March of the Machine Draft Guide: A Comprehensive Overview

March of the Machine’s draft format is now live! This guide provides essential insights, covering spoilers, mechanics, and strategies for success in your next MTG draft.

March of the Machine (MOM) represents a pivotal moment in Magic: The Gathering’s lore, uniting planeswalkers against a common, existential threat – the Phyrexian invasion. This set isn’t just about epic battles; it fundamentally alters how Limited formats, specifically Draft, are approached. The set’s design emphasizes large-scale conflicts, reflected in the innovative “Battle” cards, which represent key locations under siege.

Early access and previews have generated significant excitement, with players eager to experience the unique dynamics MOM introduces. Understanding the set’s core themes – war, invasion, and desperate alliances – is crucial for successful drafting. The format rewards players who can anticipate the evolving battlefield and build decks capable of both offense and defense. Prepare for a draft experience unlike any other, where strategic choices and adaptability are paramount to victory. This guide will help you navigate the complexities of March of the Machine Draft.

Set Overview and Key Themes

March of the Machine boasts a diverse card pool, encompassing all five colors and several multi-color combinations. The set features Standard-legal cards alongside unique “Aftermath” cards, adding a layer of complexity to deckbuilding. Booster options include Draft, Set, and Collector Boosters, catering to different player preferences. The core theme revolves around the multiplanar invasion of Phyrexia, forcing planeswalkers to unite and defend their worlds.

Key themes manifest in the mechanics: Battles, Corrupted, Convoke, and Proliferate. Battles are central, representing besieged planes and offering powerful rewards. Corrupted reflects Phyrexian influence, enhancing certain cards. Convoke enables efficient spellcasting through creature sacrifice, and Proliferate accelerates counters. Drafting success hinges on recognizing these synergies and prioritizing cards that support a cohesive strategy. Expect a faster-paced, more interactive draft experience focused on board control and strategic combat.

Color Tier List for March of the Machine Draft

Evaluating each color’s strength is crucial for draft success. This tier list assesses each color’s power level, guiding your card prioritization during the draft process.

White: Aggro and Battlefield Control

White in March of the Machine excels at aggressive strategies and establishing battlefield control. Expect a potent mix of efficient creatures and impactful removal spells. Prioritize cards that allow you to quickly deploy threats and maintain a board presence. Look for opportunities to capitalize on the “battles” mechanic, as white often features cards that benefit from controlling key landmarks.

Aggro decks in white can overwhelm opponents with a steady stream of attackers, while control builds utilize removal and defensive creatures to stall the game and eventually win through attrition. Key commons and uncommons will likely focus on efficient creatures with relevant keywords, such as vigilance or lifelink, and spells that exile or destroy opposing threats. Don’t underestimate the power of cards that generate value over time, such as those that create tokens or provide repeatable effects. White’s ability to disrupt opponent’s plans and maintain a strong defensive posture makes it a formidable color in this draft format.

Blue: Tempo and Card Advantage

Blue in March of the Machine leans heavily into tempo-based strategies and generating card advantage. Expect a suite of counterspells, bounce effects, and card draw to disrupt your opponent’s plans and maintain a steady flow of resources. Prioritize cards that allow you to control the pace of the game and outmaneuver your opponents. The “battles” mechanic synergizes well with blue’s ability to manipulate the board and delay threats.

Tempo decks in blue aim to establish an early lead and maintain it through efficient interaction and evasive creatures. Card advantage builds focus on drawing extra cards and controlling the game with powerful spells. Key commons and uncommons will likely include efficient counterspells, bounce spells, and creatures with abilities like flying or unblockable. Look for opportunities to leverage blue’s card draw to find answers to your opponent’s threats and consistently apply pressure. Blue’s ability to control the flow of the game makes it a strong contender in this draft environment.

Black: Sacrifice and Recursion

Black in March of the Machine thrives on sacrifice synergies and recursive abilities, offering a potent combination of value and control. Expect to find cards that reward you for sacrificing creatures, alongside ways to bring those creatures back from the graveyard. This strategy allows for consistent resource generation and resilience against board wipes. Prioritize cards that enable sacrifice outlets and provide repeatable value from the graveyard.

Drafting black means embracing a strategy centered around attrition and outlasting your opponent. Sacrifice effects can disrupt opposing strategies, while recursion ensures you don’t fall behind on resources. Look for commons and uncommons that synergize with these themes, such as creatures with “dies” triggers or spells that reanimate fallen allies. The “corrupted” mechanic can also be leveraged effectively in black, providing powerful payoffs for embracing darkness. Black’s ability to control the board and generate value makes it a formidable choice in this draft format.

Red: Aggression and Direct Damage

Red in March of the Machine is all about swift, aggressive strategies and overwhelming opponents with direct damage. This color excels at early-game pressure, utilizing efficient creatures and burn spells to quickly reduce the opponent’s life total. Prioritize cards that enable a fast, proactive game plan, focusing on low-cost creatures with aggressive stats and spells that deal significant damage.

Drafting red means committing to an aggressive archetype that aims to close out the game before opponents can establish control. Look for cards that synergize with a fast, tempo-based approach, such as creatures with haste or abilities that reward attacking. The “convoke” mechanic can also be powerful in red, allowing you to deploy threats quickly and efficiently. While red may lack the late-game resilience of other colors, its ability to apply early pressure and finish games quickly makes it a strong contender in this draft environment. Don’t underestimate the power of consistent damage!

Green: Ramp and Midrange

Green in March of the Machine leans heavily into ramp strategies and powerful midrange plays. This color aims to accelerate mana production, allowing you to deploy larger, more impactful creatures ahead of schedule. Prioritize cards that generate mana, such as land ramp spells and creatures with mana-producing abilities. Building a solid mana base is crucial for maximizing green’s potential.

Drafting green often involves assembling a deck that can consistently cast powerful threats in the mid-to-late game. Look for creatures with strong stats and impactful abilities, as well as cards that provide value over time. Synergies with “proliferate” can be particularly strong in green, allowing you to scale up counters on your creatures and planeswalkers. While green may be vulnerable to early aggression, its ability to overwhelm opponents with large creatures and consistent mana advantage makes it a formidable force in this draft format. Focus on consistency and scaling!

Key Mechanics and How to Draft Around Them

March of the Machine introduces “Battles,” “Corrupted,” “Convoke,” and “Proliferate.” Understanding these mechanics is vital for successful drafting and deckbuilding strategies.

Battles: Understanding and Prioritizing

Battles are a central mechanic in March of the Machine, representing planar defenses you must overcome. These cards enter the battlefield attached to a planeswalker, and defeating the Battle allows you to “invade” – playing a powerful creature onto your side. Prioritizing Battles in the draft is crucial, but requires nuance.

Look for Battles that synergize with your chosen colors and archetype. Battles with strong immediate impacts, like those providing card advantage or tempo swings, are generally higher picks. Consider the planeswalker they target; if you’re already in those colors, the Battle’s value increases significantly. Don’t overvalue Battles if you lack the means to consistently defeat them, as they can become dead cards.

Remember that Battles often provide value even if not immediately defeated, so a resilient Battle can still be a solid pick. Evaluating the invade creature is also key – a powerful, game-ending threat makes the Battle far more appealing. Drafting a mix of removal and efficient attackers is essential to capitalize on the Battle mechanic.

Corrupted: Leveraging the Corrupted Keyword

The Corrupted keyword in March of the Machine offers significant power boosts, but requires careful deck construction. Creatures with Corrupted gain substantial enhancements when a permanent you control has been corrupted – typically by a Corrupted counter. Drafting around Corrupted means prioritizing cards that apply the counters, as well as those that benefit from them.

Don’t solely focus on Corrupted creatures; the cards that cause corruption are often more valuable, as they enable the synergy. Black and Green are the primary colors supporting the Corrupted mechanic, making them strong choices for a Corrupted-focused draft. Look for efficient ways to get Corrupted counters onto your permanents early and consistently.

Be mindful of removal; opponents will target your corrupted permanents. Having redundancy and protection spells can safeguard your strategy. A successful Corrupted deck aims to quickly establish a corrupted permanent and then overwhelm opponents with boosted creatures.

Convoke: Utilizing Mana Efficiency

Convoke is a returning mechanic in March of the Machine, allowing you to tap untapped creatures you control to help cast spells. This drastically reduces the mana cost, enabling you to deploy threats much earlier than usual. When drafting, prioritize cards with Convoke, especially those with impactful effects. However, remember that a Convoke deck requires a critical mass of creatures.

White and Red are the primary colors featuring Convoke, making them ideal for building around this mechanic. Look for creatures with low mana costs to maximize your ability to tap them for Convoke. A successful Convoke strategy involves flooding the board with creatures, then using Convoke to cast powerful spells ahead of curve.

Be aware that tapping creatures for Convoke temporarily removes them from blocking or attacking, so balance your mana expenditure carefully. Prioritize cards that reward you for having multiple creatures on the battlefield.

Proliferate: Scaling and Synergies

Proliferate, another returning mechanic in March of the Machine, allows you to add another counter of any kind to any permanent or player. This creates powerful scaling opportunities, especially with cards that enter the battlefield with counters or those that benefit from having them. Drafting a proliferate strategy requires identifying cards that synergize well with counters.

Green and Blue are the colors most associated with proliferate, offering cards that both apply and benefit from counters; Look for cards that create +1/+1 counters, loyalty counters on Planeswalkers, or poison counters on opponents. Cards that trigger when counters are added are also highly valuable.

Remember that proliferate doesn’t create counters, it only copies existing ones. Therefore, having a reliable source of initial counters is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of your proliferate strategy. Prioritize cards that establish a counter base early in the game.

Top Common and Uncommon Cards

Identifying key commons and uncommons is vital for a successful March of the Machine draft. Prioritize cards offering strong value, synergy, and impactful battlefield presence.

Powerful Commons to Prioritize

When drafting March of the Machine, several commons stand out as high-priority picks, offering significant value and impacting games substantially. Cards that provide immediate board presence, like efficient creatures with relevant keywords, are crucial. Look for removal spells that can handle key threats, especially those dealing with larger creatures or problematic permanents. Commons supporting key archetypes, such as those enabling sacrifice strategies or bolstering aggressive decks, should be highly valued.

Specifically, cards that offer flexibility – functioning well in multiple archetypes – are excellent choices. Consider commons that provide card advantage or mana fixing, as these can smooth out your draws and enable more consistent plays. Don’t underestimate the power of combat tricks or pump spells, especially in aggressive strategies. Prioritizing these commons will significantly improve your deck’s overall power level and increase your chances of success in the draft.

Strong Uncommon Cards for Building Around

March of the Machine boasts several uncommon cards that can serve as powerful build-arounds, shaping your draft strategy and leading to potent decks. Identifying these cards early is key to a successful draft. Look for uncommons that offer unique synergies or provide a significant advantage in a specific archetype. Cards that enable powerful combos or create overwhelming board states are particularly valuable.

Uncommons that offer repeatable effects or card advantage are also strong contenders. Consider those that support the “battle” mechanic, allowing you to capitalize on this central theme. Prioritize uncommons that fill gaps in your deck’s strategy or provide a crucial element it lacks. Building your deck around a strong uncommon can create a focused and synergistic strategy, increasing your chances of dominating your opponents and achieving victory in the draft.

Draft Archetypes and Synergies

March of the Machine supports diverse archetypes like aggressive Red/White, controlling Blue/Black, and powerful Green/Red ramp strategies, rewarding synergistic deckbuilding.

White/Red Aggro: Fast and Furious

The White/Red archetype in March of the Machine draft focuses on swift, relentless aggression. This strategy aims to overwhelm opponents early with efficient creatures and direct damage spells, capitalizing on a fast clock before they can establish control or deploy their late-game threats. Prioritize cards that provide immediate board presence and consistent damage output.

Key components include low-cost attackers, burn spells for finishing blows, and synergistic effects that amplify your offensive capabilities. Look for creatures with haste or abilities that reward attacking. Cards that provide temporary boosts to power or toughness can also be valuable. Don’t shy away from including cards that disrupt your opponent’s defenses, such as removal spells or effects that tap down blockers.

While this archetype excels at applying pressure, it can be vulnerable to board wipes and resilient threats. Therefore, it’s crucial to maintain a consistent stream of attackers and consider including a few resilient creatures or ways to rebuild your board quickly after disruption. A proactive, aggressive mindset is key to success with White/Red Aggro.

Blue/Black Control: Late-Game Domination

The Blue/Black control archetype in March of the Machine draft aims to survive the early game, disrupt the opponent’s plans, and ultimately win with powerful late-game threats or overwhelming card advantage. This strategy requires patience and a careful approach to resource management.

Prioritize cards that offer removal, counterspells, and card draw. Efficient removal is crucial for dealing with early threats, while counterspells can shut down key plays. Card draw ensures you have access to the answers you need when you need them. Look for synergistic effects that enhance your control elements, such as cards that reward you for countering spells or destroying creatures.

This archetype often struggles against extremely aggressive strategies. Therefore, including a few early-game blockers or life gain effects can be beneficial. Once you’ve stabilized, deploy your powerful finishers and leverage your card advantage to secure the win. A reactive, controlling playstyle is essential for success.

Green/Red Ramp: Overwhelming Power

The Green/Red ramp archetype in March of the Machine draft focuses on accelerating your mana production to cast large, impactful spells ahead of schedule. This strategy aims to overwhelm opponents with powerful creatures and devastating spells they can’t answer.

Prioritize mana ramp spells – cards that allow you to play additional lands or generate extra mana. Efficient creatures with a low mana cost and high impact are also key. Look for cards that synergize with a high mana base, such as creatures with powerful triggered abilities or spells that scale with mana spent.

This archetype can be vulnerable to early aggression and disruption. Including some early-game interaction, like removal or blockers, is crucial. Once you establish a mana advantage, deploy your large threats and watch your opponents struggle to keep up. A proactive, aggressive playstyle, fueled by mana ramp, is the core of this strategy.