The return of the Poison Counters in Phyrexia: All Will Be One has been contentious, especially in the Commander format. If any player gets 10 Poison Counters they lose the game. This increases the pace of gameplay dramatically, although you do risk making yourself the archenemy of your table by using the strategy. While Poison certainly has some detractors, the mechanic is also quite popular, as evidenced by the recent price rise of this Poison Counter generating card.
Phyresis Outbreak
For two and a Black, Phyresis Outbreak gives every opponent a Poison Counter and then gives every creature your opponents control -1/-1 for each Poison Counter they have. This card does exactly what Poison decks want to do, in that it spread the poison around to every player, rather than merely one. The -1/-1 effect ranges from being a minor nuisance that takes out a few mana dorks, to a full on board wipe depending on which stage of the game Phyresis Outbreak is played in.
Poison decks can sometimes run into difficulty, as they can rush one player down, and then get taken out by the rest of the table. This often does not lead to a very fun social experience, as the player who gets rushed can feel resentful towards the Poison player, and the Poison player can then feel ganged up on by the rest of the table. Spreading the Poison to multiple opponents also works great with both of the Commanders from the Corrupting Influence Precon Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa and Vishgraz, the Doomhive, both of whom benefit from having many Poison Counters in play, with Ixhel specifically wanting each opponent to have three or more.
Phyresis Outbreak exclusively sees play in Commander. Given that its ability is multiplayer focussed, it is extremely unlikely to get slotted into any Vintage or Legacy decks, the only other formats where it is legal.Read more: MTG Budget Deck Dominates Meta, Causing 500% Price Spikes!?
