I said something about Corrupted Conscience
being good because it can grant infect to
creatures that weren't intended to have it.
That's true, but that doesn't make Phyresis
good. I believe Corrupted Conscience's true
power lies not in the infect, but in the fact
that it steals a creature. phyresis is just card
disadvantage. I suppose if you really like the
idea of dropping a Pestilence Demon, giving it
infect, and spreading -1/-1 counters like
disease, then by all means. But even then, Scars
of Mirrodin has an Equipment card that did that
job better anyway. And if there's no creature
you've got in mind for granting infect to, and
you just want creatures with infect, you're
better off playing creatures that already have
it. You can put it on an opponent's creature,
which might protect you from an unblockable 2/2
for a few swings while your life total remains
at 2 and you accumulate poison counters instead
of losing life, or in multiplayer for a
political advantage, but that's still not really
worth a slot in most people's decks.
With the Phyrexians returning to Magic's
storyline, it was almost inevitable that there
would be at least one card referencing their
unique, creepy vocabulary. From the deckbuilding
point of view, pretty much all the creatures
you'd use in an infect deck have the keyword,
and using this to turn a creature without it
into a late-game attacker could end up being a
little unreliable. It's not useless in limited,
though, for times when you end up with an infect
deck but another creature you just can't pass up
(Steel Hellkite, anyone?). And in some kind of
collection of every Phyrexian card ever made, it
holds a unique place for finally depicting the
process they've been telling us about - and
scaring us with - since Invasion.
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is
quite fitting for infect week as its an
enchantment that grants the creature infect. In
standard I don’t see this card ever seeing play
its an enchantment and in a dedicated infect
deck they would rather run creatures with
infect. In extended and eternal the same applies
this card won’t have an impact on the format
auras are mostly bad and often times this card
would waste deck space. In casual and
multiplayer I could see this getting some play,
plop one of these on a Thrun The Last Troll or
Lord of Extinction and go to town on players. In
limited its not the greatest if you want to run
an infect strategy run something like Tainted
Strike or creatures with infect and if you’re
not running infect this card contradicts your
strategy. Overall an interesting card that had
to be made but I don’t think it will have a
profound impact on Magic average to poor card.
Today's card of the day is Phyresis which is a
two mana aura that gives a creature Infect which
is generally a weak choice for Infect decks as
most creatures there should already have Infect.
While some choices may not, hoping to have both
this and one of them available at the same time
or using a tutor to have the other is a little
much and not necessarily worth the effort. It
can be played in an evasion or trample deck
where few creatures actually have Infect on them
as an added form of Tainted Strike, which may be
the best way to run a card like this.
For Limited this is a good way to get an
extra source of Infect into a deck where your
options will often be few and far between. An
easy choice in Sealed if you are playing Black
and anything else with Infect and a solid middle
of the pack choice in Booster draft. The lack of
any other effects and potential scarcity of
Infect restricts the usefulness, so the value
depends entirely on how much Infect you are able
to draft.
Today’s Card of the Day to conclude our infect
week here at pojo.com is Phyresis. This I have
to say is one of my favorite cards from Mirrodin
Besieged. For two mana, one generic and one
black, you can give any creature infect, and it
is an enchantment.
In standard, who knows what you might want to
give infect to. It could always be handy on the
Eldrazi Titans, except of course for Emrakul.
With all the artifacts running around, an easy
choice is also Scrapdiver Serpent. Once given
infect if the defending player has an artifact,
it takes only two hits since it would be
unblockable to win the game. And if they don’t
have artifacts simply use Liquimetal Coating to
take care of that problem.
But perhaps this card has the most potential in
vintage, where I personally couldn’t wait to put
it. I built a deck during the Future Sight
expansion using shadow creatures and Snake Cult
Initiation, then put in Fireshriekers. Once this
card appeared, I knew it had to go in. The
thought of any of the 2/1 shadow creatures being
able to end a game with one hit because of the
Snake Cult Initiation, Phyresis, and
Double-Strike was too good to pass.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. There
are limitless ways of making it an amazing card
based on whatever the circumstance. Of course,
there is always the option of giving some pesky
creature your opponent controls infect as well.
If you aren’t worried about some poison because
they are running something else, give one of
their creatures infect, and buy yourself some
time. Another vintage combo, give your
opponent’s biggest creature infect, and then
bounce their attack back using Mirror Strike.
They take poison, and that could end the game.
