This will be abit of an essay but if we look at Sylvan Library, Phyrexian Arena and Black Market Connections there are obvious parallels.

• Sylan Library can be seen as reorder the top 3 cards + optional pay 4 life for card draw
• Phyrexian Arena can be seen as pay 1 life for card draw
• Black Market Connections can be seen as pay 1/2/3 life for ramp, card draw, ramp+card draw

Your phyrexian tribal deck lacks good ramp or colour fixing (thematic?) in addition to consistent card draw.

So phyrexian arena is a flavour win and gives a good rate for card draw while Black Market Connections give a good rate acts as both a free Strike it Rich and a phyrexian arena.

The situation in which SL is better than BMC is:

a) I am looking to draw 0 extra cards and reorder the top 3 of my library, and I have no need for ramp/colour fixing

• If we look at these two situations reordering the top 3 of the deck overlaps with Sensei's Divining Top, and this effect isn't great without any synergy at all. If this is valuable to the deck it would make sense to pivot to Herald's Horn to get some free draws but the expected value with only 22 creatures is pretty low. In my version of your list I cut both cards due to the fact we really would rather be spending mana/slots to be drawing bangers than scrying and spinning our wheels.

b) I am looking to pay 8 life to draw 2 cards, and I have no need for ramp/colour fixing

• This deck lacks strong lifegain, we could slot in a Serra Ascendant (would be on theme since atraxa is a fallen angel) but as it stands our health is a valuable resource. How many rounds in a game do we draw 2 extra and pay the 8 life, best case scenario 3 rounds for a total of 6 cards and 24 life. On the other hand with BMC I have never turned down paying 3 life for ramp+1 extra draw. The rate is just so much better, even when comparing to Phyrx arena would I pay 1 extra life for the ability to ramp instead of draw? Yes.

I really like your list and primer but there are some adjustments like SL/SDT that I think could make it more consistent and impactful.

kpmate, Sorry it's been awhile, life just keeps me busy sometimes. I just want to say that i'm always grateful for good criticism. Thank you for taking the time to look at my list and give it an honest critique. I should add that this decklist is far from finished. I have an idealized vision of this deck, and it likely won't be even close to being realized until Wizards prints some new and impactful Phyrexians who have the Infect keyword ability. I'm holding my breath for a few archetypes but that's besides the point.

From my experience the deck has fairly good rocks in the form of Astral Cornucopia, Everflowing Chalice and the like. Sure, the deck could always use some more ramp, but i'm overall pretty satisfied with Three Visits and Nature's Lore. If anything, I would say it's the draw options that need the most help which is why I do like the suggestion of Black Market Connections, but for some reason I just don't feel completely sold on it. It always demands life loss, it doesn't proc the turn it ETBs, and is one of the more expensive options when compared to Sensei's Divining Top and Sylvan Library. Also the crazed vorthos in my head keeps screaming about it lacking flavor.

Serra Ascendant won't ever make it to this list. This deck is very much dedicated to the flavor of phyrexian tribal - while maintaining it's stax and infect strategies. Herald's Horn would be nice if the deck was more creature oriented, but alas it just won't provide much value. Honestly, for now i'm just waiting for spoilers from Dominaria United/Brother's War - hoping that if not for new Infect creatures - just better Phyrexians to include. I've seen "Potato Cam" pictures of a rumored Sheoldred that will supposedly be released in Dominiaria united - but it looks deeply underwhelming. I can't go into too much detail about it though, as it's TappedOut's policy to not discuss leaks.

Thanks again for your input - I truly hope my wants will be met in the near future so I can show you what i'm trying to achieve with this deck.

I would just like to mention that the new art for the borderless caves of koilos reprint would work very well, following my previous comment a long time ago :D as soon as I saw the new art I thought of this deck.

Poly_raptor, I definitely plan on getting a full playset of the reprinted painlands - I love em'. However i'm still a bit hesitant on including even one because this deck on average is very life points hungry. Mana Crypt, Sylvan Library, Toxic Deluge, Imperial Seal are just a couple of the spells that require life being spent as part of the casting cost. I will have a Caves of Koilos on hand though, as the future is looking very promising as more and more phyrexians will be getting printed. I'm sure there will be some option available to help mitigate life loss.

kpmate, What do you think of Ajani, Sleeper Agent? That card is definitely making it into the deck. Would you include it in yours?

Mortlocke, Serra Ascendant can make it in if you pretend they were corrupted along with atraxa :) realistically the new Sheoldred, the Apocalypse actually fills the heal role pretty well. It isn't seen as a threat and often lasts until a boardwipe. I think we agree more phrex creatures would be ideal for horn/urza its just a matter of pref/meta for card draw v ramp.

In my personal list I am trialing Ajani, Sleeper Agent out (proxies), so far seems pretty good to quickly kill one person with poison counters since you only need 1 turn (1 pro source) or can get the emblem straight away with contagion engine/doublingseason/deepglow/planewide. The trick is deploying it after a boardwipe or when you know you can protect it (blockers/tef protection).

Sleepy Ajani provides one of the better ways to actually close out a game as a vorthos infect deck since in my experience the visible nature of the counters makes coming first difficult (if thats an objective). More outlets for burst proliferation like this will always increase the explosiveness of the deck while still making it feel fair/fun.

The phryex/dominaria set is a year long fiesta so I am very excited for the new cards to be released, especially the new Elesh Norn army.....

How'd you get the backdrop like that?

GraveWalker0705,

Short Answer: A script and a CSS style sheet that was honed with the time honored practice of stumbling around in the dark and getting help from awesome people.

Long Answer: To customize your deckpage you need to have explicit permission from the mods of this site. To customize your deck page is the one form of true expression that none of tappedout's competitors/contemporaries are able to offer. Moxfield, archidekt, and mtgvault all pale in comparison when it comes to this one incredibly unique feature that tappedout offers and thus makes them inferior. However, to use this feature is again not something that's available outright. Additionally, it's highly suggested you make a donation to the site as well by becoming a member - not required, just suggested.

Once you've gained the ability to customize your page, get yourself a style sheet, learn a bit of CSS, and have a vision for how your want your deck to be presented to the world. Deck page customization much like EDH is all about self expression - in my opinion.

I've been staring at this deck for hours and I absolutely love what you've put together here! I may try to acquire the cards, but personally, I can't justify spending upwards of $300 for a single card. Would you have any recommendations for someone like myself that can get the cards, but can't afford the extra ~$4,000 for the old dual lands?

mrwilson6488,

Thank you for the words of praise! This deck is something of a love letter to New Phyrexia as their whole aesthetic and lore really appeal to me. I'm also a huge fan of Poison and Infect, but each ability hasn't received the fleshing out that it deserves in my opinion. Ajani, Sleeper Agent is truly a step in the right direction but there needs to be more support to make Poison really work - in my opinion.

Most of the deck is quite affordable if you don't have a magpie brain and pursue foils. If acquiring ABUR dual lands is an issue there are plenty of viable alternatives. I'm a fan of proxying, but that may not fly with all playgroups so here are some options I would recommend:

• Pain Lands - A long complete cycle that just saw a reprint in Dominaria Unlimited. Excellent series of lands, but the constant use of the Add colored mana to your mana pool can really hurt you late game.

• Triomes - The cycle was just completed with New Capenna, so you could easily slot in Indatha Triome, Zagoth Triome, Spara's Headquarters, and Raffine's Tower. Each land is typed, so they can be targeted by Fetchalands. Sure the always ETB tapped is a drawback, but the pros outweigh the cons. Late game if you draw one of these and you won't miss a land drop the cycling is always a nice bonus.

• Bond Lands - These are definitely some of my all time favorites as more often that not they will be entering the battlefield untapped. I think Bond lands tend to be forgotten, but in my book they're among the best. Unless your meta is strictly 1 v 1 then I would obviously stay away from these.

That's all I would suggest at this time. If I think of any more lands to suggest, i'll leave a post. I hope you enjoy piloting your deck, may you compleat many a heretic.

Hey! This deck is really cool! It's nice to see an Atraxa deck go more towards counters than walkers (Speaking as a Superfriends player lol) I was wondering what you have Urza's Incubator in there for? You have the option to pick Horror and it helps your commander as well as some of your creatures but overall, the creature types seem a little more split than you'd need for Incubator. Have you looked at Semblance Anvil at all? You still get that discount but with the added benefit of getting the option to reduce more than just your creatures. Considering the balance to the deck, cards like Plague Myr would net you 2 less on Creatures and Artifacts at the same time and carry you a lot further in a turn or two

Hi MilesHiles,

Thank you for checking out my list and the +1. Superfriends definitely isn't my flavor as i'm something of a Vorthos but it appears we may have some really interesting Planeswalker options coming in the near future that I may want to integrate into this deck (i'm still giddy over Ajani). As for your question about Urza's Incubator, back in Modern Horizons 2 Wotc "retconned" roughly 225 creatures to have the subtype "Phyrexian" in addition to their other types. If you want to read my thoughts on the subject you can click on my deck update titled A "New" Phyrexian Tribe. The update also has the full list of creatures that are now Phyrexians if you would like a reference guide.

To put things more succinctly - with the exception of Grateful Apparition, every creature in this deck has the "Phyrexian" subtype. So when I play Urza's Incubator, I name Phyrexian and that will apply to (almost) every creature in the deck - yes including Atraxa as well. Note - Grateful Apparition's inclusion is only temporary. I wait with baited breath on a new creature to be printed who is hopefully mono white, has Proliferate, and Infect on it's body with good stats - something of a Mono-white Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon if you will.

Thanks for suggesting Semblance Anvil. I have honestly never heard of this card until now. It's going to live rent free in my brain until I can think of a good deck to house it in. Thanks again for commenting and i'll definitely be checking out your Atraxa build as well.

That's so cool! I totally did not realize they had updated the subtypes like that but it makes a lot more sense

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.

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!

Vlasiax,

After doing enough goldfishing I feel that most of, if not all of the changes were the right move. I have no qualms about cutting Grateful Apparition as i'm certain i've added more than enough additional proliferation sources that also provide more cohesion to the main Poison theme. White Sun's Twilight will hopefully fill the gap of being the one sided mass removal I can rely on. The deck previously ran Winds of Abandon and before that Phyrexian Scriptures - each spell gave me mixed results. Winds of Abandon would always ramp my opponents so far ahead it almost seemed like a bad play more often than not - especially against token builds. Phyrexian Scriptures would rarely fail to clear the board but was basically a Damnation with extra steps. The problem is that both of the previously mentioned would rarely leave me in a position to advance my boardstate as Poison sources are mostly creature based.

Vlasiax,

What're your thoughts on Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus? Seems like it would be a good inclusion in this build, but I have no idea what to cut to make room for it? I'm leaning toward wither Prologue to Phyresis or Tezzeret's Gambit. Both spells are great for setting up a boardstate, and are important for different reasons. Maybe I should cut something else? Also, I don't think Venerated Rotpriest would be a good inclusion - I only have 2 spells in the deck that I could target my own creatures with - i'm going to slot back in Glistener Elf.

White Sun's Twilight is an interesting spell, but when I saw that I had an extra Smothering Tithe I knew what I had to do.

Hello everyone , I would like to introduce myself into the discussion , about a year ago I first saw Mortlocke's deck and inspired by its creation I decided to create my own "revised" version of it following my budget and preferences . Unfortunately due to studies I could not devote enough time to its constant updating , but now , having the time , I am restoring the project .

Personally , from my recent tests Venerated Rotpriest turned out to be a more than useful tool , generating pressure in early game , but above all (quite surprisingly ) generating fear in the later stages , acting as a deterrent for spot removal .

As for Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus , it is a card I have been eyeing since the beginning (although I must confess that I have not tested it yet due to deck restoration ) , proliferating double in this deck can practically lead to the demise of one or more players even by simply having Atraxa, Praetors' Voice on the field , the only thing that might not convince me at the moment is the fact that you need counters to activate its ability and protect it , a price that might not be so easy to pay.

Vlasiax,

Blightsteel Colossus as hard as it is to believe it can be regularly cast between turns 5 and 8 but no sooner. Between getting out the right mana rocks and Urza's Incubator (more on that in a bit) Blightsteel does see the board and can make a significant impact. On the otherhand, Sensei's Divining Top is a straight up pet card of mine and is in almost all of my decks. Between this and Scroll Rack I just feel reassured knowing that I can rely on this card to dig deep and ensure I can manipulate my next draws. When in a bind and am about to miss my land drop I've used this card with great efficacy to fix things. Then when I feel i'm in the clear, I just draw a fetchland or mana ramp and shuffle the top into my library. I really want to keep it in, but if I were to cut it, what would I cut it for?

Now, as for Urza's Incubator, could you please elaborate on what exactly do you mean by it only affecting a small number of my creatures? Because I don't think you're aware of this, but back when Modern Horizons 2 was released (in 2021) a list of roughly 225 creatures were all revised to have the "Phyrexian" subtype (if you want a full list go to my previous deck update titled The "New" Phyrexian Tribe). Yes, every single creature in this deck was on that list - if it doesn't already have the Phyrexian subtype officially printed on it. Every creature in this deck benefits from the Incubator, and in the case of each Myr in the list makes them cost .

I decided to cut the Venerated Rotpriest from the decklist - Toxic is far inferior to Infect as it simply doesn't scale - a Glistener Elf is far more dangerous with Sword of Feast and Famine than a rotpriest. Additionally, this deck doesn't have a lot of spells that I would want to target my own creatures with. Pestilent Syphoner isn't something that pinged across my radar - but I do see what you mean about creatures with evasion. As for Viral Drake, it's a magnificent card - evasion, infect, a big butt, and repeatable proliferation - what is there not to love? It has traditionally performed very well in this deck and has always maintained a decent asking price. Currently the non-foil is around $5 - and the foil print is $11. For an uncommmon, I think the pricing and demand speaks for itself, no?

Idraxus,

Hello and welcome to the conversation. I'm very pleased to hear that this deck inspired you to create your own! I love Poison and I'm always pleased to see more players embracing it. You do bring up a valid point about Venerated Rotpriest as my initial assessment of it was a tool purely devoted to deterring spot removal. But beyond that, I'd need a deck that has more pump spells, or a means of recurring pump spells to really get the most value out of Toxic/Rotpriest. Ultimately, I think cutting it is the way to go - but if I were to try and make room for it i'd probably cut the Sensei's Divining Top if I absolutely had to.

I love the aesthetic of Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus, and I think really do want to try and make room for it. I'm leaning more toward cutting the burst draw/proliferation of Tezzeret's Gambit - but when I do Tappedout's "competitive" algorithm for my deck rates it lower. I'm not exactly sure why, but it feels like i'm doing something wrong lol. I mean, it's a similar CMC, the only difference is that Tekuthal demands two pips. If you had to cut a cmc (or higher) card from this deck, what would you cut to make room for a possible Tekuthal? Should I just cut Tezzeret's Gambit anyway? Weird random algorithm be damned? lol

Mortlocke, I wouldn't pay too much attention to the competitive meter. I've learned that it doesn't always compute synergy or power correctly. Some of my decks used to be 95% or higher then all of a sudden they were not.

AscendedLandfalls,

Thanks for explaining the issues behind the Competitive algorithm. I am still dwelling on the pros and cons on including Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus vs. Tezzeret's Gambit. Tekuthal, compliments the decks themes overall but feels "greedy" in that it hurts consistency. Having a great static effect might mean little to nothing if I'm hurting for cards or need an actual proliferation trigger on the stack.

Am I off with this assessment? What do you think?