Last updated on January 30, 2024
Elspeth's Smite | Illustration by Livia Prima
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This might be the end. In the wreckage of the Multiverse, only a spark of hope remains. Who will survive to make…
@MTG_Arena
One Last Stand?
We truly are at the eleventh hour. Elesh Norn’s Phyrexian forces are invading the Multiverse and compleating some of our favorite heroes, with most of the Gatewatch dead or converted to the wrong side.
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely live for the angst and drama. I’m absolutely loving March of the Machine so far, and we haven’t started official previews yet! We got plenty to go off of in First Looks, though, so it’s time to take a look what we know so far and what we can expect in the final showdown.
Phyrexian perfection is almost upon us. Will our heroes succumb to the March of the Machine, or will their last hope be their salvation? Only time will tell….
March of the Machine Basic Information
Elesh Norn | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve
Set Details
Set Symbol | |
Set Code | MOM |
Hashtag | #MTGMachine & MTGMOM |
Number of Cards | 281 + 106 |
Rarities | 116 commons, 80 uncommons, 60 rares, 20 mythic rares, 5 basic lands |
Mechanics | Battles, TDFCs, backup, incubate |
Important Dates
Event | Date |
---|---|
March of the Machine story | March 16 to 27, 2023 |
Set debut, cinematic trailer, and previews start | March 29, 2023 |
Commander deck previews and decklists | April 4, 2023 |
Full galleries available | April 5, 2023 |
Available on Draftsim's Draft simulator | April 5, 2023 |
MOM pre-prerelease with LoadingReadyRun | April 8, 2023 |
MOM early access event for MTG Arena | April 13, 2023 |
Prerelease week | April 14 to 20, 2023 |
CommandFest with MOM prerelease events | April 14 to 16, 2023 |
Release on MTG Arena & Magic Online | April 18, 2023 |
Available on Arena Tutor | April 18, 2023 |
Game Knights ft. MOM commanders | April 19, 2023 |
Paper release date | April 21, 2023 |
Launch party events | April 21 to 23, 2023 |
MagicCon: Minneapolis ft. Pro Tour MOM | May 5 to 7, 2023 |
Store Championships | May 13 to 21, 2023 |
Commander Party events | May 26 to 28, 2023 |
About the Set: the Story
Archangel Elspeth | Illustration by Denys Tsiperko
Elesh Norn and her Phyrexian army have finally invaded the Multiverse, breaching countless planes. Can the remains of the Gatewatch turn the tide as the Phyrexian hordes threaten to assimilate or destroy everything in their path? The fate of all planes is at stake.
Wizards of the Coast
March of the Machine is the culmination of the current Phyrexian story arc and Mother’s invasion and subsequent compleation of the Multiverse. “All Will Be One” was right, and now it’s time for our heroes to either rise to the occasion… or assimilate to Phyrexian perfection.
March of the Machine is going to be pretty story-intensive. It’s the big finale, after all, so I sure hope it would be! It’s what’s called an “event set,” meaning the main focus is a world-(even Multiverse-)altering event that will have massive consequences and impact on the world we all know and love, possibly even changing the fabric of reality as Magic’s Multiverse knows it. Fun fact, this is the first event set since War of the Spark!
The story’s focus in this set is planes. How the Phyrexian armies have impacted and forever changed them, how each planes’ inhabitants have reacted to their machine-obsessed invaders, and how they’ve fought back. It will truly be an epic battle across the Multiverse, a culmination of years’ worth of planted seeds and narrative subtext. Fun fact #2: MOM’s story has its roots all the way back in 1994’s Antiquities when the Phyrexians were first introduced.
The Compleation of the Multiverse
Invasion of Mercadia | Illustration by Cristi Balanescu
Elesh Norn’s forces have succeeded. They’re in the final stages of their plans. Countless heroes have fallen, the Multiverse is in ruins, and hope is in short supply. What does this look like across the planes of the Multiverse?
We’ll be traveling across the Multiverse in MOM, but we might not recognize what we find. The Phyrexian armies are compleating any creature that crosses their path, and the denizens of each plane must face off against their Phyrexianized kin. The dragons of Tarkir, Shandalar’s sentient vegetation, the elves of Lorwyn….
There will be more to come, I’m sure. It’s really not looking good for those that oppose Phyrexian perfection.
Legendary Duos
Our first look at the set revealed that plenty of iconic characters and creatures (and March of the Machine Commanders) are teaming up to fight against their Phyrexian oppressors. Vampires and angels come together with Drana and Linvala, Yargle and Multani combine forces as a froggy elemental, and Thalia is ready to skewer any that cross her path on Thalia and The Gitrog Monster.
We’re sure to see plenty more legends once the full set drops, and I imagine some of these team ups are going to be earth-shattering. It’s the end of the Multiverse, after all. What better reason to set aside your differences than otherwise mutually-assured destruction?
Set Mechanics
Battles
There's a lot of new stuff coming with MOM, and I'm not just talking about how the Multiverse will be forever changed from the events of the Phyrexian invasion. There are battles aplenty, and WotC has elected to represent this with a new card type of the same name.
Currently there's only one type of battle called a “siege,” where the battle's controller chooses an opponent to protect it when the card is played. From there, other players can attack the battle and it transforms into the creature on the backside when it's “defeated.” You do this by ticking down the battle's “defense” counters on the bottom (top?) right of the card, similar to loyalty counters on planeswalkers.
While we're only going to get sieges in MOM, it's been heavily implied that more battle subtypes could come in future sets.
Transforming Double-Faced Cards
If it wasn't obvious with the battles, transforming double-faced cards are back, baby! Along with the new card type we'll be getting some regular TDFCs, like the magnificent Elesh Norn and her saga backside. There are also pure creature TDFCs, though, like Polukranos Reborn and its Engine of Ruin backside (yikes).
Backup
Another first for us with this set, backup is an ability that boosts a creature when it enters the battlefield. Not only does it give the target creature +1/+1 counters depending on the backup number, it also throws its own abilities around if you choose to target a creature other than itself.
This mechanic truly encompasses the defenders of the Multiverse coming together to defeat the threat of all threats.
Incubate
Incubate is another new mechanic coming with MOM, but this one is a triggered ability. Whenever its requirement is met, you create N Incubator TDFC tokens that have the same number of +1/+1 counters on them. These little artifacts have an activated ability that costs and allows you to transform them into creepy 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creatures.
This is a great mechanic if your darling little Phyrexian has been asking where babies come from.
March of the Machine Full Gallery
White Cards
Blue Cards
Black Cards
Red Cards
Green Cards
Multicolored Cards
Colorless Cards
Lands
Notable Cards
Multiverse Legends
In an effort to truly capture the feel of traveling the Multiverse when you open a pack, March of the Machine includes “reprints of iconic characters from previous sets in their home plane’s Booster Fun treatment.” These are the Multiverse Legends! It’s similar to Strixhaven’s Mystical Archive and the Retro Artifacts from The Brothers’ War.
Important to note that these cards will not be Standard legal and will have a unique stamp to identify them.
Gain Lands
They show stage 5, the end of the invasion. Realmbreaker has poured into the planes, there's glistening oil everywhere, the sky is this glistening red.
Dave Humpherys, MC Philly MOM First Look panel
The gain lands are back! These duals gain you life when they enter, which is an interesting cycle of lands to print in this set to say the least. Maybe they’re meant to represent our heroes slowly but insistently clawing their way back from the depths of destruction? Or maybe it’s just time for these lands to get a reprint and I’m overthinking it.
Yuta Takahashi’s World Championship Card
Yuta Takahashi’s World Championship card has been revealed! This special printing of Faerie Mastermind can be opened in MOM boosters.
Available Products
Draft Boosters
These are the packs to buy if you’re into Limited, or otherwise not interested in variant printings or any extras. You can get the March of Machine draft boosters in packs of 15 cards or a display box of 36 packs.
The MOM draft boosters contain:
- 1 rare/mythic
- 1 Multiverse Legends card
- 1 battle card
- 1 non-battle double-faced card
- 3-5 uncommons including double-faced cards, battle cards, and Multiverse Legends cards
- 8-9 commons
- In 1/3 of boosters replacing a common, one traditional foil card that can be a basic land, common, uncommon, rare, mythic, or Multiverse Legends card
- 1 basic land (33% of boosters include a full-art basic)
- 1 token, ad, or Helper card
- 36 March of the Machine MTG Draft Boosters—the best boosters for drafting March of the Machine
- 15 Magic: The Gathering cards per booster
- At least 1 Multiverse Legend card in every pack
- 1–2 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
- 1 Traditional Foil card in 33% of packs
Set Boosters
The set boosters are best for players that just want to crack packs. They come with some goodies but are a good middle-of-the-road option. You can get March of the Machine set boosters in 12-card packs or display boxes of 30.
The MOM set boosters contain:
- 1 Multiverse Legends card
- At least 1 battle card
- 1 traditional foil/foil-etched card of any rarity including Multiverse Legends in traditional foil and the foil-etched treatment
- 2 wildcards of any rarity (opportunity to open MOM Commander cards, Jumpstart booster rares, or Multiverse Legends
- 1 basic land/full-art harbinger basic land in traditional foil or non-foil
- 1 double-faced Phyrexian common/uncommon
- 2 connected uncommons
- 2 connected commons
- 1 art card
- 1 token/ad card, double-faced Helper card, or The List card
- 30 March of the Machine Set Boosters—the best MTG boosters to open just for fun
- 12 Magic: The Gathering cards per booster
- At least 1 Multiverse Legend card in every pack
- 1–5 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
- Foil card and Art Card in every pack
Collector Boosters
If you’re more interested in flash and aesthetics, then collector boosters are for you. These 15-card packs give you the most bang for your buck if alternate prints and special treatments are your thing. You can also get them in 12-pack display boosters. Every collector booster will contain 10-12 foils and 1-3 cards with extended art or another special treatment.
The MOM collector boosters contain:
- 5 rares/mythics including:
- 1 traditional foil Multiverse Legends rare/mythic
- Traditional foil in 75% of boosters
- Foil-etched in 14% of boosters
- Halo foil in 10% of boosters
- Serialized double rainbow in < 1% of boosters
- 1 traditional foil rare/mythic that is either:
- Planar booster fun from MOM
- Extended art from MOM
- Extended art from MOM Commander
- Serialized double rainbow foil Praetor
- 1 non-foil rare/mythic in extended art from Jumpstart boosters or MOM Commander
- 1 non-foil rare/mythic from MOM Iin planar booster fun, extended art, or borderless treatment
- 1 tradition foil rare/mythic from MOM or set booster Commander cards
- 1 traditional foil Multiverse Legends rare/mythic
- 1 traditional foil full-art basic land
- 1 foil uncommon Multiverse Legends card
- Foil-etched in 75% of boosters
- Halo foil in 24% of boosters
- Serialized double rainbow in < 1% of boosters
- 1 traditional foil uncommon Multiverse Legends card
- 2 uncommon traditional foil cards (including standard basic lands)
- 5 common traditional foil cards (including standard basic lands)
- 12 March of the Machine MTG Collector Boosters—get direct access to the coolest cards
- 15 Magic cards + 1 foil token in each booster—including 5 cards of rarity Rare or higher and a total of 10–12 Traditional Foil cards
- 1 special foil in every pack—get at least 1 Halo Foil, Foil-Etched, or Double Rainbow Serialized card in every pack
- 3 foil Multiverse Legends in every Collector Booster, including 1 of rarity Rare or higher
- 1–3 Extended-Art cards and a legion of other special treatments in every pack
Jumpstart Boosters
Jumpstart boosters have become a mainstay in Magic releases since they took over from theme boosters. Here you get to combine two packs, each with a unique theme, into a ready-to-play deck. The March of the Machine Jumpstart boosters are available in 20-card packs or as a display box of 18 packs.
The MOM Jumpstart boosters contain:
- 1 non-foiled, theme-specific, designed-for-Jumpstart rare
- 1 colorless or theme-color non-foil rare/mythic from MOM
- 10 total non-foil commons/uncommons
- Includes 1 non-foil and themes-specific designed-for-Jumpstart common
- Includes 1 non-foil and themes-specific designed-for-Jumpstart uncommon
- 6 non-foil basic lands (including 1 non-foil full-art basic land)
- 2 traditional foil basic lands
There are three designed-for-Jumpstart cards that are specific to each theme:
Brood (White)
Overachiever (Blue)
Expendable (Black)
Reinforcement (Red)
Buff (Green)
- 18 March of the Machine Jumpstart Boosters—20 MTG cards per booster
- 2 Traditional Foil Land cards in every pack
- 2 Rare cards in every pack—1 Rare or Mythic Rare + 1 Rare card designed for Jumpstart boosters
- Each pack has 1 of 5 possible themes and each theme comes in 2 variants—mix and match to save the Multiverse
- Just grab 2 Jumpstart packs, shuffle, and you’re ready to rumble
March of the Machine Bundle
If you want a good start on your battle against the machine legion across the Multiverse, then you want the March of the Machine bundle. It’s a great product that comes with everything you need to play, right out of the box.
The MOM bundles contain:
- 8 MOM set boosters
- 1 foil alt-art Ghalta and Mavren
- 20 basic lands
- 20 foil basic lands
- 1 oversized spindown life counter
- 1 card storage box
- 8 March of the Machine Set Boosters—the best MTG boosters to open just for fun
- 1 traditional foil alt-art promo card—Ghalta and Mavren
- At least 1 Multiverse Legend card in every Set Booster
- 40 basic land cards (20 foil + 20 nonfoil), 1 Spindown life counter + card storage box
- Battle the Machine Legion as Phyrexians invade planes across the Multiverse
Prerelease Packs
Prerelease packs are only available during the set’s prerelease events, on preorder leading up to the set’s release. They’re great to hop right into the set, with draft boosters to play right away and a handful of goodies along with it.
The MOM prerelease packs contain:
- 6 MOM draft boosters
- 1 foil-stamped traditional foil MOM rare/mythic promo card
- 1 prerelease promo card
- Can be non-foil or traditional foil
- Can have the planar booster fun treatment representing their plane
- Cannot be found in other MOM products
- Cannot be used in prerelease event gameplay
- 1 spindown life counter
Commander Decks
We usually get four Commander decks with each set, but not this time! March of the Machine offers five legendary precons to battle against your friends, with one 2-colored deck and four 3-colored decks. An interesting mix to be sure, and I’m more than interested to see what we get. We'll get full details on these on April 4, but we've got a little to go on for now.
Each MOM Commander deck contains:
- 1 ready-to-play 100-card Commander deck
- 2 traditional foil new-to-Magic legendary creatures that can serve as the commander
- 8 non-foil new-to-magic rares from MOM Commander
- 90 non-foil cards including basic lands
- 1 foil-etched display commander on thicker card stock
- 10 oversized MOM Planechase cards
- 1 Planar die for Planechase play
- 1 collector booster sample pack
- 1 non-foiled or traditional foil MOM rare/mythic
- Includes extended-art cards, select MOM Commander cards, and select Multiverse Legends rares
- Does not include foil-etched, Halo foil, or serialized booster fun cards
- 1 traditional foil uncommon Multiverse Legends card
- 1 non-foiled or traditional foil MOM rare/mythic
- 10 double-sided tokens
- 1 deck box
- 1 life counter
- Bundle of all 5 March of the Machine Commander Decks, with 1 Growing Threat, 1 Cavalry Charge, 1 Call for Backup, 1 Divine Convocation, and 1 Tinker Time
- Each deck set contains a 100-card ready-to-play deck (2 Traditional Foil + 98 nonfoil cards), plus 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Packs—each deck comes with a sample pack containing 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Introducing 50 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander—10 in each deck
- Accessories included with each deck—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
Growing Threat
Growing Threat is the only 2-colored precon in the mix. It’s an Orzhov () deck that looks to be led by the compleated Ajani and will be, unsurprisingly, a Phyrexian deck. And if I were to venture a guess on further mechanics and synergies based on the art I think we might see a Theros-like theme in this precon, with enchantment creatures and constellation cards to supplement the Phyrexianed planeswalker’s assault.
If you're looking to upgrade this precon, look no further.
- Growing Threat (White-Black deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
Cavalry Charge
Next up is Cavalry Charge, an Esper () precon that is gonna be full of knights. I imagine a barrage of combat tricks, +1/+1 counters, and mechanics like mentor to up the ante and fit the theme.
If you're looking to upgrade this precon, look no further.
- Cavalry Charge (White-Blue-Black deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
Call for Backup
Call for Backup is the Naya () deck that looks to be led by a seven-tailed kitsune kami, and it's main theme is +1/+1 counters. The precon’s name and art make me think it might also feature token generators and doublers, maybe even copy spells! Anything to get more allies on your side.
- Call for Backup (Red-Green-White deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
Divine Convocation
Divine Convocation is without a doubt an angel-led Jeskai () precon, and it's got convoke to go along with that. The art looks a little sinister, though, so perhaps you’ll be leading an army of Phyrexianized angels? That sounds pretty cool if you ask me.
If you're looking to upgrade this precon, look no further.
- Divine Convocation (Blue-Red-White deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
Tinker Time
The Temur () precon, Tinker Time is an artifact tokens-focused deck. I imagine we’ll get some token generation to go along with it, Servos and Phyrexian Mites skittering about wherever you go. I could also see things like affinity, equipment, and/or artificers kicking around to supplement that theme.
- Tinker Time (Green-Blue-Red deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
Before previews for March of the Machine officially begin, I thought it would be fun to do another of my Duelist-style teasers where I give tiny hints of things to come. Note that I’m only giving you partial information.
First up, here are some things you can expect:
- Numerous cards that mechanically care about Phyrexians
- A double-faced token (one that transforms)
- A card that costs XUUUU
- A variant of a mechanic returns to a premier set for the second time since it originally appeared
- A legendary creature returns not seen since Homelands
- A creature capable of dealing eleven poison counters
- Some planes show up in card names that have never done so before
- Wrenn returns with a new partner
- Two draft archetypes that have a creature type matters component (one of which is Phyrexians – see above)
- The tenth _____ & _____ sword
Next, here are some rules text that will be showing up on cards:
- “You may cast spells with flash or flying from the top of your library.”
- “an Aura, God or Demigod card”
- “where X is the excess damage dealt this way.”
- “This spell can’t be copied.”
- “Activate only if you’ve cast two or more spells this turn.”
- “Each player can’t cast more than one non-Phyrexian spell each turn.”
- “X twice, where X is the number of lands you control.”
- “Whenever a permanent you control transforms or a permanent enters the battlefield under your control transformed,”
- “If the opponent protects it, remove a defense counter from it.”
- “At the beginning of your upkeep, if you haven’t been dealt combat damage since your last turn, you draw a card and you lose 1 life.”
Finally, here are some Phyrexians in the set:
- Creature – Phyrexian Bear Rhino
- Creature – Phyrexian Devil
- Creature – Phyrexian Dog Warrior
- Creature – Phyrexian Jackal
- Creature – Phyrexian Samurai
- Creature – Phyrexian Shade
- Creature – Phyrexian Shark
- Creature – Phyrexian Treefolk
- Creature – Phyrexian Viashino
- Creature – Phyrexian Weird
And some creature type lines of denizens fighting them:
- Creature – Moonfolk Ninja
- Creature – Aetherborn Vampire
- Creature – Fungus Rabbit
- Creature – Dwarf Pilot
- Creature – Raccoon Warrior
- Creature – Goblin Spellshaper
- Creature – Wolverine Dinosaur
- Legendary Creature – Elder Giant Dog
- Legendary Creature – Ape Dinosaur Turtle
- Legendary Creature – Cyclops Homunculus
For answers to these and more, tune into March of the Machine’s Debut March 29th at 9:00 am on YouTube and Twitch.
MaRo, Blogatog
Wrap Up
Invasion of New Phyrexia | Illustration by Chris Rallis
Are you scared yet? You really should be. Mother is not messing around.
Are you excited for the set? I know I am. If not for the cards themselves, then the story they’ll be telling. Which planeswalkers do you think will survive? Do you believe Elspeth will reveal herself to be an angel when she returns? Will the Eldrazi or Nicol Bolas make a daring return to begrudgingly help our heroes save the Multiverse? Let me know what you think in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord. I’m genuinely interested in your speculation, I love this kinda stuff.
Good luck and godspeed to you all. I’ll see you in The Aftermath…
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