Phyrexian Unlife

Enchantment

You don't lose the game for having 0 or less life.

As long as your life total is 0 or less, all damage is dealt to you as though its source had infect. (Damage is dealt in the form of poison counters.)

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Historic Brawl	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (49)

legendofa on Things Betor Left Undead [Primer]

2 months ago

I'm not sure if there's room for more combo suggestions, since this looks really solid as-is, but:

• Plunge into Darkness lets you fine-tune your life for a turn, and combos with Children of Korlis and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose to take out an opponent.

• Vizkopa Guildmage has an activation cost, but it turns Vito's life drain into an untargeted effect that hits all your opponents. It basically switches the "target" and "all" parts of Vito.

• Tainted Sigil allows you to totally rebalance your life total.

• Near-Death Experience + Plunge into Darkness/Necropotence is an instant-speed win, but might need an Angel's Grace or something.

• Phyrexian Unlife might be a good safety valve.

Rhadamanthus on Ketramose + Planar Void

3 months ago

TypicalTimmy has the right idea.

First, your understanding of Planar Void is correct. It's a triggered ability that triggers when the card goes to the graveyard. When the trigger resolves, the card moves from the graveyard to exile.

If something happens during the Cleanup step that requires a triggered ability to be put onto the stack or a state-based action to be performed, then the game will deal with those things in the normal way, including giving players priority to take actions, and will start another Cleanup step right after it. This will continue until the game finally gets through a Cleanup where none of these extra things needed to happen.

In your example this means if you discard any cards to get down to your max hand size during Cleanup, Planar Void will trigger, causing Ketramose, the New Dawn to trigger. The game will start another Cleanup, you will need to discard again because of the card you drew from Ketramose, and you will keep doing this until you lose from having 0 life or from trying to draw from an empty library.

It's interesting to note that a similar interaction with the Cleanup step is sometimes also used as a "feature" in The Gitrog Monster decks. This Ketramose/Planar Void interaction could also be used as a feature if you have something keeping you from losing the game in one or more of these ways (Angel's Grace, Phyrexian Unlife etc.).

514.3. Normally, no player receives priority during the cleanup step, so no spells can be cast and no abilities can be activated. However, this rule is subject to the following exception:
514.3a At this point, the game checks to see if any state-based actions would be performed and/or any triggered abilities are waiting to be put onto the stack (including those that trigger “at the beginning of the next cleanup step”). If so, those state-based actions are performed, then those triggered abilities are put on the stack, then the active player gets priority. Players may cast spells and activate abilities. Once the stack is empty and all players pass in succession, another cleanup step begins.

kamarupa on Time is Always Fateful When You're a Dragon

3 months ago

Courageous Resolve seems like a perfect fit here, as would Angel's Grace.

Solemnity+Nine Lives or Phyrexian Unlife might be useful as an insurance policy as well.

Cloudy2024 on Kuroikage

4 months ago

I don't think Spoils of the Vault is that good because you may lose the game if you have really bad luck. I also want to try white in my own version because I think Phyrexian Unlife would really help

Neotrup on Illicit Auction bidding rules

4 months ago

Yes, they can do that.

From Gatherer: 10/4/2004 This is a life loss and not a life payment so you can bid more life than you have.

Regarding Phyrexian Unlife there are a couple other things going on here. First is that Illicit Auction causes loss of life rather than dealing damage. That means even if their life total was already 0 or less they could still bid 1000 life without worrying about poison, since only damage will cause them to receive poison counters.

If something were to cause your opponent to take 1000 damage all at once (such as a massive attack or very large Fireball) they would go to -980 with no poison counters due to all the damage being dealt while they had more than 0 life.

From Gatherer: 6/1/2011 Phyrexian Unlife won't affect damage that reduces your life total from a positive number to 0 or less. For example, if you're at 3 life and are dealt 5 damage, you'll end up at -2 life. The next time you're dealt damage, it will be dealt as though its source had infect.

builderboy7 on Illicit Auction bidding rules

5 months ago

I cast Illicit Auction targeting my opponent's Grizzly Bear with both of us having 20 life while my opponent controls a Phyrexian Unlife, if they decided to overbid their life total and say they bid 1000 life, would they lose 1000 life and wind up at -980 and no poison counters?

Taida on Revamping Enduring Ideal

9 months ago

Love the concept of the deck. You could maybe add some other ways to search Enduring Ideal, I personally like Solve the Equation.

Regarding the enchantments, I quite like the interaction with Phyrexian Unlife or Nine Lives with Solemnity, as if the opponent does not have interaction for it, you essentially block them from winning. It might not be as good as Dovescape in stopping your opponent, but it has the advantage of being cheap enough mana-wise to be cast in case it got stuck in your hand.

leon_bulminot on Animar

1 year ago

Best card I’ve seen for Animar because one: it generates mana and paired with something like Vizier of the Menagerie, you go infinite with Animar.

Grinning Ignus. He is self explanatory with Animar. And even if you don’t have the ability to go infinite, make everything a Mountain and you can dump multiple counters on Animar each turn with him. Add in something like Altar of the Brood and now you are doing damage with him to decks.

Now if you want a game winning/play your entire deck Combo: Animar with 2 counters, Birgi, God of Storytelling  ^Flip, Grinning Ignus, and Urza, Lord High Artificer. Animar and Birgi being down, bounce Grinning a million times. You’ll have more than enough mana to cast anything using colorless mana. That’s where Urza comes in with his 5 cost ability. Game over.

Now switch Urza out for Altar of the Brood. Milling wins. And even for someone playing Phyrexian Unlife, you still win.

Best part is if you don’t like the infinite combos, just add Grinning Ignus and leave Birgi and Vizier out. Without a way to generate red mana or use colorless mana as red mana, Grinning is great for rebuilding Animar when someone removes him.