Including lands, there are a total of 85 Magic: The Gathering cards with a rarity of Rare or Mythic Rare in the Phrexia: All Will Be One set—and around 20 that are bombs within the Limited Draft and Sealed formats.
Since the release of ONE, the Limited Draft meta has been dominated by Aggro decks in the colors Red/Green and White/Red. Toxic strategies in conjunction with low-cost aggressive one and two-drops have shaped the Draft meta. A Rare or Mythic Rare bomb has the potential to disrupt the meta, though, especially in colors that are underperforming.
Related: Best Limited Draft archetypes in Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Top ONE Rare/Mythic Rare honorable mentions
In addition to the guaranteed bombs, there are eight Rare and Mythic Rare cards in the ONE set that are also pack-one pick-one depending on the overall quality of the pack. Honorable mentions are often too narrow to get classified as a bomb but are still worth picking first most of the time. Skrelv’s Hive, for example, has amazing synergy with mite tokens and the Corrupted mechanic within the WB archetype. The Enchantment is even worth considering as a splash in the BR archetype.
The ONE set has several cycles that will impact the Limited format. The Twilight cycle showcases spells that use “X” mana to change the course of a game, with Black Sun’s Twilight and White Sun’s Twilight standing out as the best. There’s also a cycle of Sphere lands, with The Mycosynth Gardens standing out as a potential bomb in Artifact heavy archetypes like WU. And the Sphere land Mirrex can slot right into the BR and WB archetypes.
Norn’s Wellspring is a solid two-drop Artifact in White that can continually provide card advantage when needed. Encroaching Mycosynth is a four-drop Blue Artifact that has all nonland permanents become Artifacts, making it a bomb specifically in the WU Artifact archetype. Thrun, Breaker of Silence is a big stompy legendary in Green that’s a solid finisher, and Vraan, Executioner Thane slots right into the BR and WB archetypes as a secondary win condition.
Best Rare/Mythic Rare ONE cards for Draft and Sealed
Cards with a rarity of Rare or Mythic Rare that are considered the best are often called bombs since they can directly impact the meta without needing to get placed in a specific archetype. They can also push a specific archetype to S-tier status, making them worthy of a first pick within the first ONE Draft pack.
Twilight cycle
There are a total of five ONE cards in the Twilight cycle, representing the five Praetors and MTG suns/colors on the plane of Phyrexia. Black’s Sun’s, White Sun’s, and Blue Sun’s Twilight are the three best in the cycle, especially when players can afford to pay five or more mana for “X.” Green Sun’s Twilight is still good but not a bomb, and Red Sun’s Twilight can pop off against Artifact heavy decks.
Glissa Sunslayer
Glissa Sunslayer is a reason to play the Green and Black archetype in Draft. The legendary Phyrexian zombie elf protects players against Toxic strategies and provides an answer to the Aggro archetypes dominating the ONE Draft meta. And as an added bonus, she can even take out an Enchantment or provide card advantage when it’s needed.
Unctus, Grand Metatect
Unctus, Grand Metatect is a bomb in the color Blue, giving all Blue creatures you control the ability to tap and draw a card, followed by discarding a card. The Phyrexian Vedalken has a toughness of four to keep it out of some removal spells range and it’s a lord for all Artifacts, pumping their stats by +1/+1.
Able to also turn creatures into Artifact creatures, Unctus Grand Metatect is a bomb in the WU Artifact archetype, which is already strong on its own. And the Phyrexian Vedalken is still a solid card in the other three archetypes that use Blue.
Tyrranax Rex
Phyrexian dinosaurs are a thing in the ONE Limited format with Tyrranax Rex pulling players into the color Green. Toxic is a main mechanic in Green and this spikey Rex is the ideal creature to push 10 Poison counters on an opponent. Tyrranax Rex also has 8/8 stats, can’t be countered when cast, has Trample, and is protected through Ward. The Phyrexian dinosaur is easily the best top-end finisher in the ONE set.
Dragon Glider
Red and White, along with Red and Green, have become the best ONE Draft archetypes since the set was released. A majority of the cards that make up the archetype are low-cost as the build is aggressive. But the archetype lacks a solid top-end finisher should matches run long, which is why Dragonwing Glider is a bomb in the color Red.
Players get a 4/4 Flying creature with Haste for five mana with Dragonwing Glider, which should end games when cast. And if not, players can simply invest that five mana into equipping the Artifact onto another creature, giving it +2/+2 stats, Flying, and Haste.
The Eternal Wanderer
The Eternal Wanderer is expanding her dominance across multiple Magic sets and formats. Within ONE, she is a Rare planeswalker who costs 4WW to cast and has a starting loyalty of five. The Eternal Wanderer protects herself through her plus-one, creates pressure through her zero-cost loyalty, and can wipe the board with her ultimate. Any of the four ONE archetypes with White are happy to have the planeswalker as a top-end finisher.
Nissa, Ascended Animist
Costing one more mana to cast than The Eternal Wanderer is Nissa, Ascended Animist, who is also a top-end finisher planeswalker through her ultimate in the color Green. The major difference between the two planeswalkers is that Nissa can get cast with up to two Phyrexian mana. This means she’ll need a total of three turns to hit her ultimate, but that is fine because her plus-one can protect Nissa. And as an added bonus, the Compleated planeswalker can also destroy an Artifact or Enchantment.
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus is a Proliferate engine in the MTG color Blue. The legendary Phyrexian horror is a solid card on its own as a four-drop 3/5 Flyer that can protect itself. In conjunction with the Proliferate theme in Blue, Tekuthatl is a Dominus from the cycle of five that is worth picking first.
Bloated Contaminator
A dinosaur may have earned the best finisher award in the color Green, but Bloated Contaminator is potentially the best creature in the ONE set. The three-drop Green Phyrexian Beast has 4/4 stats, Trample, and Toxic one. Bloated Contaminator will likely land at least one Poison counter and deal combat damage, which then triggers Proliferate. And the Phyrexian beast can essentially slot into any ONE Draft archetype.
Mondrak, Glory Dominus
Mondrak, Glory Dominus is a mite-making engine in ONE. The WB archetype looks strong but is still short of S-tier status. Mondrak, Glory Dominus bumps the archetype to the top of the meta, pumping out twice the number of tokens getting created. And if most players in a pool are hesitant to get into the WB archetype, building around Mondrak shouldn’t be too difficult.
Migloz, Maze Crusher
Similar to Mondrak, Glory Dominus, Migloz, Maze Crusher pushes the RG archetype into S-tier status. Potentially the second-best card in ONE, the Phyrexian beast uses Oil counters for a variety of abilities on a 4/4 body. The color Green has Proliferate options, and there are Oil counter enablers that make Migloz, Maze Crusher even better.
Archfiend of the Dross
Alternative win conditions in MTG are expected to get included in each major Standard-legal set release, with Archfiend of the Dross fulfilling that role in All Will Be One. The four-drop Rare 6/6 Flying Phyrexian demon can end games on its power level alone. It also has an alternative condition that could win the game for the opponent, should the last Oil counter get removed from Archfiend of the Dross.
Cards that Proliferate, or are Oil counter enablers, tend to keep Archfiend of the Dross from taking out its controller. The demon overpowers other Flyers in the ONE Draft meta and steals two life from an opponent each time one of their creatures dies.
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines and Praetors
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines is the face card of the Phyrexia: All Will Be One set, but that’s not why it’s a bomb in Limited. The ONE set is packed with enter-the-battlefield effects. Elesh Norn wants to exploit those triggers for you while shutting down your opponent’s ETB triggers. The Phyrexian Praetor also has 4/7 stats and Vigilance, making her difficult to remove.
Praetors
In addition to Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines are the four other Praetors on the plane of Phyrexia who are featured in Draft packs with their original cards from recent MTG sets.
- Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines (ONE)
- Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider (KHM)
- Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (DMU)
- Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant (NEO)
- Urabrask, Heretic Praetor (SNC)
Sheoldred and Vorinclex are by far the strongest picks, along with Elesh Norn. Jin-Gitaxias is strong in UR builds and Urabrask may have a home in RG Midrange decks.
All images via WotC.
Update Feb. 3 12pm CT: Entries were updated following the MTG Arena Early Access event for ONE.
Update Feb. 16 12:30pm CT: Additional ONE cards were added heading into the Phyrexia Pro Tour.
