Plenty has happened in the past week regarding the set formerly known as "Action." WotC has confirmed the set to be New Phyrexia, and also spoiled one of the Praetors. This news was only the beginning. Days later, twenty Japanese cards were spoiled via scans. These cards are incredibly telling about the contents of the set, and the design of the block as a whole.

In MaRo's article from Phyrexia week, he talked about the makeup and concept of New Phyrexia. He explained the faction breakdown in the set as being 90% Phyrexian and around 10% Mirran, percentages that illustrate the Phyrexian victory and the outcome of the war. He described New Phyrexia in this way: "See the world reshaped by Phyrexians after they win the war." He also confirmed that Infect will now show up in Red, and Proliferate will show up in new colors as well.

As known through arts released on the minisite, we were expecting a rare cycle of Phyrexian Chancellors and a mythic rare cycle of Phyrexian Praetors. From what we now know, the Chancellors are the Leyline-type cards MaRo hinted at as being in "Action" months ago. If they are in your opening hand, you may reveal them for a bonus. Conversely, the mythic, legendary Praetors “lead” your forces in battle, giving your creatures something, while doing the opposite for the opponent.

The new mechanic spoiled for this set is “Phyrexian mana." It functions comparably to the form of hybrid mana present on the Tower Above cycle in Shadowmoor. You may pay the mana with the color of mana it represents, or by paying 2 life. Here is where the block design comes in. This is the payoff of having multiple life-gain cards in the previous two sets. Because of all of those life-gain effects, a mechanic that revolves around life payments can easily exist, and be much more interesting in limited environments.

Using the approximately 10% Mirran faction percentage from MaRo, and under the assumption that, like MBS, there will be ten basic lands, there will be around seventeen Mirran cards in this set. Therefore, the average Mirran card in New Phyrexia may be a little stronger than the average Mirran card in Mirrodin Besieged. Puresteel Paladin is a knight that plays an Enchantress role with equipment. Caged Sun is a colorless Mirari's Wake. Pristine Talisman is going to be great with Phyrexian mana in limited. The Mirrans lost the war, that much is clear, but the remaining Mirran cards, strong enough to survive the war, are certainly standouts.

Karn has been spoiled as the first colorless Planeswalker. As stated in multiple WotC articles, Planeswalkers will never count as another type of card, so Karn is not an artifact. He is a colorless spell much like the Eldrazi were. His abilities are extremely flavorful, mechanically representing reshaping a world, or “starting everything over." Oh, what does he do, you ask?

Karn, the Released

Planeswalker – Karn (mythic)

+4: Target player exiles a card from his or her hand.

−3: Exile target permanent.

−14: Set aside all non-Aura permanent cards exiled with Karn, then restart the game. Then put all cards set aside this way onto the battlefield under your control.

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What some may have forgotten is that WotC has recently restructured the rules regarding “subgames” and similar effects, so “restart the game” is not an effect WotC would shy away from. It certainly gives the “wow factor” that things like emblems provide on other Planeswalkers.

While Karn may be free from Phyrexian clutches, it wasn't enough (or in time) for the Mirrans to win the war. One card evocative of the Phyrexian presence on the plane, and perhaps the pinnacle of pure Phyrexian power, is Phyrexian Canceler.

Phyrexian Canceler

Creature – Horror (mythic)

Trample

Whenever a source deals damage to Phyrexian Canceler , that source's controller sacrifices that many permanents.

5/5

Nothing is a better example of Phyrexian prowess than a Negator, and a new, improved Negator that costs just oozes “Phyrexian." Of course, Phyrexia isn't relegated to just Black cards anymore, and this set is out to prove that in a big way through the Phyrexian mana mechanic. It shows Phyrexian influence in every color of mana. One such card is Spawning Shell, which both is . . . and isn't . . . a colored artifact.

Spawning Shell

Artifact (rare)

( may be paid for with either or 2 life.)

, , Sacrifice a creature: Search your library for a creature with converted mana cost equal to the sacrificed creature's converted mana cost plus 1 and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.

This card has a pinstriped artifact frame, which seems to be slightly more understated than the frames used in Alara block. (After all, it can be played in any color deck, unlike those colored artifacts) It is numbered to fit in with the rest of the Green cards in the set. This artifact is what you get when you mix Food Chain and Rebels, and a dash of Phyrexian flavor. This mechanic also is a thematic mirror to Fifth Dawn's sunburst mechanic, which was the first time colored mana was relevant for casting artifacts.

WotC will soon begin officially spoiling the set, and even though about half of the rares and mythics are now known, the commons and uncommons (especially those using Phyrexian mana) will be quite interesting to see. This rumor season has officially begun in a big way. I can't wait to see what comes next.