#Phyrexian Unlife

[phyrexianphamily]

Now I am become Unlife, the breaker of realms.

Elesh Norn, March of the Machine

[crow-of-dark-tidings]

credit: jason chan

[daggers-drawn-returns]

people on tumblr are really into guys covered in blood and the eroticism of the machine lately... what about machines covered in blood? [turns my microphone to the audience] how do we feel about machines covered in blood?

[goldstarknight]

Pixel Art Redraw of Phyrexian Unlife (2022)

This was my first attempt at making an MtG card with pixel art. Always loved this unsettling artwork. The horrifying realization of the character's transformation is is captured perfectly by their expression.

[favoritemtgcard]

Official Bracket Announcement

After more than 420 individual nominations, 64 cards have been selected to compete to be tumblr's favorite Magic: The Gathering card!

You can view a complete list of Divisions and seeds below the cut

Thank you to everyone who submitted a card and supported their favorites. There are over 30,000 cards printed in Magic's history, so this poll would have been literally impossible without your help. There were a lot of very tight calls when putting this together, and not every card could make the final cut, but hopefully this bracket reflects the majority of the popular picks as well as a few individual favorite contenders.

The first matches of Division A will be posted tomorrow, November 5th at 10:00am PST. Division B will be posted the following day, then Division C, and so on. You will have a full week to vote in these matches for your favorite card. (Reminder: seed number is only a best guess at how a team will perform in a given bracket, and exist to facilitate a more interesting tournament. It is not at all uncommon for lower seed cards to beat higher seeds, and it is not a reflection of the quality of the card in of itself.)

Thank you again for all of your interest and support! I am already excited to learn how some of these early matches play out.

Division A Begins November 5th

Bearscape

Savor the Moment

Phyrexian Unlife

Dark Ritual

Damnation

Baleful Strix

Massacre Girl

Emrakul the Aeons Torn

Murder

Colossal Dreadmaw

Waste Not

Surgical Extraction

Forest

Perplexing Chimera

Stasis

Elvish Visionary

Division B Begins November 6th

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

Brainstorm

Selesnya Evangel

Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Thallid

Rona, Herald of Invasion

Jaya Ballard, Task Mage

Hot Soup

Phage the Untouchable

Earthbind

Cheatyface

Wedding Announcement

Storm Crow

Darksteel Relic

Rin and Seri

Madcap Skills

Division C Begins November 7th

Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

Bitterblossom

Mana Tithe

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

Elspeth, Sun's Champion

Tragic Slip

Olivia Voldaren

Craterhoof Behemoth

Island

Enthralling Victor

Indestructible Aura

Llanowar Elves

Gush

Urza's Ruinous Blast

Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist

Mountain

Division D Begins November 8th

Lightning Bolt

Faithless Looting

Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar

Gallia of the Endless Dance

Breach the Multiverse

Dark Depths

Heartbeat of Spring

Yargle, Glutton of Urborg

Niv-Mizzet, Parun

Swords to Plowshares

Archangel Avacyn

Run Away Together

Tempt With Bunnies

Enter the Dungeon

Plains

Mantis Rider

[markrosewater]

Un-rules question: say my opponent controls a Phyrexian Unlife and has 0 life and 0 poison counters. I control a stuffy doll which they were chosen as the victim of. I target the stuffy doll with a Just Desserts. How many poison counters does the opponent have?

You round to the nearest whole number with components that only come in whole numbers.

[mtgtips]

Is “your life total at zero and mine isn’t” a valid win-con?

Magic the Gathering tip: nope phyrexian unlife. try again.

[danco110]

“Truly though, dear, you must relax a little! Enjoy life…unlife! Otherwise, this gift is wasted!”

Moira flashed a sickly sweet smile with pointed teeth of blackened steel. Flying beside her, the porcelain-plated Teshar was unconvinced, and gave a wordless shriek that shook the exposed tendons between his armor plates. Yet Moira seemed to understand him perfectly.

“Yes, this is a more jarring transition for you than for me. I have died even before this. But still, your hesitation! It implies you are still a person! No mindless soldier!”

Teshar gave another shriek.

“True, Norn may not have held a candle to those precious Serra angels you worship so much. And she was a tyrant - I should know. But now she is dead and gone! And, have you since raised your hand against anyone at all?”

Teshar gave a hesitant shake of his head.

“So, if your mind is once more your own, and you can defy her standing orders, then why the worry about your new body? Can it not…oh, I don’t know, twist and stretch in new and exciting directions?”

Teshar pulled away slightly, shaking his beak in disgust at Moira’s observation. But the other Phyrexian was undeterred.

“It never tires, never weakens. Strong beyond measure. Quick as a whip. And mends as easily as a torn shirt!”

Teshar raised his staff to swing, but was given pause by one last point:

“All the better to sing the praises of your…Ancestor, was it?”

Teshar paused moments away from striking.

“Yes, there isn’t anything stopping you from returning to your old worship, hm?”

Teshar shrugged. Though his faceplate features no eyes, it was clear he had calmed down somewhat, judging from him lowering his staff.

“Yes, no need for panic. I knew you’d see reason eventually. Necromancers like you and me tend to be a logical bunch-”

Teshar interrupted with one last frightened squawk, much to Moira’s confusion.

“What? Oh, necromancer? Well, you are indeed a…” The dark mage breathed a sigh through vestigial lungs. “But perhaps we’ll save that conversation for another time.”

[Here’s a leftover writing from Halloween. I just didn’t want to write about Moira twice. But now that the holiday has passed, I guess it’s fine.

Anyways, I feel like technically Teshar’s ability would make him a necromancer, despite what he might likely say on the matter!]

[aflo]

none of the numbers on this quite add up right. i mean, a sorcery 6 mana draw 5 is about the right rate, though i have no idea what kind of deck would want to play that. then when your opponent attacks you on their turn, you have to discard some or all of those cards so it honestly isn't very good card advantage.

it keeps you alive if you go below 0, but only by a hair since you have to keep cards in hand or die. so it's not very good as a phyrexian unlife unless you have lots of draw power/life gain. (which if you have life gain, you didn't need a phyrexian unlife.)

then it has this lifegain clause. yeah, i guess this can draw you a lot of cards, lifegain is generally much cheaper than card draw, but it doesn't protect you from losing to an empty library. it's not even great as a combo piece since it gives your opponent random lines to make you discard your combo pieces through damage. and it doesn't even work with ad nauseum. you'll draw your library then discard your hand to the 100 lose life triggers and the grimoire will kill you. yuck, yuck, and even more yuck.

[riseofthecommonwoodpile]

Top 5 magic cards

hmmm i’m gonna do one for cards i love in huge part because of decks i’ve played i associate them with:

Tolaria West (Amulet Titan)

Repeal (Pauper Tron)

Phyrexian Unlife (Ad Nauseam)

Goryo’s Vengeance (Grishoalbrand)

Summer Bloom (Amulet Titan again, it’s my favorite deck ever and the one i spent the most time playing (before it got soooooo boring and easy with Castle Garenbrig))

then one for cards i love in something like a vacuum:

Remand

Wild Mongrel (remember when this was possibly the best two mana creature in magic? power creep killed my boy 😢😢😢)

Snapcaster Mage (remember when THIS was possibly the best two mana creature in magic? magic used to be fun)

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Deep Analysis

[summerdowntriestagain]

Friend, Magic the Gathering says the weird cyborgified Phyrexians has "unlife." When I say unalive I mean whatever is going on here.

"unalive" should just mean the opposite of undead. if undead means a dead thing thats alive, unalive shuld mean an alive things thats dead. no i dont have any examples. ☝️yet

[sylvhem]

From the Vault: Phyrexia

When Wizards of the Coast choose to discontinue the From the Vault series, almost two years ago, many said it was inevitable because the company had finally run out of good themes for those products. I disagree and think that, on the contrary, there is still lot of cool themes that could be used to make new From the Vault. So I decided that, since I was constantly thinking about new ideas for them, I will periodically make posts presenting “custom” From the Vault, that is, lists of fifteen cards tied by a theme that I think would make a good From the Vault product.

And the first entry in this series will be From the Vault: Phyrexia. What a better way to start that with the classic antagonist of the series? Moreover, Phyrexia being around Magic: The Gathering lore since Antiquities, there is a lot of cards and sets to choose from. It’s more a problem of “too many cards” than “too few of them”. Also, this is the perfect occasion to reprint some of those cards with the Phyrexian watermark.

Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

I can’t possibly make a retrospective of Phyrexia without including the man who created it, Yawgmoth. A Thran physician exiled for his interest in eugenics as well as his support to a failed revolution, Yawgmoth traveled across Dominaria, experimenting on various species, often under the pretense of bringing medical help. He later took his revenge on the people who cast him away when, recalled to the Thran Empire to help cure a mysterious disease, he seized the opportunity to transform the sicks into mutants and use them as an army to overthrow the government. With the candid help of the planeswalker Dyfed, he traveled to an artificial plane long abandoned by its creator and immediately started to modify it to suit his needs, creating Phyrexia. Bounding himself to the plane’s core, he then became immortal and inherited god-like powers. Unfortunately for him, Rebbec, the chief architect of the Thran capital of Halcyon, trapped it there, making him and his follower unable to return to Dominaria. He then spent the next millennia perfecting his creations, conquering other planes and plotting to, one day, finally take over his birth plane.

On this card, Yawgmoth is depicted as his young self, before he ascended to godhood and maybe even before his exile. Nonetheless, we can see him wearing a phi-shaped tool to his belt, hinting to the fact he may already have some plans regarding his future creations. Even if it’s technically a card that predates Phyrexia, the facts that he is its creator and that he already started his “Great Work” made it an auto-include here.

Phyrexian Altar

This card, originally printed in Invasion, is a classic of the game. Not as well-know as some other cult cards, it’s still quite popular and is relatively used in Commander. Moreover, its original art have never been used on a modern frame and it would be the perfect occasion for this.

Priest of Yawgmoth

Not as well know, Priest of Yawgmoth is a card that come straight from Antiquities. Not as powerful nor popular as Phyrexian Altar, it’s an interesting card in that it’s a good representation of what the original mechanical take on the Phyrexians was. Also, it could really use a reprint, to have an occasion to see this art in a modern frame, but, more importantly, to have a version of this card with its much simpler Oracle text.

Phyrexian Arena

This card is too much of classic to not be a part of this set. Originally printed in Apocalypse, it has been reprinted numerous times, including in core sets, but still commands a higher price tag due to its popularity in formats like Commander. This would be the perfect occasion to have a version with the Phyrexian watermark.

Phyrexian Tower

Originally printed in Urza’s Saga, this card was then part of the same cycle of legendary lands that gave us Gaea’s Cradle, Serra’s Sanctum and Tolarian Academy. But unlike those three cards, Phyrexian Tower and Shivan Gorge were not put on the Reserved List.

Despite that and the popularity of this land in Commander, it has never been reprinted before Ultimate Master (if we omit its gold-bordered version). We could reprint it with its gorgeous new art, but I think it would be a good opportunity to use its classic illustration, never used in conjunction with the modern frame before.

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

You can’t make From the Vault: Phyrexia without including at least one of New Phyrexia’s praetors. And none of them is as iconic as Elesh Norn, leader of the Machine Orthodoxy. Moreover, this card have been printed five times but always with the same illustration. A premium print like this one would be a good occasion to give it a new artwork.

Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice

This card may be the most popular commander of all time. Besides, apart from its original printing in Commander 2016, it only has been reprinted once, in Commander Anthology Volume II. None of those printings have a Phyrexian watermark.

Phyrexian Unlife

This card is such a good depiction of what Phyrexia is that it would be sad to not include it in this set.

Phyrexian Obliterator

A really cool and flavorful creature card. It’s probably the most iconic card from New Phyrexia.

Birthing Pod

A staple of the Modern format before its ban, it gave birth to an entire archetype.

Gitaxian Probe

Banned in Legacy, Pauper and Modern, restricted in Vintage, this card used to be a staple in those formats when it was still legal to play it.

Surgical Extraction

This card is one of the most popular card in Legacy and commands a huge price tag because of it.

Dismember

A Modern staple and a useful card all around.

Gut Shot

This list lacked a mono red card and Gut Shot is a popular card in Pauper, played in numerous archetypes.

Phyrexian Scriptures

The Scriptures, Phyrexia’s sacred texts, have been referenced in numerous flavor texts through the years. That’s why it was cool to finally have a card to represent them in Dominaria!

And that’s it! What do you think of that list? Would you have done things differently? Does it convinced you other cool From the Vault could be made?

[favoritemtgcard]

ok oops i would ike to retract my 3rd nomination (Ad Naus) and substitute in Phyrexian Unlife (NPH) #18

Phyrexian Unlife

[peculiarflavor]

IT’S ANAGRAM WEEK! ...or whatever

Objectively Best Phyrexian Unlife Anagram: “Rainy Pee Influx”

[alcinasflusteredpet]

Ok ok but what do you do for Phyrexian Unlife? Because at that point you're taking damage with no clothes left so obviously the only way to handle that is to break out the toys and insert something different for each point...

"This is a little beyond strip poker at this point?"

Some of us just know where the trans polycule games are leading to and wish to help then along 😌

what’s say we add some stakes to this game of magic the gathering, hm? winner kisses the loser on the lips.

[reuxben]

This was our MTGinktober for “Breakable,” starring whatever the heck is going on in Phyrexian Unlife.  Always so awkward having to break it to someone that they’ve got a little something on their face, ya know? 

Click this post’s Source link for this piece’s Making-Of.

More MTGinktober here.

Daily art updates on Instagram and Twitter.

Not normal,

Reuxben