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March of the Machine: Most Promising cards for Standard and Pioneer

Lucas Giggs
11/04/2023 · 7 min read
meta

Quick intro

We are on the verge of witnessing the release of yet another exciting new edition: March of the Machines. With the full spoiler revealed, several cards are starting to catch our attention for their potential in competitive play. Today, I'll be discussing a few of these cards for both Standard and Pioneer, as well as the decks they could fit into.

Top 5 MOM Cards for Pioneer

POLUKRANOS REBORN

A card that recently caught my eye is Polukranos Reborn. When we see cards with multiple green mana costs, we often think they may fit into Pioneer's MonoGreen Devotion. However, this card holds genuine potential, as its abilities are highly relevant to the deck, particularly having reach. Historically, MonoGreen struggles to handle flying creatures, and sometimes a Cavalier of Thorns isn't enough to hold off a Spirits onslaught. Having a creature that lands on turn 2 could be the key to winning these matches.

Moreover, in a deck that generates a significant amount of mana, it is not difficult to transform Polukranos Reborn. Once transformed, it becomes a formidable threat that synergizes with other cards in the deck, such as Lair of the Hydra or Voracious Hydra in alternative builds.

Polukranos Reborn
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CHANGE THE EQUATION

Another card that could directly impact MonoGreen Devotion, but this time with a negative effect on the deck.

This intriguing weapon is perfect for control strategies

This intriguing weapon is perfect for control strategies, as it serves as a crucial counter against faster decks early in the game, while also providing a lethal counter to the MonoGreen's heavy hitters, essentially nullifying the entire deck's arsenal. However, it still struggles to effectively deal with Karn the Great Creator. In the right metagame, it wouldn't surprise me to see this card even being played in main decks.

Change the Equation
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INVASION OF TOLVADA

Battle is the new card type introduced in this set. Each battle enters the battlefield with defense counters on it, equal to its defense, found in the lower right corner of the front face. This tells you how much damage it takes to defeat a battle. Any damage dealt to a battle causes that many defense counters to be removed from it. You win the Battle when Defense = 0, the battle is defeated, and you get a reward.

March of the Machine showcases a variety of battle cards, and this one particularly caught my attention. Pioneer has been lacking strong reanimation spells, and the fact that this card can reanimate any type of non-battle card opens up a plethora of possibilities to exploit it, whether by reanimating planeswalkers or even as another way to bring Atraxa into play. If defeated, the reward is also quite interesting, generating a token per turn and increasing the power of other creatures through its ability.

Invasion of Tolvada
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KROXA AND KUNOROS

Speaking of reanimation effects, Kroxa and Kunoros possess an incredibly potent ability to reanimate creatures upon entering the battlefield and during attacks. The fact that they have menace, vigilance, and lifelink makes combat highly unfair for the opponent. As Mardu cards, they may not yet have an ideal home (perhaps a Mardu deck paired with Invasion of Tolvada?), but these are cards that would certainly put me on high alert and I would not want to face them in a game.

Kroxa and Kunoros
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LITHOMANTIC BARRAGE

Rending Volley is one of the most played cards in red sideboards, and its instant speed can be more relevant against certain decks. However, it's interesting to note that Lithomantic Barrage can deal 1 point of damage to non-white creatures and planeswalkers, making it useful against cards like Llanowar Elves/Elvish Mystic and Karn the Great Creator. This versatility allows it to potentially be maindecked in archetypes such as UR Phoenix/Creativity.

The fact that it deals 5 damage also allows it to target cards like Lyra Dawnbringer and Baneslayer Angel, as well as handling Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and The Wandering Emperor for just one mana. This can be quite significant for the mentioned decks, which often need to deal with these cards while still holding up counter magic for other threats.

I believe this card can shift the power level of some decks against UW control, and as a bonus, it can hit creatures like Adeline and Righteous Valkyrie with a toughness of 5.

Lithomantic Barrage
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Top 5 MOM Cards for Standard

SURGE OF SALVATION

Brave the Elements is a card still played in Pioneer, and Surge could potentially have a similar or even better effect. Aggro decks often struggle against the endless removal options available to midrange decks, especially those with black cards.

This single card can serve as a powerful time walk in favor of aggro decks. Carrying Brotherhood's End can be a double-edged sword for the opponent when passing with an open white mana, but it most interesting aspect is completely negating Invoke Despair for just one mana. I can see the potential for this card in decks like Azorius Soldiers or even a resurgence of Monowhite Aggro, as I believe certain cards like Adeline need to be further explored in the format.

Surge of Salvation
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ZURGO AND OJUTAI

Hexproof is a dangerous ability!

Even though Zurgo and Ojutai only gain it on the turn they enter play, it is enough to serve as a powerful game finisher that is difficult to block and provides card advantage.

Moreover, its ability to return itself to your hand transforms it into an unstoppable killing machine, immune to removal and only answerable by Sheoldred's Edict or by using a counterspell. Without a doubt, this makes it one of the most promising cards in Standard, potentially giving rise to a formidable Jeskai Midrange/Control deck.

Zurgo and Ojutai
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RAMPAGING RAPTOR

This card bears a striking resemblance to Questing Beast, which saw significant play during its time in Standard, and was also a legendary card. It directly competes for a slot with Thundering Raiju, but we must remember that there will be another rotation in six months, so it could be a card worth keeping an eye on for the future.

It's a powerful card, and the fact that it hits planeswalkers when dealing damage eliminates the common deck requirement to either remove a bomb or maintain a direct clock on life. Moreover, depending on the impact of battles in the format, it could become an even more interesting card for extracting value from them.

Rampaging Raptor
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KHENRA SPELLSPEAR

On its own, it's already a solid card - prowess and trample are abilities that are quite rare to see together, and it makes perfect sense when you take advantage of spells and worsen the chump blocks on the card, dealing damage in combat. Once transformed, it becomes truly formidable, as all removal spells effectively cost 2 more mana and triggering prowess twice in the same turn can quickly end the game.

Khenra Spellspear
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ELESH NORN

Overall, I believe that all the praetors have the potential to see play in Standard, but Elesh Norn stands out with a powerful ability that heavily punishes the opponent's combat, whether it's dealing damage to creatures or to the player themselves, taxing the damage, or even helping to speed up the game clock in your favor. With vigilance, Elesh Norn also serves as an excellent attacker and blocker. When transformed, it can swiftly shape the course of the game within a few turns by amassing an army in the first chapter, boosting power in the second chapter, and if that's still not enough to secure a win, the third chapter can deliver a devastating blow to the opponent, making it nearly impossible for them to recover and ultimately leading you to victory.

Elesh Norn
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Final words

MOM appears to be a highly impactful set for both Standard and Pioneer. With the potential to introduce new archetypes and strengthen existing ones, it could be one of the most promising releases in recent memory.

Until next time!

If you liked this article maybe you will also find interesting on of the following ones 5 New Decks to Beat the Phyrexia: All Will be ONE Standard, Discovering Vintage: Key archetypes and strategies

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Lucas Giggs
MTG Streamer
Hi, my name is Lucas de Almeida Hervás. I'm 31 years old, married, and I live in Indaiatuba/SP, Brazil. I've been playing Magic the Gathering since 2009, but I've been making a living off of it since 2019 through leagues and tournaments on Magic Online. For those who don't know me, I'm 2.17 meters tall, hence the nickname "the tallest Magic player in Brazil."

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Published: 2023-04-11 00:00:00

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