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Revision as of 00:28, 5 September 2022

Phyrexian
Creature Type
(Subtype for creature/kindred cards)
Statistics
247 cards
{W} 7.7% {U} 8.5% {B} 43.7% {R} 5.7% {G} 11.7% {U/B} 0.4% {B/R} 1.6% {W/B} 1.2% {U/R} 0.4% {B/G} 0.8% {G/U} 0.4% {M} 1.2% {artifact symbol} 16.6%
as of Dominaria United
Scryfall Search
type:"Phyrexian"

Phyrexian is a creature type that was introduced in Kaldheim, and was retroactively added as far back as Antiquities.

Description

A Phyrexian is a compleated creature from Phyrexia, New Phyrexia or similar infested planes. They consist of a mixture of metal and organic matter and can appear in many forms. Phyrexians can often be recognized by features like dripping ichor, eyelessness, cysts, pustules, or the expulsion of noxious gases.[1] Phyrexians in the Machine Orthodoxy of New Phyrexia often have their skin replaced with glossy, porcelain-like armor.[2]

Phyrexians were created by Yawgmoth, a Thran eugenicist who believed beings should be made perfect through artifice and organ rearrangement. Taking over an initially idyllic world thanks to Dyfed, he brought his followers to this new world, the first Phyrexia. Here, they mutated into abominations, though artificial enhancement only began much later on.[3] In Old Phyrexia, most non-assimilated phyrexians began as newts, humanoid beings later altered into monstrosities to serve Yawgmoth's will. In New Phyrexia, the equivalent stage is the germ, an embryonic being formed from the gestalt of genetic material from war victims. Natural born phyrexians differ from compleated beings in some ways, like for instance the white-aligned core-born ones grow porcelain naturally while compleated subjects have to have seed grafts implanted.[4]

The most perfect of phyrexian lifeforms were the pneumagogs, Yawgmoth's creations that resembled angels. They were purely physical on upper spheres and purely spiritual on lower ones, being complete in the sixth sphere. So beautiful were they that they persued Urza to join the Phyrexian cause. To date, they have not been referenced in cards, particlarly as new phyrexians are decidedly non-spiritual.[5]

Old phyrexians were in principle all aligned with black mana; why is not clear, and some of the errata'd cards show non-black phyrexians (i.e. Volrath's Shapeshifter) while the pneumagogs appear white. As of New Phyrexia, the oil was charged by the mana of Mirrodin's five suns, so phyrexians now unambiguously occur in all colors of mana. This had the effect of factionalising the previously monolythic species, but the white-aligned phyrexians lead by Elesh Norn managed to subdue the other factions and install her as Mother of Machines.

History

Although Phyrexians were featured in the Magic storyline very early on, they had never appeared as such on cards. Instead they were Zombies, Minions, Horrors or similar types. Some, like Suture Priest and Tormentor Exarch were deliberately without race.[6]

Phyrexian was regularly requested as a creature type on Blogatog. Mark Rosewater argued that the problem was that there are characters that are clearly Phyrexian by flavor, but not by appearance, and twenty-five years of history and inertia make some changes hard to do.[7]

Phyrexian finally appeared as a creature type on a test card in the Mystery Booster set (Vazal, the Compleat), and was formally introduced in Kaldheim with the lone Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider.[8][9] A large creature type errata was expected,[10] but apparently held back until the release of a set that featured multiple Phyrexians. Modern Horizons 2 reprinted Bone Shredder and Skirge Familiar with the Phyrexian type, and introduced the Phyrexian Germ token for Living weapon. Shortly before the release of MH2, Magic Online updated 224 black-bordered cards, and one silver-bordered card (Phyrexian Librarian).[11] This brought the number of black-bordered Phyrexians on Magic Online to 225. Two older cards that aren't on Magic Online, Phyrexian Gremlins and Priest of Yawgmoth, also received the errata, according to Scryfall,[12] raising their total number to 227 in black border.

Phyrexian Creature Type Update

Creatures

Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider introduced the Phyrexian creature type in Kaldheim. 225 other black-bordered creatures gained the Phyrexian type in the Modern Horizons 2 update.[13]

Token creators and animators

The following cards create Phyrexian tokens or became a Phyrexian after the Modern Horizons 2 update.

Creatures (14)
Artifacts (17)
Enchantments (3)
Instants (2)
Sorceries (3)
Lands (1)

Not updated

Phyrexian watermark
Phyrexian by flavor text (and art)
Phyrexian by lore

Tokens

Token Name Color Type Line P/T Text Box Source Printings
Phyrexian Black Creature — Phyrexian 2/2
Colorless Artifact Creature — Phyrexian 0/0
Phyrexian Beast Green Creature — Phyrexian Beast 3/3 Toxic 1
Green Creature — Phyrexian Beast 4/4
Phyrexian Germ Black Creature — Phyrexian Germ 0/0
Phyrexian Goblin Red Creature — Phyrexian Goblin 1/1
Red Creature — Phyrexian Goblin 1/1 Haste
Phyrexian Golem Colorless Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Golem 3/3
Phyrexian Horror Red Creature — Phyrexian Horror X/1 Trample, haste
Green Creature — Phyrexian Horror X/X
Colorless Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror X/X
Phyrexian Hydra Green/​White Creature — Phyrexian Hydra 3/3 Reach
Green/​White Creature — Phyrexian Hydra 3/3 Lifelink
Phyrexian Insect Green Creature — Phyrexian Insect 1/1 Infect
Phyrexian Minion Black Creature — Phyrexian Minion X/X
Phyrexian Mite Colorless Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Mite 1/1 Toxic 1
This creature can't block.
Phyrexian Myr Colorless Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Myr 1/1
Blue Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Myr 2/1
Phyrexian Saproling Green Creature — Phyrexian Saproling 1/1
Phyrexian Wurm Black Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Wurm 1/2 Deathtouch
Black Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Wurm 2/1 Lifelink
Green Creature — Phyrexian Wurm X/X Trample, toxic 1
Colorless Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Wurm 3/3 Deathtouch
Colorless Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Wurm 3/3 Lifelink
Phyrexian Zombie Black Creature — Phyrexian Zombie 2/2
The Hollow Sentinel Colorless Legendary Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Golem 3/3
Furnace-Blessed Conqueror Red/​White Creature — Phyrexian Cleric 3/3 Whenever Furnace-Blessed Conqueror attacks, create a token that’s a copy of it. Put a +1/+1 counter on that token for each +1/+1 counter on Furnace-Blessed Conqueror. Sacrifice that token at the beginning of the next end step.

Notable Phyrexians

Alara
Dominaria
Kamigawa
New Phyrexia
Phyrexia
Rath
Serra's Realm
Unknown
Other

See also

References

  1. ↑ Doug Beyer (November 03, 2010). "Infectiously Phyrexian Art". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. ↑ Magic Creative Team (April 06, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to New Phyrexia: The Machine Orthodoxy". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  3. ↑ The Thran
  4. ↑ Magic Creative Team (April 06, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to New Phyrexia: The Machine Orthodoxy". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. ↑ Magic Creative Team (April 06, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to New Phyrexia: The Machine Orthodoxy". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. ↑ Savor the Flavor (May 11, 2011). "Getting to Know the Praetors". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 28, 2017). "Frankly it seems like a huge missed opportunity to leave no way to mechanically reference one of magics big villains.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  8. ↑ Matt Tabak (February 2, 2021). "Kaldheim Comprehensive Rules Changes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. ↑ Mark Rosewater (January 9, 2021). "What made you guys finally decide to pull the trigger on the phyrexian errata?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  10. ↑ Mark Rosewater (January 8, 2021). "Is Phyrexian as a creature type going to cause a lot of errata?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  11. ↑ Saffron Olive (June 3, 2021). "This should be all of the new Phyrexian cards". Twitter.
  12. ↑ https://scryfall.com/search?q=lang%3Aenglish+not%3Areprint+not%3Afunny+t%3Acreature+type%3Aphyrexian&unique=art&as=checklist&order=name
  13. ↑ Jess Dunks (June 18, 2021). "Oracle Changes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  14. ↑ CommanderTheory (June 18, 2021). "Was it an oversight to omit Consecrated Sphinx from the Phyrexian creature type update?". Twitter.
 
Multicolored {M}
Majority {W}
Majority {U}
Majority {B}
Majority {R}
Majority {G}
Majority {C}
Majority Token
Crossover
 
Notable Races
Notable Classes
Other
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