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Glistening oil
Glistening oil
Characteristics
Origin Phyrexia
Status Inert

Glistening oil, also known as Phyrexian oil or Ichor, is a viral substance engineered by the Phyrexians to spread corruption wherever it travels. It is both a contagion and a mutagen, used to compleat creatures into Phyrexians and power Phyrexian machines as well.[1][2] After the death of Elesh Norn, the altered oil from New Phyrexia was rendered inert and harmless.

Description[ | ]

The glistening oil is composed of two main elements: oil and powerstone nanites. It is normally black but can also be of other colors like green[3] and gold.[4] These components can be forced apart under specific sound frequencies, something Urza, Xantcha and Ratepe exploited;[5] Ral Zarek later rediscovered this method.[6] In New Phyrexia, the oil was further mixed with other fluids such as the liquid metal of the Quicksilver Sea and the necrogen gas of the dross swamps, so in art in Phyrexia: All Will Be One it is sometimes depicted as silver or green.

The oil imparts a genetic memory of Yawgmoth, Phyrexia, and the Phyrexian language, creating a throughline for the Phyrexian culture.[7][8]

History[ | ]

On Phyrexia[ | ]

Oil was present on the plane that would become Phyrexia when Dyfed brought Yawgmoth there. Given that Phyrexia as a concept and civilization was Yawgmoth's creation, and Dyfed claimed that the metal creatures of the world could be consumed, it seems likely this oil was once innocuous but later modified into a corruptive agent. Indeed, once Yawgmoth's will became one with Phyrexia, the oil began exhibiting mutagenic properties it previously did not have.[4] Still, the oil was not refined as a fully infectious agent by the time of the first Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria, though the new infectious variant did make it to Mirrodin.[9]

The Fifth Sphere of Phyrexia, called the Boiling Sea, was an ocean of glistening oil used by Vat Priests of the Fourth Sphere to breed newts.

On Dominaria[ | ]

In post-apocalyptic Dominaria, black-aligned knights and wizards were tainted by the lands where Yawgmoth and his minions had been defeated. Evidence of this corruption existed in the black ichor that ran from their eyes.[10] In the Mending Era, a sample of live glistening oil recovered from Koilos was rumored to be preserved in the labs of the Academy of Tolaria West.[11]

The Infection of Karn[ | ]

Without knowing it, Karn carried a trace of the Phyrexian oil within him, inside the Phyrexian heartstone granted to him long ago by Urza. Karn left traces of the oil in his travels from plane to plane, including the artificial world that he created: Mirrodin.

The Infection of Mirrodin[ | ]

The glistening oil planted a virus on Mirrodin that slowly spread.[12][13] The first to be infected was Mirrodin's keeper, Memnarch. Unbeknownst to most Mirrans, Phyrexia was rebuilding itself, using their world as its host substrate. Mirrodin's metal structures and metal-infused inhabitants were a perfect breeding ground for the spread of Phyrexian corruption. As the nascent civilization of Phyrexia expanded in secret, it struggled to evolve a unified purpose, and the danger to the plane of Mirrodin grew until it evolved into New Phyrexia.

The glistening oil was the catalyst for the evolution of mycosynth and was found in large quantities in the corrupted Quicksilver Sea. Kraynox, the Deep Thane, created a layer of glistening oil below Mirrodin's surface known as the Fourth Sphere (in addition to the Surface, Core, and Furnace).[14] This layer was later taken over by the praetor Jin-Gitaxias, who drained the Quicksilver Sea above into it, creating a massive reservoir of glistening oil.[15]

Jin-Gitaxias and his faction used the vedalken's blinkmoth serum to enhance the glistening oil, making it more virulent and able to proliferate through organic material at record speeds. The praetor also discovered how to compleat planeswalkers with the oil through research on Kamigawa's kami spirits and experimentation with the Reality Chip.[16] These enhancements made the oil harder for other mortals to resist, weakening Melira's healing abilities.[17]

However, Norn had also upgraded the oil to allow only herself to transmit new orders. As New Phyrexia phased out of existence, glistening oil all across the Multiverse was cut off from its source and rendered inert.[18] Some Phyrexians stopped in place, while others crumbled apart. Those already compleated fell to the ground as if in a deep slumber.[19] Though some beings recovered from compleation, most died.[20]

It is unknown if the glistening oil left in the Multiverse through other means, like Karns' planeswalks, was also rendered inert, as Jin-Gitaxias did not enhance this oil.

In-game references[ | ]

Represented in:
Associated cards:
Referred to:

References[ | ]

  1. Doug Beyer (November 03, 2010). "Infectiously Phyrexian Art". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. Beadle & Grimm's (2023). "Tolarian Academy Department of Linguistics Research: Phyrexian Language Translation Guide", Wizards of the Coast.
  3. Will McDermott (1999), "Phyrexian Autopsy", The Official Urza's Destiny Game Guide, Wizards of the Coast.
  4. a b J. Robert King. (1999.) The Thran, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13 0-7869-1600-1.
  5. Lynn Abbey. (1998.) Planeswalker, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13: 0-7869-1182-4.
  6. Alison Lührs (March 24, 2023). "March of the Machine - Ravnica: One and the Same". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. Building Worlds (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (January 12, 2023).
  8. Phyrexian Phylology in Phylly (Video). Magic: the Gathering. YouTube (February 17, 2023).
  9. Will McDermott (2005), "Regarding the oil and the Mycosinth", MTG Salvation
  10. Magic Arcana (August 02, 2007). "Ichor Eyes and the Mask of Yawgmoth". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  11. James Wyatt (2018), The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Dominaria. VIZ Media.
  12. Doug Beyer (September 08, 2010). "Phyrexia and the Vaultlord". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  13. Doug Beyer (October 06, 2010). "Spreading the Infection". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  14. Wizards of the Coast (June 3, 2011). "On the Mirrodin Site: Roxith, Thane of Rot". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  15. Grace Fong (January 31, 2023). "Planeswalker's Guide to Phyrexia: All Will Be One". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  16. Hipsters of the Coast (October 30, 2022). "Jin-Gitaxias was influenced by blue mana, so he looked for things with knowledge.". Twitter.
  17. Jay Annelli. (2022.) Magic: The Gathering - The Visual Guide, DK. ISBN-13 978-0744061055.
  18. K. Arsenault Rivera (March 28, 2023). "March of the Machine - Episode 10: The Rhythms of Life". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  19. Flavor text for Render Inert
  20. Mark Rosewater (May 2, 2023). "Doing the Aftermath". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  21. a b My 62 Secret Magic Playtest Cards! (Video). Good Morning Magic. YouTube (February 20, 2023).
  22. Doug Beyer (March 16, 2011). "Six Secrets Behind the Sets". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  23. Monty Ashley (February 17, 2011). "Unnaturally Predated". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
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