Phyrexia: All Will Be One puts the depravity ofMagic: The Gathering’sPhyrexians on full display. As they prepare to conquer the Multiverse,the five Praetorsand their foul followers have assumed their final, fearful forms. It’s one of the darkest moments in Magic’s overall storyline, and the set’s visuals reflect this perfectly.
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The entire set is drenched in oil and darkness, with art that showcases the twisted imagination of Magic’s designers like none before. Every piece is beautifully disturbing in its own way, but some are more powerful than others. We’ve filtered through the Phyrexian filth to bring you the ten best pieces in the set, the ten windows into this wicked world that provide the best views.
10Crawling Chorus, By Michael Walsh
Proof that small creatures can have a big impact, Crawling Chorus is one ofthe most horrifying abominationsthe game has ever seen. The base design is incredible, its pyramidal form enclosing a mass of masks, connected by a sinewy sea of red flesh.
The genius of this piece is in the details surrounding the creature itself, however. The use of perspective, which makes the viewer feel like the Chorus is Crawling right at them, is incredibly effective. And the background, which incorporates the same red-veined white marble and writhing flesh as the creature, helps bring it all together, framing the Chorus as an extension of Elesh Norn’s domain.
9Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut, By Kutay
This rendition of Graaz, which comes from All Will be One’s Showcase series, is remarkable for a number of reasons. Kutay gives us a rare glimpse under the hood of a Phyrexian war machine here, a ghostly face swimming in darkness, likely representing the twisted soul that controls the Juggernaut. The dark tendrils, which spread out from here across the rest of the piece, develop this idea beautifully as well.
Beyond this nice bit of extra lore, the piece manages to make Graaz look more monstrous than ever. From the saw blade teeth and scuttling crab legs, to the vicious forearm blades that are, hilariously, lined with extra spikes, the terror of Phyrexia is shown here in all its cruel excess.
8Urabrask’s Anointer, By Aaron J. Riley
One of the most interesting aspects of New Phyrexia as a Plane is its biodiversity: this isn’t an endless grimdark swamp like the Phyrexia of old, but rather a whole in five parts, each under the influence of a different Praetor and sun.
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Urabrask’s Anointer perfectly highlights how different the red-aligned areas of Phyrexia are to their peers, with a colourful composition that would seem beautiful and elegant in any other context. The creative creature concept itself, a living furnace-Wizard combo, is a great start, while the warm reds and cool blues create a contrast that’s as visually pleasing as anything you’ll see on the Plane.
7Necrogen Rotpriest, By Dominik Mayer
A striking Showcase piece, Dominik Mayer’s take on this high-ranking Phyrexian is worthy of reverence itself. Considering the incredibly simple palette, consisting entirely of black swatches on white and tints of purple and green, Mayer manages to convey a lot of information very efficiently.
The angle of the Rotpriest on the card immediately puts the viewer at their feet, watching them looming overhead, arms outstretched. Black and white lines run up the piece, revealed on closer inspection to be mimicking the Rotpriest’s pose, likely representing their horde of devout followers. It’s a strong composition that gives the viewer a closer look at Phyrexia’s horrific hierarchy.
6Soulless Jailer, By Donato Giancola
The base idea of Soulless Jailer, a golem built entirely of cages, is incredibly strong, conveying the creative cruelty of Phyrexia in a very concise way. Beyond this, however, Giancola makes clever use of lines to build a monster that is both practical and terrifying.
The iron bars that make up the Jailer twist into arms, almost like muscle fibres, and continue to run down into cages and claws, like a dozen spindly fingers. The (literal) heart of the piece is the Jailer’s chest, however, which contains a lone prisoner, banging their fists on the wall of their sentient prison to no avail.
5Atraxa, Grand Unifier, By Anato Finnstark
Living up to the ‘Grand’ in her new title nicely, Anato Finnstark’s take on fan-favourite Phyrexian Atraxa is a truly powerful piece. The entire canvas here is bathed in a radiant glow, shining through the splashes of gold tossed seemingly haphazardly, but actually very intentionally, across the backdrop.
The central figure of Atraxa herself stands in bold contrast to the rest, with well-defined lines and lighting that give her a near-religious weight when combined with the symmetry of her pose. It’s a great use of All Will Be One’s Showcase style and also a nice subversion of its conventions for a particularly important character.
4Bilious Skulldweller, By Svetlin Velinov
“Cute” isn’t a word you’d expect to utter about any card in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, but Bilious Skulldweller may just coax it out of you. Treading a razor’s edge between awful and adorable, this Phyrexian Insect impresses through this fundamental juxtaposition.
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All the hallmarks of a traditional Phyrexian design are present here, albeit on a much smaller scale. Rather than slaughtering entire armies, this creature bathes in the skull of a single enemy, its gurning face inspiring feelings of both sympathy and fear. That Velinov manages to conjure such a range of emotions with what should be a straightforward evil is truly commendable.
3Hexgold Slash, By Eli Minaya
With its bold colours and unconventional, hard-edged composition, this piece by Eli Minaya wouldn’t look out of place on a Showcase card or even in aSecret Lair drop. It’s all the more impressive, therefore, that it appears on a regular card in the set; it didn’t need to go so hard, as they say.
By obliterating the backdrop into an empty white void, this piece boils the featured combat down to its most primitive fundamentals, letting the viewer appreciate the action on a visceral level. The use of blue to represent the arc of the sword being swung, and the scattering of the Phyrexian’s blood, is also a nice subversion that neatly adds an element of glory to the scene.
2Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler, By Iinuma Yuuki
Presenting an anime-inspired take on one of the most powerful Planeswalkers in the set, Iinuma Yuuki’s rendition of Tyvar is a visual treat. Like many of All Will Be One’s Showcase cards, it employs a monochromatic palette to stellar effect, with trailing lines that convey the dynamism of animation in a static frame.
The most striking thing about the piece is how it leans into the darkness that exists on both sides of any conflict. Tyvar is shown in a blaze of fury, teeth clenched and eyes streaming with something that looks suspiciously like Phyrexian oil. The focal point is, of course, his fist; a powerful, inky mass that weaves its way over his name and mana cost, coming right at the unwary viewer’s face.
1Elesh Norn, Mother Of Machines, By Richard Whitters
It would be difficult not to include the most powerful Praetor on this list, given the sheer number of variant artworks she received in All Will Be One, but this concept version from Richard Whitters takes the Phyrexian cake. As an early version of the design, it stands out from the others in some very interesting ways.
Foregoing the finery of her other forms, this take on Norn shows her in her base, skeletal state. This provides a bigger contrast with her iconic headpiece, and introduces an element of spindly terror that somehow makes her even scarier than usual. The sparse, sketchbook background is a fitting final touch, letting Norn stand out while reinforcing this version’s conceptual nature.
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