Top 5 Cards I Can’t Wait To Open From Phyrexia: All Will Be One

It's a bit of a cop out, but I'm going to say it. Number five on the list, are these incredible Full At Phyrexian Basic lands. Have you seen these things? They look amazing. I'm going to save all the treatments for the end of this article, but just look at these Phyrexian Basic lands. They look incredible. I can't wait to rip them open. I know that a lot of value will be lost after the 100th or 200th pack - but remember we all need lands! For now, I can't wait to get my hands on these Phyrexian basics (I’m a sucker for any cards written in Phyrexian) for Phyrexia: All Will Be One.

Number three is a new sword! It was way back in Mirrodin Block, where we saw our first swords - Fire and Ice and Light and Shadow and ever since I’ve been hyped to see more. So, at number three we have Sword of Forge and Frontier. The way swords work is you have a three Mana equipment that gives plus two plus two and the title indicates what colors are being evoked by the sword (Fire and Ice = Red and Blue, Light and Shadow = White and Black, etc.). With Forge and Frontier we get Green and Red which means protection from both colors AND abilities tied to both Red and Green that trigger every time you deal combat damage to your opponent. Every time we do hit - Bang, Bang, we get to exile our top two cards, and play them as if they were in our hand - that's the red side. Our green ability allows us to play an extra land. The synergy here is awesome - you’ve already played a land AND you get to flip a land OR you hold on playing lands and flip two and play both. Hitting land with with Forge is never a waste! Either way, it’s always a thrill to see new swords and Wizards has done a great job incorporating the color theme into all these swords and it’s exciting to see how they make them work with each new sword!

Number two, is my empress. Wow, I love her. The Wanderer is back! The Eternal Wanderer comes in at the two spot. She's six mana (two white and four other) with loyalty is five, so she comes at a steep, steep price. She's got a native ability protecting her (only one creature can attack her at a time), preventing her from getting swarmed. Plus one - she's going to blink an artifact or creature. You can blink out an obstacle, or use it on your own stuff to get an extra bite out of an Enter the Battlefield effect and some extra value out of those triggered abilities for when creatures or artifacts come into play on your side. She's also came with back up, two-two double striking samurai back up! Finally she can (nearly) wipe the board. More than anything, I love her cause she's a total badass and in her regular art, she's slicing and dicing some Phyrexian monsters. 

And number one, you hear that key hitting the door? You know what that means, Mommy’s home. That's right, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines. Mommy is here and she ain't happy. One white, four other for a four-seven vigilance (that's just textbook Elesh Norn a four-seven vigilance, we know who she is). If a triggered ability from a permanent we control it triggered by something entering the battlefield, we get to double it. Conversely, our opponents permanents with Enter the Battlefield triggers get nothing. Zip. Zilch, SQUADOOSH. Momma said no. Momma said you get nothing. No soup for you. She's mad at you. You're in the doghouse. Thankfully, we’re her favorite, so we’re getting double helpings while they get nothing. That's what Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines, says to all of us. And that's why she's a thrill to open.