Phyrexian Unlife MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Key Takeaways

  1. Phyrexian Unlife grants a lifeline past zero life, encouraging risky plays with life as a strategic resource.
  2. Its mana cost can limit deck versatility, posing challenges for decks that need a diverse mana base.
  3. Inclusion in decks enables formidable combos and counter-strategies, vital in aggressive metagames.

Text of card

You don't lose the game for having 0 or less life. As long as you have 0 or less life, all damage is dealt to you as though its source had infect. (Damage is dealt to you in the form of poison counters.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Phyrexian Unlife expands your effective health pool, essentially giving you an additional 10 life. This increased survivability can be a crucial advantage, allowing you to leverage more of your cards while under less pressure from your opponent’s aggression.

Resource Acceleration: While not a direct source of mana generation, Phyrexian Unlife can indirectly accelerate your resources by providing a safety net. This lets you aggressively use life as a resource for cards or abilities that require life payments, thus speeding up your game plan without the immediate threat of losing the game.

Instant Speed: Although Phyrexian Unlife is an enchantment played at sorcery speed, its impact on the game is akin to a preemptive instant speed effect. Once in play, it provides instantaneous insurance against lethal damage, allowing you to survive situations that would normally result in a loss, often catching an opponent off-guard when they attempt a game-finishing move.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Phyrexian Unlife does not directly require you to discard cards, but its inclusion in a deck may necessitate strategies that involve self-mill or discard to maximize its utility. This could lead to situations where you’re forced to let go of valuable cards to maintain synergy with the Phyrexian Unlife’s effect.

Specific Mana Cost: Demanding two white mana and one generic mana, Phyrexian Unlife may be restrictive for multi-colored or colorless decks. Its specific mana cost could pose challenges in casting it on curve, especially in formats that demand fast and efficient mana bases.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value of three, Phyrexian Unlife is considered to have a high cost for its ability to change how you lose the game. In formats where fast-paced strategies prevail, spending three mana on an enchantment that doesn’t immediately impact the board can put you at a disadvantage against quicker aggro or combo decks.


Reasons to Include Phyrexian Unlife in Your Collection

Versatility: Phyrexian Unlife is a unique enchantment that allows for a range of strategic plays in your deck. It enables players to stay in the game even after their life total drops to zero, opening the door to various life-manipulating strategies.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations with effects that prevent damage or with cards like “Solemnity” which prevents you from getting poison counters, thus creating a formidable shield against loss.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where aggressive strategies aim to deplete life totals quickly, Phyrexian Unlife can be a metagame countermeasure, buying crucial turns to deploy your game-winning combos or stabilize the board.


How to beat

Phyrexian Unlife is a unique enchantment in the world of Magic: The Gathering, effectively altering the loss conditions for the player by allowing them to live on at zero or less life. This means that while it is in play, opponents need to strategize beyond simply dealing damage. To dismantle this seemingly impermeable defense, look towards cards that offer alternatives to traditional damage, such as those that enforce loss of life, or that provide direct counters to enchantments.

Consider employing well-timed removal spells or abilities that specifically target enchantments. Spells such as Nature’s Claim or Disenchant are cost-effective ways to clear Phyrexian Unlife off the board. Another strategy is to use cards that allow you to win the game under specific conditions, like Thassa’s Oracle, which circumvents the need to deplete life totals entirely. Work around Phyrexian Unlife’s strengths by adapting your deck to include a variety of paths to victory, thus ensuring that this one card doesn’t become the linchpin of your opponent’s survival.

In essence, beating Phyrexian Unlife calls for a flexible approach that includes enchantment removal, alternative win conditions, and an awareness of the altered loss conditions it presents. Adapting your strategy to include these elements will give you a firm standing against this powerful MTG card.


BurnMana Recommendations

Phyrexian Unlife is an enchantment that alters conventional MTG endgame scenarios, transforming it into a survival asset for any player’s collection. Combos like Solemnity and Phyrexian Unlife disrupt standard defeat parameters, crafting a near-immortal stance on the battlefield. It demands a strategic approach, both for those wielding it and those confronting it. For avid deck builders and tacticians eager to defy the traditions of MTG play, delving deeper into this card’s potential is a must. Explore the creative tactics that Phyrexian Unlife can unlock in your deck and confront the challenge of integrating its unique dynamics into your winning strategy.


Cards like Phyrexian Unlife

Phyrexian Unlife is a unique enchantment card in Magic: The Gathering that redefines survival at zero or less life. While similar in effect to cards like Platinum Angel, which prevents you from losing the game for having 0 life or being unable to draw a card, Phyrexian Unlife is distinct for turning all damage to you into poison counters once you’re at 0 life.

Comparably, we have cards like Solemnity that also interact with counters, blocking them from being placed on players and permanents, which could create a combo with Phyrexian Unlife by preventing poison counters entirely. Invigorating a strategy centered around immortality, these cards suggest a clever deck-building synergy. In the realm of enabling life-total manipulation, Angel’s Grace is another comparable instant that, for a turn, can stop the game-ending condition of dropping to 0 life or less, buying a crucial turn that could lead to victory.

Ultimately, Phyrexian Unlife holds a place within Magic: The Gathering as a cornerstone of counter-based and life-total manipulation strategies. It exemplifies how one card can pivot the tides of gameplay, offering creative avenues for players to explore within their decks.

Platinum Angel - MTG Card versions
Solemnity - MTG Card versions
Angel's Grace - MTG Card versions
Platinum Angel - Mirrodin (MRD)
Solemnity - Hour of Devastation (HOU)
Angel's Grace - Time Spiral (TSP)

Cards similar to Phyrexian Unlife by color, type and mana cost

Damping Field - MTG Card versions
Farmstead - MTG Card versions
Cooperation - MTG Card versions
Noble Steeds - MTG Card versions
Aura of Silence - MTG Card versions
Empyrial Armor - MTG Card versions
Pariah - MTG Card versions
Cessation - MTG Card versions
Arrest - MTG Card versions
Glorious Anthem - MTG Card versions
Samite Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Tattoo Ward - MTG Card versions
Sparring Regimen - MTG Card versions
Shielded by Faith - MTG Card versions
The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration - MTG Card versions
Oblivion Ring - MTG Card versions
Cage of Hands - MTG Card versions
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant // Rune-Tail's Essence - MTG Card versions
Guardian's Magemark - MTG Card versions
Celestial Dawn - MTG Card versions
Damping Field - Antiquities (ATQ)
Farmstead - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Cooperation - Ice Age (ICE)
Noble Steeds - Alliances (ALL)
Aura of Silence - The List (PLST)
Empyrial Armor - Weatherlight (WTH)
Pariah - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Cessation - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Arrest - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Glorious Anthem - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Samite Sanctuary - Prophecy (PCY)
Tattoo Ward - Odyssey (ODY)
Sparring Regimen - Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX)
Shielded by Faith - Signature Spellbook: Gideon (SS2)
The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Oblivion Ring - Modern Masters 2015 (MM2)
Cage of Hands - Commander Legends (CMR)
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant // Rune-Tail's Essence - The List (PLST)
Guardian's Magemark - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Celestial Dawn - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Phyrexian Unlife MTG card by a specific set like New Phyrexia and Secret Lair Drop, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Phyrexian Unlife and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Phyrexian Unlife Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2011-05-13 and 2023-09-08. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12011-05-13New PhyrexiaNPH 182003normalblackJason Chan
22019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 12132015normalborderlessDominik Mayer
32023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting TalesWOT 112015normalborderlessHarry Conway

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Phyrexian Unlife has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
GladiatorLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Phyrexian Unlife card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2011-06-01 If you’re at 0 or less life and Phyrexian Unlife leaves the battlefield, you’ll lose the game (unless some other effect is keeping you from losing).
2011-06-01 If you’re at 0 or less life, you can’t pay any amount of life except 0.
2011-06-01 Phyrexian Unlife won’t affect damage that reduces your life total from a positive number to 0 or less. For example, if you’re at 3 life and are dealt 5 damage, you’ll end up at -2 life. The next time you’re dealt damage, it will be dealt as though its source had infect.
2011-06-01 You can still lose the game for other reasons, including having ten or more poison counters or drawing a card from a library with no cards in it.

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