Magic: The Gathering Interview - Creating Phyrexians & Their Language
The release of 's set sent a ripple effect throughout the long and storied history of the tabletop property's Multiverse. With the threat of the Phyrexians, a race of living machines that seek to perfect both themselves and everyone else, now looming larger than ever, things have perhaps never looked so dire for everyone involved in 's ongoing narrative.
There's something to be said for practicality, though. Those who aren't keen on the good guys' chances heading into the upcoming set might want to learn more about the Phyrexians — just in case. What better way to do so than to speak the language of Phyrexian, a deep, complex script that has been developed by Wizards of the Coast and even featured on some card treatments?
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chatted with Mary Kathyrn Amiotte, Game Producer, Mother of Languages, and Phyrexian Linguist alongside Bella Gao, Arena Feature Developer, Speaker of Languages, and Phyrexian Linguist to discuss how such a thing even gets made, let alone implemented onto cards that see play.
Screen Rant: For those unfamiliar — I imagine that's most of us! — how hard is it to build out a language from scratch? Where do you start?
Bella Gao, software development engineer and Phyrexian language expert: To us, the most important part of creating this language is its guiding principles. When we make decisions about Phyrexian, we always aim to drive the language through worldbuilding — that we shape the language not as academics but as creative designers to tell a story about its speakers.
Phyrexia's occupied this incredible spot in Magic lore where they're a threat that feels unlike the usual evil machinations of plane-by-plane villainy,
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