Hey Mortlocke! Love the deck and the thought and care that has gone into every bit of it, longtime follower in the shadows lol, im looking to power up my card draw but what are your thoughts on Necropotence and Mystic Remora in this deck?

4 and Half K??? That’s an Atraxa moment XD

Hi Brightwrath - thanks for following my love letter to Phyrexia, even from the shadows. Mystic Remora is a great card for cEDH, and if your meta is all about multiple spells every turn, then by all means run it as it's just an Ancestral Recall with extra text. If not, then this is nothing short of a dead card. Necropotence is a great card as well but this deck tends to lean heavy on using life points. The previously mentioned will more likely than not limit your playing options - making you an even more attractive option to be shoved off the table by opponents. If you run Necropotence, i'd make sure to substitute in more Toxic/Infect creatures with lifelink like Flensermite.

As for my own deck I planned to go into each option at length but I guess i'll explain my rationale on some of the cards officially spoiled thus far:

• Glissa Sunslayer - I think she is a Phyrexian Arena with extra steps. However, she offers a bit more versatility by allowing you to target an opponent's Enchantments for destruction or remove counters from a pesky Planeswalker. I think she would be a good redundant piece to run alongside Phyrexian Arena of course.

• Staff of Compleation - This card I'm still trying to process honestly. It does things that could potentially steal the game - if you have enough life to pay that is. This card has the shares the same problem as Sylvan Library in that you have to be disciplined enough to know how much is enough.

ToxicMCTV - According to Card Kingdom it's 6 and a half K :) Honestly I don't think the deck costs anywhere near as much as either site estimates. Sub out the ABUR Duals and fancy foils and I'd estimate this deck to be maybe somewhere around $150. Would you build this deck?

[Mortlocke] every deck is less than 100 dollars with a printer lol., And yes, I would.

Hello,

What are your thoughts on spells from ONE that directly give opponents poison counters to start proliferating with Atraxa, Praetors' Voice?

• Prologue to Phyresis - just gives counters and replaces itself
• Infectious Bite - gives counters and can cripple or straight up kill some of opponents creatures when targeting Commander(deathtouch) or any creature with Infect
• Vraska's Fall - Edict effect that could potentially make way for creatures with Toxic/Infect early game
• Infectious Inquiry - I see this as a bit upgraded Night's Whisper, good consistency spell IMO
• Phyresis Outbreak - poison counter starter OR compleate boardwipe

Oh, and sorry for double post but I forgot to ask... What's your experience with Blightsteel Colossus and Contagion Engine? Do they ever come out to the battlefield or just happen to be on-theme inclusions?

Vlasiax,

Thanks for posting! ONE is definitely going to shake this deck up considerably in that I absolutely plan to incorporate some of the spells that give opponents Poison counters - without targeting them, no less. I have a number of changes already planned and would love to hear your thoughts as I'm honestly having a bit of a tough time speculating on what to cut to make room. So far, here are my planned changes

• Ixhel, Descendent of Atraxa for Hand of the Praetors: Given that Infect will be less dominant of a mechanic among creatures in this deck cutting Hand of the Praetors seems logical. Besides, with the host of cards that allow me to place poison counters directly on opponents, Hand of the Praetors seems even less relevant.

• Skrelv, Defector Mite for Viridian Corrupter: Skrlev provides so many benefits being a psudo Mother of Runes that also grants Toxic and evasion. Viridian Corrupter's ETB effect is far too narrow for my liking, and only amounts to just a 2/2 with Infect. Toxic creatures such as Skrlev boast so many "goodstuff" effects that it's a no brainer why Corrupter has to be cut.

• Myr Convert for Grateful Apparition: Apparition has long been on the replacement list as it's a non-phyrexian. Myr Convert is a perfect replacement as it's another mana dork that can put poison counters on players. Losing a proliferation source is a loss, but given the horde of new Toxic creatures that proliferate off of one trigger or another, this overall is a net gain.

• Bloated Contaminator for Priests of Norn: Bloated Contaminator is actually my dream creature for the set. Evasion, Poison and Proliferate on a great body is just a dream come true. My only hope is that there is another creature just like it in March of the Machines. Priests of Norn is an okay creature for the most part but doesn't amount to much beyond just being a 1/4 infect creature.

• White Sun's Twilight for Winds of Abandon: I've always been somewhat disappointed with Winds of Abandon as it more likely than not can ramp my opponent far beyond my ability to stop them. Sure, a horde of tokens can be wiped out - but at what cost? White Sun's Twilight isn't exactly a one sided boardwipe, but it can get me a bunch of 1/1 creatures that put Poison counters on players on top of slowing them down.

• Vraska, Betrayal's Sting for Sheoldred, Whispering One: Obviously i'm happy to see Phyrexian themed planeswalkers and I'm overjoyed to see another Planeswalker with a focus on Poison counters. Swapping Vraska in for Sheoldred is both a mechanics and a flavor win - Sheoldred turned her back on Elesh Norn to pursue her own misguided and selfish desires along with the heretic Urbrask.

• Tyrranax Rex for Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: I've enjoyed the Soft lock VoH places on the board just by virtue of being there alone, but I've felt that his control never really synchronized with the rest of the deck. Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider compliments the deck directly and is a huge flavor win. Tyrranax Rex just seems like the perfect upgrade as it is CMC cheaper, has almost as many keywords as Questing Beast and places multiple Poison counters on an opponent when it hits. Rex in my eyes is a "backup" Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon in terms of power level and "feel".

• Phyresis Outbreak for Toxic Deluge: Phyresis Outbreak is the mass removal I've always wished for and is a direct upgrade to Deluge - within the context of this deck that is. This card is absolutely a must include.

• The Seedcore for Swamp: The Seedcore gives me Sliver Hive vibes, but having a card that fixes my mana in a 4 color deck and is a flavor win just seems like a no-brainer.

• Venerated Rotpriest for Glistener Elf: Venerated Rotpriest is just a deterrent as this deck has very few spells that I would consider worthwhile for targeting my own creatures. Glistener Elf is an okay card but within the context of EDH it's "meh". Late game it hardly makes an impact without a horde of +1/+1 counters and some form of evasion.

• Contaminant Grafter for Blight Mamba: Containment Grafter feels like a great card that can help reinforce a boardstate and put additional pressure on opponents mid to late game. Early game it would essentially help me run away with the game through conditional ramp and card advantage. Blight Mamba has honestly never done much for me and generally is as impactful as Glistener Elf.

Now comes the list of cards I think are at least worth considering (that I may or may not include) but don't exactly know what to cut to make room for:

• Staff of Compleation: This is a big flashy card that caught my attention given the myriad of things it can do. However without the right combo piece this card could end up doing me more harm than good.

• Glistening Sphere: There are very few drop mana rocks that are worthwhile, but this one definitely caught my eye. I'm not sure if it's any better than Astral Cornucopia though, as i've been ramped into the stratosphere with just a few proliferation triggers. Not to mention it only gets better just by having Atraxa on the field. I really want to like this card, but it doesn't seem to make the cut. If only it were

• Infectious Inquiry: this seems like an absolute must have and am honestly considering cutting Phyrexian Arena for it. Arena does nothing the turn it ETBs and if I draw it late game it'll literally do nothing. Infectious Inquiry on the otherhand is always relevant, replaces itself and draws me a card. I just can't help but feel like i'm missing something by cutting Phyrexian Arena. I want to go ahead with this decision but I can't help but feel apprehensive and would really like your thoughts on this one.

• Infectious Bite: I want to love this card but unfortunately besides the commander there are relatively few creatures whose bite would make any meaningful impact on the game. I think I might pass on this one.

• Prologue to Phyresis: Everything you said about this card is spot on, and it is relevant at any point of the game. The question is - what to cut for it? I think cutting Contagion Clasp might be the move on this one, but i'm not entirely sure. Clasp is very conditional removal but what's important is that it's a repeatable proliferation source. But, maybe the new inclusions will help offset the loss of a proliferation source? I think this is the right move but I would like to hear your thoughts.

"What's your experience with Blightsteel Colossus and Contagion Engine? Do they ever come out to the battlefield or just happen to be on-theme inclusions?" To answer your question both hit the battlefield on a regular basis. Blightsteel Colossus is surprisingly easy to cast with a proliferated Astral Cornucopia or Everflowing Chalice. One of my best plays was countering a Villainous Wealth with being equal to 8 with Mana Drain and funneling that mana into a turn 5 Blightsteel. Contagion Engine is great for mass removal as well as a proliferation engine. If I tutor for it it's usually alongside Tangle Wire after Ichor Rats hit the field. It essentially grinds the game down to a snail's pace - or a halt under the right conditions.

End rant, sorry to write you a book but I had a lot on my mind. Please let me know what you think of all the upcoming changes!

Mortlocke, thanks for your detailed answer. Most of your changes feel "correct" but keep in mind some of these:

• Don't feel bad cutting Grateful Apparition as Proliferate source because you've just added Bloated Contaminator and Contaminant Grafter which have easier time connecting and actually getting that effect due to Trample. With Phyresis Outbreak counting as one-time Proliferation (at least mathematically speaking, given the fact that you'll most likely use it AFTER everyone got counters). I personally play it ALONGSIDE those, because I've just bought Ixhel precon and my upgrades funds went elsewhere.
• You're right about White Sun's Twilight but please count it as a 7 CMC spell, because that's the minimum amount of mana required to unleash it's true potential.
• Yeah, Phyrexian Arena aside from thematic name I think already got it's time to shine. Burst draw from Infectious Inquiry is worth 2 turn cycles of keeping Arena around AND helps with main gameplan of killing opponents with poison counters (great starter and if they already have counters, consider this a pseudo-proliferate effect).
• Same thing applies to Infectious Bite - I might have an easier time slotting it in due to lacking , however during extensive goldfishing sessions I've discovered that it's not uncommon to start with T1 Toxic/Infect/anything creature and T2 Infectious Bite just to have posion counters spread and maybe kill that Birds of Paradise or Llanowar Elves out there. And late-game it's just "whatever, 2 mana, pseudo-proliferate" that might be enough to push someone to 9 poison and kill on the endstep from Atraxa (in your case) or push to 9 poison after combat with proliferation from creatures AND kill with Infectious Bite.
  
  On the last note, I'll have another look at both mine and your decklist and let you know if I have any other ideas :) EDIT: I also forgot to mention Phyrexian Scriptures - I use it to protect my commander and sweep the board during the same turn due to Proliferate. I think that you might cast it, targetting Atraxa and making her artfact creature just to blow every other creature at the endstep during the same turn from her Proliferate effect.