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The set that added a card type
What this set is
March of the Machine is the payoff to the Phyrexian arc, and it carries the single biggest rules addition of the year: battle, the first new card type since planeswalkers. All thirty-six of them are Sieges.
A Siege enters under your control but you choose an opponent to protect it. It has defense counters, anyone can attack it, and if you remove the last counter you get to cast the card on its back face. Damage dealt to it is not damage dealt to a player, which is what keeps it from simply being a second life total.
Themes
Every mechanic in March of the Machine
Battle (Siege)
A new card type. You cast a Siege and pick an opponent to protect it; it enters with defense counters and can be attacked like a planeswalker. Strip the counters and you cast its back face for free. The protector is the reason it plays as a race rather than a free spell.
Backup
An enters-the-battlefield trigger. Put a +1/+1 counter on a target creature, and if that is a different creature it also gains this one's other abilities until end of turn. Handing an evasive body a keyword for a turn is usually worth more than the counter.
Incubate
Incubate N makes a colorless Incubator artifact token with N +1/+1 counters on it. Pay two generic mana to transform it into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature that those counters then size. A creature you buy in two instalments.
Convoke
Tap any number of untapped creatures you control as you cast a spell, each paying for one generic mana or one mana of that creature's color. Pairs with incubate and the set's token production almost too well.
Where You Can Play It
Format legality
March of the Machine has left Standard, but that is the only format it left. Here's where each code is legal now.
A bonus-sheet printing doesn't change a card's legality, so each card is legal wherever that card already was. The sheet itself is a Commander, Legacy and Vintage product.
March of the Machine left Standard at the July 2025 rotation, the one Edge of Eternities triggered, alongside the rest of its rotation year. A rotation only ever removes cards from Standard, so everything here is still playable in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Limited
Ten draft archetypes
A full ten-pair format, and an unusually multicolor one. The set is built on two-color legendary pairs, so the mana supports splashing further than most.
All ten two-color pairs
Full ten-pair format
Battles sit across the whole format rather than in two or three pairs, because every color got Sieges. Backup concentrates in the aggressive pairs and incubate in the slower ones.
Commander
The five Commander decks
One per major faction of the invasion, and the largest precon slate of the year.
Call for Backup
Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener
Naya, built on the set's backup mechanic to stack buffs onto one attacker.
Cavalry Charge
Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir
Esper Knights, aggressive and go-wide.
Divine Convocation
Kasla, the Broken Halo
Jeskai, leaning on convoke and token production.
Growing Threat
Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos
Orzhov incubate, turning Phyrexian threats loose on the table.
Tinker Time
Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy
Temur artifacts, built around the set's machine theme.
Building one of these into something of your own? The precon buying guide covers how to judge a deck, and the Commander deck template is the shape to build toward. See how these stack up against every other precon we've rated on the precon directory.
Boosters, precons and singles from March of the Machine are on TCGplayer.
FAQ
Common questions
What is a battle card in MTG?
Battle is a card type introduced in March of the Machine. Every battle in the set is a Siege: you cast it and choose an opponent to protect it, it enters with defense counters, and anyone can attack it. Remove the last counter and you cast the card on its back face for free.
Is March of the Machine still Standard legal?
No. It left Standard at the July 2025 rotation, the one Edge of Eternities triggered, along with The Aftermath, Phyrexia: All Will Be One, Dominaria United and The Brothers' War. MOM cards remain legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander.
How does backup work?
It is an enters-the-battlefield trigger. Put a +1/+1 counter on a target creature, and if that is a different creature it also gains the backup creature's other abilities until end of turn. Giving an evasive creature a keyword for a turn is usually the stronger half.
What does incubate do?
Incubate N creates a colorless Incubator artifact token with N +1/+1 counters. Pay two generic mana to transform it into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature, which those counters then size. You are buying a creature in two instalments.
Is Multiverse Legends Standard legal?
No. Multiverse Legends is a bonus sheet, and a bonus-sheet printing does not change a card's legality. Each card stays legal wherever it already was, and the sheet itself is a Commander, Legacy and Vintage product.
How many Commander decks did March of the Machine have?
Five, the largest slate of the year: Call for Backup, Cavalry Charge, Divine Convocation, Growing Threat and Tinker Time.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. March of the Machine released on Apr 21, 2023; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
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