Magic: The Gathering’s next set is just a few months away, and it’s about to be a wild ride. The set is called March of the Machine, following Phyrexia: All Will Be One in the story of the Phyrexians invading the entire Magic multiverse, promising to change Magic forever.
March of the Machine is a set of events, representing the culmination of the Phyrexian story arc that officially began with Dominaria United last fall, but dates back to Vorinclex’s appearance in Kaldheim in early 2021. Similar to War of the Spark, this set’s narrative features planeswalkers battling for the fate of the multiverse – only this time they’re joined by familiar faces from across the multiverse.
Here’s everything we know about March of the Machine, including previews of some of the cards in the main set and the various commander sets.
March of the Machine release date
March of the Machine hits stores on April 21, with pre-release events the week before. The set will be available in MTG Arena on April 18.
March of the Machine spoilers
We’ve included some early spoilers below, but spoiler season officially begins March 29, with the full gallery of map images available April 5.
Machine walking history
The Phyrexians are invading everything. Every plane across the multiverse is under siege, and some of its most legendary defenders have already been turned on the villainous side, with Ajani, Jace, Nissa, Tamiyo and others having been rounded out by the Phyrexians. However, there is one hero whose sacrifice in All Will Be One wasn’t as final as it seemed.
Wizards of the Coast
That’s right, Elspeth is coming back! In Magic lore, the Phyrexians took over her homeworld of Capenna and imprisoned and tortured her, only for her to escape and find them on Mirrodin, so it’s only fitting that Elspeth plays a role important in this interplanar battle against them. The official March of the Machine story will be posted on the Magic Story site from March 16-19, with a March of the Machine: Aftermath story coming May 1. There will also be a March of the Machine: Aftermath micro-set, which will premiere May 2-3. Aftermath focuses on what comes next for characters and the multiverse.
We don’t know exactly what the Phyrexian Praetors will do (besides invade the multiverse) in March of the Machine, but they seem to have specific plans in mind, as seen in the new (double-sided) map Jin-Gitaxias.
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
march of machine mechanics
Wizards didn’t elaborate on the mechanics of the new set, but one thing we’ve seen in the preview cards is pairs of characters from different planes teaming up to fight off the Phyrexian invasion. What types of associations are we talking about? How about vampire priest Mavren Fein riding the massive dinosaur Ghalta into battle on Ixalan? Or the elemental Multani and the frog spirit Yargle joining forces on Dominaria? There’s even a team between one of Innistrad’s noblest protectors and its most iconic frog monster. (Frog theme confirmed?)
The promo version of Ghalta and Mavren’s bundle
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
What about planeswalkers?
The March of the Machine wrapper highlights Chandra and Teferi, who weren’t on New Phyrexia when the other planeswalkers were completed. Moment of Truth’s art and flavor text also hints at Elsepth’s return, and I can only hope (and wish and pray and implore) that the return involves a new planeswalker card for her.
Chandra Borderless Map Variant
Wizards of the Coast
March of the Machine Commander
There will be five Commander decks released with March of the Machine, and they bring back an old favorite and tasty game type: Planechase. Planechase allows you to travel across the Magic multiverse during your games, landing in new locations with unique effects. Each new Commander deck will come with five new Planechase cards and five reprints. Commander product names (and corresponding color identities) are:
- Emergency call (red/green/white)
- Cavalry charge (white/blue/black)
- Divine Summons (Blue/Red/White)
- Growing threat (white/black)
- Tinker Time (green/blue/red)
Wizards of the Coast
Commander decks will come with Airplane Chase cards that allow you to travel the multiverse.
Wizards of the Coast
Additional sets and card treatments
March of the Machine comes with cards from a standard non-legal bonus sheet, similar to the Mystical Archives of Strixhaven or The Brothers’ War Retro Artifacts. These cards are called Multiverse Legends
March of the Machine also has various overview card treatments for the various planes it visits, such as the Dominaria stained glass look, Theros constellation treatments, and the Innistrad equinox card setting. Multiverse Legends cards will be available in the feature card processing from the original character blueprint.
Slimefoot and Squee in their Multiverse Legends map.
Katilda and Lier in their Multiverse Legends map.
Wizards of the Coast
Looks like even the gods of Theros aren’t immune to completion.
Wizards of the Coast
You can pre-order March of the Machine at your local game store or on Amazon ahead of its April 21 release.
Tech
