Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa costs {1}{W}{B}{G} and is a 2/5 with flying, vigilance and toxic 2. Corrupted: at the beginning of your end step, each opponent who has three or more poison counters exiles the top card of their library face down, and you may play those cards, spending mana as though it were mana of any color. The goal is to get opponents to three poison counters, which toxic creatures do quickly.
The precon already has the poison spells and the proliferate, including Infectious Inquiry, Vraska's Fall, Phyresis Outbreak and Contaminant Grafter. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Ixhel decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Ixhel decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Corrupting Influence precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough cheap toxic creatures
Venerated Rotpriest, Bloated Contaminator, Necrogen Rotpriest, Slaughter Singer and Crawling Chorus all have toxic and cost one to four mana. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Proliferate and removal that gives poison
Infectious Bite, Drown in Ichor and Metastatic Evangel give or add poison counters while removing a creature or developing the board.
Sweepers in a deck of small creatures
Fumigate and Phyrexian Rebirth destroy every creature, including the toxic ones. Both are played in about one Ixhel deck in five or fewer.
The 14 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.

Scavenging Ooze is a 2/2 for {1}{G} that exiles cards from graveyards. It is not a card Ixhel decks usually play.
Venerated Rotpriest is a 1/2 Phyrexian Druid for {G} with toxic 1. Whenever a creature you control becomes the target of a spell, target opponent gets a poison counter. A one-drop with toxic, and the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out.

Carrion Call is a four-mana instant that makes two 1/1 Insects with infect. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in ten.
Bloated Contaminator is a 4/4 Phyrexian Beast for {2}{G} with trample and toxic 1. Whenever it deals combat damage to a player, you proliferate. A three-drop that adds a poison counter to every opponent each hit.

Fumigate is a five-mana sweeper that gains life for each creature destroyed. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in sixteen.
Necrogen Rotpriest is a 1/5 for {2}{B}{G} with toxic 2. Whenever a creature you control with toxic deals combat damage to a player, that player gets an additional poison counter, and for {1}{B}{G} a creature with toxic gains deathtouch. A body that doubles toxic damage.

Moldervine Reclamation is a five-mana enchantment that gains life and draws when your creatures die. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in seven.
Infectious Bite costs {1}{G} at instant speed. A creature you control deals damage equal to its power to a creature you do not control, and each opponent gets a poison counter. Removal that is also poison.

Mycosynth Fiend is a 2/2 for {2}{G} that grows with opponents' poison counters. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in seven.
Skrelv's Hive costs {1}{W}. At the beginning of your upkeep you lose 1 life and create a 1/1 Phyrexian Mite with toxic 1 that cannot block, and with corrupted your creatures with toxic have lifelink. A toxic body every turn, and it pays the life back.

Culling Ritual destroys each nonland permanent with mana value 2 or less, including your Mites. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in five.
White Sun's Twilight costs {X}{W}{W}: you gain X life and create X Phyrexian Mites with toxic 1 that cannot block, and with X of 5 or more you destroy all other creatures. A flexible army of toxic creatures, and a one-sided wrath at the top.

Windborn Muse is a 2/3 flier for {3}{W} that taxes attackers. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in six.
Drown in Ichor costs {1}{B}. A creature gets -4/-4 until end of turn and you proliferate. Cheap removal that adds a poison counter to every opponent.

Painful Truths draws cards for the colours you spend on it, and it costs life. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in five.
Metastatic Evangel is a 3/1 Phyrexian Human Cleric for {1}{W}. Whenever another nontoken creature you control enters, you proliferate. A two-drop that adds poison every time you play a creature.

Phyrexian Rebirth is a six-mana sweeper that makes a Horror token. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in five.
Slaughter Singer is a 2/2 Phyrexian Cleric for {G}{W} with toxic 2. Whenever another creature you control with toxic attacks, it gets +1/+1. A two-drop with toxic 2 that makes every other toxic attacker bigger.

Commander's Sphere is a three-mana rock that sacrifices itself to draw a card. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in four, in a deck with Sol Ring and Arcane Signet.
Crawling Chorus is a 1/1 Phyrexian Horror for {W} with toxic 1. When it dies, you create a 1/1 Mite with toxic 1 that cannot block. A one-drop with toxic that leaves another behind.

Merciless Eviction is a six-mana sorcery that exiles all artifacts, creatures, enchantments or planeswalkers. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in four, and it wipes your own small toxic creatures.
Skrelv, Defector Mite is a 1/1 artifact creature for {W} with toxic 1 that cannot block. For {W/P} and a tap it gives another creature toxic 1 and hexproof from a color, and makes it unblockable by creatures of that color. A one-drop that puts poison on the table on turn one.

Golgari Signet is a two-mana rock, in a deck that already has Sol Ring and Arcane Signet. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in four.
Vraska, Betrayal's Sting is a planeswalker for {4}{B}{B/P}. Her 0 draws a card, loses 1 life and proliferates, and her -2 turns a creature into a Treasure. A walker that proliferates every turn, and one of the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.

Chromatic Lantern is a three-mana rock that fixes colors. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in three.
Tyrranax Rex is an 8/8 Phyrexian Dinosaur for {4}{G}{G}{G} that can't be countered, with trample, ward {4}, haste and toxic 4. One hit puts four poison counters on a player, which turns on Ixhel's corrupted at once.

Norn's Annex is a five-mana artifact that taxes attackers. It is played in about one Ixhel deck in four.
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon is a 4/4 flying Phyrexian Dragon Skeleton for {3}{B}{B} with infect. It can gain haste for {B} and regenerate for {B}{B}. Infect deals damage to players as poison counters, so a flier with haste reaches corrupted quickly.
The full swap list
Cut
- Scavenging Ooze
- Carrion Call
- Fumigate
- Moldervine Reclamation
- Mycosynth Fiend
- Culling Ritual
- Windborn Muse
- Painful Truths
- Phyrexian Rebirth
- Commander's Sphere
- Merciless Eviction
- Golgari Signet
- Chromatic Lantern
- Norn's Annex
Add
- Venerated Rotpriest
- Bloated Contaminator
- Necrogen Rotpriest
- Infectious Bite
- Skrelv's Hive
- White Sun's Twilight
- Drown in Ichor
- Metastatic Evangel
- Slaughter Singer
- Crawling Chorus
- Skrelv, Defector Mite
- Vraska, Betrayal's Sting
- Tyrranax Rex
- Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Infectious Inquiry$0.42
Played in 86% of Ixhel decks. Draws two cards and gives each opponent a poison counter. - Vraska's Fall$0.40
Each opponent sacrifices a creature or planeswalker and gets a poison counter. - Phyresis Outbreak$11.65
Gives each opponent a poison counter and gives their creatures -1/-1 for each poison counter its controller has. - Contaminant Grafter$10.26
A trampler with toxic 1 that proliferates when your creatures connect. - Vishgraz, the Doomhive$1.23
A menace creature with toxic 1 that makes three Mites when it enters.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
Corrupting Influence already has the poison spells and the proliferate. The upgrade is cheap toxic creatures that put counters on opponents every turn, and removal that proliferates, in place of sweepers and cards that do nothing for poison. These fourteen swaps cost about $31 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Corrupting Influence precon?
Using data from 6,989 Ixhel decks, the highest-scoring additions are Venerated Rotpriest (for Scavenging Ooze), Bloated Contaminator (for Carrion Call) and Necrogen Rotpriest (for Fumigate). The full list has 14 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Corrupting Influence?
All 14 swaps cost about $30.63 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27).
What should I cut from Corrupting Influence?
The weakest cards for this commander are Scavenging Ooze, Carrion Call and Fumigate. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Corrupting Influence?
Keep Infectious Inquiry, Vraska's Fall, Phyresis Outbreak, Contaminant Grafter and Vishgraz, the Doomhive. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Ixhel do?
Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa costs {1}{W}{B}{G} and is a 2/5 with flying, vigilance and toxic 2. Corrupted: at the beginning of your end step, each opponent who has three or more poison counters exiles the top card of their library face down, and you may play those cards, spending mana as though it were mana of any color. The goal is to get opponents to three poison counters, which toxic creatures do quickly.
More Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa decks (6,989 of them when this was written, 2026-10-27) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Ixhel decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for many toxic cards because few decks play them outside a poison deck, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. A card the commander's decks do not usually play counts as 0 in the average score. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.













