Magic the Gathering: Cogs in the Machine – New Keywords
If a machine wishes to function, it must occasionally update itself. Phyrexian perfection is no different.
The Age of Perfection is almost upon us, and while previews have been sparse, we know things are about to shake across the multiverse. The invasion of Dominaria, the shattering of the Sylex, and the subsequent invasion of New Phyrexia has led us to a battle for the ages. A desperate alliance of Mirrans and Planeswalkers are all that stands between Elesh Norn and her vision of unanimity. Representing the advancements in the Phyrexian machine are a few new keywords making their debut in the upcoming set. While we haven’t seen EVERYTHING the set has to offer, what has been teased so far is extremely juicy.
Toxic
Since the invasion of Mirrodin, poison counters have been a staple of the Phyrexian war engine. The Infect keyword was insanely powerful, especially in the Commander format. For the uninitiated, a player loses the game once they have ten poison counters, and until very recently they were very difficult to remove. Toxic, a new ability revealed in All Will Be One, is a slightly watered-down version of Infect, but still a very potent keyword. Toxic is usually followed by a number. Whenever a creature with Toxic deals combats damage to a player, that player also receives that number of poison counters. Popping Toxic on a commander makes them a palpable threat; twenty-one commander damage is also an immediate loss. I imagine this keyword will make its way into several powerful EDH decks moving forward, perhaps even becoming a cEDH staple.
Corrupted
Phyrexia loves their infection, so it makes sense they’d draw power from contagion. Corrupted is just that. Creatures with Corrupted gain new abilities so long as an opponent has three or more poison counters. Some creatures gain new keywords, like Deathtouch or Lifelink, while others gain empowered activated abilities. If you are playing a poison deck, or have a few Proliferate or Toxic cards, adding Corrupted creatures to your deck will give you creatures that grow in threat as the game continues. The machine gains power as it absorbs new cogs; capitalize on that power.
Oil Counters
If you’re going to give yourself over to Phyrexia, you might as well turn it to your advantage. Oil Counters are how rebelling Mirrans are using the power of Elesh Norn against her (or perhaps against her enemies). Some creatures can add more oil counters to themselves, and some enter with them, but they don’t do anything on their own. However, creatures can spend their oil counters to generate powerful abilities or give themselves keywords for important turns. You’ll want to pack a few Proliferate cards to keep their supply full and make sure to spend your last counter only in dire circumstances.
Which cards are you most looking forward to?
