It's back. One of the most terrifying cards ever printed for Magic: The Gathering. Its name strikes fear in all who hear it: Phyrexian Obliterator. First unleashed over a decade ago in the original New Phyrexia set, Phyrexian Obliterator is one of the most powerful Black creatures in Magic, and it was just reprinted into Standard in Phyrexia: All Will Be One. Here's a deck using it to wreak havoc on the battlefield.

MTG Phyrexia All Will Be One Phyrexian Obliterator Standard Bo1 Deck

MTG Phyrexia All Will Be One Phyrexian Obliterator Standard Bo1 Strategy

This is an aggressive Black deck that aims to win, somewhat paradoxically, by decreasing its own life total. This dangerous strategy can be quite powerful combined with cards like Shadow of Mortality, a massive 7/7 creature that ordinarily costs a whopping 15 mana but can be cast for a measly two mana if your life total is low enough.

Phyrexian Arena and Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor are essential to both lowering your life total while resupplying your hand with potent threats. While an ever-decreasing life total may be worrying, cards like Phyrexian Obliterator and Defiler of Flesh can produce skin-of-your-teeth victories through massively damaging attacks. In the early game, Evolved Sleeper, Tenacious Underdog and Phyrexian Rager can whittle down opponents and provide hits for Gix draws.

Cut Down and Infernal Grasp are standard removal cards for an aggressive deck. Because the deck wants to remove enemy blockers as quickly as possible, it focuses on creature threats. While non-creature threats may prove annoying, they can be outrun through successful aggression. Oftentimes it is necessary to ignore an enemy Planeswalker, for example, in order to put pressure on the player's life total.

Mishra's Foundry is an unusual land that can also serve as a temporary creature. This can be especially useful against Control decks that frequently run many board wipe cards to eliminate many creatures at once, which can be deadly to aggro decks. Luckily, Mishra's Foundry is unaffected by such spells when in Land form, allowing it to follow up with attacks even if you have no other creatures. Additional copies can buff other foundries, turning them into potent attackers.

Overall this aggressive deck is very fun to play. Games are extremely quick, and there's nothing more satisfying than winning with a single life or through a massive attack featuring Phyrexian Obliterators, Shadows of Mortality and Defilers of Flesh.

This article was originally published on dbltap as MTG Phyrexia All Will Be One Phyrexian Obliterator Standard Bo1 Deck, Strategy.