The next big Magic: The Gathering set, March of the Machine, has arrived.
March of the Machine is the dramatic conclusion of the four-part Phyrexian story arc that was kicked off by Dominaria United and continued on with The Brothers’ War and Phyrexia: All Will Be One. It sees characters from across the planes of the MtG multiverse come together to end the reign of terror brought about by Elesh Norn and her Machine Legion.
Aside from the exciting story developments wrapping up a well-received narrative in the MtG lore, and cementing Elesh Norn as one of the coolest big bads yet, March of the Machine introduces an exciting new card type that’s easily one of the most fresh-feeling additions I’ve experienced in a while.
Battles are double-sided cards that represent huge encounters in the current storyline that can turn a game on its head by forcing an opponent to change tact or risk allowing a big player to take its place on the table. See, a battle card not only comes with its own benefits to whoever played it, but its core mechanic tasks a chosen opponent with protecting it from each other player, lest it transform into its reverse side and reveal a powerful creature, enchantment, sorcery or artifact – including at least one legendary Planeswalker – under the casting player’s control.
We ran an exclusive pre-launch preview for one of these very cards, which you can learn about here.
In the handful of games that I’ve played in a Sealed format, these Battle cards have proved to add an exciting flavour to the game, but I can’t wait to see what skilled players and deckbuilders can do with them in a more deliberate manner.
If you’d like to get in on the action for yourself, Amazon has March of the Machine packs and boxes available now:
- Magic the Gathering March of The Machine Bundle – $79
- Magic the Gathering March of The Machine Set Boosters Multipack (3 Boosters Per Pack) – $26
- Magic the Gathering March of The Machine Collector Booster Omega Box (1 Booster Per Pack) – $48
- Magic the Gathering March of The Machine Set Boosters (30 boosters) – $295
- Magic the Gathering March of The Machine Set Boosters (3 boosters) – $26
- Magic the Gathering March of The Machine Jumpstart Boosters (18 boosters) – $177
- Magic the Gathering March of The Machine Draft Boosters (36 boosters) – $283
- Magic the Gathering March of The Machine Collector Boosters (12 boosters) – $534
