Karn’s captivity revealed the scale of Elesh Norn’s design. Realmbreaker, grown with stolen World Tree essence, would carry Phyrexian armies along its branches without requiring each soldier to planeswalk. The Planar Bridge had delivered praetors and components; the tree would turn exceptional crossings into an invasion network.
Ten planeswalkers joined the strike: Jace, Elspeth, Kaya, Kaito, the Wanderer, Nahiri, Tyvar, Lukka, Nissa and Vraska. Their strengths were different, from Nahiri's command of stone and metal to Kaya's ability to pass through solid obstacles. Jace carried the Sylex, but the lives of other planes depended on decisions no single team member could safely own. Koth was already on the occupied plane, guiding its resistance alongside Melira; he joined the survivors during the descent rather than arriving with that original group.
Their common purpose concealed an unavoidable weakness. Each member was not merely a soldier but a route to another plane, a library of relationships and a powerful body Phyrexia could repurpose. The mission required them to remain themselves inside a system whose central talent was turning identity into material.