Here we are again, at set review time. The most recent Magic: the Gathering set is Phyrexia: All Will Be One. On the plane of New Phyrexia the local Mirran forces battle to retake their world from the horrifying and calculating Phyrexians. I’ll be breaking down which cards I feel will fit into my cube, which you can find here: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/1a2 and what grade I ultimately think each card will warrant.

This is a bit of an odd set, since it is built around the mechanics of Poison and Oil counters, and as a result heavily features the Proliferate mechanic. While Proliferate is always welcome in my cube to compliment the +1/+1 counters theme, I have no intention of making Poison or Oil counters a theme of any sort. As a result, I essentially ignored large sections of this set that were focused on those mechanics. Still, there are a lot of interesting and powerful cards to look at here, so let’s dive in.

White

Swooping Lookout

This is a solid card, but not groundbreaking. It will probably take the place of battlefield raptor, simply by virtue of being an artifact.

Final Grade: C

Glimmer Lens (ONC)

I don’t love the “For Mirrodin!” keyword at all, mostly because the name tells me nothing about what it does, but this is a reasonable card. Getting a 2/2 with decent upside and an artifact for 2 mana is enough to get me interested, though the equip cost isn’t ideal. It does incentivize going wide, which is good in White.

Final Grade: C-

Kemba, Kha Enduring

Very strong 2 drop, with late game potential as well. I love the combination of immediate value and overall deck synergy, and again, this incentivizes going wide.

Final Grade: A-

Norn’s Wellspring

This is a slow but useful artifact in any w/x midrange or aristocrats style decks. It makes trading very appealing, but doesn’t help you get your opponent dead, which I think makes it decidedly average.

Final Grade: C-

Ossification

A cheaper O-Ring with the aura subtype is a real upgrade, because of cards like Hero of Iroas, Lightpaws, Sram, and vitally, Heliod’s Pilgrim. This only hits creatures and planeswalkers, but that isn’t a huge miss for me. Plus, given the lack of land destruction in my cube, this seems very reliable.

Final Grade: B-

Planar Disruption

Pacifism is finally leaving – a bittersweet moment for me. But time stops for no staple, and that 2 mana aura gave ‘em hell for a long time. We’ll always have the battlebox old friend.

Final Grade: C+

Staff of the Storyteller (ONC)

This feels like a more consistent version of Glimmer Lens, with a guaranteed draw and possibly more value down the line. This is almost comparable to Thraben inspector, given that for a total of 3 mana you get a body and a card over some number of turns.

Final Grade: B+

Kemba’s Banner (ONC)

Here’s what I want from my 4 drop – solid stats(assuming you have any board at all), a good equipment, and it’s a card with a plan. Doesn’t belong in every white deck, but it sure looks good in a lot of them. Solid card.

Final Grade: B-

Blue

Mercurial Spelldancer

Here’s a 2 drop that you can hang your hat on. Evasion is huge on this one, letting the tempo decks get their hits in before the incremental side of this card really shines.

Final Grade: A-

Mirage Mockery (ONC)

A solid 3 mana clone that scales well into late game, but not much in terms of synergy. It might get there.

Final Grade: C+

Unctus, Grand Metatect

Well now we’re cooking. 3 mana for a lord is usually the sweet spot, and this one can turn your whole team into artifacts if need be. The looting is an added bonus that will probably end up doing more than it lets on. I have very high hopes for this card.

Final Grade: A

Serum Sovereign

Here’s a card that I would have been over the moon about just a few years ago. Not to take anything away from the sphinx, but drawing cards on a decent body isn’t the novelty that it once was. All the same, my blue 5 drops are pretty slim, and this has both synergy and power when used correctly. It might be a bit slow, but this will win some games.

Final Grade: B-

Black

Drown in Ichor

Very reasonable removal, though restricting it to sorcery speed is a bit rough. As I transition most of my removal to cards based on the colors’ synergies, this is another step in the right direction.

Final Grade: C+

Vraan, Executioner Thane

This is Blood Artist effect #3, or is it 4? Either way, this one double drains but only once per turn. Still, a better body makes it an overall a useful card.

Final Grade: B

Red

Gleeful Demolition

Do you like Smelt? How about Kuldotha Rebirth? Why not have both? Love the versatility here, and the synergy in a red artisac deck. Cutting an existing red one drop is always a challenge though.

Final Grade: B-

Barbed Batterfist

Free equipment is good, but a vanilla 3/1 is subpar. Still, getting 2 cards and leaving behind an equipment with a low equip cost is a decent rate. It might find a spot.

Final Grade: C-

Blazing Crescendo

Here’s an interesting card. This is a pump spell that is also a cantrip, which makes it a bit closer to Fists of Flame or Fire Prophecy than it would initially appear. However as a pure combat trick, it only really works on attacks, and doesn’t provide trample, first strike, or any other keywords. I think it might be just good enough, but it’s close.

Final Grade: C

Hexgold Halberd

See “Barbed Battlefist” but with a higher equip cost and better equip bonuses.

Final Grade: C+

Bladegraft Aspirant

Wow, commons have come a long way. Synergy, evasion, all coming at a good rate make this a really solid card. I love a well-statted creature that also makes my other cards better. Feels like the red Danitha Capashen.

Final Grade: B-

Rhuk, Hexgold Nabber

Another equipment-based 3 drop, Rhuk trades menace for haste and trample, and gets to pick up free equipment when his fellow creatures die or don’t need them anymore. Unfortunately since this does nothing with equipment that are just sitting around, it’s not a slam dunk. But I suspect Rhuk will pull his weight in almost any red deck that runs a Bonesplitter or two.

Final Grade: B

Urabrask’s Forge

An interesting take on a Rabblemaster, since the tokens get better over time, rather than the card itself. I like it, since the tokens have trample and will always be useful to a red deck that wants to attack. Being able to fling or sac them for value is an added bonus.

Final Grade: B

Rebel Salvo

As the suite of removal in my cube continues to evolve, I keep getting closer to the synergy pieces that I want rather than the generically powerful spells that I thought I needed. This is no different. Soul Sear was almost good enough to see an inclusion, and this is just a strict upgrade with reasonable synergy to boot.

Final Grade: B-

Green

Thirsting Roots

Another version of Lay of the Land, this one is a bit more narrow than Bushwhack, but in the right deck can do good work. I might run both.

Final Grade: C

Tyvar’s Stand

Very solid combat trick. Good at 1 mana and at 5, with relevant protection at all stages. Does it replace Silkguard? Probably not. Does it replace something else? Most likely.

Final Grade: B

Cankerbloom

Pour one out for Goblin Cratermaker. With better stats and the ability to proliferate if need be, this card really has legs.

Final Grade: B

Unnatural Restoration

Nature’s Spiral was always a tough sell, since you could just run Regrowth if you want this type of effect. But with proliferate tacked on for free this is a solid package for 2 mana, and could be a decent glue card in green.

Final Grade: C+

Bloated Contaminator

This is probably the only card with Toxic that I’ll include in the cube, because it’s so strong and being able to proliferate on hit makes counters decks really hum. Besides, who doesn’t like a 4/4 trample for 3 mana?

Final Grade: A-

Contaminant Grafter (ONC)

Ok maybe I spoke too soon. I know this card is less clear-cut than Bloated Contaminator, but it’s still worth a look. It has solid stats and can make use of the toxic mechanic without being all in on poison. Just a real handful from start to finish.

Final Grade: B+

Artifact

Sword of Forge and Frontier

It’s a sword.

Final Grade: A-