Glistening oil
| Glistening oil | |
|---|---|
|
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Glistening oil.jpg}}|250px]] | |
| Characteristics | |
| Origin | Phyrexia |
| Status | Unknown |
Glistening oil, also known as Phyrexian oil or Ichor, is a viral substance engineered by the Phyrexians to spread corruption wherever it travels. It is both a contagion and a means of colonization, used to compleat creatures into Phyrexians and power Phyrexian machines as well.[1]
Description
The glistening oil is composed of two main elements - oil and powerstone nanites. It is normally black but can also be of other colors like green[2] and gold.[3] These components can be forced apart under specific sound frequencies, something Urza, Xantcha and Ratepe exploit.[4] In New Phyrexia the oil was further mixed with other fluids such as the liquid metal of the Quicksilver Sea and the necrogen gas of the dross swamps, so in art in Phyrexia: All Will Be One it is sometimes depicted as silver or green.
The oil imparts a genetic memory of Yawgmoth, Phyrexia, and the Phyrexian language, creating a throughline for the Phyrexian culture.[5][6]
History
On Phyrexia
Oil was present on the plane that would become Phyrexia when Dyfed brought Yawgmoth there. As Phyrexia as a concept and civilization is Yawgmoth's creation and Dyfed claims that the metal creatures of the world could be consumed it seems likely this oil was once innocuous but later modified into a corruptive agent, and indeed once Yawgmoth's will becomes one with Phyrexia the oil is first seen having mutagenic properties it previously did not have.[3] Still, the oil was not refined as a fully infectious agent by the time of the Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria, though the new infectious variant did make it to Mirrodin.[7]
The Fifth Sphere of Phyrexia, called the Boiling Sea, was an ocean of glistening oil used by Vat Priests of the Fourth Sphere to breed newts.
On Dominaria
In post-apocalyptic Dominaria, black-aligned knights and wizards were tainted by the lands where Yawgmoth and his minions had been defeated. You could see evidence of this corruption in the black ichor that ran out of their eyes.[8] In the Mending Era a sample of live, glistening oil recovered from Koilos is rumored to be preserved in the labs of the Academy of Tolaria West.[9]
The Infection of Karn
Without knowing it, Karn carried a trace of the Phyrexian oil within him, inside the Phyrexian heartstone granted to him long ago by Urza. Karn left traces of the oil in his travels from plane to plane, including the artificial world that he created: Mirrodin.
The Infection of Mirrodin
The glistening oil planted a virus on Mirrodin that slowly spread.[10][11] The first to be infected was Mirrodin's keeper, Memnarch. Unbeknownst to most Mirrans, Phyrexia was rebuilding itself, using their world as its host substrate. Mirrodin's metal structures and metal-infused inhabitants were a perfect breeding ground for the spread of Phyrexian corruption. As the nascent civilization of Phyrexia expanded in secret, it struggled to evolve a unified purpose, and the danger for the plane of Mirrodin grew until it evolved into New Phyrexia.
The glistening oil was the catalyst for the evolution of Mycosynth and is found in large quantities in the corrupted Quicksilver Sea.
Jin-Gitaxias was the praetor who discovered how to compleat planeswalkers with glistening oil.[12] He also further perfected the oil to be more virulent than it was previously, weakening Melira's healing abilities.[13]
In-game references
- Represented in:
- Referred to:
- Befoul (Urza's Saga)
- Blackcleave Cliffs (Scars of Mirrodin)
- Dreams of Steel and Oil
- Drown in Ichor
- Ebony Treefolk
- Evangel of Synthesis
- Gixian Infiltrator
- Glistener Seer
- Glistening Extractor
- Gnathosaur
- Ichor Explosion
- Ichor Rats
- Ichor Slick
- Ichor Synthesizer
- Ichor Wellspring
- Ichorclaw Myr
- Ichormoon Gauntlet
- Ichorplate Golem
- Ichorspit Basilisk
- Inexorable Tide
- Instill Infection
- Jungle Hollow (March of the Machine)
- Loxodon Convert
- Mirran Safehouse
- Mycosynth Wellspring
- Oil-Gorger Troll
- Pestilent Syphoner
- Phyrexian Hulk (New Phyrexia)
- Phyrexian Rebirth
- Rotted Hystrix
- Scoured Barrens (March of the Machine)
- Scourge Servant
- Spread the Sickness[14]
- Steady Progress
- Toxic Deluge
- Tranquil Cove (March of the Machine)
- Unnatural Predation[15]
References
- ↑ Doug Beyer (November 03, 2010). "Infectiously Phyrexian Art". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Will McDermott (1999), "Phyrexian Autopsy", The Official Urza's Destiny Game Guide, Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b J. Robert King. (1999.) The Thran, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13 0-7869-1600-1.
- ↑ Lynn Abbey. (1998.) Planeswalker, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13: 0-7869-1182-4.
- ↑ Building Worlds (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (January 12, 2023).
- ↑ Phyrexian Phylology in Phylly (Video). Magic: the Gathering. YouTube (February 17, 2023).
- ↑ Will McDermott (2005), "Regarding the oil and the Mycosinth", MTG Salvation
- ↑ Magic Arcana (August 02, 2007). "Ichor Eyes and the Mask of Yawgmoth". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ James Wyatt (2018), The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Dominaria. VIZ Media.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (September 08, 2010). "Phyrexia and the Vaultlord". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (October 06, 2010). "Spreading the Infection". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Hipsters of the Coast (October 30, 2022). "Jin-Gitaxias was influenced by blue mana, so he looked for things with knowledge.". Twitter.
- ↑ Jay Annelli. (2022.) Magic: The Gathering - The Visual Guide, DK. ISBN-13 978-0744061055.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (March 16, 2011). "Six Secrets Behind the Sets". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Monty Ashley (February 17, 2011). "Unnaturally Predated". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
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