The Fall of New Phyrexia | Magic: The Gathering Lore

[@ryanedwards7487]

One thing I will say I LOVED about this story (no, still mad about my man Jace and Elspeth, somewhat), is that Urabrask leads a revolt against the other Phyrexians. He's all about compleation, but only if the organism chooses it. Who would have thought Red Mana's passion and individuality would be the biggest issue Elesh Norn would have to worry about?

[@DevinVT1]

I wish we got to see more of phyrexia before it was exiled. Hearing the terrifying hell scape was something cool that we haven’t really seen in magic

[@ryanedwards7487]

The Scars of Mirrodin block's lands do a very good job of that actually. Especially the lands from the last set of the block (I think "New Phyrexia"?).

[@andreschion2334]

Since the planes are now connected by the omenpahts, wonder if we'll get a set that is about an academic competition between Tolaria and Strixhaven.

[@Ari22682]

Only if there's a card based off the Professor.

[@TimmyTurner421]

​@@Ari22682 +

[@monkaeyes3417]

@@Ari22682 WoTC don’t like him unfortunately.

[@askani21]

And an Izzet College. Let's start a multiversal campus loll

[@ICantThinkOfAFunnyHandle]

​@@askani21 I get the feeling Izzet would not be part of the college for long with how often their experiments turn... Catastrophic

[@abelbabel8484]

You can't possibly think this is the last we'll hear of the Phyrexians.

[@MrBiosh0ck]

Hope not, they are great. Lol

[@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus]

I wanted eldrazi phrexian stuff

[@andresmarrero8666]

I certainly hope so. I had enough of them to last a lifetime.

[@AnthonyDaFox]

@@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus emrikal as the pyrexian hivemind. :shudders in fear:

[@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus]

@@AnthonyDaFox they were setting it up so well too, we could have had a real event happen that connected to other events in a real way but nah

[@anlize3422]

I won't comment on how rushed the story felt, but now we have 3 big bads in a "break in case of emergency" glass. Nicol Bolas in the meditation realm, Emrakul in the Moon of Innistrad, and now Phyrexia in the temporal void. Unless they bring planar menaces back in the limelight, like Baron Sengir, I guess only Tezzeret remains as a "bad actor".

[@dennischaves4887]

Can you imagine if they just ran out of ideas and thought well why not all 3. The multiverse faces Elder Dragon Nicol Bolas, The Phyrexians and Eldrazi. Toss in some new big bad or some legendary artifact that will cause them all to unite to finally take down everyone whose been in their way. Major changes and major causality to wind up in the end where nothing much as really changed.

[@monkaeyes3417]

We still don’t know how big a bad ashiok (however you spell their name) could be, and ashiok is going to be in the next set I think.

[@UniGya]

Funnily enough this is also reflected gameplay-wise because all of those threats are held back with enchantments that return the target back to the battlefield when they're destroyed. So basically the multiverse is always just a single Disenchant away from complete ruin

[@voratheexplorer6442]

@@UniGya one of them has ward 3 so that's good.

[@magic713m]

It goes hand in hand with the thought of being unwilling to completely throw out a potential resource. They're afraid to permanently end anything that could bring a flavor for more cards, so they more cripple the baddies, just in case the audience has any desire to see them again. It's the unwillingness to close the door on intriguing characters.

[@erubin100]

God that ending was so stupid. "Without Norn's control, and with its connection to New Phyrexia severed, the glistening oil's corruption halts. It's rendered harmlessly inert..." THAT'S NOT HOW GLISTENING OIL WORKS!

[@ysgramornorris2452]

It is, if the writers will it so. You may not like it, but it's still cannon, because what the writers say trumps what you think.

[@erubin100]

​@@ysgramornorris2452 then they'll lose their fanbase, eventually. it's called a business.

[@MrBiosh0ck]

There's also the fact that the dinosaurs were tearing the phyrexians apart with their mouths. Unles they are somehow immune I don't see how that would work for long at all.

[@comradecameron3726]

@@ysgramornorris2452I can’t tell if you are trying to be a prick or not.

[@mrcaterpillow9926]

That’s how Norns glistening oil works. She changed the mixture when she was using it to reach out to all the other planes, along with being able to control it directly. However with her supposed death, the new oil falls apart and stops working. Still no idea if ALL glistening oil stopped, we will find out when it becomes a point of story.

[@aneverdayhobbiest2837]

I'm really surprised they did not do a series of sets with the invasion taking place on the plane. Like it's that is happening simultaneously and you don't know the end result of any of them until they do the conclusion set.

[@zephyrstrife4668]

Man... It's a good thing that cutting it off from its source renders glistening oil inert. Could you imagine if a brand new invasion could possibly start because of a few drops being added to a mana-filled plane without someone realizing it? ...hmm, something about that sounds familiar?

[@monkaeyes3417]

I wonder if the immortal sun has the capability to prevent the omenpaths connecting to the plane it resides in.

[@rubesqubes1997]

Man, that is an exciting idea that will likely never be explored

[@brentdye1504]

The immortal sun was only work if it can trap planeswalkers. The immortal sun was lost.

[@ezra1735]

I think with Phyrexia phasing out of existence, it was like the threat made by Yawgmoth all those centuries, no thousands of years ago, was finally stopped and ended, with the glistening oil, the very first thing the twisted scientist used to make his mad visions a reality, made render inert by the failing of his successors, his dreams of completion and his obsession with perfection may finally be over. For the oil was first thing he corrupted and it also ironically the thing that finally ended his madness for good.

[@magic713m]

It's fun to imagine, Yawgmoth's actions, indirectly, had reshaped the multiverse, long after his demise. Without him, glistening oil wouldn't have developed in its corrupting form, Phyrexia would not have been remade and invaded the multiverse, and the efforts to defeat the invaders wouldn't have resulted an overhaul, connecting these planes to be more accessible to one another.

[@ezra1735]

@@magic713m indeed

[@Jamhael1]

Did you forgot the point? Yawgmoth's exile didn't WORKED with him while alive, imagine an entire plane with its creations, exiled to a place beyond time? The gods have mercy upon us the day we would need the Phyrexians...

[@ezra1735]

@@Jamhael1 fair enough

[@TimmyTurner421]

Love these Lore videos. I always listen to them when I go to bed. Helps my mind to relax and drift away

[@Lunisian]

While underwhelming on the surface, some of the ending makes sense. Norn reprogramed the oil to only answer to her (cause she's that much of a control freak). Given that, it makes sense that her death would render anyone newly corrupted by it enert as well. However, those corrupted before the reprograming might not have been effected by her death in thebsame way, so the phyrexian threat might not be gone for good

[@NeberusBeta]

dont know it was somehow anticlimatic and deus ex machina how they finished this phyrexian arc, it would have nice to see something, like they beat new phyrexia, but with the return of yawgmoth in secret

[@askani21]

It's Jace. Jace is the new Yawgmoth ;)

[@harlankovacs6276]

Would ha loved to see the Myr themself be the solution.

[@RunningOnAutopilot]

If this is an ending it was poorly made. If this was a setup for oil to be reactivated sleeping in countless planes it's a good idea with a bad beginning

[@zombieslayer2016]

Considering new phyrexia wasn't actually destroyed but phased out that is almost exactly what is going to happen they've basically stashed away until like the eldrazi

[@youricklevine4908]

Yo, long time fan, love the channel bro 👍 just wanted to say, you're the only one that tells these stories in a way that keeps it interestin for me... The way wizards have been handling the lore the last few years...🤮 , so for you to find a way to make it sound compelling💯👍 super impressive

[@PimpShrimpin420]

I kinda wanted to see more of Ixhel, or urabrask, I feel like their stories got cut short but could’ve gone further

[@hugmonger]

Now... The one redeeming thing about all of this is that Phyrexia isnt gone... But many of the Planeswalkers are. Like we had Second Mending but Phyrexia was just Phased Out not destroyed. Cant wait yo discover that Phyrexia crashed into Ugin/Bolas's Meditation Plane and we get a Phyrexian Bolas.

[@Lunisian]

My understanding of what happened, Zhalfir and New Phyrexia swapped places. So since Zhalfir didn't have contact with the meditation plane, New Phyrexis won't.

[@DRAGON-rf1jp]

19:48 Why did you show the invasion of New-Phyrexia as one of the initial invasions???🤔

[@ShellzTheGod]

Ashiok is about to make a HUGE comeback!! She’s putting ppl to sleep and I truly hope we get a reprint of Ashiok or another version of her!!

[@Case2_0]

She’s one of the villains in Eldraine 2

[@AllYourPals]

kind of annoyed that the way they chose to turn the story around was just to go "hay you know that planes destroying bomb we found that would annihilate anyone caught in the blast? well it turns out the person who was at ground zero is actually still around and is now an angel!". sounds like they wrote themselves into a corner.

[@bigd8122]

That was pretty rough.

[@MrBiosh0ck]

Yeah I liked the story up until "dead chick comes back with unrivaled power and effortlessly stabs the big bad in the heart" that is the part that sucked.

[@burgertime6372]

@@MrBiosh0ck”oh yeah that bastard of a god heliod that we’ve built up for over a decade? Yeah we killed him in a single sentence”

[@comradecameron3726]

@@burgertime6372Yup. I thought he was imprisoned in the underworld to be slowly forgotten as he ceases to exist…. Until he gets compleated apparently.

[@andresmarrero8666]

They kinda did. They gave nothing for the heroes to work with until the last option was literal divine intervention.

[@piratecpnjack]

It took a group of post mending planeswalkers maybe 2 weeks, 3 tops to stop New Phyrexia. Urza waged a several millenia war against the OG Phyrexia and still almost lost

[@Lobomaru02]

It seems to me that the New Phyrexian invasion is meant to be a paradigm shift on the level of the Time Spiral Crisis.

[@terrinvann]

"New video from Lorebrarians" >clicked that watch button immediately

[@ryanedwards7487]

As a lover of Gideon, Elspeth and Jace (go figure my all-time favorite comic characters are Captain America and Superman -- I play Paladin in everything for a reason), the last few years have hurt a bit. I mean, they killed off Jaya (the best flame throwing grandmother in history) and Tamiyo (dude...they KILLED the story lady!). I'm almost afraid to like any more characters, because then the next Yawgmoth Borg Dragon God group will murder them too. XD

[@andresmarrero8666]

I am still mad at Tamiyo's fate.

[@alialotbi4217]

What do you think will happen to the Gods of Theros? Like do they get power from their worshippers? And if so, if the people of Theros want a God back, if enough of them hope strongly enough, can they bring a formerly-Phyrexianized-and-slain God back from the dead?

[@ysgramornorris2452]

I think they'll be back, if the people of Theros start believing in them again. But they'll probably be very different, since the people's ideas about them will have changed.

[@brentdye1504]

Yeah, but the demigods will take the seat as new gods of theros to replace.

[@maboigrandmaster2993]

so phyrexia lost due to BS plot armor angel stuff? damn they cloud make a set out of 2-3 of the planes that where invaded.

[@MrBiosh0ck]

Yeah that part was dumb.

[@b2e297]

Is it just me or does a multi arc, complicated story with a huge supporting cast where chandra is the MC that gets to have a big hero moment to save the day at the end the kind of thing that would be covered perfectly in a tv series? Like oh idk, maybe a Netflix show where chandra is the main character or something, idk

[@MrBiosh0ck]

Imagine this got the cyberpunk/arcane/castlevania treatment? Man that would be a great show.

[@rafasr0]

I wonder how Nicol Bolas would dealt with Elesh Norn

[@anothertarnishedone5960]

Imo, this is an example of bad writing. What kind of plan is invading all the planes at once, dividing your already fractured forces against the unified defenders of every plane? You don't have the numbers nor the terrain knowledge advantages, only the surprise, and not in every plane. This arc clearly overwhelmed the writers and they didn't know how to close it. The only good things that come from it is Zhalfir return and Chandra and Nissa ship becoming canon.

[@jack727dave5]

Especially because it seems like their plan could have been done a lot more efficiently by a planeswaker and a bucket of oil. Their immortal so they don’t need to rush.

[@crusnik_0014]

Would you do the lore about the 5 Dominii? I'm interested in learning ore about them. 😮

[@dragomondirector]

If I recall from the mtg trailer they showed nicol bolas yet he no where to be seen in the set 😢

[@einlan2506]

The ending to the new phyrexia saga was so lame. Urza had to fight phyrexians for millennia . This time the phyrexians lose almost instantly. It felt like a non ending.

[@Otacon2099]

and then the aftermath did nothing but be even more stupid. Jesus atleast Yawg turned into a living fart, but norn just flopped down and then karn was like "ok im sowrry" and 1 tapped her...

[@Malik_Torihane]

Modern "writing"!

[@einlan2506]

@@Otacon2099 Norn's defeat might be the biggest military blunder in the history of storytelling. It takes a special kind of leader to manage to lose in every location in the known universe at once. They conquered absolutely nowhere and lost their home plane and all their lives in the process. 😑

[@Otacon2099]

@@einlan2506 legit couldnt better say it myself and then for aftermath to REALLY nail in that "that" somehow mattered was that the sylex going off is what desparked a arbitary number of walker, ok wotc and homelands is a good set too (compared to these two set atleast YOOOOOOOOO🔥🔥)

[@voratheexplorer6442]

> Fights used to go on for millenia > New fight ends in 3 turns flat Modern mtg is just Yu-Gi-Oh

[@steveselkirk3352]

Fire whoever is working on the MTG story, like seriously they need to go. They clearly don't know what they're doing and making shit up as they go, hoping it fits in canonically with past writings (it doesn't).

[@DragonmasterSK]

I love your Videos. You have a new subscriber

[@siegfried19888]

The whole hive mind thing for the phyrexians was so stupid and pulled out of nowhere.

[@ericgrant6674]

Phyrexia forever!!

[@thomasolympia3731]

We will be back. We always are.

[@dmojica2000]

Love this.

[@maelxmusic1613]

When they gonna resurrect big daddy Yawgmoth?

[@mbarker_lng]

I am not up on all the MTG lore so let me ask; where was Lilianna during all this? I think they rushed the story too much- Norn's defeat could have been handled in the next set. Great video though- thanks for the story!

[@ismaelhiza4423]

I know Im 3 months late, but Liliana was hiding in Strixhaven since after war of the spark, since lets say a not small number of Planeswalkers still have her on a 'kill-on-sight' policy thanks to her actions. We can assume she stayed at Strixhaven and helped the students and professors defend against the phyrexian invasion

[@MegaBekem]

I would like to collaborate with the author of this video as I intend on making a live action TV show based on MTG lore. Let me know who to contact?

[@fotherphrogg]

If the multiverse is Gondor, then Zhalfir is Rohan.

[@TimmyTurner421]

Random question but who is more dangerous, the Phyrexians or the Eldrazi?

[@Smilkma]

Let’s see if the reboot Eldrazi who knows with how underpowered phyrexians felt maybe the multiverse will only need 14 squirrels instead of the usual 15

[@weedragonauts4729]

i'd say Eldrazi

[@askani21]

Eldrazi appear to be a natural part of the multiverse, they've always existed, devouring a few planes like a predator eats a few preys while the flock lives on. Phyrexia, on the other hand, has been connected to the rest of the multiverse only a few times in millenia, and everytime they've spread and risked contaminating everything. Phyrexia is the only real threat to the whole of the multiverse. The Eldrazi are like hurricanes, you just need to stay clear of them and you should be fine! ;) Now, if both were to somehow fight each other... Eldrazi have the power advantage for sure, but Phyrexian science has shown again and again that there is nothing it can't achieve. I'm betting on Phyrexia!

[@zombieslayer2016]

Considering emerkul was implied to have purposely gotten themselves in prison on the moon I'm going with eldrazi especially since their mere presence was causing the plane itself to be corrupted

[@voidmaster6353]

People, do not pour your hatred on the writers, they were given a deadline, and they had to comply

[@MrBiosh0ck]

Yeah probably an accurate assessment. I'd say it's still in our best interest to voice our concerns though. It's better to let them know what we think so that they may allot more time for future projects. But yeah going after specific ppl isn't the answer.

[@bswtsp21]

What would a phyrexian food look like?

[@TitoRohwedder-my1nh]

They treated the end of the phyrexians, a long time enemy of Magic the gatherings lore for decades, like it was just another set. Instead of having heroes and new cards for every hero of every world Realmbreaker invaded, they printed a few scattered references across flavor texts, they even paired up legendaries to save effort, most of which are not better than their individual prints!!!!! We should have seen more cards from Lorwyn, Ravnica, New capenna, Ixalan, Dominaria and more, and yes, absolutely a cameo of some sort or reference to Urza, planeswalker, even if it meant the set would have been several hundreds of cards.

[@MrBiosh0ck]

Mtg often does callback sets, might happen.

[@smasson99]

Is Jace freed from corruption?

[@askani21]

He's secretly plotting to become the new Father (uncle?) of Machines! ;)

[@bigd8122]

In many videos, you say "another" when you mean "one another" or "each other". Like at 8:29, "[the planeswalkers] are confronted with factions of Phyrexians already engaged in conflict with another [...]". This means that the Phyrexian factions are fighting an unspecified third group, when your intention is to say that they are fighting amongst themselves.

[@user-jl8td7tb9y]

I think they should have killed at least Norn if not all the preators and have the Phyrexians be all over the multiverse and we see how other planes deal with them on the loose

[@weedragonauts4729]

7:29 a human*

[@jw7500]

Glad I left magic 8 years ago, from what I can see the lore has taken an absolute nosedive. RIP Phyrexia, may the Machine Orthodoxy forever thrive.

[@dariuselijah9277]

Where the hell is Ugin in all of this?

[@zombieslayer2016]

Probably still babysitting bolas which isn't a bad idea

[@andresmarrero8666]

Let's not go with a multiversal threat for a while.

[@nicholaseverly6538]

So they yeeted phyrexian oil into the eldrazi......🤦

[@luna775]

A single drop from glistening oil caused all this, and now they ex machina it to be inert? give me a break, these stories full of high school drama and weird turns written by several people with other priorities like politics instead of a good, coherent story.. sigh i find this lacking compared to the books they used to write.. wh40k still does books i dont get why magic had to do all these convoluted crap to kinda half do stories for the sets now.. I also find weird the only solutions is always to downgrade planes walkers, they used to be gods like Urza, downgraded to these kiddie mages plane walkers.. now they are just normies? Well, maybe is for the best, but in the past the godlike plane walkers never stopped wizard to write stories for non plane walkers like Gerald, Jamal, Jeska or Glissa

[@Sakura_Matou]

So tired of the gatewatch..

[@geinerelizondo2019]

This is so sad. All the potential wasted. Actually I think the lore of MotM is worst then WotS, the stakes were a lot higher! Amazing how nowdays the jobs seems to end in the hands of the least capable persons!

[@MrBiosh0ck]

Probably corporate driven deadlines. Gotta admit the story was pretty great up until "dead girl gets revived with angel powers".

[@DStrormer]

Such a narratively unsatisfying ending, but then that's what I expected from creatively bankrupt WotC. I wish this IP could find a new home away from the greed of Hasbro, where creatives could develop it into what it could be.

[@michaeltaylor788]

This was made entirely by the creator of magic hasbro may own them but they made the story.

[@TimmyTurner421]

​@@michaeltaylor788 they lost their mojo can't write good stories anymore

[@DStrormer]

@@michaeltaylor788 as someone who has done creative work in a high pressure corporate environment, I promise you a shitty company can make talented people create shitty art. Hasbro wants to make money. WotC wants to make money. In that capitalist framework, good storytelling is always only allowed as a means to lift the next quarter's profits.

[@michaeltaylor788]

@@DStrormer why are so much of the dungeons and dragons and magic the gathering players on KZbin against capitalism.

[@DStrormer]

@@michaeltaylor788 gosh, I don't know, could it be all the exploitation and murder?

[@newnamesameperson397]

Some much lost potential...sums up magic story after Alara block

[@blaarfengaar]

For the record, Kaito is pronounced KYE-to, not KAY-to. It rhymes with high toe, not bay toe

[@TheLorebrarians]

Appreciate it

[@cjh.1920]

Dismantling Urabrask was a storytelling flop

[@rontrezbeaugard8212]

Obligatory 1st

[@MrZakuRetro]

You work and passion is notable, but wotc created a rushed and piece of crap storyline they only care about making a fast half job this have near 0 love. But nevertheless you work is remarkable sadly you can't save the disastrous work of wotc.

[@ysgramornorris2452]

Absolutely glorious.