Spoiler season for MTG Phyrexia: All Will Be One begins today, and as is traditional, lead designer Mark Rosewater has shared a list of cryptic clues about the set’s contents. One thing that caught our attention is that the set will have another Mirran sword, or as you may know them, a “Sword of ____ and ____”.
This cycle of Mythic rare equipment artifacts has been around since the original Mirrodin block from 2003, with new ones released every few years. Each sword grants protection from two MTG colors, and has two triggered abilities, one for each of its colours. For instance, one of the first Mirran swords, Sword of Fire and Ice, lets you deal two damage (red) and draw a card (blue) when its wielder deals combat damage to a player.
The cycle of cards is associated with the plane of Mirrodin (or, as it’s known in its current hell-state, New Phyrexia), so it makes sense for another one to drop now. Indeed, each time Wizards has returned to this plane it’s added at least one more sword to the cycle, and the Modern Horizons sets gave us three more.
The long and short of it is that there are only two Mirran swords left before this historic cycle is completed, just two MTG color combinations that don’t have one of these artifacts yet. So we can say with pretty great certainty that we’ll either get a Dimir (blue-black) sword or a Gruul (red-green) sword in the next set.
Given the sinister overtones of the Phyrexian plot, Dimir seems like the obvious choice. However, ONE looks to have an equipment theme representing the rebels holding out against the Phyrexians, and Gruul is certainly the most free and rebellious colour combo. It could go either way.
Other interesting titbits from Rosewater’s teaser include an intergalactic zooful of Phyrexian creatures, including a Phyrexian dinosaur, fungus, jellyfish, squid, and elephant wizard. And there’s the suggestion that each of the Phyrexians Spheres has its own MTG Land card, from Jin-Gitaxias’ laboratories all the way down to the Seed Core.
In case you weren’t aware, Wizards is kicking off spoiler season with a stream at 9:00 PT on January 17. Prepare to become One! And check out our Phyrexia All Will Be One guide for all the key spoilers and MTG release dates.