Are the Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander decks worth buying?

Wizards of the Coast has created two Magic: The Gathering preconstructed Commander decks for the Phyrexia: All Will Be One set, showcasing a Toxic-themed Control style Abzan deck and a rebel Red/White go-wide Equipment deck. 

Scheduled to officially release on Feb. 10, the two Commander decks for Phyrexia: All Will Be One have 10 new cards showcased in each Precon. Each pre-constructed deck contains two possible commanders and a total of 100 regular cards, along with tokens, a life wheel, and more.

Here are the contents for each ONE Commander Precon deck:

• Two traditional foil legendary 
• 98 non-foil cards
• 10 new Commander cards
• One two-card collector booster sample pack
• One foil-etched display commander
• 10 double-sided tokens
• One deck box that can hold up to 100 cards with sleeves
• One life wheel
• A strategy insert and reference card

Similar to the BRO Commander decks, the ONE set only has two pre-constructed decks, showcasing both sides of the battle that’s taking place on the plane of Phyrexia. The Infect or Toxic Corrupting Influence deck is in Abzan colors (White/Black/Green) and the rebel go-wide token Equipment Rebellion Rising deck is in the colors White and Red. Reprint value and the playability of a Commander Precon determine whether the deck is worth buying.

Rebellion Rising

The Rebellion Rising ONE Commander deck contains two legendaries that players can run as the commander: Neyali, Sun’s Vanguard, and Otharri, Sun’s Glory. Pre-order prices for the Rebellion Rising Commander deck on Amazon are listed at $39.85. 

Found within the Rebellion Rising Commander deck is a reprint of Flawless Maneuver, priced on the secondary market at around $20 to $25. The second most expensive reprint is the planeswalker Elspeth Tirel, valued at around $10. And the deck also contains a handful of reprints that are valued at around $3.

From a gameplay perspective, several of the new ONE Commander cards within the Rebellion Rising set look fun to play and may have an impact on Red/White Commander decks going forward. 

The most exciting card is Goldwardens’ Gambit, an eight-drop Sorcery that has Affinity for Equipment and creates five 2/2 rebel tokens with Haste. And as an added bonus, Equipment can get attached to the tokens at no additional cost. Another standout new card in the Rebellion Rising Commander deck is Staff of the Storyteller. It’s a two-drop Artifact that creates a Flying token upon ETB and can use story counters to draw a card at the low cost of tapping the Artifact, removing a story counter, and paying only one White mana. 

Based on secondary market value, Rebellion Rising is definitely worth pre-ordering since the reprints alone cover the cost of the deck. The gameplay of the Commander deck isn’t complicated, making it ideal for casual and new players who want to crack the deck and play. And several of the new cards look fun to play. At a price of around $40, the Rebellion Rising ONE Commander Precon is worth purchasing for most players. 

Corrupting Influence

The Corrupting Influence deck contains two legendaries that players can run as the commander: Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa, and Vishgraz, the Doomhive. Pre-order prices for the Corrupting Influence Commander deck on Amazon are shown at $41.99. 

Unlike Rebellion Rising, the Corrupting Influence Commander Precon deck doesn’t contain a high-priced reprint. But it does have cards like Phyrexian Swamlord, Noxious Revival, Chromatic Lantern, Grafted Exoskeleton, and Norn’s Annex that are all worth between $5 and $6. The deck also has a handful of reprints worth around $3. 

Of the 10 new ONE Commander cards in Corrupting Influence, Norn’s Decree might be the most interesting. It’s a Rare Enchantment that applies Poison counters to opponents who attack you. And whenever a player attacks, if the opponent has Poison counters, the attacking player draws a card. This typically means you can push the table to attack a specific opponent while potentially always drawing a card on your turn.

The Corrupting Influence deck also has unique new cards like Wurmquake, creating a ton of Toxic tokens, and has the Flashback mechanic. Contaminant Grafter is a solid Infect druid that has Trample and Toxic on a 5/5 body that can also trigger Proliferate. And Phyresis Outbreak is a solid Sorcery spell that can give every opponent a Poison counter and then remove some of their creatures based on the number of Poison counters they have. 

Based on secondary market value, the Corrupting Influence Commander deck is worth its pre-order price tag as long as players don’t already have a bunch of the reprints that are in the Precon deck. Gameplay-wise, the Corrupting Influence deck is more difficult to play than the Rebellion Rising deck. And players who purchase the deck are likely going to invest in it further with singles since the Precon focuses more on defense and applying at least three Poison counters to opponents and then reaping value from those Poison counters. 

The Corrupting Influence ONE Commander Precon deck is worth purchasing at its pre-order price of around $41. But experienced players will likely need to invest a little more into the deck, which is a downside. Players who enjoy the Toxic mechanic, however, should definitely consider investing in the Corrupting Influence Commander deck.