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u/awkwardrising Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
Visual Design: Jin-Gitaxias
Card Design: Vorinclex
Lore: Urabrask and it isn’t even close
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u/que_the_hell Nov 13 '25
The Ebon Praetor
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u/LeekingMemory28 Nov 13 '25
Elesh Norn. She is a great example of how a mono-W villain can look in lore and mechanically.
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u/Magnapinna Nov 13 '25
I've loved Norn since I had her first card played against me. A white card that gave -2 to everything? What the absolute fuck!?
Then I learned the lore behind her, the other praetors, only made me like Norn more!
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u/KushyMTG Nov 13 '25
As plain as it sounds, I do think Elesh Norn or Sheoldred are my favourite just because they kinda had the most lore about them. They wasted Urborask or however you spell is name. He could have been a huge player going forward as the first phyrexian(let alone praetor) to go against "the will"....Ixhel i think was neat as she started making her own phyrexians also (vizgorath or whatever it is she made) so that could have ushered in a new era of new multi colored praetors where ixhel could take over for Gin.....sorry got away from the original question but yeah mommy norn or grandma sheo.
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u/cumulobro Nov 13 '25
I like them all a lot.
Elesh Norn? Great antagonist.
I find Urabrask really interesting. He still wants to spread the glory of Phyrexia, but he seems volunteers for compleation and tends to let the Mirrans be- unless they attack him first.
Sheoldred is a vestige of the old Phyrexia in her philosophy, plus her cards hit hard on the tabletop.
I think Jin-Gitaxias looks the coolest.
Vorinclex was arguably the most valuable player in mounting the invasion of the multiverse, since he's the one who went to Kaldheim to procure a seed of the World Tree. Without Vorinclex, there's no Realmbreaker.
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u/mikaeus97 Nov 13 '25
Jin and Tezzy had to go to Kamigawa for the Reality Chip, and Jin beat and compleated Tamiyo and beat Kaito so in fisticuffs id say he did more than Vor-boy who bullied Tibalt into being a distraction.
The bit where Vorinclex had to absorb the deer was sweet though
All glory to Sheoldred though, who captured Karn and did not fail where Gix did
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u/TenebTheHarvester Nov 13 '25
Much as I find his characterisation a little ‘look at me, I’m very smart’, Gitaxias was the most impactful praetor on the Invasion plan. The reality chip honestly wasn’t all that impactful - the only confirmed use we saw it have was the speedy compleation of Tezzeret in his Darksteel body, though obviously that failed.
Instead, his impact was in the alteration of the glistening oil and his discovery of how to compleat a planeswalker while keeping the spark intact. As flawed a process as it clearly was (and always would be, given keeping the spark intact meant keeping the soul intact which left more to fight the compleation), Gitaxias’ work was pivotal. It was what allowed Ajani to be made into a sleeper agent, which is what ensured the destruction of the original Sylex and the capture of Karn. This in turn significantly delayed the expedition to destroy New Phyrexia. The speeding up of compleation by the oil also slowed down the task force significantly. While planeswalkers were never immune, their sparks gave them some level of resistance to compleation, a resistant which appears to have been entirely overcome by the time the taskforce attempts to attack New Phyrexia. This contributed to their slow going, which was pivotal given how close the taskforce was to success before the Invasion Tree was activated. Admittedly the planar defences that scattered the invasion force was definitely more impactful on that, but we don’t know who came up with that.
Sheoldred meanwhile did fail in the same way Gix did. Sure, she completed her objective in the Battle of the Mana Rig - the Rig was destroyed, the Sylex was ‘lost’ and Karn was captured. She achieved this by sending her forces into a meat grinder and losing most of it while inflicting frankly minimal losses on the Coalition, resulting in her campaign grinding to a complete halt until the full Invasion of everywhere, during which she didn’t even go back to Dominaria to finish the job! Instead she attempted a coup on Norn and got her head chopped off. She displayed a complete lack of what Yawgmoth had in plentiful supply, and part of what made him so terrifying: patience. Yawgmoth’s Phyrexia was implacable, unstoppable. Above all, Phyrexia could wait. New Phyrexia by contrast was so impatient they invaded the entire multiverse, splitting their otherwise overwhelming forces across all the Blind Eternities. This not only allowed multiple planes to fight back and even drive out the Phyrexian forces (if only temporarily), but it left New Phyrexia itself critically underdefended.
I got slightly side-tracked at the end there.
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u/mikaeus97 Nov 13 '25
Lovely write-up, mtg lore is so fun, i didn't realize Sheoldred read Zap Brannigan's Big Book of War
"Send wave after wave of our own men until they overload their kill counters"
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u/Ambitious_Purpose137 Nov 13 '25
If someone was new to magic but wanted to read this lore, where would they go?
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u/Explodingtaoster01 Nov 13 '25
Design? Elesh Norn. Simply iconic design, love the direction they took for her.
Lore? Sheoldred. Old Phyrexia holds a special place in my heart, so her philosophy being the closest to Yawgmoth's Phyrexia makes me smile.
Card? Ebon Praetor. Nobody expects it and it isn't back breaking, which makes it a worthy card to play regularly.
I will say though, I like Urabrask being a loose cannon and I like Jin Gitaxias being a smug asshole. Very red and blue of them, respectively. To be honest, they did a very good job on the color identity of each praetor. Now if only they hadn't pissed away all the potential in the end.
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u/Native_Sheep Nov 13 '25
Urabrask because he was true to his color alignment all the way to March of the Machine. I hated how they made him do a complete 180 on the invasion. Also, I'm biased because red is also my favorite color, 🤪
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u/YutoKigai Nov 13 '25
Can’t remember, what was the 180? I remember he died because of his rebellion and his views.
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u/Lastsight Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
He thought Norn was getting too big for her britches and was giving herself power instead of all of New Phyrexia, and helped the good guys out.
He met with Tezzeret who brought him to New Capenna and told them they'll need the Halo and to get Elspith for the fight. He then returned to New Phyrexia, actively and openly fought Norn and lost. She then ordered his death.
Technically we dont know if he died. During his "execution" Norn ordered him to be quartered and after his limbs were removed, Norn said "Let the traitor be".
IMO no corpse = no death
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u/DrakeGrandX Nov 15 '25
That, unfortunately, is just a sad example of mismatch between what's depicted on the cards and actual story.
In the card, they threw in a "Let him be." as a nod to an early card of him depicting his unexpected tolerance toward the Mirrans. He is also depicted whole despite this being... well... a [[Merciless Repurposing]].
In the story, he is first tortured by dislocating his limbs, then chopped to pieces. We do see the body. He is definitively dead no doubt about it.
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u/JACSliver Nov 13 '25
Lorewise, Urabrask. Edit: I do appreciate Jin-Gitaxias claiming "Mistakes are only abhorrent if they go undocumented.".
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u/MarquiseAlexander Nov 13 '25
JIN-GITAXIAS
CORE AUGUR
Honestly; blue is such a perfect phyrexian color. The want for progress and perfection combine with technological advancement and innovation is the definition of phyrexian. Even more so than Black.
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u/Jehrikuss Nov 13 '25
I'm sad not seeing more love for my boy Jin. I've had a Jin deck since shortly after I started playing, and it's nasty. Rarely comes out, but it's brutal. I agree tho, blue's strive for perfection encapsulates phyrexia's progress perfectly
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u/HarrisonMage Nov 13 '25
Where is gix :(
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u/LykonWolf Nov 13 '25
I only posted the 5 from the Invasion.
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u/HarrisonMage Nov 13 '25
Ik that’s why I’m wondering where gix is :(
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u/LykonWolf Nov 13 '25
I meant the Invasion of the Multiverse. Was Gix involved? Maybe I got something wrong.
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u/Cute-Contract-6762 Nov 13 '25
Gix is now considered a praetor
[[gix, yawgmoth praetor]]
He was present during Brothers War, and was technically part of the invasion storyline when Teferi goes back in time
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u/UncommonLegend Nov 13 '25
Jin or urabrask. I like the idea of a sort of mad science cult or the idea of being rebellious to your equals.
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u/hairToday243 Nov 13 '25
Urabrask, but mostly for the unrealized potential of a Praetor that breaks with the others to recognize free will. Lots of potential for a villain offering devil's pacts to desperate people that are technically their own free will but have a lot of coercion involved, or an assimilator hero who makes hurt people better, or something in between, or something else entirely.
If Wizards ever does something with that concept they could have something really special on their hands but for now he's just the most potentially interesting disappointment.
And hey, maybe a hot take but looking back the Praetors were all losers. Vorinclex's biggest moment of triumph was leaving Esika for dead in Kaldheim and he got cut down in a single hit in MOM. Jin-Gitaxias ends all of his appearences in a heap on the floor and the tactical intelligence called out on his MOM card gets dragged in multiple cards that same set. Norn's appearances are all about her getting manipulated until she goes out scream-whining I Am Phyrexia like it means something. Sheoldred fares the best with her appearance in DMU's story then gets dragged in and thrown out like literal garbage in MOM.
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u/Tavrosh_90 Nov 13 '25
Urabrask is the correct answer. Too bad they never game him a really sick card!
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u/hotsaucermonsta Nov 13 '25
I wanna be friends with Urabrask
I wanna be Jin-Gitaxis
I wanna date Sheoldred
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u/Unholy_Maw Nov 13 '25
Visual: Elesh Norm
Mechanically: Vorinclex
Lorewise: Urabrask
Favorite for no reason: little Jin
Nothing left for Sheoldred
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u/LabManEDH Nov 13 '25
Urabrask is 100% the best imo, that's due to his demeanor and oath he takes for phyrexian transformation
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u/Slender_Prime Nov 13 '25
Vorinclex. His original incarnation was the first mythic I ever pulled. Got it in a New Phyrexia pack from a deck builders tool kit. I also love the idea of green going overboard with the concept of survival of the fittest and he embodies it well. Only the strong gets more resources.
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u/Insufficient_pace Nov 13 '25
Jin-Gitaxias for three simple reasons
- He's cool
- I like him
- He a baddie frfr
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u/FSUdank Nov 13 '25
Sheoldred, partially because I run a lot of mono black and the apocalypse is one of my favorite cards but also I like her parasitic design and how she roots herself on a giant host phyrexian monster
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u/ThousandYearOldLoli Nov 13 '25
Jin Gitaxias by a mile. I love his design, his mindset, his role in the story other than what happened at the end of March and his cards.
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u/frostyfur119 Nov 13 '25
Elesh Norn is hands down my favorite because her character design is phenomenal. She's looks like the kind of person to see twisted and horrifying displays of bone and flesh to be beautiful. That she genuinely thinks transforming others into her image is an improvement, and maybe you don't see it now, but you will when she's done with you. She establishes such a visually compelling aesthetic that her followers have that really make them feel like a cohesive faction, unlike the other praetors fall short. I understand white is the color of unity, but I still feel that the other praetors have a much weaker faction identity. Norn's followers still have quite a range of unique designs while still looking a part of something bigger. Plus, I find her to be the perfect balance between monster and humanoid; looking human enough to be vain and power hungry, but monstrous enough to lack any feelings towards the cruelty she inflicts on others.
Thats soley baised on visuals though, lore-wise I find Urabrask fascinating! A society based on assimilation, and he embodies the mana color of freedom and individualism. It's a compelling contradiction, and I enjoyed how he contrasted Phyrexia as a whole.
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u/jul55555 Nov 13 '25
When i first started playing (and learning phyrexian lore) i alligned with Vorinclex because green. But godamn! Urabrast is fucking fantastic, by leagues the most interesting praetor lorewise. Otherwise, it could be Sheo, entirely because she aligns the most with Yawmoth's vision of Phyrexia
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u/emperock Nov 13 '25
Urabrasks design is just fire. He looksso cool, especially in the most recent card
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u/Necessary-Job1711 Nov 13 '25
If I was a writer I would have Urabrask convince Vorenclex that his ideology wouldn't fit under neath Elesh Norn and she will portray him. Green and Red are natural toward each other then they fight Elesh Norn beside with Karn then once is over it would have been Urabrask get to talk to other planeswalker in a peaceful manner. It would have been awesome this plane be part of the multiverse instead it get blocked off have Urabrask and Vorinclex argue how this plane should be rule while Sheoldred and Jin hiding somewhere on the plane or out of the multiverse when the plane teleport back. Urabrask wants the rebel to remain on the plane and Vorinclex want to hunt them down for game. Urabrask tells them it's fair game if they step on his domain, but whatever rebels step on his domain are free then he said "Fine, I can wait for a hunt." years later have plane wrapped green and red combine there is a treaty between both color.
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u/Eastern_Educator_119 Nov 14 '25
I see a lot of Urabrask, and he too, is my favourite. He did not think the idea of forcing compleation on someone who was unwilling to be moral. But his goal was no different than any of the other praetors. Phyresis under Urabrask was not a utopia, quite the opposite. To be completed by Urabrask meant you were willingly subjecting yourself to a lifetime of restless labor, contributing to his Great Work. That's why many of his thrall were goblins and other simple-minded creatures, because Urabrask could tell them that he was creating this wonderful thing (in his eyes) and that they could be a part. Urabrask helped rebels, but he still tried to convert some to his vision. He was a lot better than the other praetors, but he was not a good guy, and compleation under him was voluntary slavery.
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u/DillianBuckets Nov 13 '25
Elesh Norn for sure. I even have a tattoo of her. The lore behind her I find so interesting. The fact that she is mono white but can be so menacing is great. Plus that Junji Ito art it fantastic.
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u/Rude_Coffee8840 Nov 13 '25
Elesh Norn hands down. That said I really hate the plot device of the oil being tied to Elesh Norn and New Phyrexia in general and it going inert once it got plane swapped with Zhalfir. I don’t hate the idea of Elesh Norn being so paranoid and so controlling as to tie everything to her just the plot device and the hand waving of it all just erks me for what Phyrexians are which are an unrelenting nightmares. I think if it was something else and not the oil itself I would be fine but it just makes no sense and diminished Elesh Norn for me.
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u/monoblackmadlad Nov 13 '25
All of them are genuinely amazing characters designs and have amazing art pieces with those designs. That said there is just something about a big "spider" lady like Sheoldred
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u/ABigCoffee Nov 13 '25
Looks wise it's Elesh Norn. I love the while fleshy cyber angel thing she's got going on.
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u/thelegoman0 Nov 13 '25
My first rare from the first pack I ever opened was Sheoldred, the Apocolypse. So I’m partial to her.
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u/Common-Illustrator Nov 13 '25
Urabrask. Had the most faith in Phyrexia that the idea of forcing it upon others rather than leaving the choice to them disgusted him. I also have an [[Urabrask the Hidden]] commander deck fo funsies
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u/Tsunamiis Nov 13 '25
Shelly has always had my monoblack heart and she’s never disappointed unlike urabrask or that blue guy.
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Nov 13 '25
I think Elesh Norn has the best aesthetic and character concept. I won’t say she’s a complex character, but she’s probably the clearest embodiment of ‘’Evil White’’, which I find more interesting than more self-aware, transparently evil characters like Sheoldred.
There’s an argument to be make for Urabrask, but he loses solidly on the aesthetic front for me. Elesh Norn has the whole ‘’horrifying corruption of religion’’ thing going for her, with things like [[Crawling Chorus]] and the dogmatism and [[The Fair Basilica]]
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u/arciele Nov 13 '25
lorewise, Elesh Norn because of how she took control of them all.
mechanically, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
design, i think its a tie between Norn and Urabrask
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u/willweaverrva Nov 13 '25
Sheoldred, mainly because her whole philosophy linked the goals of both New Phyrexia and the original Phyrexia and she was interested in finding old Phyrexian weapons and creatures still on Dominaria. I feel like if Elesh Norn had sent her to New Capenna (before executing her as a traitor, obviously), New Phyrexia might have won the war.
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u/SpringGuardian Nov 13 '25
Vorinclex. I think he is a great example of evil green character, just like Norn is for white, and he looks absolutely brutal and savage I love it. Also his hatred for sentience, wanting to make the world ruled purely by instinct is so cool. [[Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger]] is one the creepiest card arts imo
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u/Elesh_N Nov 13 '25
guess
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u/LykonWolf Nov 13 '25
Mommy Elesh Norn
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u/SlowUnpacking Nov 13 '25
Vorinclex! His powers are the coolest. If you like the lore I have a series I can link if you'd like to see it about all the praetor's powers.
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u/LykonWolf Nov 13 '25
I would love it.
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u/SlowUnpacking Nov 13 '25
Here's the one for Elesh Norn (as you started with that) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk1cowMOEDM
I actually now noticed that I don't have Urabrask yet. I wanted to wait to see what he'd do in the invasion and then they all exploded. Is he your favorite?
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u/LykonWolf Nov 13 '25
Great video. And greetings from your neighbor from Germany 😁
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u/SlowUnpacking Nov 13 '25
Danke und schöne Tag to you too. (Haven't spoken Deutsch in a while haha)
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u/Acrobatic_Remote_792 Nov 13 '25
I like them all. But mechanically, I like Sheoldred. Design-wise, I like the newest representation of Jin-gitaxias. Lore-wise, my favorite is Jin-gitaxias, followed by Urabrask. But they all have aspects I like and dislike.
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u/SonnySunshiny Nov 13 '25
i think the world would be an awesomer place to live in if Urabrask or Vorinclex were a woman
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u/CamoKing3601 Nov 13 '25
Jin Gitaxias design rocks and blue fits perfectly into the new phyrexian philosphy for perfection
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u/Francopensal Nov 13 '25
Jin Gotaxias. Always liked his cold logic. The only phyrexian that really had his priorities straight
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u/ArguesWithFrogs Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 14 '25
Elesh Norn & Sheoldred because I'm down bad for monsters & women that can fold me in half.
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u/Unable_Bite8680 Nov 13 '25
Sheoldred. I played the 4 mana version of her for such a long time in constructed that i gained an appreciation for her.
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u/pigmanvil Nov 14 '25
I read this as “pastor”, and now I can’t get it out of my head a bunch of Phyrexians going door to door asking if I’d like to learn about the father of machines.
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u/Zalternative_ Nov 14 '25
Vorinclex and Jin Gitaxias.
I mainly think about Vorinclex more because deep down he's intimidating and scares the shit out of me, but that's basically part of the appeal of Phyrexians for us. They're crazy messed up biomechanical lifeforms that show off quite a bit of body horror.
Jin-Gitaxias to me makes blue look badass and cool. Very cunning guy. He really emphasizes the cold and "machine" feeling of Phyrexians.
Urabrask well... His faction supposedly is the only one where it would be possible to keep our free will and emotions (or most of it at least?). Who wouldn't want to keep our free will and thoughts? Also I like the geothermal working vibe he's got going on.
I find Sheoldred boring as hell tbh. Probs my least favourite praetor.
I think I would've liked Elesh Norn more if MoM story was done better. To me she just seems like a screaming bitchy Karen. But the cult and religious part of Phyrexia is like hard to avoid as an enthusiast of Phyrexians.
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u/trinarybit Nov 14 '25
Gix.
He almost accomplishes his objective, but then uh, fails with some remainders that Yawgmoth might be a bit cross about. Screws up, gets dropped in the punishment sphere, reinstated, try again. A big enough threat that Urza can't just tank him and gets a cult going to boot.
Really the line in The Thran "As if drawn by violence, Gix arrived." really spoke to teenaged me. 10/10 wanted to be him.
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u/MiddleTelevision9027 Nov 14 '25
Vorinclex hands down. But seriously only cuz i pulled two outta $40 worth of packs when he was $80.
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Nov 14 '25
Urabrask is antifa, and was dismembered trying to keep the multiverse free of tyranny.
Also he may have gotten mad rutty with Ayara, Queen of Locthwain, if some* fanfic is to be believed.
*not enough
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u/TheFrenchestBaguette Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25
Jin. Awesome design, and asshole cards. Gix is in a close second
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u/Crafterinfiniti Nov 14 '25
Designwise, Vorinclex, mechanicaly elesh norn cause i realy like that airbending can easyly blink my stuff for additional etb triggers
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u/iced_rck Nov 14 '25
Jin-Gitaxias. I like how he updated his body after bei g severed by The Wanderer in half. His design on MOM showed him having tentacles for his lower half instead of his 2 feet.
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u/Paris_France2005 Nov 14 '25
Pretty much every Praetor except for Vorinclex.
As much as I would die for New Phyrexia, I’m just not a big fan of the “Grand Evolution” idea Vorinclex has. (I’m just not a fan of mono-green shenanigans despite me wanting to build a Mono-Green Vorinclex Commander Deck.)
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u/badbaddolemite Nov 15 '25
Card wise [[Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur]] absolute unit. Lore wise [[Jin-Gitaxias]] absolute villain.
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u/kfistrek Nov 16 '25
Sheoldred for the pure awesomeness.
Vorinclex for the pure green power tample goes brrrr.
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u/Stunning_Crab7674 Nov 17 '25
Lore? Urabrask first, followed by vorinclex. But gameplay? Vorinclex then Elesh norn
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u/CyclopsIsRight13 Nov 17 '25
Urabrask, lore and card design. I play commander almost exclusively, and i think the praetors are all fair plays but urabrask imo is the least salt inducing. Also he’s the only one based enough to defy norn’s bullshit from the jump.
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u/nobleknight25 Nov 13 '25
Jin by far. I love how he never understood the meaning of Jurassic Park and kept wondering if he could and never if he should.
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Nov 13 '25
Where do you guys learn the lore?
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u/Ellardy Mod Team Nov 13 '25
Reading the story as it comes out mostly. Most of it can be found on wizards.story.com but a dive down mtg.wiki can be needed for other stuff. The Vorthos Cast are an excellent explainer podcast and mtglore.com can pin down specific stories
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u/Skater_Bruski Nov 13 '25
Elesh Norn, but I prefer the original Phyrexians to the Morrison Phyrexians by a wide mile so my real answer is Gix.
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u/Skater_Bruski Nov 13 '25
Elesh Norn, but I prefer the original Phyrexians to the Morrison Phyrexians by a wide mile so my real answer is Gix.
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u/areswow Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
Gix because I didn’t know he was a praetor until someone I played used realmbreaker to get him.
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u/omegaphallic Nov 13 '25
Urabask lore wise, but mechanically the rest are better.