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March of the Machine - A Summary of Archetypes and Mechanics

 

The epic (pun intended) concluding set to Magic the Gathering's Phyrexia story March of the Machine is here. To help you wrap your head around it and help with deck building for prerelease I have compiled the Mechanics and Archetypes into a single blog post you may scroll through to help.

Mechanics

Battle
Battle isn't just a new mechanic -  it's a new card type. Here is a summary on how the new battle cards work:
  • Upon a Battle card entering the battlefield, an opponent is chosen to protect the Battle card.
  • The opponent protecting the Battle card can use counterspells and creatures to block in order for it to not get damaged. But only the protector can prevent damage. 
  • There are spells in MOM that specifically cause damage to a Battle card.
  • Spells that deal damage to any target can damage a Battle card.
  • The backside enters the battlefield with summoning sickness.
  • You as the controller want to attack/defeat your Battle card in order to flip it. 

Backup
Backup is a new MTG mechanic inMarch of the Machine that symbolizes creatures on an MTG plane working together to fight the Phyrexian invasion. Backup is a neat mechanic that allows players to use powerful keywords from a creature entering the battlefield on another creature that doesn’t have summoning sickness. And the +1/+1 counters are a nice finishing touch. 

Incubate
The final new mechanic in the MOM set is Incubate, giving players the feel of Phyrexians hatching out of portals as they attack the planes of the MTG Multiverse. Incubate is found on a variety of card types while always having an Incubate number. Once an Incubate token exists, its controller can pay a Transform cost of two mana of any color to flip it over to the backside of the token, creating a Phyrexian Artifact creature with 0/0 stats. Some cards will have a trigger, like The Argent Etchings, that Transforms the Incubator tokens without its controller having to pay the two mana per token. 

Prowess
Prowess is a returning MTG mechanic. The mechanic places a +1/+1 counter on a creature with Prowess whenever its controller casts a non-creature spell. But the counters applied only stay on the creature until the end of the turn.

Transform
Does what it says on the box... Pay the cost and transform the card (at sorcery speed)

Convoke
Convoke is another returning MTG mechanic. Players can tap creatures on the battlefield to help pay for the casting cost of a permanent that has the Convoke mechanic. 

Cycling
Cycling is another returning mechanic found in the MOM set, requiring players to pay two mana of any color and discard the Cycling card to draw a card.

Landcycling
Similar to Cycling, Landcycling requires players to pay two mana of any color and discard the Landcycling card. Instead of drawing a card or having an ability, Landcycling lets players search their library for a specific basic land and put it into their hand. Plainescycling allows players to search for a basic Plains land while Forestcycling has players search their library for a basic Forest land.

Archetypes

This sets two coloured archetypes are outlined below alongside what they will want to be built around. Use this section to help you with deck construction.

Azorius (Blue/White): Knights

The White and Blue archetype is the colour of the Knights creature type.

Dimir (Blue/Black): Graveyard

Dimir is doing what Dimir does best - MILL EVERYONE! Your forces will be improve with more strategies and greater power as each graveyard fills.

Rakdos (Black/Red): Sacrifice

Black and Red still want to sacrifice things, when fighting Phyrexia, desperate times call for desperate measures. Sacrifice your artifacts and creatures to pave the path to victory.

Gruul (Red/Green): Battles

Liberate your favourite plane from phyrexia with the new Battle card type. Prioritize battles, and smash through the opposing defenses to save the day.

Selesnya (Green/White): +1/+1 Counters

The Green and White enchant big creatures and with this set, they're buffed with +1/+1 counters. Use them to outclass your opponent.

Orzhov (Black/White): Phyrexians

Seek out Phyrexians of all sorts to take advantage of them and their swarms of little hatching Incubator Tokens.

Izzet (Blue/Red): Convoke

Your creatures are here to help withstand the invasion. Build an army early and they'll help you cast powerful spells with convoke.

Golgari (Green/Black): Incubate

Go big and generate tons of mana to play bigger creatures and incubate large tokens.

Boros (Red/White): BACKUP
Have you been suffering from the overwhelming forces of Phyrexia? Never fear! The backup mechanic is here. Use the backup mechanic to find the right combination of abilities to build towards your victory each turn.

Simic (Blue/Green): Transform
Life is always more fun with some change. Take your cards to the next level by winning battles and turning incubator tokens into their phyrexian creature selves.



That's it, you're all set to play in your prerelease! EPIC Ipswich is running it's sealed prerelease Friday the 14th of April at 6PM.

Your Friend and Ally,
Lachy

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