The History of MTG Phyrexia

The story of Phyrexia begins with the story of Yawgmoth. Yawgmoth was a doctor native to the Thran Empire, an ancient but technologically advanced civilization which thrived during Dominaria’s early history. Yawgmoth was called to the Thran capital of Halcyon in order to treat a disease known as Phthisis Phthisis Destroy target creature. Its controller loses life equal to its power plus its toughness.
Suspend 5—{1}{B} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay {1}{B} and exile it with five time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.) . Yawgmoth’s cure for Phthisis involved replacing diseased organic limbs with artificial ones, a process he named Phyresis Phyresis Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has infect. (It deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.) . Yawgmoth was able to deceive a Planeswalker named Dyfed into opening a portal to a new world, which he claimed he would transform into a paradise where he would care for the ill. Yawgmoth instead corrupted this world into the nightmarish hellscape of Phyrexia. He transformed his patients into an army of grotesque partially synthetic, partially organic monstrosities.

Yawgmoth’s horrific experiments were uncovered and the Thran Empire fell into civil war. At the end of this war, the Thran capital of Halcyon was destroyed in a cloud of deadly gas, ultimately leading to the fall of their civilization. Though the Thran Empire fell, Yawgmoth and the Phyrexians were sealed away and the portal to their realm was closed off.

Many thousands of years later, the brothers Urza and Mishra unintentionally reactivate this portal to Phyrexia during a search for Thran relics. The Phyrexians gradually corrupted Mishra, leading to the Brothers’ War. Urza prevailed over his brother, but at a steep price. The war ended with Urza detonating a superweapon known as the Golgothian Sylex Golgothian Sylex {1}, {T}: Each nontoken permanent with a name originally printed in the Antiquities expansion is sacrificed by its controller. . The explosion from the Sylex devastated much of Dominaria, eventually plunging the plane into an ice age, but also sealing the world away from Phyrexia’s reach. These events are depicted on the card Urza’s Ruinous Blast Urza’s Ruinous Blast (You may cast a legendary sorcery only if you control a legendary creature or planeswalker.)
Exile all nonland permanents that aren't legendary. . The blast also awakend Urza’s spark, transforming him into a planeswalker.

Having won the war, Urza realised that the Phyrexians were the greatest threat to his world. He spent generations devising a plan to stop them. Urza resorted to some less than moral means, such as instituting “the bloodlines project” a program designed to breed the perfect hero over hundreds of years. The project resulted in the birth of Gerrard Capashen Gerrard Capashen At the beginning of your upkeep, you gain 1 life for each card in target opponent's hand.
{3}{W}: Tap target creature. Activate only if Gerrard Capashen is attacking. Urza’s most powerful pawn in his mission to destroy the Phyrexians. When the Phyrexians eventually did invade Dominaria again, Urza was ready for them. Using a series of powerful artifacts known as “the Legacy”, alongside sacrificing his and Gerrard’s life, Urza was able to kill Yawgmoth and destroy the Phyrexians for good. Or so it seemed…

One of the powerful “legacy” artifacts used to destroy Yawgmoth was the silver golem, Karn. The strike that killed Yawgmoth caused Karn’s spark to awaken, enabling him to planeswalk. Karn constructed his own plane, a mechanical world that became known as Mirrodin. Unfortunately, Karn unknowingly tainted his new world with Phyrexian oil. This Glistening Oil Glistening Oil Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has infect.
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a -1/-1 counter on enchanted creature.
When this Aura is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, return it to its owner's hand. corrupted Memnarch Memnarch {1}{U}{U}: Target permanent becomes an artifact in addition to its other types. (This effect lasts indefinitely.)
{3}{U}: Gain control of target artifact. (This effect lasts indefinitely.) , a golem Karn appointed as the guardian of Mirrodin. Although Memnarch was defeated, in 2003-20004s Mirrodin block, the corruption did not stop with him. The storyline of 2010-2011s Scars of Mirrodin block depicted how the plane was gradually overwhelmed by Phyrexian influence, as the glistening oil spread. The plane’s greatest champions were corrupted, in a process known as “compleation“, turning them against their home. Glissa Sunseeker Glissa Sunseeker First strike
{T}: Destroy target artifact if its mana value is equal to the amount of unspent mana you have. one of Mirrodin’s heroes who took down Memnarch became Glissa the Traitor Glissa the Traitor First strike, deathtouch
Whenever a creature an opponent controls dies, you may return target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand. .

In a unique marketing strategy, Wizards of the Coast refused to provide the name of the final set of Scars of Mirrodin block. They marketed it both as Mirrodin Pure and New Phyrexia. Ultimately, however, the Mirrans lost their war and the plane of Mirrodin was warped and twisted into New Phyrexia.

Whilst the original generation of Phyrexians were associated with Black mana, the new generation created on New Phyrexia were different. The plane has five suns, one for each color of mana. These suns influenced the development of five seperate Phyrexian factions, each led by a Praetor.

-The Machine Orthodoxy: the White aligned Phyrexians, led by Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite Vigilance
Other creatures you control get +2/+2.
Creatures your opponents control get -2/-2. . A religious sect who believe it is their holy mission to spread the glory of Phyrexia across the multiverse.

-The Progress Engine: the Blue aligned Phyrexians, led by Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur Flash
At the beginning of your end step, draw seven cards.
Each opponent's maximum hand size is reduced by seven. . The scientists of New Phyrexia, they conduct experiments to improve the perfection of Phyrexia.

-The Seven Steel Thanes: the Black aligned Phyrexians, led by Sheoldred, Whispering One Sheoldred, Whispering One Swampwalk (This creature can't be blocked as long as defending player controls a Swamp.)
At the beginning of your upkeep, return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, that player sacrifices a creature of their choice. . Several separate roving bands of warlords. They fight amongst themselves to prove they are worthy of claiming Yawgmoth’s former crown as the “father of machines”.

-The Quiet Engine: the Red aligned Phyrexians, led by Urabrask the Hidden Urabrask the Hidden Creatures you control have haste.
Creatures your opponents control enter tapped. . The least malevolent of Phyrexia’s faction. They have retained their individuality. They coexist with Mirrans, rather than attempting to compleat them or wipe them out.

-The Vicious Swarm: the Green aligned Phyrexians, led by Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger Trample
Whenever you tap a land for mana, add one mana of any type that land produced.
Whenever an opponent taps a land for mana, that land doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. . A violent horde of mutated creatures, the Vicious Swarm believe in the survival of the fittest. They kill and consume one another to prove their strength.

For a long time after the conclusion of Scars of Mirrodin block, the Phyrexians were content to lurk in the shadows biding their time. We spent nine years getting only fragmentary snapshots of what was happening on New Phyrexia. The printing of Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice Flying, vigilance, deathtouch, lifelink
At the beginning of your end step, proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.) in Commander 2016 gave us a few insights. Atraxa was an angel corrupted by four out of Phyrexia’s five Praetors. The lack of Red in her color identity, demonstrates Urabrask’s refusal to work with the other Praetors. We also got a handful of cards, like Plague Engineer Plague Engineer Deathtouch
As this creature enters, choose a creature type.
Creatures of the chosen type your opponents control get -1/-1. in sets such as 2019s Modern Horizons that showed the Phyrexians were still very much a presence, even if they weren’t currently in the spotlight.

Then the Phyrexians came roaring back into the foreground, with the release of Kaldheim in 2020. The card Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider Trample, haste
If you would put one or more counters on a permanent or player, put twice that many of each of those kinds of counters on that permanent or player instead.
If an opponent would put one or more counters on a permanent or player, they put half that many of each of those kinds of counters on that permanent or player instead, rounded down. showed Phyrexia’s Green aligned Praetor running wild across the Norse mythology inspired plane. Vorinclex was hunted by the planeswalker Kaya before escaping and murdering Eskia, the Godess of Kaldheim’s world tree. Vorinclex stole some of the tree’s sap and returned to New Phyrexia.

After this, the Phyrexians lay dormant again for another two years before Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant Whenever you cast an artifact, instant, or sorcery spell, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. This ability triggers only once each turn. (A copy of a permanent spell becomes a token.)
Whenever an opponent casts an artifact, instant, or sorcery spell, counter that spell. This ability triggers only once each turn. appeared in 2022s Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. On Kamigawa, Jin-Gitaxias managed to devise a method of corrupting planeswalkers with the taint of Phyrexia, something previously believed to be impossible. He compleated Tamiyo, a moon folk planeswalker native to the plane.

No longer content to wait on the sidelines, the Phyrexians appeared again in Magic’s very next set: Streets of New Capenna. Urabrask, Heretic Praetor Urabrask, Heretic Praetor Haste
At the beginning of your upkeep, exile the top card of your library. You may play it this turn.
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, the next time they would draw a card this turn, instead they exile the top card of their library. They may play it this turn. appeared, beaten and wounded on the metropolitan plane. Urabrask revealed that he had turned against the other Praetors and planned to stop them from conquering the multiverse. He argued that halo, a magical substance that flows through New Capenna, would be the key to their defeat.

It was in Dominaria United that the Phyrexians returned in full force. Sheoldred, the Apocalypse Sheoldred, the Apocalypse Deathtouch
Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life.
Whenever an opponent draws a card, they lose 2 life. traveled to Dominaria, filling the plane with Phyrexian spies. She corrupted Ajani Goldmane Ajani Goldmane +1: You gain 2 life.
−1: Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. Those creatures gain vigilance until end of turn.
−6: Create a white Avatar creature token. It has "This token's power and toughness are each equal to your life total." transforming him into Ajani, Sleeper Agent Ajani, Sleeper Agent Compleated ({G/W/P} can be paid with {G}, {W}, or 2 life. If life was paid, this planeswalker enters with two fewer loyalty counters.)
+1: Reveal the top card of your library. If it's a creature or planeswalker card, put it into your hand. Otherwise, you may put it on the bottom of your library.
−3: Distribute three +1/+1 counters among up to three target creatures. They gain vigilance until end of turn.
−6: You get an emblem with "Whenever you cast a creature or planeswalker spell, target opponent gets two poison counters." . Karn had been hoping to use the Golgothian Sylex Golgothian Sylex {1}, {T}: Each nontoken permanent with a name originally printed in the Antiquities expansion is sacrificed by its controller. , Urza’s ancient superweapon, to destroy New Phyrexia, however, Sheoldred had the device destroyed and Karn abducted and taken to New Phyrexia.

Fortunately, the artificer Saheeli Rai Saheeli Rai +1: Scry 1. Saheeli Rai deals 1 damage to each opponent.
−2: Create a token that's a copy of target artifact or creature you control, except it's an artifact in addition to its other types. That token gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.
−7: Search your library for up to three artifact cards with different names, put them onto the battlefield, then shuffle. was able to create a perfect replica of the Sylex. The time manipulating magician Teferi traveled back in time to the Brothers’ War in order to find out how to operate it. He succeeded and passed this knowledge along to characters in the present, but ended up getting Desynchronized from time.

Now, the replica Sylex in hand, a ragtag group of Planeswalkers travels to New Phyrexia in order to stop the corruption of the Multiverse. They discover that Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines Vigilance
If a permanent entering causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.
Permanents entering don't cause abilities of permanents your opponents control to trigger. intends to use the sap taken from Kaldheim’s World Tree to build a Phyrexian tree called “Realmbreaker” with roots that will spread across the entire multiverse. Currently things look pretty bleak for our protagonists. Five out of the ten planeswalkers who arrived on New Phyrexia have already been compleated. But this is a story which is still being written…