Magic: The Gathering’s WeeklyMTG returned today with tons of new information all around Magic: The Gathering’s next expansion, the rapidly approaching March of the Machine. We’ve got info on Battle cards, product updates, release schedules, and more!
Revealed Cards
Holy…there were a ton of awesome previews—here are the highlights.
Invasion of New Phyrexia // Teferi Akosa of Zhalfir
Let’s start with Battles, the new card type that is coming in March of the Machine.
You can read more about how Battles work below, but the cards has two sides. You cast the front (portrait) face and then the card transforms to its back face once certain conditions are met. For Invasion of New Phyrexia // Teferi Akosa of Zhalfir, you will cast Invasion of New Phyrexia the it will transform into Teferi Akosa of Zhalfir once you have defeated the Battle.
Elesh Norn // The Argent Etching
Look, we already knew that the Praetors were going to be double-faced cards (we’ve already seen Jin-Gitaxias) but jeez, Elesh Norn // The Argent Etching looks nuts.
Borborygmos and Fblthp
You might say that Borborygmos and Fblthp is the teamup of the century, but I’m just happy that someone helped Fblthp become un-lost and I think it’s perfect that Borborygmos was the one to do it.
Quintorius, Loremaster
We know that Quitorius sparked in the March of the Machine story but I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer to see Quintorius, Loremaster on a Planeswalker card.
Sword of Once and Future
Sword of Once and Future is the 10th card in—and finally completes—the “Sword of X and Y” cycle.
…and the Rest
Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness Polukranos Reborn // Polukranos, Engine of Ruin, Invasion of Ikoria // Zilortha, Apex of Ikoria, Glissa, Herald of Predation, Seal from Existence , Elspeth’s Smite, Mirrodin Avenged, Realmbreaker, the Invasion Tree, Archpriest of Shadows, and Traumatic Revelation.
Plenty of artwork was shared for other upcoming cards, some of it extremely terrifying and others immensely impressive. As the release of March of the Machine draws ever closer, more of these cards will be revealed.
Battles—How Do They Work?
Battle cards are transforming double-faced cards that can be attacked much like a planeswalker. When a Battle enters the battlefield you pick an opponent to become its protector. As a protector, that opponent can assign blockers when you choose to attack it, though the Battle card’s protector can also choose to attack it.
Damage done to a Battle card causes that many defense counters to be removed from it, which includes combat and noncombat damage. Once a Battle has no defense counters on it, it transforms to the backside back under your control.
So far Battle cards all have the same subtype of Siege, which seems to imply that other Battle cards might be releasing in this set or leaving the design space open for other Battle cards to be released in future sets.
New Mechanics
Backup
Backup is a really neat new mechanic that distributes counters to any creature of your choice when it comes into play. The recently revealed Boon-Bringer Valkyrie, for instance, has backup 1, putting a +1/+1 counter on any target creature. If you target a creature other than itself, it also gains any abilities the original creature had for the turn. Boon-Bringer Valkyrie will give another creature flying, first strike, and lifelink until end of turn.
Incubate
Cards with Incubate will create an Incubator token upon the ability’s resolution with +1/+1 counters equal to its number. That creature token has an ability that costs two mana which transforms it into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature.
You could potentially load up an Incubator token with extra +1/+1 counters or other counters and then wait until after a board wipe to transform it into a creature. You can also transform the Incubator token at instant speed, letting you bring in a blocker if needed or in response to an opponent’s spell.
Returning Mechanics
Convoke
The very popular convoke mechanic is making a return, letting you unite your creatures together to cast larger spells. Convoke lets you tap your creatures to help cast spells, where a tapped creature can be used to fulfill either a generic mana or one mana of the same color as the tapped creature.
March of the Machine Release Dates
- April 14: Prerelease Events
- April 18: Arena & MTGO Launch
- April 21: Tabletop Launch
March of the Machine: The Aftermath
- May 1 & 2: Story Release
- May 2: Debut Stream
- May 11: Arena & MTGO Launch
- May 12: Tabletop Launch
Looking for more information about March of the Machine? Check out our first look from MagicCon Philly!