#seedcore

[littjara-mirrorlake]

Daily Life in the Phyrexian Spheres (Dross to Seedcore)

Previous: Facade to Furnace, Maze to Bays

The Dross Pits, much like its previous incarnation in the Mephidross of Mirrodin's surface, is a sphere rife with intrigue, double-crossing, and back-alley deals. The social structure is feudal, with lords ruling over masses of serfs and slaves, and thanes make up the top of the social pyramid. Dark, towering citadels of flesh and bone rise out of the necrogen mists, which bathe the entire layer in an eerie green glow. Large swathes of territory are controlled by thanes, lords, and magical creatures such as blight dragons and archfiends.

This sphere is densely populated, with the vast majority of its inhabitants making up the servant classes that live and die under feudal lords. Compleated Mirrans begin at the very bottom and most have little hope of ever ascending past this station, as the Steel Thanes' obsession with Phyrexian purity leads to heavy discrimination against those who are not Phyrexian-born. This obsession extends to a scrutiny of every Phyrexian's pedigree--the further removed a person is from their last non-core-born ancestor, the purer their bloodline is considered, leading to a higher chance of social advancement. As such, first-generation core-born Phyrexians (born to compleated Mirrans) are only barely considered truly Phyrexian and share their parents' meager social standing. As Phyrexians are immortal and have no need for heirs, faction members produce scions to serve their own advancement, not to eventually succeed them. Of course, said scions are rarely happy with this arrangement, seeking to usurp their parents and seize their assets instead.

Magically and technologically, the inhabitants of the Dross Pits largely focus on emulating Yawgmoth-era techniques gleaned from scrying the glistening oil. Due to the heavy emphasis on ichor magic and intrigue, glistening oil from individuals of interest--and the intelligence it contains--is an invaluable commodity in the Dross Pits. Bloodsuckers like necrosquitoes and pistid swarms are often employed to this end, fueling an illicit trade of stolen bodily fluids.

Much like the Furnace, the Dross Pits do not have an overarching system of governance or standard of law, and political allegiances vary widely. Pockets of the Dross Pits are strongholds of the Phyrexian rebellion, though they are severely handicapped by the loyalist spheres blocking them both above and below. Every thane has at least nominally allied with either Elesh Norn or the rebellion, though they are ultimately beholden only to themselves and care little for the ideals of either side.

The Fair Basilica is the innermost inhabited sphere and the de facto capital of New Phyrexia, where Elesh Norn rules from her palace and the majority of the Phyrexian military is housed. In the heart of Norn's empire, every aspect of daily life is carefully regimented and monitored; people are marched in orderly rows down alabaster bridges, flanked constantly by armed enforcers and their swarms of patrol mites. Flights of angels keep constant watch in the skies. Staggering acts of brutality are committed against any who display signs of deviance, and commoners are all too used to keeping their heads down and trying not to watch as their peers' oil is scrubbed from the streets.

Every resident of the Fair Basilica is expected to devote a significant portion of their time to worship, and the rest to assigned duties like patrolling or working the flesh-vats. Those who need to sleep do so on strict schedules under the watchful eyes of supervisors. Newts are raised by the state, rigorously educated on the Orthodoxy's religious tenets, and often apprentice under cenobites, which continues after their compleation; Mirran aspirants commonly join them.

Though it relies heavily on other spheres for commodities like raw material and technology, the Fair Basilica is at least self-sufficient in growing its own porcelain metal, which spreads in a fungus-like manner on recently dead flesh. It is mass-produced in giant growth vats, alongside Basilica inhabitants' germ offspring and seedpod centurions for the invasion (often bodies without minds, hollow for puppeting via ichor magic).

Rebellion is most difficult in the Basilica due to its oppressive environment and authorities' vested interest in controlling the flow of information--and oil--into and out of the sphere. The news fed to residents is tightly curated, requiring workarounds to even hear of the rebellion's presence at all. That said, dissident spies have managed to infiltrate even the innermost of the loyalist spheres.

The Mycosynth Gardens form a natural barrier between the populated Phyrexian spheres and the Seedcore, and passage through them is controlled exclusively by Elesh Norn herself. The Gardens themselves are uninhabited by sapient Phyrexians, though fauna like inkmoths and skitterlings roam the silent lattices, and the mycosynth itself is known to create lures or other, more cryptic structures that mimic passersby.

The Seedcore, the innermost layer of New Phyrexia, is the domain of Elesh Norn alone, where she keeps the World Tree sapling Realmbreaker imprisoned and firmly subjugated under layers of mind-altering magic. Very rarely, Norn holds the most confidential of her audiences here with her inner circle or other crucial allies. The sphere is heavily warded against incoming divination, telepathy, and any other possible interference with Norn's plans, but here lays Norn's crucial oversight: there are no such protections against communication going out, allowing Realmbreaker's telepathic distress call to pass through into the Multiverse.

And that's it for overviews of the nine Phyrexian spheres, from the perspective of a far more average commoner Phyrexian than we're used to hearing about. There's always more to be said about each of them, of course, and I hope this helps get people started thinking about their own expansions, headcanon, or additions!

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Storm the Seedcore

In that moment, the fate of countless worlds rested with one dryad and a handful of the bravest Mirrodin had to offer.

Artist: Jason Rainville TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Norn's Seedcore by Alexander Forssberg

[almostlookedhuman]

[vorthosjay]

There is sentence from Episode 5 of Aetherdrift story I don't understand:

> Whether it's Nissa's face streaked with Phyrexian tears, Urabrask's dying screams, or the bodies of the Mirrans as they charged the Seedcore, there is always something to haunt her.

1. The scream of Urabrask is dying.

2. Urabrask is under the process of dying, but it can be halted.

Which interpretation would be more true? (inhales more hopium)

I’ve been pretty clear all the Praetors are dead since MOM, or at least I thought I was.

[ask-the-praetors]

What is stopping Elesh Norn and the others from defeating Urabrask? Are they focusing more on the invasion, does the Quiet Furnace have natural defenses, or is it something else?

Elesh Norn's front is not nearly as united as she claims. Even the other praetors under her thrall bicker constantly amongst themselves. They are tyrants still, but they have some semblance of independence, enough to divert their attentions from us. Even if she had the united force to stop us, Norn's ego prevents her from viewing the Furnace or Mirrex as anything but blasted wastelands beneath her attention, or our people as any more than short-sighted brutes. With any hope, this will grow to be the last mistake she ever makes.

Every passage into the Furnace, particularly the lacunae and service elevators which access the other layers, is amply guarded by fire, guardian beasts, trained sentries, automatons, or most commonly a mix of all four. Should an invader get past, there is no worker of the Furnace unwilling to take up arms to protect our home.

It helps that the fire of our home presents a hazard to every other Phyrexian lineage, with its ability to sterilize their oil. Not even Norn is foolish enough to send her elites here--should they die, their minds and bodies will be irrecoverable to her, and no Phyrexian can bear the thought of such waste. The Furnace is also magically warded. Besides the Seedcore, which is heavily screened by Norn's personal guard and a contingent of enslaved mages, mine is the only sphere of New Phyrexia guarded against incoming divination.

If the Invasion must happen at all, one can only hope it depletes the Orthodoxy's numbers beyond any realistic hope of recovery.

-U

[pseudonode]

Storm the Seedcore by Jason Rainville

[wind-to-your-sails]

The March of the Machine is at its peak. Urabrask's attempt on Norn's life has failed in a grisly dismembering, the compleated planeswalkers are running rampant across the Multiverse, and the invaders gain ground on every battlefield. In this moment, the fate of countless worlds spins on a single move, winner-takes-all. Wrenn and a crack team of Mirran rebels have breached the Seedcore with one mission; sway the ultimate weapon of war to their side.

[markrosewater]

Why was corrupted made an ability word instead of a keyword? For example why was the seedcore given it's current wording rather than "Target 1/1 creature gets +2/+1 until end of turn. Activate only if an opponent is corrupted. (A player is corrupted if they have three or more poison counters.)"

Usually the difference between a keyword and an ability word is the former replaces an exact string of text that has to be the same on every card.

[homebrew-hobo]

Hey yall! I found out how to export my deck from Arena, so attached at the bottom of this post is the deck I used to achieve that 50,000/50,000 Fairground Trumpeter from the Commander Spotlight!

It’s quite old, I’ve been meaning to look into more ways to spice it up, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right? Anyway, enjoy and have fun stomping the competition!

Commander

1 Sovereign Okinec Ahau (LCI) 240

Deck

1 Authority of the Consuls (KLR) 9

13 Plains (MKM) 278

13 Forest (MKM) 286

1 Benalish Knight-Counselor (Y23) 1

1 Monk of the Open Hand (HBG) 96

1 Ainok Bond-Kin (KTK) 3

1 Coppercoat Vanguard (MAT) 1

1 Dusk Legion Duelist (MOM) 11

1 Hallowed Priest (ANB) 9

1 Ironpaw Aspirant (LCI) 18

1 Juniper Order Rootweaver (DMU) 22

1 Renata, Called to the Hunt (MUL) 93

1 Valiant Veteran (DMU) 38

1 Springleaf Drum (BRR) 55

1 Heliod, Sun-Crowned (THB) 18

1 Patchplate Resolute (Y23) 28

1 Rosie Cotton of South Lane (LTR) 27

1 Siege Veteran (BRO) 25

1 Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! (LTR) 24

1 Twinblade Paladin (M20) 285

1 Ilysian Caryatid (ANB) 98

1 Serra Redeemer (DMU) 282

1 Virtue of Loyalty (WOE) 38

1 Jungle Delver (ANB) 99

1 Quirion Beastcaller (DMU) 175

1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire (MOM) 198

1 Ruins Recluse (MOM) 336

1 Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar (LCI) 232

1 Case of the Trampled Garden (MKM) 156

1 Fairgrounds Trumpeter (MOM) 335

1 Kami of Whispered Hopes (MOM) 196

1 Undercity Upheaval (MAT) 25

1 Dragonscale Boon (KTK) 131

1 Clay Champion (BRO) 230

1 Storm the Seedcore (MOM) 206

1 Incremental Growth (KTK) 138

1 Malamet Veteran (LCI) 201

1 Botanical Brawler (MOM) 220

1 Shanna, Sisay's Legacy (MUL) 124

1 Enduring Bondwarden (MOM) 14

1 Andúril, Flame of the West (LTR) 236

1 Captivating Cave (LCI) 268

1 Minas Tirith (LTR) 256

1 The Hunter Maze (ONE) 253

1 Blossoming Sands (FDN) 260

1 Radiant Grove (DMU) 253

1 Razorverge Thicket (ONE) 257

1 Command Tower (ANB) 118

1 Radiant Fountain (M21) 248

1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal (SIR) 39

1 Garruk's Uprising (WOT) 53

1 Lunarch Veteran (MID) 27

1 Grand Master of Flowers (AFR) 17

1 Soul Warden (M10) 34

1 +2 Mace (AFR) 1

1 Daxos, Blessed by the Sun (MUL) 67

1 Fencing Ace (ANB) 7

1 Impassioned Orator (ANB) 10

1 Brightmare (JMP) 2

1 Citanul Stalwart (BRO) 175

1 Veteran's Powerblade (BRO) 41

1 Hydra's Growth (THB) 172

1 Avacyn's Pilgrim (SIS) 48

1 Awaken the Bear (KTK) 129

1 Dwarven Priest (M19) 11

1 Hexgold Hoverwings (ONE) 14

1 Woodland Mystic (ANB) 109

1 War of the Last Alliance (LTR) 36

1 Requisition Raid (OTJ) 26

1 Creosote Heath (OTJ) 255

1 Etched Cornfield (DSK) 258

1 Hushwood Verge (DSK) 261

1 Lush Portico (MKM) 263

1 Selesnya Guildgate (FDN) 694

1 Temple of Plenty (FDN) 703

[raakdos-battlemap]

Mirrodin/New Phyrexia Encounter #003 SeedCore

According to Phyrexian Field Reports there initially existed three spheres in Mirrodin: the surface, the interior, and the furnaces. The Phyrexians worked to add further spheres in an attempt to recreate the original nine-sphered Phyrexia

The Seedcore, the innermost layer, is a place that serves as an incubation chamber for New Phyrexia's Invasion Tree, Realmbreaker. What once served as both Memnarch's observation deck Panopticon and Karn's throne room and prison while he was the Father of Machines, Realmbreaker's branches grew and have created Omenpaths, connecting New Phyrexia to other planes.

It contains a replica of Norn's throne made of woven roots. The air hums with a chorus of dissonant Phyrexian voices. The air shimmers with static that tastes of aether, pierced by shafts of buttery, golden light. A hole in the floor leads to a ten-foot drop onto a hovering porcelain disk just above an even larger hole that leads to Realmbreaker's roots.

More variations of this map:

[machine-unlearning]

(from Storm the Seedcore, by Jason Rainville)

I like when animators shoot their reference footage themselves and post them besides their final product cause it always look something like this and I adore it

[overflowchute]

i thought at first that i failed to complete the 9 spheres, but i realized i was miscounting - if you count, there are 8 physical spheres of new phyrexia, but a sphere isn't really the physical object. it's the /gap/ between two plates, the last extra "sphere" lies at the end

the monumental facade 1, mirrex 2, auto furnace 3, hunter maze 4, surgical bay 5, dross pits 6, fair basilica 7, mycosynth garden 8, seedcore 9. all is as it was planned, i suppose, indeed

new phyrexia has a minor downside in that it was assembled from a real plane, and is in some ways deeply obsessed with form over function. old phyrexia has a certain degree of beautiful insanity to it by comparison in that its layers are various forms of trash junk based around two or three integral locations of actual production. and also there's the pure energy layer nobody talks about. that place is fucked

i guess i think of it like, new phyrexia is like walking between the worlds of super mario bros 3, old phyrexia is like a single final dungeon of an rpg where the entire place feels designed as one to serve the blunt purposes of being A Single Place. not that i dislike that b/c it reflects the different energies of both tho

[horademagic]

O Germinúcleo/ The Seedcore

Pode gerar mana colorida 

Terreno Desprovido

Por que ela é interessante? Esse terreno pode ser virado para adicionar uma mana desprovida para seu uso. Só que ele também pode ser virado para gerar mana colorida, porém, essa mana colorida só pode ser usada para conjurar mágicas que sejam de Phyrexianos, do contrário, nada feito. Ainda tem o Corrompido, você vira esse terreno para que a criatura alvo que seja 1/1 receba +2/+1 até o final do turno, então atente-se as condições que precisam ser obedecidas aqui. E tem mais, esse corrompido só pode ser ativado se um oponente tiver três ou mais marcadores de veneno, do contrário, nada feito.

Preço da carta: em torno de 0,50 até 25,00

Disponível em Português

Link: https://www.ligamagic.com.br/?view=cards/card&card=The%20Seedcore&aux=O%20Germin%C3%BAcleo

Até a próxima postagem, Ulli e Thiago

[glyphreader]

MtG Illustration: Personal Favourites 2023

This might be a bit late ... but before the new sets of 2024 start coming out, I wanted to make a post about my personal MtG illustration favourites from 2023. Whenever a new set comes out, I make a Top 5/Top 10 list for it, but that would be way too much for one post - so I'm only going to pick one for each major set (that I care for). So hear we go, starting with ...

Phyrexia: All Will Be One - Myr Convert (Illus. José Parodi)

To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Phyrexia. I'm fine with it, but on a personal excitement scale, it's a 3/5 kind of deal. It's fun for a while, but unmigitaged evil gets stale pretty fast. My feelings towards ONE and MOM are a bit of a paradox - from a storytelling standpoint, the invasion absolutely should have spanned more than two sets. But I was also kind of happy that it ended after MOM.

Anyway, I like Myr Convert because it symbolizes the completion of New Phyrexia at the dawn of the invasion. This Myr doesn't seem to belong to any one of the five Phyrexian factions, it's just a Phyrexian basking in the twisted glory of its new home. This message is strengthened by the fact that Myr were unique to Mirrodin and thus are a symbol for the plane and its history as a whole.

I especially like the gesture of its left hand, how it's creepily caressing the structures of the Monumental Facade. It probably went through some horrible, painful transformation, but now the pain has subsided, and all that remains is a subtle, sustained ecstasy of having become part of Phyrexia.

Honourable Mentions: Swooping Lookout, Font of Progress, Ambulatory Edifice, Blazing Crescendo, Molten Rebuke, Paladin of Predation, Ovika, Enigma Goliath, Phyrexian Atlas, The Surgical Bay, Darkslick Shores

March of the Machine - Corruption of Towashi (Illus. Artur Nakhodkin)

I know, I know ... the obvious choice here is Storm the Seedcore, but after looking through all the cards in the set one more time, I've come to the conclusion that it's not my personal favourite. It's a masterfully done piece, don't get me wrong ... but the illustration is going so hard for the "renaissance painting" vibes that the Mirran armor and weapons feel a bit out of place and almost silly.

In the actual story, the unfurling of Tamiyo's iron-bound scrolls was a bit of a letdown. There was no real grandeur to it - Tamiyo just read a bit from her scrolls and then was distracted / got into a fit almost immediately.

Corruption of Towashi is more like it. Imagine you're a random citizen, staring up into the sky as giant scrolls unfurl above you and literally spell out your doom. If you study the background a bit, you can see that the three scrolls that are the focal point of this piece aren't the only ones have have been used to cast this spell. Dozens of others have been unrolled before them, their text now magically imprinted onto the sky. Together, they are all part of one grand ritual aimed at reshaping Kamigawa as we know it.

Because of how the story was told, portals just openend up everywhere and Phyrexia invaded every plane in basically the same way. But I like the thought that in a different universe (where the storyline was more stretched out), each plane was invaded in a slightly different fashion, and Tamiyo and her scrolls were the "plan" for Kamigawa.

Honourable Mentions: Storm the Seedcore, Moment of Truth, Breach the Multiverse, Collective Nightmare, Kami of Whispered Hopes,Joyful Stormsculptor, Thornwood Falls, Errant and Giada, Yargle and Multani, Referee Squad, Essence of Orthodoxy

Wilds of Eldraine - Archon of the Wild Rose (Illus. Chris Rahn)

I'm starting to notice a trend here ... apparently I have a thing for relatively simple compositions with a strong, central focus.

Archon of the Wild Rose was already my favourite before I saw the full set. First off, archons are just a cool creature type. Angels in MtG are kind of boring - they show up so much that they don't feel special anymore, and they have been humanized so much that they often lack that otherworldly aspect that a being made out of pure white mana ostensibly should have. Archons are basically the opposite, and that's why I like them.

This card is part of the "Beauty and the Beast" batch of cards that tells the story of Syr Armont and the cursed Redtooth elves. The archon functions as the "antagonist" of the story, since it protects the enchanted roses that can break the elve's curse. We only know the general outline of the story from Maro's lore article, but I like the idea of a white-aligned protagnist having to go up against a white-aligned enemy. The story would be a pretty boring if the thing guiding the roses was a random wild beast or a hideous demon.

Instead of her just fightning something and taking the rose as a reward, the confrontation between Syr Ardent and the archon would probably play out on a philosophical level, forcing her to confront her values and beliefs. In that way, the story that is being suggested here feels very Arthurian to me, a good blend of Eldraine's two main inspirations.

Honourable Mentions: Armory Mice, The Princess Takes Flight, Archive Dragon, Living Lectern, Hopeless Nightmare, Warehouse Tabby, Beanstalk Wurm, Troyan, Gutsy Explorer, Tempest Hart, Beluna Grandsquall, Mosswood Dreadknight, Tegwyll's Scouring

Lost Caverns of Ixalan - Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth (Illus. Ryan Pancoast)

Similar to New Phyrexia, Ixalan is a 3/5 for me as far as personal excitement for the setting is concerned. It's not really my thing, but I can still enjoy it. The coolest element about this set for me is the hollow core and the fact that we get to see the land curving upwards on many of the illustrations. It's a really unique feature of the plane and I'm glad it was showcased so well in the art.

As far as worldbuilding / creative goes, I'm pretty impressed that Wizards was able to take the idea for a set that wasn't originally supposed to be Ixalan and turn it into Ixalan halfway through. Nothing really feels out of place, but precisely because there was a bit of randomness/chaos involved, the result doesn't feel as calculated and predictable as other return sets, which is nice.

Out of all the Ojer creatures, Kaslem is my favourite. Initially I though she was just a butterfly lady and the two wurms/serpents were her familiars, but it turns out that they're actually her legs. Oh, and judging by the branches coming out from between the butterfly wings, she's also part tree. In a way, she almost looks like a Lorwyn elemental, a mix of different animal parts that symbolizes a higher concept. Because of this, she feels like a "proper god" - this is merely her corporeal form, but her essence is eternal. I also just like how happy the wurm on the right looks.

Honourable Mentions: Whispersilk Cloak, Petrify, Resplendent Angel, Hurl into History, Guidestone Compass, Self-Reflection, Bloodletter of Aclazotz, Greedy Freebooter, Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, Uchbenbak, the Great Mistake, The Core, Restless Anchorage, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel

So that's it. I've left out UB releases and Secret Lairs because I don't care about the former (even though some cards have really nice art) and the latter is too annoying to keep track of.

As far as Magic is concerned, I'm looking forward to the second half of 2024. Murders of Karlov Manor and Thunder Junction are ... OK (again, feeling a 3/5 kind of excitement here), but Bloomburrow and Duskmourn look really intriguing. Another set that I look forward to is Modern Horizons III, which will hopefully come with some more freeform, "out there" art.

[socialpoison]

seeing as it is the spooky season I thought I would ask about the time your OC was the most afraid.

(i always waffle trying to answer these until it's way too late alksdjf;lkh But here we go) Klaus was most afraid when he arrived at New Phyrexia, across a dark, vast sea. He was lost, and couldn't turn back. He found a guide however, and was led through the Nine Layers, for the only way out was through. Down he went, deeper and deeper, past monsters, and Phyrexia's great architects, its decrepit enemies, now imprisoned. When he finally reached the Seedcore, where the path home lay, past the branches of the Realmbreaker, branches strewn with the bodies of those who dared to defy their glorious expansion, among which, he swore he could see himself. He was most afraid to gaze through the Panopticon as he passed by it. He turned it to himself and he remembered what it was doing before he arrived in Phyrexia:

Klaus was most afraid when he landed down on New Phyrexia and was immediately separated from his friends by the Anti-Planeswalker Field around the plane, alone in the Surgical Bays, running for his life, trying to hide from the multitude of eyes that followed him wherever he went. Then when he reached the limit of his foresight, when the only immediate future he could see with his magic was himself in the Phyrexians' clutches. He took the entirety of the dose of Halo he had, but they strapped him down into a pod to begin his compleation.

They pumped him full of oil and inkmoth serum, commandeering his brain for their use. Pulling from it every secret he held for his friends and the planeswalkers trying to invade. Using his magic to try and formulate plans for Phyrexian victory. And while his stolen mind raced to design a Phyrexian future, what little was left to Klaus was capable only of dreaming: Of a journey to escape the world that had already bested him. And Klaus's heart sank into his stomach when he realized his body was going to give at any moment. The resistance the Halo he had taken was fading, and he would either succumb to sickness or be compleated.

He left through the Seedcore and dreamt up an afterlife of islands in an endless ocean, trying to make peace with the inevitable. (He's rescued JUST before it's too late though!)