While Kaldheim before it had hinted at a Phyrexian invasion, Magic: The Gathering’s newest set, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty made it obvious that the Praetors are planning something big. The planeswalker Tamiyo’s new card has a strange hybrid mana symbol never-before-seen in MTG, but it calls back to something familiar - Phyrexian mana. Not only was this mechanic incredibly powerful, causing cards like Gitaxian Probe and Birthing Pod to be banned out of multiple formats, it also coincided with one of Magic’s most famous villain storylines.
Tamiyo in Neon Dynasty has a keyword called “Compleated” and looks a lot different than she used to, having more of a metallic and inhuman feel compared to her Avacyn Restored card or her Eldritch Moon card. It’s been explained that this is due to a character represented on another card, Jin Gitaxias, kidnapping her and infecting her with Phyrexian oil. This is a huge development, as a fan-favorite Magic character and planeswalker from 2021 hasn’t been defeated and turned evil this way before.
While the villains of Kamigawa proper have yet to be introduced in card form, the overarching story of New Phyrexia has now been set in motion. The history of the Phyrexians is long and a key part of Magic’s lore, and there are definitely conclusions and speculation to be drawn from the plane’s past about where the story goes from here. Who the Phyrexians are, what happened in New Phyrexia, and why they’re coming back will likely be important going forward, so new players will want to be informed on their legacy.
Yawgmoth & The Brothers War Play Heavily Into Magic’s Returning Villains
Before returning to Kamigawa's glitz and spectacle, it's important to know that the person responsible for the invention of Phyrexian oil is Yawgmoth, a mad scientist who ruined the lives of many tribes on Dominaria. His goal was always to rule the plane and create perfect immortal beings, using his relationship with the Thran to gain power and develop a portal to a new plane, called Phyrexia. Initially using the plane to heal the Thran of a sickness called Phthisis, Yawgmoth began to use powerstones to strengthen the plane’s inhabitants and turn them into super soldiers. After a war broke out between the Thran and the Phyrexians, many of Yawgmoth’s former allies banded together to trap him on Phyrexia. In his human form, Yawgmoth has been represented on cards in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons and Modern Horizons.
Yawgmoth, feeling as though he would never see Dominaria again and spending time on Phyrexia experimenting on himself and its inhabitants, ultimately created the corrupting and immortal Phyrexian oil. Eventually, Urza and Mishra would accidentally re-open the portal to Phyrexia during the Brothers War, allowing Yawgmoth to manipulate them and turn Mishra into a Phyrexian using the process called “compleation.” The war ended with Urza destroying most of Dominaria, but Yawgmoth still had access to the plane.
Centuries later, he would attempt an invasion, this time as an amorphous god with soldiers from another world. By the end of this saga, Yawgmoth had been defeated, most likely dead, and Phyrexia had been reduced to rubble. However, the Phyrexian oil had stuck to an important character: Karn, a golem created by Urza who helped kill Yawgmoth in the first place. Karn has seen representation in Modern bans due to War of the Spark having a version broken with Mycosynth Lattice, but during this era, he would often show up on creature cards rather than planeswalker spells.
Mirrodin & Karn Are Why MTG Has a “New Phyrexia”
Wanting to develop a metallic safe haven after the Phyrexian Invasion, Karn created the plane of Argentum and placed a creature called Memnarch in charge of guarding it. Unfortunately, Karn had already tracked some of the Phyrexian oil into Argentum and Memnarch became infected. Memnarch would eventually change the name of Argentum to Mirrodin, recreating the Phyrexians and spreading the oil. Memnarch was eventually killed, but Karn had been locked out of his own plane and the Phyrexians were planning an invasion.
Karn returned to Mirrodin to find that the invasion had already started and that he had been dubbed the “Father of Machines.” With their brutal tactics and metallic enhancements, the Phyrexians would eventually win and establish new rulers - the Praetors. Cards like Tezzeret's Gambit in the classic Strixhaven Mystical Archive represent this victory - they have Phyrexian mana symbols, meaning that players can use life instead of mana to pay for them. With the help of Melira and a few remaining Mirrodin rebels, Karn was able to escape the plane and not much has been heard about it since.
Jin-Gitaxias Is Recruiting Planeswalkers In MTG’s Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Set
The Phyrexian Praetors are five beings - one for each color of mana, all unified in their goal to corrupt everyone with the oil and create a hive mind. In Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, it seems that the blue praetor Jin-Gitaxias has successfully infected a planeswalker with Phyrexian oil. Tamiyo’s compleation is important because it’s the first look into a greater plan that involves a multiversal Phyrexian threat. If planeswalkers can become compleat and use their unique skills to aid Phyrexia, it’s easier for the Praetors to infect more planes and wage war across multiple worlds.
Currently, Jin-Gitaxias is the only being who has compleated a planeswalker. Vorinclex had been successfully compleating inhabitants of Kaldheim before he was delayed by Vivien Reid, but he didn't infect any planeswalkers. If the threat spreads to every corner of the multiverse discounting Magic's Universes Beyond, there might be no escaping their inhuman grasp and there’s a high chance other planeswalkers will be compleated as well, Phyrexian mana symbols and all.
MTG’s Dominaria United & The Brothers War Sets Should Explain Phyrexians More
There are still some questions that loom over Magic’s next few sets, as well as some missing backstory about how the Phyrexians learned to planeswalk. In the past, the one element holding them back from invading other worlds was the lack of a planeswalker spark, but due to yet unexplored reasons, they’ve overcome that obstacle. The upcoming sets Dominaria United and The Brothers War will most likely fill in players on the backstory of the set, but it could also be about characters travelling back in time to stop Yawgmoth’s original Phyrexian invasion.
It's strange that the Magic set in Fall 2022 taking place in present-day Dominaria will be followed up by a complex set about a centuries-old event in MTG’s history, especially with the New Phyrexians’ plans being laid bare two sets beforehand. Therefore, it’s possible that Dominaria United will set up a scenario where present planeswalkers will travel to the past to fix their mistakes. Since Karn can time-travel and The Brothers War is where the Phyrexians started, some of the new planeswalkers like Kaito Shizuki and Vivien Reid may end up returning to the old Phyrexia to stop Yawgmoth from having access to Dominaria. If Karn was never infected with the oil due to the invasion, perhaps that would stop Mirrodin from turning into New Phyrexia.
That being said, the Praetors are still formidable foes. Regardless of the ninjas and their mechanics in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Tamiyo, Vorinclex, and Jin-Gitaxias are just a few of the Phyrexians’ allies and their strengths will be discussed over the next several sets. While multi-set story arcs aren’t uncommon to Magic: The Gathering, its large overarching stories span several planes and years. It’s terrifying and exciting - knowing the history of Phyrexia, there are real stakes and horrific consequences for failure. There’s no doubt that the story will end with a group of planeswalkers fighting New Phyrexia, the questions are now about who will join them and if they can take the Praetors down.