Created as Argentum by the planeswalkerKarn and later renamed Mirrodin (Phyrexian: mrodn, IPA: [mrodn]), the plane was formerly inhabited by various races taken from other planes via the soul traps invented by its warden, the mad golem Memnarch. After Memnarch was overthrown and his designs thwarted, many of the plane's inhabitants disappeared in the Vanishing, returning to their original planes, while those who remained were invaded by the Phyrexians lurking below the plane's surface. The Phyrexians succeeded in taking over the plane, driving the defeated Mirrans (the native, non-Phyrexian inhabitants of the plane) into hiding while the Phyrexians were free to repurpose the plane into New Phyrexia.
Several years later, under the tyrannical rulership of the Mother of Machines Elesh Norn, New Phyrexia attempted to invade the entire multiverse. However, despite remarkable early successes (including the full or partial conquests of numerous planes), the Phyrexians were defeated in a decisive final strike upon the world's core by a combined coalition of Planeswalkers, Mirran survivors, and the war hosts of Zhalfir. During this final battle, New Phyrexia switched places in the fabric of existence with the formerly phased out Zhalfir, locking the plane away from the multiverse.
Argentum was an artificial world created by the planeswalkerKarn and renamed after the Mirari by its warden Memnarch. The outer sphere of the plane has a circumference of 1400 kilometers, with a diameter of around 450 kilometers.[3] Mirrodin's environments and inhabitants are mixed organic and metallic.[4] From sharp razorgrass that grew fast enough to impale unfortunate humans, to oceans that flowed with an unusual form of quicksilver, even the most delicate flower was made of metal. The intelligent beings who walked Mirrodin were no less strange, an odd mish-mash of muscle and steel. Artifact creatures also walk the planet. Some seem to have come about naturally, while some have artificially been created.
By the time of New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse, food and water on the plane were scarce.[5] According to Kaito Shizuki and Kaya Cassir, the plane's spiritual side is "sterile," with no ghosts inhabiting the plane despite the tremendous death it had experienced.[6] Its atmosphere is laden with ozone.[7]
Spheres of New Phyrexia
The Phyrexian symbol
According to Phyrexian Field Reports there initially existed three spheres in Mirrodin: the surface, the interior, and the furnaces. The Phyrexians worked to add further spheres in an attempt to recreate the original nine-sphered Phyrexia.[8][9]
Eventually, after the Phyrexian victory, the process of recreating Phyrexia is largely completed, with the former Mirrodin now having nine layers.[10][5] Though Elesh Norn, situated in the Fair Basilica, allows the other praetors to decorate their layers, her order rules over the plane.[11]
The Glorious Facade/Monumental Facade, a sphere added above the original surface of Mirrodin, decorated with temples and monuments glorifying the Phyrexians and the praetors.[12] It was built no more than 100 feet above the Mirrex using scraps of the Glimmervoid, as a display of the praetors' unity.[13][9] This sphere is unstable and portions are prone to break apart. Monuments regularly crumble and new ones can appear with no known origin or function.[14] Outside the monuments, this layer is made up of a desert of sand-like particulate metal that has a hypnotic effect on non-Phyrexians. It is the only sphere with a view of the sky, albeit covered in dense fog, through which the plane's five suns dimly shine. Its underside is a plate of black metal.
The Mirrex, the original surface of Mirrodin, is now a barren wasteland due to the Phyrexians' harvesting of resources to build the rest of the plane.[12][9] Now cut off from the plane's five suns, there are few resources for those who dwell here. This sphere is where most of the Mirran Resistance reside and the occasional Phyrexian scavengers patrol here for more material.
The Furnace Layer/Autonomous Furnace, a red-aligned sphere where rivers of molten metal are used to construct new titanic forges and machines. It was the first layer the Phyrexians established, using it as a staging ground for their initial invasion.[9] Magma teems all around this layer, and the air is swelteringly hot.[5] Shelves of pyroclastic rock serve as solid ground, and burning pools experience steep thermoclines. This sphere was established before the Phyrexian invasion and proved pivotal to their victory. Metal parts used in the compleation of Mirrans are crafted here. Though this sphere functions as a singular furnace, it is divided into smaller sections, each run by furnace bosses who operate them independently from each other leading to conflicts. Urabrask, the Quiet Furnace, and some of the Mirran Resistance reside here.
The Salvage Complex, a former prison compound now run by Slobad to repurpose obsolete Phyrexians.[15]
The Hunter Maze, a green-aligned sphere where the original forests of Mirrodin were transplanted.[9] Trees made of oxidized metal flourish here and neither the sphere's floor nor ceiling is visible. Phyrexians traverse this sphere through these trees and use them to ambush unsuspecting prey. The Maze was created to be a "survival of the fittest" battlefield. Vorinclex and the Vicious Swarm reside here.
The Surgical Bay, a blue-aligned sphere where sterile laboratories rise from islands in the middle of a sea of quicksilver and glistening oil. Initially built as Kraynox's "fourth layer" (in addition to the Surface, Core, and Furnace), a reservoir of glistening oil, it was later taken over by Jin-Gitaxias, who drained the Quicksilver Sea above into it, significantly expanding the reservoir.[9] The vedalken cities were also transported here and repurposed by the Phyrexians. Mechanical eyes appear in all places and on most Phyrexians to observe all who enter and reside in this sphere. Painful and inhumane experiments are conducted here to further Phyrexian knowledge though no real substance is gained. The Fathom Ward, an underwater sea monster facility, contains the last of the blinkmoth serum found in the Knowledge Pool. Jin-Gitaxias and the Progress Engine reside here.
The Dross Pits.The Dross Pits, a black-aligned sphere of acidic pools and toxic vents spewing necrotic gases siphoned from the Mephidross. This sphere was initially created by Roxith as the Flesh Sphere he promised Kraynox, but after falling for Sheoldred's deception, she took control of it. The other Thanes moved in not long after and continued their constant wars against each other. Those unfortunate enough to get caught here are sent to Sheoldred's arena to fight for their survival and glory. The winners can harvest parts from the losers and graft them to themselves. Sheoldred, the other thanes, and the black-aligned Phyrexians reside here.
The Fair Basilica, a white-aligned sphere built in the image of Elesh Norn, decorated with statues and monuments to her. It contains Norn's throne room, though she now resides in the plane's second layer and designates the unification of the plane to Atraxa in her stead.[11][16] Though no light from the plane's suns can reach this layer, its structures generate their light; the layer's walls, composed of ossified Phyrexian corpses of those Norn deemed perfect, glow white, while crimson capillaries etched into its marble-esque floor glow blood-red. Becoming ossified as a part of Elesh Norn's throne is considered the highest honor in the Basilica.[12][17] Elesh Norn's altar, a tall cathedral larger and more ornate than other buildings on the layer, serves as a monument to a unified Phyrexia. Norn's throne, inside the altar, sits atop a chamber containing a winding stairway that leads to the Gardens below. Since Nahiri cleaved it from the Dross Pits, Sheoldred's Coliseum now rests in this layer.[17]
The Mycosynth Gardens, a part of the former core of Mirrodin. Now, towering columns of mycosynth grow unchecked there.[11][12] Little to no life can be found here aside from the mycosynth. Norn forbids any visitors to this and the lowest layer without her invitation, including other Praetors.[9]
The Seedcore, the innermost layer, a place that serves as an incubation chamber for New Phyrexia's Invasion Tree, Realmbreaker. What once served as both Memnarch's observation deck Panopticon and Karn's throne room and prison while he was the Father of Machines, Realmbreaker's branches grew and have created Omenpaths, connecting New Phyrexia to other planes. It contains a replica of Norn's throne made of woven roots.[18][6] The air hums with a chorus of dissonant Phyrexian voices. The air shimmers with static that tastes of aether, pierced by shafts of buttery, golden light. A hole in the floor leads to a ten-foot drop onto a hovering porcelain disk just above an even larger hole that leads to Realmbreaker's roots.
Suns of Mirrodin
The plane used to have five satellites, called suns by some of the plane's inhabitants as they emitted light and heat, but called moons by others as they orbitted the spherical plane in a ferrocentric system.[19] In general, white-aligned cultures, especially the leonin, called them suns, while blue- and black-aligned cultures, especially the Moriok, called them moons. The goblins and elves varied in their usage, although Slobad consistently calling them suns while Glissa Sunseeker consistently called them moons.[20][21] One sun existsed for each color of mana, having exited the plane's core through tunnels called lacunae, though the green sun was absent until late in Mirrodin's history. The names and folklore of the suns varied by culture, but they were most commonly known as: Bringer, the Eye of Doom, Ingle, the Sky Tyrant, and Lyese. They did not exert gravitation, nor did they cause the tides.[22] The vast majority of the time, at least one sun was visible on Mirrodin, meaning that shade was as close as most of the plane experienced to night, outside of rare occasions when no suns were visible, causing true night. Because of the Phyrexians terraforming the plane, the suns later followed irregular orbits.[12][14] The suns did not travel with New Phyrexia, instead staying in Zhalfir's planar space during the New Phyrexia-Zhalfir switch.
Locations on Mirrodin
Many of these original Mirran locations were destroyed or transformed under the reign of New Phyrexia.
The Ascension Web - the former Mycosynth Lattice structures were torn down and replaced with this memnite web to funnel power into Memnarch's ascension.[23]
The Tangle - Mirrodin's forest, a huge expanse of verdigris copper structures connected with wires, home to the Sylvok and the Viridian elves.[20][25][23][52]
Trial Terrace - where the elven judicial court was located.[23]
Prison Tree - where the Viridians kept their captives.[23]
Factions
Machine Orthodoxy
The white-aligned Phyrexians, under the guidance of Elesh Norn, are a very literalist religious organization called "The Machine Orthodoxy".[59] They worship a form of scripture called the Argent Etchings, but divide themselves into smaller sects. Three of the most prominent sects include The Flesh Singularity, The Porcelain Legion, and the Disciples of Karn. They seek to unify the Multiverse as Phyrexia in either a perfect hierarchy or a level playing field. All white Phyrexians have a dull white cracked material on their bodies, which have been compared to porcelain or alabaster, though neither are metals as described.
The Flesh Singularity tries to achieve total unity by literally flaying the creatures that inhabit the lands and sewing them together.[60] The Porcelain Legion repurpose and adapt creatures by implanting white metal plates into their bodies, while the Disciples of Karn previously held Karn himself hostage, in hope of pushing him ever deeper into insanity to glean leadership out of his madness. At the advanced time of Phyrexia: All Will Be One the plates have become lined with some facsimile of dentin, forming bizarre mouths on wings and arms. Some of the compleated humans still recognize these growths as teeth. As the military force of Phyrexia, they are known as the Alabaster Host.
Progress Engine
The blue-aligned Phyrexians are led by Jin-Gitaxias from the ruined halls of Lumengrid.[9] They hold themselves to a higher degree of perfection than the other factions and pursue what they refer to as "The Great Synthesis." They conduct experiments in various laboratories scattered across the Quicksilver Sea, described as "slaughterhouse-like," creating new life forms and technology. They are the most organized group so far, with at least ten observable ranks. One of their great experiments is The Meldweb, in which the original Pools of Insight were filled with the brains of hundreds of Neurok and Vedalken, all networked together.[61] Upon the mobilization of the invasion force, the blue-aligned caste is known as the Chrome Host, with the most metallic Phyrexians. Optical cables often litter their forms like tentacles.
Ezuri, a former bandit turned rebel leader, was captured and compleated by Jin-Gitaxias' forces and turned into the Claw of Progress, putting him in direct conflict with Glissa.[62]
Seven Steel Thanes
The black-aligned Phyrexians are out for total and utter corruption, slaughter, and enslavement. They are led for the moment by Sheoldred.[63] She is at the top of a food chain of warlords known as the Steel Thanes or Black Thanes[64], who are all fighting a war of succession to be named Father of Machines. The other thanes are:
Kraynox, the Deep Thane — Described as masculine, he lords over the corrupting Phyrexian oil and hopes to construct a different fourth layer as a slick, oil-covered vista. Also known as "The Manylegged One".
Roxith, Thane of Rot — Described as masculine, he lords over flesh used as a building and sculpting material. He has plans to design the fifth layer of this New Phyrexia made entirely of flesh. "Killed" when trying to access Sheoldred's astral coffer, but had been revived by the time of Phyrexia: All Will Be One.
Geth, Thane of Contracts[16] — Occasionally self-described as the Thane of Steel, Geth's undead severed head was offered a deal to give him a necro-technical body in exchange for his help in the Phyrexian attempt to gain a foothold on Mirrodin's surface. As his reward, lordship over Ish Sah, the Vault of Whispers, was returned to him. Later, he was compleated fully into Vishgraz by Ixhel.
Azax-Azog, the Demon Thane — He lords over others with fear and brutality.
Thrissik, the Writhing Thane — Described as a snake, he fought Roxith. Believes in an everlasting and ever-improving cycle of destruction and resurrection.
Vraan, Thane of Blood — A compleated vampire who leads a group of vampiric assassins.
Elesh Norn's assumption of Mother of Machines was not met favorably by the Thanes, but with Vorinclex and Jin-Gitaxias following none of the Thanes had enough power to challenge her. When Urabrask declared rebellion with planeswalker aid, Roxith, Geth, Sheoldred, and Vraan lent their forces. The other three took advantage of undefended territory. They failed to impact the result of the invasion, as Sheoldred was executed quickly after the planeswalkers left.
Black Phyrexians are the fleshiest of New Phyrexia and have more investment in animating metallic structures with flesh than the other way around. Sheoldred's forces include the sleeper agents used on Dominaria, which retains enough flesh to avoid detection.
Quiet Furnace
The red-aligned Phyrexians built the Furnace Layer of Mirrodin, based on a similar layer of Old Phyrexia.[65][66] Their primary function was to tend the forges present there, building weaponry and recycling failed Phyrexians and Mirrans alike. During the war days, they emerged to the surface in the mountains of Mirrodin and expanded onto the surface. While the majority of these Phyrexians still dwell in the depths of the world, several now populate the Oxidda Chain, beasts designed in the fashion of Mirran animals. Red Phyrexians are identifiable by an internal fiery glow permeating the metallic plates of what was their skin.
Red Phyrexians differ from all others in the way that they have strong emotions and individuality and as such, develop empathy for the Mirrans. While still brutal creatures, their empathy proved strong enough to allow them to let Mirran survivors dwell on their layer, treating them as if they didn't exist. To hide this secret, as well as to avoid having to deal with other factions, Urabrask demanded that all access to the Furnace Layer be denied to the other factions, isolating himself and his servitors; the surface Phyrexians in the mountains serve as guardians to the entrances to the Furnace Layer. For the most part, the other factions ignore the Quiet Furnace, except for the Progress Engine, which is paranoid about them.
Vicious Swarm
The green-aligned Phyrexians were among the first to strike, dominating the Tangle quickly.[67] Like all Phyrexians, the members of the Vicious Swarm believe that flesh is weak, but unlike the other Phyrexians, they believe that New Phyrexia should progress more naturally, based on the roles of predation, allowing the strong to emerge triumphant over the weak. They believe that artificial engineering should be restricted to making predators more efficient, and that sentience and sapience are curses, inadequate when compared to the raw power of instinct. Lacking any sort of organization whatsoever, they are merely a massive variety of creatures that kill each other to select the strongest. As a part of the Phyrexian invasion force, they are known as the Copper Host. Green Phyrexian corruption is marked by the growth of copper plates, sometimes streaked with verdigris, though curiously Vorinclex is plated by porcelain.
While Vorinclex is the praetor of this faction, it is Glissa who remains the true power. Depending on what source is more canonical (the field guide or the Quest for Karn novel), she is either loyal to Karn or disdains him.
Benzir, a sylvok before compleation is aligned with this faction, although he is pursuing goals independent of it.
Mirran Resistance
The Mirran symbol
The Mirran Resistance are the remnants of the Mirrans that continued to be alive or uninfected even after the Compleation of Mirrodin. They are composed mainly of Auriok, Vulshok, Goblin, and Leonin survivors together with the last remaining Moriok, Neurok, Sylvok, Elf, Loxodon, Ogre, and Vedalken inhabitants of the plane.[68][9] Most of the survivors who are at the later stages of phyresis often die in the camps while they are cared for by those who are less sick, others being the Incorruptible, who are immune to the effects of phyresis. The advancement of Phyrexia has taken a heavy toll, leading to a near-complete genocide of the Mirrans, with fewer than twenty remaining by the end of the Invasion.[69][70]
The resistance has no centralized leadership and instead is most visibly led by Koth, with others in their respective encampments below:
Mirran holdouts
Bladehold is an Auriok city in the Razor Fields defended by a force known as the Accorders led by Ria Ivor, Hero of Bladehold. Within its reach lies Razor Circle Passages which were created by Ghalma the Shaper to help the survivors access the refugee strongholds in the Furnace Layer. The passages are made up of razor grass "crop circles" activated only during the presence of the white sun.
Lowlight is an encampment formed by surviving leonin abunas led by Kemba situated near the Cave of Light. It is surrounded by enchantments that protect it from the intense heat of the Great Furnace. The camp is made from scraps of skin and geometrically-raised crests of the floor's metal. Squealstokes often raid the camp looking for things to burn.
Seedling is a camp situated near the Radix. The concept of the name of the camp is based on a story that was told to the camp's leader, Melira, by Thrun about a young tree that grew skyward. Ingot slaves who live near the camp are curious about its existence.
Slagmaw is the largest camp in the Great Furnace and is also the safest due to its distance from the other lacunae. The camp is located inside a once-living creature protecting it from the surrounding environs and, in turn, allowing it to be the best outfitted and more protected than the rest.
Under strong leadership from Koth, the Mirrans put aside their differences and formed new, nomadic groups. Because they are constantly under threat, every individual trains to be a guerilla fighter, including children and elders. Their tactics rely on resourcefulness and teamwork. Now a united resistance, the Mirrans know they are stronger together.[9]
Aside from those mentioned above, other notable Mirran survivors include Farris, Jor Kadeen, and Kara Vrist. Urabrask abstractly supports the Mirran Resistance, going so far as to seek otherworldly allies, more on behalf of his own beliefs than theirs. Members of The Gatewatch along with some planeswalker allies also traveled to the plane to aid them.
Domini (): parts of the plane grown sentient. Huge mysterious cosmic beings that roam throughout the spheres, driven by individual motivations and personalities.[9]
The plane was created by the planeswalkinggolemKarn as the world Argentum.[77] Karn created the plane from an existing but desolate space, using the space as raw materials in the construction of his artificial world.[78][79]
As Argentum, it was a dark world lit by ‘stars’, a world of tessellation and perfection, populated only by golems.
Memnarch's reign
Karn left one of his creations, Memnarch, a golem created from the Mirari, in control of the plane when he went out to explore the Multiverse. Unfortunately for Argentum, Memnarch came into direct contact with Phyrexianoil[80] that Karn accidentally left in Galdroon Palace, his home on the plane. After being infected, the Corruption of Memnarch began. He was now a being forever changed, and eventually wished to become a planeswalker like the plane's creator. Memnarch transformed Argentum into Mirrodin, essentially a gigantic terrarium with food chains and environmental systems, built to supply organisms that could potentially yield sparks.[81] Memnarch used soul traps to abduct inhabitants from other planes. The abductions went on for centuries. Once Memnarch found such a potential planeswalker, he would take its spark and implant it into himself to achieve planeswalker status.
At some point, mycosynth grew on the plane, a product of the oil, changing metal to organic material, including Memnarch himself. Soon thereafter, Memnarch discovered blinkmoth serum, or lymph, which greatly diminished his decaying sanity, and he became addicted to the substance. Though Karn wished to intervene, Memnarch blocked him from Mirrodin, thinking in his madness that Karn was already there.
The Fifth Dawn
Glissa, Bosh, and Slobad and the Kaldra avatar journeyed deep within Mirrodin's core to confront the insidious Memnarch. However, with a single spell, Memnarch seized the avatar and turned it on Glissa and her companions. Kaldra's avatar relentlessly pursued Glissa into the Tangle, destroying everything in its way. Finally, at the Radix, Glissa's destiny became clear. As rage and despair overcame her, Glissa's body called forth a great torrent of greenmana, trigger the mana from Mirrodin's core to shoot out and annihilating the avatar in the process. The Fifth Dawn was a fact - the released burst of mana became the fifth sun of Mirrodin.
The Vanishing
When Glissa eventually killed Memnarch, all the existing soul traps on the plane were destroyed, killing everyone instantly - save Slobad, who had ascended when Glissa's spark entered him. Upon Memnarch's death, Karn could finally return to his plane. He could restore the souls of everyone who died, using the power of Slobad's spark to cast the spell. This triggered the Vanishing, wherein the kidnapped inhabitants were returned to their long-forgotten homes. Almost all of the remaining trolls, half of the elves, and a third of the humans disappeared without a trace. The Vanishing, or the Sun's Toll, became a mythical event to those who remained on the plane.[82]
With the disappearance of Memnarch and the Vanished Ones, many of Mirrodin's traditional power structures were thrown into disarray. At the Battle of the Synod, the Neurok were able to disable vedalken defenses at Lumengrid, the capital of the Quicksilver Sea, leading to a massive battle that left hundreds — including the members of the vedalken leadership — dead on both sides.[24] Afterward, the two cultures entered an uneasy truce, in which both inhabited Lumengrid. In the Mephidross, the Nim were briefly rendered inert but reawakened with increased fury, massacring the Moriok. After the conclusion of the Nim Onslaught or Nim Massacre, as it came to be known, less than one quarter of the pre-Vanishing Moriok remained.
Mirran-Phyrexian War
As Karn had unknowingly brought the glistening oil to Mirrodin, it planted a virus on Mirrodin that slowly spread. The first to be infected had been Memnarch. The Mephidross was the first area of the plane's surface where oil was introduced on a wide scale, followed by the Quicksilver Sea.[41] The vedalken were some of the first on the surface to discover the glistening oil, and began studying and spreading the infection, inoculating elvish test subjects. Unbeknownst to most Mirrans, Phyrexia was rebuilding itself, using the metal structures of their world as its host substrate.[83]
Some Metal-infused inhabitants of Mirrodin were a perfect breeding ground for the spread of Phyrexian corruption, which made them even stronger at the same time that it corroded their minds and bodies.[84][68] 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.
Factionalizing and the Castes
The Grand Compleation is achieved.
Unlike in its previous incarnation where Phyrexia fueled itself with colorless artifact mana and the black mana of decay and death, this time the Phyrexians infiltrated all five colors of mana and thus brought war on all fronts.[9] However, this had the unintended consequence of factionalizing the Phyrexians based on their color alignment.[85][86] And so each alignment gained a Praetor to oversee that color.[87][9] They are:
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite — The white Praetor of unity. Her philosophy falls in line with the idea of a fascist, unified theocracy. Currently the dominant praetor and the Mother of Machines.[88]
Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur — The blue Praetor of experimentation. He leads his faction towards subversive experimentation to understand and exploit their enemies.
Sheoldred, Whispering One — The black Praetor of enslavement. She is the most traditional leader, believing in wholesale slaughter and subjugation. Recently, her forces have been utterly defeated by Elesh Norn's forces.
Urabrask the Hidden — The red Praetor of industry. His philosophy is more industrious than his blue counterpart, building greater and greater artificial monstrosities and weapons. The red mana trait of independence makes this faction the least like the original hive-mind make-up of Phyrexia. Recently, his forces have been utterly defeated by Elesh Norn's forces.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger — The green Praetor of predation. He believes most in the survival of the fittest and eugenics, killing those deemed to be weak, and augmenting the great predators of Mirrodin.
Domination of New Phyrexia
The Mirran Resistance continues to fight for the eventual purification of Mirrodin. The Sylvok named Melira appeared to be the key to achieving their goal. The Resistance managed to locate Karn and, through the sacrifice of Venser, healed him from the physical and mental damages inflicted upon him by his decades-long exposure to New Phyrexia’s heart and blood and restored his spark. Karn soon left his creation behind to seek infestations of Phyrexia on other planes he had visited. The Resistance hoped to use the power vacuum that had been created after Karn left Mirrodin to plunge Phyrexia into a civil war.
It was a vain hope. Elesh Norn took control over the domains of Urabask and Sheoldred, with the praetors, along with the planeswalker Tezzeret, gathering to crown a new Father—or Mother—of Machines.[88] It was Elesh Norn who came out on top.[9]
Forays to other planes
Through the use of the Planar Bridge, New Phyrexia managed to create a portal to Kaldheim, to obtain tyrite, the sap of the World Tree. To these ends they sent Vorinclex, who successfully fulfilled his mission and retrieved a sample, being welcomed by an unknown phyrexian as he returned through the portal.[89]
While on Kaldheim, Vorinclex also infected Tibalt with a "seed", wounded the godEsika, and compleated random people and animals. Their impact seemed to be negligible, with little reference until the full Invasion.
Urabrask, seeking an advantage that would help the Mirrans against Elesh Norn's forces, traveled to Capenna using Tezzeret's Planar Bridge, knowing that the inhabitants of the plane had been able to survive a phyrexian invasion long ago. This journey left the praetor in a weakened state for weeks, suggesting that the flesh of Phyrexians is far less durable than the lazotep which allowed Nicol Bolas's army of Eternals to travel through the Planar Bridge from Amonkhet to Ravnica without sustaining damage. Urabrask would establish contact with the planeswalker Vivien Reid and would obtain Halo, a substance that harms Phyrexians.
Sheoldred would travel to Dominaria, seeking to regain precious ancient artifacts and perhaps conquer the plane. During her stay, she found multiple old Phyrexian holdouts, cultists of Gix, and set about making sleeper agents to undermine all Dominarian cultures, the largest extraplanar operation of New Phyrexia yet. Her forces grew so powerful that they became an actual army, but they were decapitated by a combination of the Coalition and her retreat back to New Phyrexia, bringing with her Karn.
Having captured their errant "father" and destroyed the Sylex, Elesh Norn put the final plans into motion to expand and bring the glory of New Phyrexia to the Multiverse.[11] As she prepares for Invasion, her faction has become the Machine Legion, the core of the Phyrexian armada.[10] Once Realmbreaker grows large enough, it would function similar to Kaldheim's World Tree by connecting New Phyrexia to other planes. This would allow the Phyrexians to invade multiple planes or theoretically the entire multiverse simultaneously.
Anticipating a counterattack by The Gatewatch and their allies, Elesh Norn created a planar shield around New Phyrexia to incapacitate arriving planeswalkers.[13][5] Breaching it is described as "like slamming into a wall of electrostatic wind." The capture and compleation of Nissa let Norn accelerate Realmbreaker far faster than the Mirran intelligence suggested, resulting in the invasion being primed before the Sylex could be used.
Meanwhile, Urabrask started a rebellion against Norn's Phyrexia. Roxith, Geth, Vraan, and Sheoldred joined forces with him.[17] This was ineffectual, with Geth assassinated and Sheoldred executed long before the bulk of the invasion.
Elesh Norn compleated planeswalkers and sent them to other worlds, beginning the invasion in full force. However, the instrument of their invasion was ultimately their downfall. With the help of Chandra and Koth, the dryad planeswalker Wrenn fused with Realmbreaker, traveling through the Multiverse along with its spirit. Eventually, she came across the isolated plane of Zhalfir, being welcomed there by Teferi Akosa, and organizing a counter-invasion of New Phyrexia. In the battle that followed, Jin-Gitaxias, Vorinclex, and Elesh Norn were slain. To turn the tides, Wrenn manipulated Realmbreaker to switch the places of Zhalfir and New Phyrexia in the Blind Eternities, leaving Phyrexia isolated and Zhalfir connected.[93] The remaining Mirran survivors, numbering fewer than twenty, escaped to Zhalfir. The glistening oil's contact with the plane was cut off, rendering it inert.[94] Some Phyrexians stopped in place, while others crumbled apart. Those already compleated fell to the ground as if in a deep slumber.
↑According to Will McDermott, Karn created the fabric of the world itself; but, the space it occupies existed before his creation. He chose to transform the empty plane rather than attempt to create a fully artificial world.
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