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March of the Machine Limited: First Impressions & Analysis By Color
Quick Intro
March of the Machine has arrived, and it's time to delve into the format to excel in drafts and sealed events for this edition. In today's article, I'll discuss some initial impressions I've had about the format, as well as a list of standout common cards that have been making waves in decks.
About Battles
Battles are Better than What I Initially Thought
When I first saw the Battle cards, I was quite unsure if they would be viable for gameplay. I thought it would be detrimental to attack them instead of the opponent and lose clock turns, but the truth is, some Battles make a lot of sense to be attacked.
They function like a more balanced planeswalker on the field: you gain an ETB advantage when it enters the battlefield and another advantage when it's defeated, allowing you to attack at the most appropriate times and capitalize on their abilities.
Of course, as with all card types, some Battles aren't as strong, so be mindful of whether using them will actually provide a significant advantage for winning the match or if it'll just be a "win-more" in the deck.
Battles Distribution by Color & Rarity
| Common | Uncommon | Rare | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⚪White | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 🔵Blue | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| ⚫Black | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 🔴Red | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 🟢Green | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 🟡Multicolor | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| 🟤Artifacts | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Some of the notable battles include:
Synergy: Convoke, Backup and Incubate
Each of these strategies revolves around creatures and counters, resulting in strong synergy among them. When constructing our deck, and especially during drafts, we must consider which options are the most powerful for the color combination we're evaluating.
Cards with Backup by Color
| Common | Uncommon | Rare | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⚪White | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 🔵Blue | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ⚫Black | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 🔴Red | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 🟢Green | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 🟡Multicolor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 🟤Artifacts | 0 | 0 | 0 |
As we can observe, this is primarily a white and black ability, which, on the contrary, has minimal presence in blue.
Some of the best cards with Backup are: Golden-Scale Aeronaut, Saiba Cryptomancer, and Serpent-Blade Assailant.
Cards with Incubate by Color
| Common | Uncommon | Rare | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⚪White | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 🔵Blue | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| ⚫Black | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 🔴Red | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 🟢Green | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 🟡Multicolor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 🟤Artifacts | 0 | 0 | 0 |
In this instance, we can observe that nearly all colors have access to a substantial number of cards with Incubate, with white being the predominant color. On the other hand, red is the color that has the least number of cards in this particular case.
Among the cards featuring Incubate, we'd like to highlight the following: Infected Defector, Progenitor Exarch, and Converter Beast.
Cards with Convoke by Color
| Common | Uncommon | Rare | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⚪White | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 🔵Blue | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| ⚫Black | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 🔴Red | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 🟢Green | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 🟡Multicolor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 🟤Artifacts | 1 | 0 | 0 |
In this set, Convoke is primarily a blue and red ability, which is a contrast to the last time we saw this ability in previous sets, where it was mainly green.
Key aspects to consider
Powerful Cards and Good Decks
It's important to note that in this set sealed, it's rare to encounter a truly bad deck, given the abundance of rares and mythics in this set, especially when you factor in the legendary cards being quite impressive. However, the upside is that with more balanced decks and less disparity between them, all players have an equal opportunity to perform well in this format.
Of course, even with so many rares and mythics, there are still some that stand out above the rest – but that's to be expected. The element of luck in opening specific cards remains a significant aspect of the game. That being said, it's unlikely that you'll open your pool and think, "Yeah, this looks like a 0-2 drop," which used to be quite common, particularly in the previous set.
I believe this is beneficial for the format. With so many powerful cards, what typically sets players apart is their ability to maximize the potential of their card pool.
Differences from Phyrexia: All Will Become One
ONE was an incredibly frustrating format. Even with the best deck, packed with powerful rare and mythic bombs, it was all too common to get curved out and lose before making any significant plays. Lower-cost drops, especially two-drops, provided a substantial advantage, particularly for those who went first in games. All it took was playing creatures in the early turns, using one or two removal spells, and suddenly, you were backed into a corner. Combined with the fact that the presence of cards like Toxic made the game clock significantly shorter (since you only needed to deal 10 damage instead of the usual 20), decks like BW Toxic were far above average, even with technically weak cards such as Crawling Chorus and Pestilent Siphoner.
MOM, on the other hand, is a much more grindy format, with many games taking longer, making them more engaging and less frustrating. In ONE, it was common to miss land drops and, as a result, lose games. Now, with abilities that help mitigate this issue, such as surveil, and fewer common creatures capable of single handedly winning games, you have enough time to make a comeback during a match.MOM is a multicolored format
With an increased number of powerful cards in multiple colors, we're more tempted to play with more than two colors which is quite feasible in this set. Multi-colored lands play a significant role in this strategy, and beyond that, certain specific cards help fine-tune the mana in our decks, allowing us to play with a greater variety of colors.
Some common cards that allow us to develop this plan include:
In this list, I've only included the Alabaster Host Intercessor, but the entire landcycling cycle is quite significant for these decks.
Playing Artifacts and Enchantment Removal in Your Main Deck
In this set, numerous enchantments hold significant value, such as Seal of Existence, Failed Conversion, and Realmbreaker's Grasp. Considering the abundance of cards with incubate, it's highly unlikely that these cards won't have a valid target during the match.
Although this set doesn't offer an extensive range of cards for this particular strategy, the most notable options among the few available are Sunder the Gateway and Atraxa's Fall. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to include both of these cards in my decks.
Color Combinations & Themes
In both Sealed and Draft, one of the key aspects of the game is understanding the primary characteristics and strengths of each color that can be utilized to your advantage.
White-Blue
This color focuses on aggressive creatures, knights, and creatures with backup, which, when combined with cards like Inspiring Charge, can easily take the game in a few turns.
Blue-Black
This color features numerous graveyard-related cards, with creatures that become more powerful when there are eight or more cards in our opponent's graveyard. This perfectly complements its other strength - milling your opponent.
Black-Red
This color focuses on sacrificing your own creatures and creatures with abilities that trigger upon death. It's all about gaining an advantage by strategically combining them.
Red-Green
This color has many cards specialized in combat. Including several battles to take advantage of it.
White-Green
This color focuses on using +1/+1 counters with the help of backup and combat tricks.
White-Black
This color centers around Phyrexian creatures combined with cards with incubate.
White-Red
This color has many cards with Backup. Karsus Depthguard is the perfect creature for receiving those +1/+1 counters.
Blue-Red
This color combination attempts to exploit the Convoke ability. To maximize the potential of Convoke, prioritize cards like Ral's Reinforcements that create a broad board presence.
Blue-Green
This color has many cards related to transformation and double-faced cards. Transforming cards often require multiple colors of mana or large amounts of mana, so multicolor and mana ramp cards are welcome in your deck.
Black-Green
This color pairing focuses on utilizing Incubate and some of the bigger creatures in the set, making it extremely lethal if the game drags on.
Top 5 Commons By Color
Finally, here's a top 5 list featuring the key common cards in their respective colors, which I would hardly exclude from my upcoming decks in this format.
Blue
Green
White
Black
Red
Final words
Significantly distinct from ONE, MOM introduces a highly diverse format, offering numerous possibilities for deck building, powerful cards across all colors, and a fresh experience with Battles.
Despite only a few days into the format, in my opinion, it's quickly becoming one of the most enjoyable in recent times.
See you next time!