March of the Machine: The Aftermath drops this Thursday, May 11 so you know this week’s announcements are going to be all about the mini-set. Let’s break down all the cool things coming to Arena this week to celebrate the launch of this 50-card set.
First up is the Historic Brawl Festival which is already up and running in Arena. The second March of the Machine festival, players will have until May 10 to earn up to five unique card styles for legendary team-up cards. There’s no downside to losing so feel free to experiment with your favorite legendary creatures and planeswalkers in this 100-card singleton format.
You can earn showcase card styles for the cards Kolga and Yidaro, Errant and Giada, Drana and Linvala, Djeru and Hazoret, and Inga and Eskia. Entering this event only costs 500 gems or 2,500 gold coins.
March of the Machine: The Aftermath Drafting
The Draftermath
March of the Machine: The Aftermath will be a draftable format on Arena. It appears that Limited packs will include cards from the regular March of the Machine set, with each pack containing a Multiverse Legends card and a single card from March of the Machine: The Aftermath.
New Standard Rotation Coming Soon
In an attempt to make Standard a little more appealing to players, Wizards of the Coast is changing up its approach to Standard. The first of what appears to be several updates is an extended Standard set rotation, letting sets remain Standard playable for longer.
Sets will now rotate out of Standard every three years instead of the current two. This change will also affect Magic: The Gathering Arena’s Standard rotation. The most immediate change is that the release of Wilds of Eldraine this September won’t cause any sets to rotate out.
Alchemy, however, will keep its two-year rotation cycle. This means once Wilds of Eldraine drops, the sets Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Streets of New Capenna, and Alchemy Horizons: Baldur’s Gate will all leave.
For more details on how the new Standard rotation will affect Magic: The Gathering, check out our breakdown of the announcement.
Events and More
Midweek Magic
- May 9–11: Explorer
- May 16–18: On the Edge
- May 23–25: Singleton
- May 30–June 1: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Phantom Sealed
Drafts
- April 28–May 12: March of the Machine Quick Draft
- May 12–26: Dominaria United Quick Draft
- May 26–June 3: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Premier Draft
- May 26–June 6: March of the Machine Quick Draft
- June 3–11: Innistrad: Crimson Vow Premier Draft
Everything Else
- May 6–11: Historic Brawl Festival
- May 26–29: Historic Metagame Challenge
- June 2–5: Treasured Festival: Historic Singleton
A ton of new announcements were dropped over the weekend for everything from the upcoming Lord of the Rings and Doctor Who Universes Beyond sets, the extremely powerful Commander Masters, and early details for the highly anticipated Wilds of Eldraine were revealed at MagicCon Minneapolis so make sure to check out the full details here.