Valko IndorianValko Indorian | Art by Paolo Parente

When Mystery Booster Commander Edition was announced, a number of incredible and risky designs were revealed. None caused as much discourse as those with the rulebreaker ability, however.

This week, we’re looking at a creature type that breaks the rules of Magic and shattered the Multiverse on multiple occasions. They almost conquered the Multiverse, and the repercussions of their invasion are still being felt.

Have you guessed it? It’s Phyrexians!

Phyrexians are one of the original big bads of Magic lore. While it had been established that most beings were anchored to their home plane, outside of a few individuals, the Phyrexians managed to not only discover multiversal travel, but to take their entire plane with them.

Even after they were defeated the first time, the Phyrexians made like Cell and Buu in Dragon Ball Z and regenerated from a drop of oil to take over Mirrodin and make it New Phyrexia. They then used that as a base of operations to launch a full-scale multiplanar invasion that took an incredible combination of forces to defeat.

And, even now, New Phyrexia remains, jettisoned into the Blind Eternities to return when the plot demands it.

Phyrexian History

Phyrexia has been a part of Magic lore for about as long as Magic has had lore, going all the way back to the corruption of Urza’s brother, Mishra. Originally, they took over and corrupted their home plane, but, as planeswalkers happened upon their de facto homeworld, they used their oil to spread.

This oil has been reflected in poison counters, which are lethal to planeswalkers like the ones players role-play as, as well as oil counters in the multiplanar invasion. Both of these synergize with proliferate effects.

But these are small beans. If this was all Phyrexians aspired to, they wouldn’t be the feared force they are.

No, Phyrexians have incredible power. It starts with their leadership, the Praetors. Elesh Norn’s various incarnations wreck games, and Sheoldred is a name even Standard players fear.

But their leadership isn’t the only powerhouse in the Phyrexian arsenal. Phyrexian oil corrupts, and Phyrexians not only provide their own powerhouses to new planes, they also turn the powerhouses of the plane itself against its own denizens.

But how do we bring these elements together? And what does Valko bring to the table?

What Does Valko Indorian Do?

To be frank, I had to look up what Valko’s rulebreaker ability did. It doesn’t help that Tolabow, Loch RascalTolabow, Loch Rascal has already received errata, which shows that the ability is not entirely intuitive.

But what is that ability?

To start with, Valko is considered to have a color identity of mono-black because it only has black pips in its mana cost and no other pips exist anywhere on the card. As a result, we should only be able to use black or colorless spells and lands that are within the monoblack color identity.

So why don’t we just go with K'rrik, Son of YawgmothK'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth?

Well, the rulebreaker ability gives Valko commander decks the ability to use Phyrexian cards of any color identity. The rest of the deck needs to follow the mono-black identity, however, so we can’t use the guild signets or even Arcane Signet for mana fixing. We can also use any basic lands we want, but, like Arcane SignetArcane Signet, Command TowerCommand Tower will only make black mana.

While rulebreaker increases the number of playable Phyrexians we have, it’s not the only benefit Valko provides. Valko also gives our Phyrexians menace and lifelink, making them difficult to block and to race properly.

After all, you can’t expect a multiversal menace to play fair.

Key Cards for Valko IndorianValko Indorian

Since Valko is a thematic commander from a thematic set, we’re going to build a strongly thematic deck. This is a Phyrexian deck, through and through, so we will be using cards that either are Phyrexians or have Phyrexian in the name. We will still try to do the jobs of a regular deck, however.

For ramp, we’re using primarily mana dorks. Plague MyrPlague Myr is a Phyrexianized Myr that makes colorless instead of colored mana and has infect. Belbe, meanwhile, is a Phyrexianized legendary creature that makes mana for each player we damage, which can be quite a lot if we’re the aggressor.

Phyrexian PlaguelordPhyrexian Plaguelord and Bone ShredderBone Shredder are removal spells with strong pedigrees. The Plaguelord was the titular Rock from The Rock decks, referring to The Rock and His Minions, itself a reference to "The Rock and His Millions", a catchphrase from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. While Deranged HermitDeranged Hermit provided the “minions”, the Plaguelord sacrificed the tokens to clear the board. We use it to a similar effect.

Bone Shredder, meanwhile, was a kitchen table fixture. It’s a TerrorTerror on a stick, with echo balancing its power out. Reanimator decks loved re-using the ETB, which made it strong despite the echo cost.

Phyrexian ArenaPhyrexian Arena and Rager are also classic Phyrexian cards with strong pedigrees. Arena is an example of a permanent that isn’t a Phyrexian but is within our color identity, working with the theme. It’s also just a generically powerful card and black staple.

Phyrexian Rager is a Sign in BloodSign in Blood-style card that, like Bone ShredderBone Shredder, comes with a body and has historically been played in Reanimator decks. We use it as a Phyrexian creature that draws cards.

Mana is a bit of a tricky balancing act for this deck, as we are a five-color deck that is base black. Black struggles a bit with mana fixing, and Command TowerCommand Tower, as mentioned earlier, isn’t an option. We do have lands like The SeedcoreThe Seedcore that can make mana of any color, but lack pips, so they’re within our identity.

Phyrexian TowerPhyrexian Tower, meanwhile, is another mono-black staple that also fits our theme. We might not use it perfectly, but mana ramp is at a premium, and this is a way to sacrifice smaller creatures for the greater good.

But how do we close the game out?

How Does This Valko IndorianValko Indorian Commander Deck Win?

Our Phyrexians are here to dominate combat. We’re looking to present a huge board of gigantic creatures, a combination of the most powerful leaders of Phyrexia and their biggest and baddest minions. Elesh Norn is the combination of a massive team anthem and a stifling stax effect, while Tyrranax RexTyrranax Rex is the unofficial perversion of Carnage TyrantCarnage Tyrant, sharing uncounterability, trample, and a protection effect. Just imagine Tyrranax and Elesh Norn together!

The Deck List

Conclusion

Phyrexians have a range of commanders, including multiple Mystery Booster commanders. With Praetors, GermGerm tokens, and minions, there are lots of routes Phyrexians can go.

How would you build Phyrexians? And who would you use to command them?