Hello! Welcome to my set review of March of the Machine, where I will pick five cards of each colour and discuss my favourite cards from them.
Given that March of the Machine (aka MOM) also comes out with a set of preconstructed Commander decks, I’ll also be covering my favourite new cards from there in another article.
Without further ado, here are my favourite Black cards!
Sheoldred is like a Chain Devil that hits planeswalkers too on its front side. A 4/5 menace won’t come into play much though because there’s a great chance you’ll be flipping this Praetor as much as possible in any reanimation or mill shells.
First chapter just snipes a creature or planeswalker for each of your opponents, second chapter is asymmetrical mass discard three and mill three, making sure that when you hit chapter three, you’re going to Rise of the Dark Realms a hefty amount of creatures. A lot of set up is going into this, but my god, that pay off! Dimir mill never lived so hard! Rakdos aristocrats and Ever-Changing ‘Dane decks will be jamming Sheoldred, easily. I am so excited for her return so soon after Dominaria United.
This removal spell is top notch. Is it free in the way that Deadly Rollick is? No. But if you’re running creatures, it might as well be. Destroying a target creature or planeswalker at instant speed with Convoke would have been enough for me on a card, but that Surveil 2 could very well be relevant. I know when I play Araumi of the Dead Tide, there are times I Encore creatures out that I don’t necessarily need to attack with. The solution? Tap them for mana and Pile On. This is sweet!
Breach the Multiverse is the type of card the format was built on. Is it your turn? Is this a big mana late game spell? You’re damn right. Everybody mills ten and you get four of the best creatures spanning all graveyards. They’re also Phyrexians which has implications in Phyrexian creature themed decks with the new Brimaz for example, or with say Elesh Norn’s backside board wipe. A very fun card I hope to see a lot! Played by me specifically.
Alright, okay. Prosper, Tome-Bound is the most popular Rakdos commander of all time. This card is going to be seeing play in the Prosper decks that are not tuned toward cEDH. This is such a fun card. Convoke it out, now everything Prosper exiles can be discounted. Not just that, but you get to tutor up and exile a card face down! Keeping everybody on their toes against your Rakdos prince. This might be the only tutor I run in the deck. I really love this dorky looking dragon.
A modal board wipe on a permanent that can be blinked? Whose idea was this? It’s an absolute house for decks like Aminatou, the Fateshifter planeswalkers – in which I’ll find room for this for sure. New Jodah, the Unifier can choose to destroy non-legendary creatures and keep his board. Then the backside is Marchesa (long may she reign) as a 3/6 menacing deathtoucher who can kill battles or planeswalkers on attack. Beware, Hydra decks! And if you go a turn cycle without being attacked, you get a Phrexian Arena trigger.
What is not to love about this card? I mean, besides it being played against you.
The first of the colours to have a sixth card getting called the best of the set is of course Invasion of Innistrad. While the battle side is not that impressive since it’s a four-mana Tragic Slip, it still is a permanent and can be blinked potentially. But that back side is where you want to be. Get two Zombies out of the deal, but most importantly, you get graveyard hate that can make a 2/2 untapped Zombie for cheap and if you’ve got hella mana, you can make a lot of them at once before your turn in, say, The Scarab God, where you’re already holding up mana for the activated ability. I think this is stronger in 60 cards, but this is fun and cool!
Honourable Mentions
- Archpriest of Shadows – This is the kind of effect I want on a Backup card. Throw this Backup ability at a double striking creature or at a creature getting multiple combats and you’re in a build-your-own personal Rise of the Dark Realms territory.
- Bloated Processor – Free sack outlet for Phyrexian decks that leaves behind a big ol’ Incubate.
- Grafted Butcher – Recurring Phyrexian anthem that also gives them menace on ETB for a big swing. That’s the deck it belongs in.
- Terror of Towashi – It’s hard to block and bring something back while making it a Phyrexian, so that’s a way to play with types in a tribal deck!
- Gift of Compleation – Phyrexian Shadow of the Past. Maybe just play that?
- Glistening Deluge – Amazing colour hoser that might barely hurt your stuff while potentially completely wrecking green and white players.
- Render Inert – Flip a battle fast and draw a card.
- Seer of Stolen Sight – Artifacts and creatures hit the yard? Time to Surveil. Very useful in aristocrats where triggers can easily be separated rather than happen at once because then you only get one!
- Corrupted Conviction – Village Rites reprint.
- Deadly Derision – Grim Bounty at instant speed.
- Etched Familiar – LOOK WHAT THEY’VE DONE TO MY BOY!
- Ichor Drinker – Cheap Vampire for Edgar Markhov decks. Upside from the graveyard but the first part is more important I think.
- Nezumi Informant – Virus Beetle on a Rat Rogue. Creature type will matter for Rogue or Rat decks at least.
- Unseal the Necropolis – Instant speed, mill three, get two creatures back to hand? Better than you’d think!
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