'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABjAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgQAAEDAwMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBAwQABRIGERMUISIxQQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYRAAICAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAxEABBIhUf/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8Azhou6WxnT8s58+69e63jGZZbZONkpciGRGuYEmOyKPyrJdzvayn1buDgArp4igj4pv2T1SlGnldY+TXSmuh6cl93XgSQBUAAvP/Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Magic: The Gathering’s Phyrexia: All Will Be One expansion is all set to feature some Commander cards for the non-draft products. Legal in Eternal formats, these particular cards will be incredibly interesting and wildly powerful at times. Here, Commander players get a version of a card that's so strong that it was banned in other formats like Modern.
Certain members of the community genuinely miss Birthing Pod and the ridiculous power that it had. The latest version is called Synthesis Pod and it will be present in Magic: The Gathering's Phyrexia: All Will Be One expansion. Considering that it's similar to its predecessor, its arrival should make things very interesting for Commander players going into early 2023.
Magic: The Gathering’s Commander players to receive a new form of Birthing Pod
The original card, Birthing Pod, allowed you to sacrifice a creature you control. You could then search your deck for a creature card that had a Mana Value equal to that card plus 1. Essentially, if you sacrificed a 3-cost creature, you could pull a 4-cost creature in its place. This was overwhelmingly powerful and was frequently used in several combos.
This time around, there’s a brand new Magic: The Gathering card that works similarly, known as Synthesis Pod. However, this card isn’t focused on creatures, but on spells that are on the stack, which is what makes it so interesting.
Synthesis Pod
- Mana Value: 3P (P can be U or 2 life)
- Type: Artifact
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: 1U, tap, exile a spell you control: Target opponent reveals cards from the top of their library until they reveal a card with mana value equal to 1 plus the exiled spell’s mana value. Exile that card and then that player shuffles. You may cast that exiled card without paying its mana cost.
What makes this card so powerful? The first part is information as you potentially get to look at a huge portion of your opponent's deck and get an idea of what they’re running. Next, you get to cast a spell for free from that player’s Magic: The Gathering deck without paying its mana cost.
But why would you want to exile your spell while it’s on the stack? In particular, it’s a great response to having a spell countered. You could decide to activate Synthesis Pod and exile the spell that wouldn't get into play anyway. You could also use it with cards that reward you for casting spells rather than putting them into play.
A grand example is Talrand, Sky Summoner. It putsa 2/2 blue Drake creature token with flying into play anytime you cast an Instant or Sorcery. You can get a creature, exile the cheap spell that had virtually no value, and get something far better from your opponent’s deck.
Obviously, you might not hit something useful by activating this card, which is always going to be a possibility. However, if you know what cards are in your opponent’s deck, you can begin making plans for future turns, which this card will help you achieve.
Several Set Booster cards are Commander-official, and this is but one of them. Presently, this Magic: The Gathering card has an enormous amount of potential. The better you know your opponent’s decks, the more you can get out of this card. Phyrexia: All Will Be One releases for Magic: The Gathering players on February 10, 2023, with various prerelease events kicking off on February 3, 2023.
