Urza's Assault on Phyrexia
| Urza's Assault on Phyrexia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Information | |||||
| Era | Ice Age | ||||
| Date | c. 650 AR | ||||
| Location | Phyrexia | ||||
| Sets | Urza's Saga | ||||
| Storyline Sources | Planeswalker (novel)[1] | ||||
| Characters | Urza, Xantcha, Yawgmoth | ||||
| Outcome | |||||
| |||||
| Timeline | |||||
| |||||
Urza's Assault on Phyrexia was a major military and magical action undertaken by the planeswalker Urza during the Ice Age on Dominaria. The event represented one of the earliest known direct conflicts between Urza and the inhabitants of Phyrexia, including its ruler, Yawgmoth. It occurred after Urza had been exiled from his home plane and had traveled across the multiverse, gaining knowledge and preparing powerful constructs to confront the corruption that had overtaken his brother, Mishra. The assault marked a turning point in Urza's trajectory, initiating the long-term corruption of his mind and drawing the attention of Yawgmoth, who recognized Urza as a significant threat to Phyrexia’s dominance. Though ultimately unsuccessful, the attack demonstrated Urza's ambition, resourcefulness, and the early stages of his transformation into a figure of immense power and danger.
Description
After the Formation of the Shard of Twelve Worlds, Urza was locked out of his home plane and wandered the multiverse. He encountered the failed sleeper agent, the Phyrexian newt Xantcha, and, learning from her the location of Phyrexia, the corruptors of his brother Mishra, he resolved to perform an all-out assault on the plane. Urza was a powerful planeswalker, and he readied himself by creating an eight-legged dragon engine inspired by his brother's machines of old and donning a protective suit that would keep out the noxious fumes of the plane. However, Urza severely underestimated the power of Yawgmoth, the plane's ruler, and the sheer number of Phyrexians present.[1]
Urza struck without warning, planeswalking directly to the surface of the plane, where he started to wreak havoc, destroying numerous Phyrexians. He managed to blast a gigantic hole in the plane, all the way down to the Fourth Sphere. While he was doing this, Xantcha entered the same sphere using an ambulator and managed to wind her way into the Fane of Flesh, where she found the chamber of hearts. After some searching, she noticed her own heart sang to her, and she waded into the pool of hearts and collected it before rushing back to Urza. [1]
By then, Urza's dragon engine had been damaged, and he had drawn the attention of Yawgmoth. Though this being was not a planeswalker, he had worked for millennia to assemble godlike powers, and he lashed out at Urza. Yawgmoth brushed Urza’s mind, and Urza’s world convulsed.[2] Meanwhile, Xantcha had reached the dragon engine and climbed into its cockpit, trying to snap Urza out of his stupor and planeswalk them away.[1]
Completely overpowered and fearing losing himself to Yawgmoth's madness, Urza's attention was grabbed by Xantcha shaking him and screaming at him. He realized that the assault had failed and saw no option but to flee the plane, bringing Xantcha with him, but leaving the broken dragon engine behind. The damage he had wrought would be repaired, and not only had Phyrexia's corruption seeped into his mind, slowly driving him insane over the coming centuries, but Yawgmoth was now aware of this dangerous and driven foe, and started to make plans to thwart him.[1]
Timing
Although the date of the assault is not directly stated, Xantcha and Urza agree she was almost 600 years old when it happened. As she is born about 65 AR, this places the event at c. 650 AR[1]
In-game references
- Represented in: