New Phyrexia was a huge set when it came out and then... crickets. We had this big story moment throughout the Scars block and then this New Phyrexian world just kind of languished in the background of the story for over a decade. Finally in early 2023 we got to return with Phyrexia: All Will Be One.

The set saw a fresh look at everyone's favorite body horror world and brought with it a whole host of sweet mythics to talk about. I'm going to go through and rank all of them as usual. There's a ton to get through so let's not waste any time! Grab your glistening oil injection and let's dive in!

• 20. Capricious Hellraiser
• 19. Lukka, Bound to Ruin
• 18. Nahiri, the Unforgiving
• 17. Tyrranax Rex
• 16. Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus
• 15. Drivnod, Carnage Dominus
• 14. Solphim, Mayhem Dominus
• 13. Sword of Forge and Frontier
• 12. Staff of Compleation
• 11. Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus

10. Phyrexian Obliterator

Players everywhere absolutely love Phyrexian Obliterator, despite it almost never being truly good. It's hard to cast and more often than not is just a 5/5 unblockable creature that can be taken out by a removal spell. Despite this, it continues to remain an incredibly exciting card for Magic players of all levels and it made for a great reprint here, even if players knew it wasn't as good as it looked by now.

9. Phyrexian Vindicator

The set also brought with it the reverse in White: Phyrexian Vindicator. To the shock of no one, this card fell into the exact same trappings as Phyrexian Obliterator! It's big, flashy, and hard to deal with on a stats level. A simple Go for the Throat or similar takes it down with ease, though, making it a bit less potent than it appeared. Still, players gravitated to it and I can attest to certainly facing it in a big Standard event a time or two while it was legal.

8. Ichormoon Gauntlet

This felt like some truly new space for planeswalkers to the extent that players weren't sure how good it would ultimately become. Was it good enough for Constructed play? Not really, but it still became an instant staple of casual Superfriends decks everywhere. A really cool design that would lead to more playing with planeswalker granting abilities as time has gone on.

7. All Will Be One

Players weren't sure what All Will Be One would do and for some it felt a bit silly as a mythic rare. Then people started playing with it and it began to get up to some serious nonsense - especially in Commander where counters are flying around left and right. Even in Constructed formats you'd see it from time to time as players tried coming up with cool ways to win out of nowhere with it - even if it usually made for better casual fare instead.

6. Mondrak, Glory Dominus

Speaking of powerful casual fare, can I interest you in a nice token doubler? Players always love getting more of these and Mondrak, Glory Dominus became the first notable one printed in some time. Since then we've seen several more between Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation // Temple of Civilization, Elspeth, Storm Slayer; and Exalted Sunborn. While the novelty is fading a little as more of these reach print, all of them continue to be red hot with Mondrak being no exception. It's strictly a Commander card, but for that kind of setting, it's perfect.

5. Vraska, Betrayal's Sting

Vraska represented a pretty sweet card at face value and while it didn't make waves in Constructed play, it acted as an excellent Commander card. Players love proliferating, so getting to do it over and over while having a kill spell? Awesome! However, it did eventually make huge waves in competitive play with Bloomburrow's Innkeeper's Talent letting it enter with enough counters to ultimate it and kill a player in one shot. It was so popular that many players hoped it would get banned, but eventually proved to just be a fine option that left a big impact in the formats it was played in.

4. Nissa, Ascended Animist

Conversely, the Phyrexian version of Nissa also had some great Commander play but ended up being a consistently solid option in Constructed. Sometimes it would show up in main decks, more often in sideboards, but it was a great card for long grindfests in decks that played Green. There isn't much more to say than that; just a great roleplayer throughout its entire tenure competitively and remains awesome for casual play as well.

3. Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines

It feels weird that Elesh Norn would only rank in third with a set like this, but here we are. Elesh Norn is huge for Commander where players love doubling all of their own actions while shutting down their opponents. However, in competitive play it would only show up as a one-of from time to time at best, acting as a finisher for Domain decks, a sweet utilitarian card in Nykthos Ramp, or a tutor target in Enigmatic Incarnation decks. A great card, but not as widely impactful as you might think.

2. Jace, the Perfected Mind

Where Elesh Norn is great and Commander but so-so in Constructed, Jace ends up being the reverse - a fun oddball in casual settings but a common finisher of Azorius-based control decks in competitive formats. This also included decks that tried milling out your opponent, decks that self-mill, and more. Jace, the Perfected Mind left a big mark that still continues to see play from time to time in formats like Pioneer even after rotating out.

1. Atraxa, Grand Unifier

Who would've thought Griselbrand could finally be unseated as the number one creature to cheat into play? The powerful demon was a monumental force in ensuring you could draw tons of cards to bury your opponents in card advantage. Atraxa does this on a smaller scale, allowing you to draw the cream of the crop from your deck without sacrificing your life total, offers vigilance with the evasive lifelinker, and ends up being the perfect game-ending threat. Oh, and it also did the Tarmogoyf thing of previewing a new card type early! Easily the most powerful and most impactful card of the set.

Paige Smith

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