It’s been a long January, but now MTG Phyrexia All Will Be One is just around the corner and Limited players are poring over the cards in preparation for their very first game. Of course, DraftSim has had its Phyrexia draft simulator up for nearly a week now, so you might’ve had a chance to try out the set already.
DraftSim is not just a great way to learn a new format – the site also collects data on how people draft each set. Which, as they’ve been kind enough to let us see their stats, gives us some pretty clear ideas about the best cards in Phyrexia All Will Be One.
Over 26,000 MTG drafts have gone by and now we can see exactly which cards players are snatching up early and which they’re leaving to wheel. Last year I covered the draft data for The Brothers’ War, and once again I’m here to look at the best bombs and commons in Phyrexia All Will Be One by player pick order – we’ll also take a peek at the uncommons this time around.
Of course, until this MTG set is actually live and being drafted, the data won’t be a perfect guide. It’s certain some cards will have been overdrafted, and there are always some sleeper hits (Goblin Blast-Runner, lookin’ at you). If you can spot the good cards players are underrating early, though, you’re going to have a very good time until the herd catches up. I’ll do my best to flag some underrated cards – but no promises!
The biggest bombs in Phyrexia All Will Be One
There are several cards in Phyrexia All Will Be One that have a perfect score of 1.00. That means each one was opened, pick one, pack one, hundreds of times and always, always first-picked. You should have a big grin on your face if you see any of these on draft day. Each of these Phyrexia bombs is strong in any deck that can play them.
Blue Sun’s Twilight
Stealing your opponent’s best creature is always a top-tier Limited play, and the copy ability here makes it even better. The flexibility on this version of the effect is just icing on the cake. You can stop an aggro deck in its tracks, or even copy another bomb on your side of the board if there’s nothing good to nick.
Phyrexian Vindicator
A four mana 5/5 flyer with huge upside? Yes please. You’re going to struggle to get this on the board turn four unless you’re mono white, but when it comes down your opponent better hope they have removal. And not red, damage based removal either.
Vraska, Betrayal’s Sting
There’s nothing surprising about seeing Vraska here. She can draw cards, she can kill creatures, and if you manage to use her ultimate ability, the other player is dead, dead, dead.
Dragonwing Glider
Expensive MTG equipment with a very high equip cost isn’t usually good, but Dragonwing Glider changes the equation by creating a token to snap onto right away. The card is basically a big, hasty dragon that can help your other creatures do a good dragon impression after it dies. There’s plenty of incidental equipment synergy to take advantage of too.
Zopandrel, Hunger Dominus
If you can survive till turn seven and have a decent board, Zopandrel is guaranteed to end the game in short order. He’s hungry for the win!
Sword of Forge and Frontier
An interesting card that was actually designed by a fan years before Wizards got round to it, this ‘Sword of’ gives protection from two-fifths of creatures, and has two very relevant ramp and card advantage abilities. Also, it’s colourless, so it can slot right into any deck.
The best commons in Phyrexia All Will Be One
You’d be extremely lucky to second pick any of these cards, so it’s unlikely they’ll come up often in a regular draft. So now let’s look at the top commons, the cards you’ll probably pop into every Phyrexia deck you draft.
Top black common: Annihilating Glare
The most popular common card in this set is the black card Annihilating Glare, which has an average pick position of 2.38. Removal is always a safe option for a first pick, and though this card is at its best in sacrifice decks the option to pay more mana for an unconditional kill makes this a first class common. A straightforward upgrade on Spark Harvest.
Top green common: Contagious Vorrac
This piggy-wig might look a bit innocuous, but these kinds of card advantage effects have more than proven their value in the past, and this one’s pick position of 2.39 shows that folks have cottoned on. Missing land drops in the early turns will be fatal in this format with all the poison surging around, and the chance to proliferate on a failcase is a nice upside. Airlift Chaplain is a good point of comparison for this card.
Top red common: Volt Charge
Efficient removal that deals with most early threats, plus upside, means this common charges out of packs early – with an average pick position of 2.54. Interestingly, the other good red removal at common – the one mana Hexgold Slash – is all the way down at 5. I reckon it’s just as good!
Top white common: Planar Disruption
Planar Disruption is down at an average pick position of 3.12. This one’s a doozy! Is this the best Pacifism effect we’ve had? Either way, it shuts down a lot of the biggest threats you’ll face, from scary creatures to even scarier planeswalkers – and all for two mana.
Top blue common: Mesmerizing Dose
There’s a real gap between blue and the other colours on this list, as its top common Mesmerizing Dose is all the way down at 4.7. Both Anoint with Affliction and Ruthless Predation outrank it. It’s easy to see why – this three-mana tap effect is good, but significantly worse than the other common removal we’ve looked at so far.
The best uncommons in Phyrexia All Will Be One
Top black uncommon: Drown in Ichor
Coming in with an average pick position of 1.41 we have Drown in Ichor, an extremely solid black removal spell. It can pick off most creatures and proliferate while it’s at it.
Top white uncommon: Ossification
Ossification is basically Drown in Ichor’s counterpart in white – a two mana removal spell that, at 1.52, has a very similar ranking to black’s best uncommon. Cheap, unconditional removal, there’s little else to say.
Top red uncommon: Rebel Salvo
Three mana goes in, five damage comes out. We’re seeing similar rankings for all these top-tier removal spells. This one has an average pick position of 1.62
Top green uncommon: Venomous Brutalizer
It should be no surprise that green’s best cards are creatures instead of removal, and this card is just behind red’s best uncommon, with a ranking of 1.63. Venomous Brutalizer provides plenty of value, as a chonky creature with a dangerous infect ability that can also proliferate if you’ve got a bit of extra mana.
Top blue uncommon: Serum Snare
There’s a really significant drop off again before blue’s top uncommon shows up, with an average pick position of 2.1. Could blue be relegated to the role of support colour like it kind of was in Brothers’ War? We’ll have to wait and see, but personally, I’m not convinced this bounce spell is blue’s best uncommon, not when they’ve got great card draw like Distorted Curiosity, and some neat creatures too. It seems folks like to get their interaction in place early when drafting a new set.
Underrated cards in Phyrexia All Will Be One
Before I sign off, let’s have a quick look at some of the lowest ranked cards in Phyrexia: All Will Be One – specifically, the ones I’m not sure deserve to be at the bottom of the pile. Don’t pick these up early, because it seems they’re sure to come round again.
Aspirants Ascent – 11.42
Literally the worst card in the set going by the consensus vote, but I think you often won’t be unhappy to pop this little trick in your deck. Blue decks are going to want a way to get the first poison counter onto an opponent so they can start proliferating, and this can easily help you get in for the last few points of damage or poison. Plus, sometimes you’ll use it to win a combat.
Zealot’s Conviction – 10.99
Another one mana trick people are sleeping on right now, the thing that sticks out to me is that the first strike (and the stat boost) sticks around giving you value after you win the combat. I think it’ll be decent, especially in a deck pushing through with lots of little mites.
Shrapnel Slinger – 9.84
Not sure what folks have against this card, because it seems like a perfectly fine two drop to me, with some added upside if your opponent happens to have an artifact that just needs to die. Unspectacular, but there’ll be times you kick yourself for leaving this in your sideboard.
There’s still much more Magic: The Gathering in store this year after Phyrexia: All will be One – check our guide to the 2023 MTG release schedule for more details. Alternatively, re-up your digital Magic card supplies with our full list of new MTG Arena codes.