Phyrexia: All Will Be One marks the return of poison counters to Magic: The Gathering and it is largely concentrated in Green for the set’s Limited formats.
Green is a punchy color that uses Toxic to give the opponent poison counters. From there, Green decks can gain additional effects through Corrupted or hunt the alternative win condition of giving the opponent 10 poison counters. It also can just opt to beat the opponent by swinging in with hefty creatures each turn.
- Red/Green (RG): Oil counters MIdrange
- Green/White (GW): Go-wide Aggro and Toxic
- Black/Green (BG): Toxic and Reanimation synergies
- Green/Blue (GU): Stompy Toxic, Proliferate, and ramp
Green gives its color pairs tough creatures that dominate the battlefield. There’s a high number of cards that support Toxic in the color and a few cards that deal with oil counters. Look to use combat tricks and consistent pressure to beat down the opponent’s defenses and leave them with no defense from losing chunks of life each turn.
Green Common and Uncommon ONE Draft honorable mentions
Green has an impressive suite of situational spells that you won’t mind running in the main deck and some that are sideboard all-star cards. Both Maze’s Mantle and Tyvar’s Stand are flexible protection spells that also act as combat tricks that lead to blowout moments in games. Paladin of Predation is a scary seven-mana threat that could be a nice tool against opposing low-curve lists. Cankerbloom and Carnivorous Canopy are classic sideboard spells that any deck will want to have stashed away for the right matchup.
Best Green Common and Uncommon ONE Limited Draft cards
Green decks will outclass the opponent’s creatures on base stats. Many of the creatures in Green get better when paired with Proliferate. This is either from increasing the number of poison counters they’ve dished out or giving them more oil counters, further enabling different abilities. Here are the best lower-rarity Green spells in ONE Limited.
Adaptive Sporesinger
Green decks will generally be attacking with large creatures that outclass the average threat the opponent plays. Adaptive Sporesinger is a three-mana 2/2 that can give one of your creatures a substantial buff in combat. Giving one of your creatures +2/+2 and Vigilance is powerful. In the situation the ability isn’t relevant then you can also just choose to Proliferate.
Contagious Vorrac
Green decks need to consistently hit land drops to win games. These lists rely on expensive spells that overwhelm the opponent with big stats and strong effects. Contagious Vorract is a stout three-mana 3/3 creature that helps you hit land drops. When this creature enters the battlefield, you can look at the top four cards and put a land from among them into your hand. If you end up whiffing, this effect will Proliferate, which is a nice consolation prize.
Evolving Adaptive
Proliferate is a key part of a Green lists game plan. One key Uncommon payoff for using that mechanic is Evolving Adaptive. This one-mana 0/0 enters the battlefield with an oil counter. It gets +1/+1 for each oil counter on it. You can get counters on it directly through spells or from Proliferate. It also rewards you for playing creatures on curve by gaining an oil counter when a creature with greater power or toughness enters the battlefield. Evolving Adaptive is excellent on turn one but isn’t dead later in the game because of the potential to quickly increase the number of oil counters on it.
Incubation Sac
This one-mana Artifact is a valuable Uncommon tool. It enters the battlefield with three oil counters. You can pay four mana and remove an oil counter to create a 3/3 Artifact creature at Sorcery speed. This is a big-mana spell disguised by its low mana value. It can enter the game early and Proliferate counters, increasing the number of 3/3s you can create in the late game. During later turns, you can get immediate value from Incubation Sac for a five-mana investment. If properly built around, incubation Sac can end up as one of the strongest spells in your deck.
Infectious Bite
Green removal is typically conditional on having a creature yourself or the opponent’s creature meet certain criteria. Infectious Bite is an efficient two-mana removal spell that has a creature you control deal damage equal to its power to a creature you don’t control. When combined with Deathtouch, this kind of ability can lead to some fantastic trades. This spell also gives your opponent a poison counter, inching them closer to the 10 counters mark.
Lattice-Blade Mantis
Lattice-Blade Mantis enters the battlefield with two oil counters. When it attacks, you can remove an oil counter to untap it and give it +1/+1 until end of turn. This ability turns this creature into a formidable threat. It can attack as essentially a 5/4 with Vigilance. This will be difficult for the opponent to deal with during combat and with Proliferate the buff should be available each combat step.
Oil-Gorger Troll
As far as Green payoffs for oil counters go, Oil-Gorger Troll is a good option and it’s only Common. This five-mana 3/4 enters the battlefield and gains you three life. If you control a permanent with an oil counter on it, also draw a card. This creature is just a pile of value. The life gain is always more relevant than at first glance in Limited. Drawing a card is just always good. The 3/4 body is an effective blocker that is a prime target for combat tricks or Equipment in the right circumstances.
Noxious Assault
Noxious Assault is the big Uncommon finisher for Toxic decks and is worth running in non-Toxic builds too. This five-mana Sorcery gives all of your creatures +2/+2. This is a great way to buff the team before making an all-in attack. The pressure is on the opponent because whenever a creature blocks, its controller gets a poison counter. In a Toxic deck, this could just put the opponent in a lose-lose situation between dying by combat damage of poison. It forces the opponent to make tough decisions in combat and with the +2/+2 buff your creatures will likely emerge from combat alive.
Plague Nurse
Plague Nurse enables Toxic decks to be able to run creatures without the mechanic and still push the overall poison counter gameplan. By itself, Plague Nurse is a four-mana 3/4 with Toxic 2. This is a formidable threat for a Common that likely won’t get in for much combat damage, but will block well and can take advantage of weaker opposing creatures. The three-mana activated ability to give each other creature you control Toxic 1 until end of turn is great. This can be used with Flying creatures in Blue to push through more poison counters unexpectedly.
Viral Spawning
Flashback is deciduous and Viral Spawning is the first card to take advantage of this new classification. It’s an Uncommon Sorcery that creates a 3/3 Green token creature with Toxic 1 for three mana. If you have Corrupted turned on then it gains Flashback for the same cost. This spell is a way to get Toxic creatures on the battlefield and the Flashback ability will be useful later in the game if you run into mana flooding problems.
