Wizards of the Coast has revealed more information about the two new Commander Decks for the upcoming Phyrexia: All Will Be One set. The new commanders were shown off for the first time during a press event for the set, along with information about powerful new cards and mechanics that will soon be introduced to Magic: The Gathering.
Related: The 10 best Mono-Blue commanders in Magic: The Gathering
The Precon Commander decks for Magic: The Gathering give players a pre-made library for the Commander format, allowing them to jump straight into games without needing to build a deck from scratch. Phyrexia: All Will Be One will have two Commander Decks: Corrupting Influence and Rebellion Rising. These Commander Decks represent the two sides of the conflict on Phyrexia, as a resistance movement emerges on the plane.
Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa is the Commander of Corrupting Influence
Corrupting Influence is a black, green, and white deck that is themed around Poison Counters. In Magic: The Gathering, inflicting an enemy player with ten Poison Counters will cause them to lose the game. This deck uses two of the new keywords in Phyrexia: All Will Be One; Toxic, which inflicts Poison Counters alongside damage, and Corrupted, which gives bonuses when an opposing player has three or more Poison Counters.
The Commander of this deck is Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa, which is a 2/5 Phyrexian Angel with Flying, Vigilance, and Toxic 2. The most interesting aspect of Ixhel is its Corrupted ability, as it forces a player to exile a card face down during their upkeep, which Ixhel’s player can cast using any type of mana. This is an awesome ability, as it lets the player turn their opponent’s cards against them. The only downside is that it doesn’t kick in until an enemy player has been hit with three or more Poison Counters, so it’s not something that can be used straight away.
Neyali, Sun’s Vanguard is the Commander of Rebellion Rising
The Rebellion Rising is a more straightforward deck, as it focuses on summoning lots of tokens and using them to beat down the opposing player. The Commander of this deck is Neyali, Sun’s Vanguard, who is a 3/3 Human Rebel with the ability to give tokens Double Strike. If a token attacks during a turn, Neyali’s player exiles the top card of their library, which they can then play during any turn when a token attacks. The main drawback of this effect is that the cards can only be played after combat has been initiated, which limits the time in which they can be used, especially compared to Ixhel’s ability. The positive aspect of Neyali’s ability over Ixhel’s is that it doesn’t require Poison Counters, which means it can be brought into the game a lot earlier.
