Portal to Phyrexia
Artifact
When this artifact enters, each opponent sacrifices three creatures of their choice.
At the beginning of your upkeep, put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. It's a Phyrexian in addition to its other types.
- CMC
- 9
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Magic Online Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #1094
Portal to Phyrexia enters, wipes every opponent's board, then reanimates three of their creatures under your control on each of your upkeeps — all for nine mana. The cost is real, but the effect is so lopsided that any deck with a reliable way to cheat it into play, like Arcum Dagsson fetching it directly from the library, treats it as a game-ending threat rather than a late-game luxury.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Arcum Dagsson
Arcum Dagsson tutors Portal to Phyrexia directly onto the battlefield by sacrificing any artifact creature, bypassing the nine-mana cost entirely and making the board wipe plus reanimation engine available as early as turn four.
Chiss-Goria, Forge Tyrant
Chiss-Goria, Forge Tyrant's affinity-for-artifacts ability slashes Portal to Phyrexia down to a manageable cost, and the dragon's built-in board presence means you're already threatening combat damage the same turn you slam a mass removal spell.
Tannuk, Steadfast Second
Tannuk, Steadfast Second cares about artifacts with high mana values, and Portal to Phyrexia at nine is one of the biggest targets available — Tannuk pulls it from the graveyard or hand repeatedly to keep the reanimation engine firing.
Magda, Brazen Outlaw
Magda, Brazen Outlaw can cash in five Treasure tokens to tutor any artifact directly onto the battlefield, making Portal to Phyrexia one of the highest-impact finishers she can fetch when the board needs to be cleared and refilled simultaneously.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci generates artifact tokens and rewards stacking high-cost artifacts, so Portal to Phyrexia slots in as both a payoff for the mana Leonardo accumulates and a board-reset that keeps opponents from racing your artifact army.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Portal to Phyrexia lives — three opponents means three boards to strip, and the upkeep reanimation compounds fast in a multiplayer game where the creature density is high. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer it's legal but effectively absent; nine mana is unplayable in those formats without a cheat, and the dedicated artifact-combo decks that could theoretically deploy it have faster, more consistent kills available. Vintage technically allows it, but the same logic applies — it never resolves. Oathbreaker is the one alternative worth mentioning: low starting life totals make the board wipe more punishing, and signature spells that reduce artifact costs can make the nine-mana ask less prohibitive.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available at the moment, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market rate before buying. Portal to Phyrexia has held meaningful value since release given its power level and limited reprint history, so verify supply before assuming a copy is easy to find at a given price point.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.