As of a few hours ago, we have brand new MTG spoilers. They are Phyrexia: All Will Be One spoilers, a set that is to release in early 2023. We have several cards and a few new mechanics to look at today. So, let’s jump right into this very exciting news.
Phyrexia: All Will Be One will mark the return of Poison counters. However, it appears they won’t be via the “Infect” keyword like they have in the past. We also have mechanics called “corrupted”, “for Mirrodin!” and a reference to “Oil Counters” on a few of the cards.
While this alone is enough to whet players’ appetites, it’s just a teaser. We have actual cards to look at – many of which feature some of these new mechanics. Furthermore, we have a reminder text for a few of them explaining what they do. A few others don’t, and we’ll need to take an educated guess as to what they do. Without further ado, let’s look at the brand-new Phyrexia: All Will Be One spoilers.
Card Gallery
Related: Phyrexia: All Will Be One – Promo Cards
New Mechanics
Here we’ll take a look at the card fractions that show the “Toxic” mechanic and break down what it likely means. As well as break down some of the cards and abilities that are seen in their entirety in the card gallery.
Toxic
Here we have two instances of a brand-new mechanic called Toxic. It has a one after it on both cards shown here. However, I’m sure other cards will have some variance in value. We don’t get a reminder text with these, but I think I can get what this is. So, hear me out.
Toxic seems like it will replace Infect in Phyrexia: All Will Be One. I think “Toxic” is Wizards’ way of watering down poison counters but still allowing them to be present in the set. Toxic appears to come with a set value (1 in both instances we’ve seen) that determines how many poison counters a damaged opponent will get.
Whereas, with traditional Infect, the number of poison counters would scale with the creature’s power. For example, a Blighted Agent targeted with a Giant Growth would be dealing four poison counters. If you targeted one of the new creatures above with a pump spell, they would still only deal poison counters equal to the number after the word “Toxic.”
I’m also curious as to if Toxic will give blocking creatures -1/-1 counters like Infect does. I guess we’ll know in due time.
Corrupted
Sinew Dancer was pictured above in the gallery but I’ll put it again here as we look at the “Corrupted” mechanic. First, let’s look at the first ability on Sinew Dancer. It allows you to pay four mana and tap it, to tap a creature. Abilities like this aren’t exactly few or far between. However, in my experience, they are quite good in Limited.
Now, onto the new stuff. Corrupted allows you the same effect for a single mana – If an opponent has three or more poison counters. I am guessing will see other abilities or spells’ cost reduced if your opponent has been poisoned or corrupted. Not only could this be pretty powerful but it’s also very flavorful for the set. Needless to say, I like it.
Oil Counters
Sawblade Scamp gives us our first look at a new counter. I find Oil Counters to be very aesthetically accurate for the set. Past that, I think they are simply to keep numerical track of things. But let’s take a look at the one instance where we’ve seen them used so far.
I think Sawblade Scamp is a pretty good card. First, red loves one CMC creatures with haste. Next, it gives you just a bit more damage for all your non-creature spells. This means all those burn spells will be able to ping for extra damage. Furthermore, it triggers for artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers you cast as well.
Having said all this, I am very curious as to what the activation cost that appears to be hidden is. Probably a tap symbol, which brings the overall versatility down quite a lot. That’s to be expected out of a common though. Overall, I like the card a lot. And the fact that Thrumming Bird is also spoiled we know you can proliferate these oil counters as well.
Speaking of proliferation, this is a great way to make use of it. With the archfiend seen above you get a 6/6 flier that will drain an opponent for two life whenever a creature of theirs dies. Pretty awesome. The only downside is that you lose the game after four turns – If you can’t find a way to get extra Oil Counters on this beast.
That said, perhaps his stat line and ability are good enough that he can finish games before he naturally runs out of counters. You could also try and give this thing to an opponent and use something like Aether Snap or Thief of Blood to cause them to lose the game.
For Mirrodin!
Here we have a mechanic that comes on two pieces of equipment. Each one creates a 2/2 red rebel creature token when it enters the battlefield and is attached directly to it. I think cards with this mechanic are going to slot right into a ton of commander decks and be right at home.
End Step
Phyrexia: All Will Be One spoilers were not something I expected to be covering this early. With that said, I am a fan of everything I’ve seen so far, and I enjoyed breaking some new mechanics. Whenever there are more new spoilers available though, you’ll find them here. Until then, get out there and play some Magic.
