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The 50-card epilogue
What this set is
The Aftermath is a 50-card micro-set released three weeks after March of the Machine, sold in five-card Epilogue Boosters rather than draft boosters. Its job was to show where the multiverse landed once the invasion ended.
It is worth knowing mostly for what happened next. The epilogue format drew enough criticism, largely over selling a small set of Standard-legal cards in a product you could not draft, that Wizards did not repeat it. When a similar batch of cards was ready a year later they were folded into Outlaws of Thunder Junction as The Big Score instead of shipped separately.
Mechanically it is the quietest set of the year. There are no new keywords, only returning ones, which is a deliberate consequence of it being an epilogue rather than an expansion.
Themes
Every mechanic in The Aftermath
No new mechanics
The set introduces no new keyword. It reuses existing ones, transform and ward among them, because 50 cards is not enough space to teach something new and the set's purpose was narrative rather than mechanical.
Transform
Double-faced cards carry several of the story's resolutions, showing characters after the invasion changed them.
Where You Can Play It
Format legality
The Aftermath shipped under a single code. It was Standard-legal on release and has since rotated, which is the whole of its legality story.
The Aftermath 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
There is no draft format
The Aftermath was sold in five-card Epilogue Boosters, not draft boosters, so it has no draft archetypes to speak of.
Not a draftable set
Epilogue product
Fifty cards in five-card packs. This is the part of the product that drew the most criticism, and the reason the epilogue experiment was not repeated.
Boosters, precons and singles from The Aftermath are on TCGplayer.
FAQ
Common questions
What was March of the Machine: The Aftermath?
A 50-card micro-set released three weeks after March of the Machine, sold in five-card Epilogue Boosters rather than draft boosters. Its job was to show where the multiverse landed after the Phyrexian invasion ended.
Why was there never another epilogue set?
The format drew enough criticism, largely over selling a small set of Standard-legal cards in a product you could not draft, that Wizards did not repeat it. When a similar batch of cards was ready a year later they were folded into Outlaws of Thunder Junction as The Big Score instead.
Can you draft The Aftermath?
No. It was sold in five-card Epilogue Boosters, so there is no draft format and no draft archetypes.
Is The Aftermath still Standard legal?
No. It was Standard-legal on release and left at the July 2025 rotation, the one Edge of Eternities triggered. MAT cards are still legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander.
Does The Aftermath have new mechanics?
No. It reuses existing keywords such as transform and ward. Fifty cards is not enough room to teach something new, and the set's purpose was narrative rather than mechanical.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. March of the Machine: The Aftermath released on May 12, 2023; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
Playing The Aftermath in Commander?
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