Phyrexians are a large group of creatures which combine flesh with arcane machines, in horrific ways. They seek to spread themselves across the multiverse - the Phyrexians live to propagate themselves. Nothing can stop them in their drive because they have such a singular goal. The Phyrexians have only two states: propagating and dead.
The Phyrexians' greatest strength is that they have the ability to change so easily. They are always looking for ways to improve themselves. If the enemy shows them something better than what they have, the Phyrexians will instantly adopt the new, more powerful thing. The Phyrexians have no sentimentality - they will use what works. The Phyrexians do what is good for the Phyrexians. What they do is seldom good for everyone else. In fact, the Phyrexians take advantage of their ability to survive by making the environment toxic to everything but themselves. They win by making the environment only sustainable to them.
The Phyrexians can create more of themselves through two different methods. The first, Phyresis, is the transformation of a living thing into a Phyrexian creature. This process can follow a variety of routes. In some cases it seems to start from the inside working its way out, or it may start from the outside and work its way in. It may even start somewhere in between. The process usually focuses on a single limb or appendage and slowly spreads and corrupts the entire creature. Phyresis is the ultimate goal of the phyrexians, which is "perfect" living organisms by turning them into improved machines. A perfected individual is compleated.
The other method is through contagion spread by Phyrexian oil. Phyrexian oil is a black, glistening oil that pollutes life, and it is the first method of Phyrexian transmission. It's the smallest unit of Phyrexia-ness, the virus that spreads the Phyrexian identity code from entity to entity. The oil can simply pool up like any other liquid, transmitting the Phyrexian contagion passively to anything that touches it.
Phyrexian follow a system founded on the power of the machine. Machines are not just tools for Phyrexia to manufacture their civilization and accomplish their goals; machines are fundamental to their beliefs. Phyrexia is a civilization of constant evolution, of self-betterment, of personal and global advancement, and artifice is the key to a Phyrexian creature's freedom from the confines of its organic origins. Phyrexia solves any problem with a combination of evolution and artifice, and the problem of expanding its own civilization is no exception. Phyrexia creates machines to hasten the spread of its encroachment.
For Phyrexians, role and physiognomy are inextricably linked. If you are part of Phyrexia, you were created to fill a need, and your physical form was engineered and outfitted to do the job you were made to do. Form and function are stitched together into a seamless whole.
Physically, Phyrexians exhibit a wide range of body types and abilities. They are incredibly adaptive. Strangely enough for a deadly villain, Phyrexia is a relentless student of life. Phyrexia is in the business of taking over worlds as efficiently as possible, and in the service of that goal, it must learn two things: to disable organic beings as efficiently as possible, and to develop creature designs that are as deadly as possible. Both goals involve studying the extant life of the victim-world around them.
Noted Phyrexians
| Species | Titles | Setting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avaricta | Phyrexian | Gitaxian sective | Mirrodin |
| Azax-Azog | Phyrexian | The Demon Thane | Mirrodin |
| Deceiver Exarch | Phyrexian | Exarch | Mirrodin |
| Elesh Norn | Phyrexian | Grand Cenobite Praetor of Unity | Mirrodin |
| Gallowbraid | Phyrexian | Dominia | |
| Geth | Phyrexian | Lord of the Vault | Mirrodin |
| Gix | Phyrexian | Praetor | Dominia |
| Grgur | Phyrexian | Mirrodin | |
| Izathel | Phyrexian | High Chancellor | Mirrodin |
| Jin-Gitaxias | Phyrexian | Praetor Core Augur | Mirrodin |
| Kraynox | Phyrexian | The Deep Thane | Mirrodin |
| Malcator | Phyrexian | Executor of Synthesis | Mirrodin |
| Morinfen | Phyrexian | Dominia | |
| Politus | Phyrexian | Gitaxian morphologist | Mirrodin |
| Prrackx | Phyrexian | Mirrodin | |
| Roxith | Phyrexian | Thane of Rot | Mirrodin |
| Sarnvax | Phyrexian | Gitaxian Sective | Mirrodin |
| Sheoldred | Phyrexian | Whispering One Praetor | Mirrodin |
| Sheudra | Phyrexian | Mirrodin | |
| Threx | Phyrexian | Mirrodin | |
| Thrissik | Phyrexian | the Writing Thane | Mirrodin |
| Tsabo Tavoc | Phyrexian | General | Dominia |
| Unctus | Phyrexian | the Freed | Mirrodin |
| Urabrask | Phyrexian | Praetor the Hidden | Mirrodin |
| Uulbrek | Phyrexian | Gitaxian Sective | Mirrodin |
| Vorinclex | Phyrexian | Voice of Hunger | Mirrodin |
| Vraan | Phyrexian | Thane of Blood | Mirrodin |
| Yawgmoth | Phyrexian | Dominia |
Subtypes and Variants
