact of the New Additions: Ludicrous

 Highlights: Not only the Phyrexian tribe manages the biggest boost in the history of the game since Spirit in the original Kamigawa block, it also achieves the absolute record for the largest influence in a single set, with 49 out of the other 54 tribes bearing the subtype on at least one new card – most frequently on all of them. The only immune tribes are Human, Juggernaut, Ogre, Rebel, and Shaman.

 Honestly, it doesn't even make sense to comment on the impact of these 125 new additions. The entire set is basically adding to the Phyrexian ranks, and you can easily find the individual cards reviewed as entries of their secondary tribes. And truth be told, a lot of these new Phyrexians don't contribute much to the tribe as a whole. The toxic and oil strategies are probably doomed to remain a Limited thing. The new Elesh Norn plays more like a Commander card, Atraxa is too demanding, and the Dominus cycle is, on average, kind of low-powered. A lot of these creatures, like Phyrexian Vindicator and Tyrranax Rex, feel like Timmy/Tammy designs, cards that'll only find a home in casual games. The tribe got a massive number of new members here, but I won't be surprised if, in the end, none of them will actually show up in a Phyrexian tribal deck – with the possible exception of Glissa Sunslayer.

Praetor: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 13

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The constantly scheming Elesh Norn, the most influential of the five Praetors, is appropriately the last to appear in their most recent mega-cycle. She's still a vigilant 4/7 in a fancy hat, like she was when we first met her as Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, but her reduced cost changed the nature of her mirrored abilities. Now she burdens the opponent with a Torpor Orb while doubling our ETB triggers the same way Yarok, the Desecrated does, and for the same mana value, but without requiring three different colors. It's all serious stuff, but at the same time the benefits need to be built around to an extent, and the hosing of the opponent isn't 100% guaranteed to pay off. Granted, in modern Magic, the additional value created by ETB triggers is undeniable and often decisive, but there are still decks that don't rely too much on that factor, and sometimes at all. So that aggressive side of the Mother of Machines is slightly match-dependent; but it's not a big deal, as the ability of a Praetor that affects the opponent is typically not the card's main attraction – although it could be, and it has been in some popular cases, like current Standard dominatrix Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, or even original Elesh Norn.

 This new incarnation has proved immediately popular, though, one of the most sought-after cards in the still fresh set. Commander seems the main reason for it, though. But why build a monowhite Yarok deck rather than the usual Sultai one? Well, for one, you get a free Torpor Orb out of the deal, and that's never going to waste in Commander. And Elesh Norn allows us to tinker with white ETB triggers, something that Yarok wasn't able to, and it's typically powerful stuff. Also, the deck is more budget-friendly, needing no dual lands. Also, it's Elesh Norn. That's some high cool factor in and of itself.

Rat: +3

  

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 68, online: 61

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium to High

 Highlights: Blightbelly Rat is an early source of poison with a built-in proliferate trigger that might represent an extra counter; and the heavily onomatopoeic Chittering Skitterling is the complementary sacrifice outlet, grafted on a defensive body, that will trigger Blightbelly Rat and recycle other critters that became useless into new cards – ideally, into proliferate effects capitalizing on the established poison. This is, in a nutshell, the core element of the black poison strategy in Limited, and it happens to be carried by two Rats. And then, to cap it all off, we even have a Rat King (actually, a creepy hive mind composite) that grants extra toxicity to all other Rats. In Limited, Karumonix is mostly a three-drop 3/3, as we'd have to draft an insane amount of Blightbelly Rats for its tribal Lead the Stampede to deliver. But in Constructed it's a very viable lord, drawing us more creatures – which even makes it good in multiples, despite its legendary status – and turning on an alternate wincon for the whole deck.

Rebel: +5

  

 

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 54

 Related Tribes: Cat, Goblin, Human, Ogre

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium to High

 Highlights: Rebel is a creature type that was created specifically for Masques block, and then never used again until a callback revival in Time Spiral block. Even the rebellion on Kaladesh hadn't found a way to resuscitate the tribe, but now the Mirran Resistance did. There's no mechanical significance to the subtype, though, whereas it once had the "recruit" mechanic (tapping to fetch another Rebel onto the battlefield) as one of its recurring fixtures. In ONE, Rebel is used mostly for flavor, and it encompasses a few Limited filler beaters, the 2/2 token created by the For Mirrodin! Equipment, and the Jumpstart exclusive Rhuk, Hexgold Nabber. The only recognizable theme is the focus of Equipment, which is shared between Rhuk, Leonin Lightbringer, and the most valuable new card, Jor Kadeen, First Goldwarden.

 One of the main military leaders of the Resistance, Jor Kadeen was once known as the Prevailer, and was embodied by a midrange card with a striking metalcraft application. Still in Boros, like most of the cards associated with the Resistance, the new Jor Kadeen is now a more manageable two-drop, but still packed with high strategic value. At first sight, he looks like an "Equipment matter" type of deal, but looking closely, he only needs a single piece of Equipment to wear himself, one that would boost his power by at least one point; then, by just attacking, he'll automatically get the last point required to draw a card. The importance of card advantage in Boros decks can't be stressed enough, as they're typically weak to removal and especially mass removal, so they require a constant resupply of gas. For a minimal investment and a reasonable extra requirement, Jor Kadeen is going to be both a threat and a source of new threats. Monowhite Aggro has been usually stealing Boros Equipment's thunder, at least in recent years; it's more straightforward and each of its pieces works on its own. If the archetype will ever get more traction in any format, Jor Kadeen has a good chance of being there to witness it.

Rogue: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 395, online: 375

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: High

 Highlights: I'm not sure what "Phyrexian Rogue" is supposed to represent. A Phyrexian that doesn't follow their doctrine and thinks for itself? Doesn't that kind of place it outside of the Phyrexian collective, then? In any case, the rogueness of Mercurial Spelldancer translates into an unblockable two-powered two-drop which, in essence, copies every third instant or sorcery we cast. It actually charges up via any noncreature spell, so we can also go, say, artifact, artifact, duplicated instant. But it's clearly design as a card for spellslinging decks, where instants and sorceries reign supreme. In fact, it's already making appearances in a variety of Izzet lists, even in Legacy. Slow, but ultimately very rewarding. In Limited, the odds of activating the last ability multiple times aren't great, and the low toughness is more of an issue (what with cards like Cinderslash Ravager being so popular), but it remains an inescapable source of damage while it lives.

Scout: +2

 

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 170, online: 162

 Related Tribes: Elf, Human, Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: I can't tell why a toxic stalker is classified as a Scout, but we know Mirrodin's main heroine Melira has had that class since her first incarnation, Melira, Sylvok Outcast, back when her hair was longer and her pants were... not there. Exiled at a young age because of the lack of metal in her body and then adopted and raised by Thrun, Melira is the only living being on Mirrodin/New Phyrexia that's genetically immune to phyresis, and her mere presence is enough to purify her surroundings. She is, along with Koth, the very symbol of the Resistance and the key to everyone's salvation. Unfortunately, Jin-Gitaxias improved the virulence of the glistening oil, which is the reason why her anti-poison ability is not as absolute as it once was. Melira's first incarnation is indeed more game-changing, and has become well-known as a combo piece, paired with cards like Kitchen Finks and Murderous Redcap, even if that kind of interaction has now lost some prominence, replaced by Vizier of Remedies shenanigans.

 Melira, the Living Cure, with her switch to Selesnya, lacks board impact but embodies the combined attributes of two very famous cards in that color pair: Watchwolf, for being an extremely efficient 3/3 for two; and Saffi Eriksdotter, for her option to sacrifice herself in order to save an endangered ally. Once again, that effect is not as exploitable as Saffi's is, because Melira is placed into exile as a result of her bravery (it means she doesn't actually die, which is better for her but worse as a game mechanic). Overall, there's nothing bad to say about her new card, but she's not going to make history like her monogreen version did for a while.

Shaman: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 456, online: 451

 Related Tribes: Troll

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The unbreakable Thrun is still alive and kicking – not the only Troll on the plane anymore, but the only Shaman. His Breaker of Silence incarnation is one mana more expensive than Thrun, the Last Troll was, which already hinders his Constructed chances. He's still uncounterable, but his hexproof has now a green weakness, and his regeneration has been replaced with indestructibility. The latter is only active during our turn, though, making this new Thrun unexpectedly not that good at playing defense. In fact, during an opponent's combat phase, he's not that different from Grizzled Outrider, which is disappointing. His attack capabilities have improved by being larger and a trampler, so he can still be used as a sideboard card against blue permission decks, but he's less effective against midrange aggro builds fielding similar-sized threats.

Skeleton: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 65, online: 62

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Low

 Highlights: The usual self-recursive Skeleton, this time linked to the corrupted ability keyword. Essentially unplayable outside of Limited.

Soldier: +6

  

  

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 811, online: 750

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The Soldiers constitute the backbone of the white toxic strategy in Limited, with the common first striker Duelist of Deep Faith and the uncommon double striker Jawbone Duelist leading the charge, while the tapper Sinew Dancer and the booser Porcelain Zealot give them support from the sidelines. A different approach takes the non-toxic Bladed Ambassador, which uses oil to replicate the play pattern of white weenies all-stars like Adanto Vanguard and Seasoned Hallowblade – except proliferating oil counters isn't really as easy as having life to spend and cards to discard.

 The last new Soldier, Mite Overseer, is a Jumpstart exclusive. He generates Mites for as low as three mana apiece and then acts as a potent lord, turning all those little pests into hard-to-block 2/1 first strikers. He's also a 4/2 first striker himself, while he's at it. Probably the best of the new cards that come in Jumpstart packs, albeit it's hard to guess what Constructed utility it might have. Perhaps in a generic token deck? More likely, a Commander build of it.

Sphinx: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 71

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The combination of Phyrexian and Sphinx gave us solid specimens like Chancellor of the Spires and, more recently, Defiler of Dreams. For a while, it was even the hallmark of one of the greatest Sphinges ever printed, Consecrated Sphinx; but they later disassociated it from the Phyrexians. The blue Jumpstart exclusive, Serum Sovereign doesn't exactly compare with the unattainable glory of Consecrated Sphinx, but she's arguably the most effective of the current Phyrexian Sphinges – basically an Air Elemental with some extra, crucial lines of text that turn every noncreature spell we cast into a cantrip, for just one additional mana. We even get to scry 2 as a bonus, although only after drawing the card. Like all the most functional oil creatures, Serum Sovereign is entirely self-reliant, but she's also able to benefit from any kind of proliferate effect we might throw at her – especially if attached to a noncreature spell.

 By the way, if all your riddles have the same answer, they're not really riddles anymore, are they?

Spider: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 71, online: 69

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Low

 Highlights: This is essentially a less deadly Snarespinner that doubles as a proliferate spell in the late game. Functional in Limited as a turn-two blocker, negligible elsewhere.

Squid: +1

> summary <

 New Tribal Total: 7

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Severe

 Highlights: This is the signpost for the white-blue "artifacts matter" archetype in Limited, one of the few that don't involve poison or oil, but still Phyrexian-related because they're biomechanical beings. We've seen this type of creature in the past, most notably with Master of Etherium. It's never unplayable, and being a flyer makes it scarier, but four mana and two colors aren't probably gonna cut it in Constructed for what amounts to just a midrange beater.

 It is the seventh Squid in the game, though, and the first in white, so there's that. Too bad none of the others is an artifact or artifact-related.

Troll: +2

 

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 New Tribal Total: 49, online: 48

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian, Shaman, Warrior

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: So there were other Trolls still alive on Mirrodin after the Vanishing, other than Thrun. It's not going to be of any consolation to him, since Oil-Gorger Troll and its kind have become Phyrexians. It's a viable card in Limited, especially in decks that can generate a little bit of oil before turn four or five, for instance via Rustvine Cultivator. Outside of that, it's pretty meaningless.

Vampire: +2

 

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 New Tribal Total: 342, online: 337

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Mirrodin used to host some clans of Vampires, as represented in Mephidross Vampire, Bleak Coven Vampires, and Sangromancer. We even already met a Phyrexianized one in Chancellor of the Dross. The most conspicuous physical characteristic of the Mirrodin Vampires is having two elongated claws corresponding to their second and third fingers, as clearly visible in the artwork for Vraan, Executioner Thane. Vraan, also known as the Thane of Blood and part of the above-mentioned Bleak Coven, is one of the Seven Steel Thanes, black-aligned warlords led by Sheoldred (the only other one of them with a card to its name is Geth). His card borrows the double life-draining from Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, but repurposes it as a death trigger for our team. The effect is just fine in Limited, where it doesn't synergize with much else, but can be a solid component in a Constructed sacrifice deck, even if the limit of one instance per turn might keep it out of the competitive world. Vraan himself is at least nicely cheap, though, which helps his case.

 The Jumpstart exclusive Kinzu of the Bleak Coven depicts Vraan's top operative. She's powerful enough as a more demanding Nightmare Shepherd, but there's no reason to run her over the Shepherd, as the addition of toxic 1 to the reincarnated creatures is not enough to justify the life we are forced to pay to fuel the process.

Vedalken: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 63

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: One of the few surviving Vedalken, Unctus is apparently the self-compleated version of Grand Architect, even if the latter was missing the legendary supertype (or perhaps Unctus was one of the Grand Architects of the Synod). Beyond that "Grand Metatect" moniker already giving it away, the similarities between the two cards are evident, with Unctus's anthem affecting artifact creatures rather than blue creatures, but both using mana (which, in the case of Unctus, becomes Phyrexian mana) to extend their influence over a larger share of our team. The main difference is the payoff, as the Grand Architect extracts mana from blue creatures by tapping them, while Unctus turns them into looters but he's unable to tap them directly – which is what potentially sets him back, in spite of having a larger, more resilient body for the same cost. If our creatures need to attack in order to loot, the deal is much less interesting; the usefulness of mass looting is also debatable, barring some very specific gameplans. This said, Unctus is a functional lord for artifact decks and might see some amount of play, possibly even as a commander.

Warlock: +1

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 New Tribal Total: 69, online: 68

 Related Tribes: Phyrexian

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: I don't know what Stinging Hivemaster does to qualify as the only modern Phyrexian Warlock (the other one we've seen so far, Gixian Puppeteer was from the Urza era, when the god-like Yawgmoth was around). One would also expect for a Hivemaster to be handling more than just a single Mite. But oh well, it's a Limited card, and does its job of being a toxic three-drop that dies into a smaller toxic body.

Warrior: +15

   

  

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 New Tribal Total: 919, online: 896

 Related Tribes: Elf, Goblin, Phyrexian, Troll

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Warrior makes for a crowded group in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, and we've reviewed several of them already. The most likely to become a Constructed card is Evolving Adaptive, which works almost exactly like Pelt Collector, except it grows by comparing toughness other than power, which is a big deal. On the minus side, it's not triggered by death and never gets trample. Still pretty efficient, though.

 Cinderslash Ravager is one of the most played Warriors in Limited, as it fits into the successful red-green oil archetype, has a very relevant, vigilant body, and, most importantly, destroys all the Mites and the many others one-toughness critters that infest the format. Also popular are the monored three-drops Furnace Punisher and Magmatic Sprinter, both using unique mechanics. The Punisher has a chance to surface in Constructed in formats where basic lands are a rare sight. In Limited, it's mostly useful as a 3/3 menacer. The Sprinter uses a dash-like ability to catch the opponent off-guard while also increasing the amount of oil counters on permanents we control.

 Among the common Phyrexian Warriors with no other affiliation, Sheoldred's Headcleaver is worth of a mention, as an unassuming four-drop that works particularly well within the Limited meta because of its relatively high toughness and the pairing of toxic 2 and menace.

    

Wizard: +9

  

 

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 New Tribal Total: 942, online: 918

 Related Tribes: Elephant, Phyrexian, Zombie

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: The Wizard tribe has been entirely taken over by the Phyrexians, too. The uncommons Atmosphere Surgeon and Urabrask's Anointer are frequently seen in Limited, the former as a way to generate air strikes, the second as the Flametongue Kavu of oil decks. The rare Vindictive Flamestoker also employs oil, but it's meant to go into the same Izzet spellslinging deck as the Surgeon. In that deck, it just waits there on the board until our hand is deployed, spells have been cast, oil counters have accumulated, and we can sacrifice it for cheap and replenish our hand. It's a sweet deal that might have Constructed applications.

 The legends include the Loxodon Malcator, mostly just a Blade Splicer with extra steps, as well as the return of the poor Venser – or at least his body, since his soul and spark have been sacrificed to reboot Karn (and in case you were wondering, this won't force the renaming of the Venser scale). Venser, Corpse Puppet is actually along the same lines as Malcator, except the cost is lower and the main body is larger and has lifelink and toxic 1; on the other hand, the 3/3 token body requires an instance of proliferate to be created. But it can be rebuilt after it dies (which probably means they'll kill Venser first), and it can be given flying and lifelink, too. Or Venser can give flying and lifelink to an entirely different artifact creature, if we want. It looks like a better card than Malcator, but it's similarly hard to place. Two mana for these abilities are a bargain, but it's in Dimir colors, and it requires external sources of proliferate, which no existing deck can currently supply.

 The Phyrexian Wizards showing up at common include the oil-based rummager Axiom Engraver, a staple of red-green oil decks.

   

Zombie: +4

   

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 New Tribal Total: 534, online: 525

 Related Tribes: Cleric, Elf, Phyrexian, Wizard

 Impact of the New Additions: Medium

 Highlights: Back in the time, many Phyrexians were black Zombies. The New Phyrexians that manifested on Mirrodin have a different physiology, though, and they're for the most part living beings with artificial organs and limbs. Glissa actually died, though, and so did Venser, while Geth was already a lich, or to be more precise a lich's severed head, when he was offered the mechanical body we see him operate in (Geth, Lord of the Vault:SOME). His latest incarnation, Geth, Thane of Contracts, references his status as one of Sheoldred's unruly warlords (he's now fully compleated, but his story still has twists, as we're going to see him transform into Vishgraz, the Doomhive in Phyrexia Commander). He's a reanimator engine on legs, but kind of a clunky one. The ability requires tapping and three mana, cannot be used twice on the same target, and the debuff he imposes on our team prevents us from playing any one-toughness creature alongside him. His own body/cost ratio is good, but there's no deck outside of the casual realm that would even justify building a reanimator list around him, except maybe in Brawl.

SUMMARY

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KUMA'S TRIBAL EVALUATIONS