March of the Machines is now on Arena. And, if you’ve been around here for a little while, you know what that means: first impressions! Every set, I like to try out cards and strategies I think will be important, relevant, or just goofy in Constructed formats. And after lots of testing, I’ve got five impressions for March of the Machines.
It’s been a long journey getting here. We’ve looked at a lot of Phyrexia cards and seen a few themes and a few potential decks. Now, we round things out by looking at the artifacts and lands.
Unlike some sets, the Planeswalkers are probably the least interesting additions in the multicolored section for Phyrexia: All Will Be One. Sure, the often-flexible mana cost and storyline aspects are intriguing, but I was mostly underwhelmed by them. The random legendary creatures and cheap aggro options, though? Those look like a ton of fun.
Like I said in the red Phyrexia: All Will Be One article, green got a worrying amount of powerful new cards. And most aren’t even high-mana-cost bombs. They’re just strong mid-range/aggro options with good abilities and reasonable mana costs. There’s nothing like a Questing Beast here, but it’s still scary.
Sadly, my favorite color of Magic, red, probably got the worst of the lot in Phyrexia: All Will Be One. Very few cards are powerful enough to see play outside of that one combo for Commander (which I didn’t even include on the list because the core card’s not great by itself). But a few cards seem like fun and might get their time in the spotlight.
I’ve been playing a lot of Mono-Black Devotion in Explorer lately, so I’m particularly excited about the new cards in this color. Strong removal and interesting ways to steal life from your opponent are a winning combination, and between that and some spicy reprints, this’ll be exciting.
And we’re back! On a Thursday, no less! I said this was a special event, didn’t I? Next week, starting Monday, we’ll be going over the remaining colors (and more) one article at a time, basically until the release of Phyrexia: All Will Be One.
And here I thought The Brothers’ War was a powerful set. Phyrexia: All Will Be One is ridiculous. They put Phyrexian mana, poison counters, and a lot of superb cards from older sets into this one.
It’s time for the last part of this mammoth list. The Brothers’ War just has so many good cards worth looking at and thinking about. Sure, some won’t knock everyone’s socks off, but even cards that feel like Limited chaff are actually powerful in the right decks.
The list continues, and we’re deep into it now. This is the part of the forty cards where the true power of The Brothers’ War starts to shine. We’ve got impactful reprints, brutal removal, and experimental cards that I’m excited to see played.
The Brothers’ War is the first set in a long time (maybe since Eldraine) with a high concentration of powerful and interesting cards. Every single format will be affected, and some might even warp.
Yes, I’ve said similar before, but Lightning Strike is back, and that changes everything.
