March of the Machines will mark the conclusion of the epic story that kicked off with Dominaria United. Aside from that, however, we don’t know much yet. The set as a whole is shrouded in mystery and speculation so far. The only other thing we know for sure is that the multiverse and the game of Magic won’t be the same afterward. And that a few cards have been released. So, let’s take a look at what we know so far and take some guesses about what we don’t.
Key Dates
- Prerelease: April 14 – 20, 2023
- Release Date: April 21, 2023
Set Logo And Expansion Symbol
The set symbol is the sword of Elspeth inside of an angled Phyrexian symbol.
Set Code: MOM
Storyline
Elesh Norn has assembled her “Machine Legion” and is preparing to invade and conquer the entire multiverse for the glory of Phyrexia. With the whole multiverse in danger, heroes from many different planes have come together to thwart these efforts. The details of what goes down aren’t out yet… But one thing has been pretty clear – Magic won’t be the same after this set. Let’s take a deeper look at the lore and story starting with the Villains.
Related: Phyrexia: All Will Be One – Commander Precons And Deck Lists
The Phyrexians
Elesh Norn is at the helm of the Phyrexian evasion and is the “Mother of Machines” in the set. This is because she has a mechanical army at her back, hence the set name as well. These machines have three main sects and they mainly differ in their preferred methods of achieving a compleate takeover. They are The Flesh Singularity, The Porcelain Legion, and The Disciples of Karn.
The Flesh Singularity
This is perhaps the simplest and most brutal of Elesh Norn’s organization. They prefer to strip the flesh from though who oppose them and when they break their bodies, they simply sew them back together.
The Porcelain Legion
This sect is my personal favorite. They augment and change all manner of living things for their own bidding by adding white porcelain-like metal plates into their bodies. All of the Pherxians that are under Elesh Norn have at least some white metal on their bodies so these modifications have always sort of served as a brand.
Disciples of Karn
This subsection is the one that tortured Karn to near madness and doing so is now the backbone of their philosophy. They drove Karn insane hoping to draw some sort of insight or knowledge from fracturing the Planeswalker’s psyche.
The Opposition
As mentioned, the Phyrexians are coming after the multiverse as a whole, not just a single plane. So, heroes and Planeswalkers from multiple planes have joined the fight to oppose them. That means that March of the Machines may be the first set to bring several planes together as one.
As of now, we know that Teferi, Thalia, Quintorius Kand, Chandra, and a few more have taken up arms, as they are visible on some packaging. This also means that we may be visiting, Kaldheim, Kamigawa, Zendikar, Ravnica, Kaladesh, Theros, and Strixhaven.
Storyline Predictions
The Bad Guys Win
I think the Phyrexians are going to be somewhat successful in their efforts and at least some number of planes or Planeswalkers are going to fall under their control and may never come back to the way we once knew them.
We See Eldrazi Make An Apperance
That’s right, Eldrazi are coming to March of the Machines. It seems pretty clear that this set will take us to Zendikar. What’s trapped on Zendikar? The Eldrazi. What better trump card to help fend off the March of the Machine than that? I don’t know how either side would harness their power for their cause but I think one way or another they will make an appearance.
March Of The Machines Spoilers
Other than these, I have a few guesses of my own.
Eldrazi And Meld Cards
As mentioned above, I think we will see a number of Eldrazi cards in the set. Whether they are on the side of the multiverse, the Phrexians, or neither one is hard to say. Could you imagine a Phyrexian version of an Eldrazi or vice-versa? That said, I think meld cards like Brisela, Voice of Nightmares, and Mishra, Claimed By Gix will make another appearance here.
All Products
Here’s a look at all of the different March of the Machines products that will be hitting shelves upon release.
Prerelease Pack
Prerelease is the very first chance that players will have to actually get their hands on the cards. They’ll contain:
- 6 March of the Machine Draft Boosters
- 1 Traditional Foil, year-stamped Rare or Mythic Rare
- 1 Mythic Rare card (Traditional Foil in 18% of Prerelease Packs)
- 1 MTG Arena code card (only available in select regions)
- 1 Deck box
- 1 Spindown Die
Draft Booster Boxes
Another popular way to play with the cards they day they release is by playing Draft. If you do, these are the packs you’ll be opening as they are balanced for Draft. They contain:
- 36 March of the Machine Draft Boosters
- 15 Magic cards per booster
- 1–2 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
- 1 Traditional Foil card in 33% of packs
Related: Set Boosters Vs Draft Boosters FAQ
Set Booster Boxes
Set Boosters are the packs you want to be opening if you’re simply looking to have the most possible amount of fun, these are the packs for you. They contain:
- 30 March of the Machine Set Boosters
- 12 Cards per booster
- 1–5 cards of rarity Rare or higher in each pack
- Traditional Foil card and Art Card in each pack
Jumpstart Booster Boxes
These boosters contain 20 cards that share a theme – By shuffling two packs together you have a ready-to-play deck. Here are the non-unique contents:
- 18 March of the Machine Jumpstart Boosters
- 20 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 unique to Jumpstart boosters
- 1 of 5 possible themes
Collector Booster Boxes
Collector Boosters come with the rarest, flashiest, cards that the set has to offer. However, they also have the highest price tags of any boosters. They will contain:
- 12 Collector Boosters
- 15 Magic cards + 1 foil token in each booster
- 1–3 Extended-Art cards and a legion of other special treatments in every pack
- 5 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
- 10–12 Traditional Foil cards in every pack
- Battle the Machine Legion as Phyrexians invade planes across the Multiverse
Bundles
Bundles contain several Set Boosters as well as other accessories. They are fun to open and make great gifts.
- 8 Set Boosters
- 1 traditional foil alt-art promo card
- 40 basic land cards (20 foil + 20 non-foil)
- Spindown life counter
- 1 card storage box
Commander Precons
There are a total of five commander precons for this set. However, as of now, that’s all we really know for sure. Considering that there are five decks, perhaps there will be a mono-colored deck for each color. Wizards have done this exact thing in the past, so I wouldn’t doubt it but only time will tell. For now, here’s what we know about the contents:
- 100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack
- 10 specialty cards and 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander
- 2 Traditional Foils + 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 cards not found in the main set
With the non-unique contents out of the way let’s talk speculation. We know that Phyrexia: All Will Be One has multiple planes and heroes coming together and intermingling. So, it’s possible we could see each deck set/themed around a different plane. If this did happen, I think we could also see the deck built around mechanics specific to the respective planes.
Furthermore, it’s possible we could see Planechase in the decks. It would be very on-flavor to have the game shift between different planes and chaos effects. If this were the case, people have also speculated that the commanders themselves could have abilities that cared about dice rolling so they could interact with the Planar Dice.
Legal Formats
March of the Machines will be legal in all formats. This includes Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Vintage, Legacy, Commander, Brawl, and Historic. All of the commons will be legal in Pauper as well. That said, I think this set will be quite powerful and will contain cards that will see play in a multitude of formats and that there will be cards banned in multiple formats as well.
End Step
I’m pretty excited about this set. I’ve been looking forward to this one since it was revealed that the storyline that began with Dominaria United would span a full four sets and end here, come April. Thanks for taking an early look at the March of the Machines spoilers, story, and speculation with me.
