When was March of the Machine released?

March of the Machine was released on April 21, 2023. It is Magic's ninety-sixth expansion and contains 387 cards.

What is the set code for March of the Machine?

The set code for March of the Machine is MOM. You'll see this used on Scryfall, in deck lists, and in card database references.

How many cards are in March of the Machine?

March of the Machine contains 387 cards in the main set. Additional cards appear in associated products like the Commander decks and the Multiverse Legends bonus sheet found in booster packs.

What is March of the Machine: The Aftermath?

March of the Machine: The Aftermath is a separate micro-set released on May 12, 2023 — about three weeks after MOM. It is non-draftable and covers the story consequences of the Phyrexian invasion's conclusion. It is a distinct product from the main March of the Machine set.

Is March of the Machine part of a larger story arc?

Yes. March of the Machine is the climax of the Phyrexian invasion storyline, which built across multiple sets from roughly 2021 onward — including Dominaria United, The Brothers' War, and Phyrexia: All Will Be One. MOM depicts the Phyrexians simultaneously invading multiple planes across the Multiverse.

What products were released alongside March of the Machine?

March of the Machine was supported by Commander decks, a Jumpstart product, Multiverse Legends bonus cards (found in booster packs), a Welcome Booster, and an Art Series. The companion micro-set, The Aftermath, followed three weeks later on May 12, 2023.

March of the Machine (MOM): Set Guide

The Phyrexian invasion doesn't just threaten one plane - it threatens all of them at once. March of the Machine (MOM) is the climax of a multi-year Phyrexian story arc, and its scope is unlike almost anything Magic has done before: every plane in the Multiverse becomes a battlefield in the same set.

Released on April 21, 2023, March of the Machine is Magic's ninety-sixth expansion. It contains 387 cards and represents the conclusion of the Phyrexian Arc that ran through Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Streets of New Capenna, Dominaria United, The Brothers' War, Phyrexia: All Will Be One, and more.

What is March of the Machine?

March of the Machine is the ninety-sixth Magic: The Gathering expansion, released on April 21, 2023. It is a large set of 387 cards and serves as the concluding chapter of the multi-set Phyrexian invasion storyline. The set is notable for spanning multiple planes simultaneously - rather than being set on a single world, it depicts the Phyrexian Praetors launching a coordinated assault across the entire Multiverse.

The set was accompanied by a range of associated products, including March of the Machine Commander decks, a Jumpstart product, Multiverse Legends bonus cards, a Welcome Booster, and an Art Series.

Format check: MOM entered Standard on its release date and remains part of the Standard-legal card pool according to its rotation schedule. Always check the current rotation window before building.

Themes and mechanics

March of the Machine's mechanical identity reflects its story: a desperate, multiplanar war fought across many different fronts. The set brings together characters, creatures, and aesthetics from across Magic's history, united against a single overwhelming threat.

Because the source material available doesn't detail every individual mechanic introduced or returned in MOM, I'd recommend checking the official card gallery on Scryfall or the Wizards of the Coast product page for a full mechanical breakdown. What we do know is that the set's design is built around the idea of collaboration and convergence - heroes from different planes fighting side by side - which shapes both its card designs and its draft environment.

Limited and Draft

March of the Machine is a draftable set, meaning it supports the standard Booster Draft and Sealed Deck Limited formats. A 387-card set of this size typically supports a wide range of draft archetypes, often structured around the multiplanar themes present in the story.

The associated Jumpstart product offers an alternative way to experience the set's cards without traditional drafting, by combining themed packets for quick, low-setup play.

For detailed draft archetype breakdowns and pick-order guides, I'd point you toward dedicated Limited resources - the format data shifts quickly in the weeks after release, and live win-rate trackers give a more accurate picture than any static guide can.

Lore and setting

The story of March of the Machine is the largest-scale conflict in Magic's history (as of 2023). The Phyrexians - led by the Praetors and the completed Planeswalker Elspeth (though she had been compleated in Phyrexia: All Will Be One) - simultaneously invade multiple planes across the Multiverse. Planes including Dominaria, Kamigawa, Theros, Mirrodin, and others all become active warzones.

This storytelling approach is genuinely new territory for Magic. Previous sets focused on one plane per story beat; MOM sprawls across the entire Multiverse in a single set, giving it an almost cinematic, crossover-event feel.

Lore aside: The Phyrexian invasion arc had been building since hints in Kaldheim and Strixhaven in 2021, with the threat becoming explicit in Dominaria United (2022). MOM is the payoff for roughly two years of narrative setup.

A companion micro-set, March of the Machine: The Aftermath, was released on May 12, 2023 - just three weeks later. That non-draftable set deals with the consequences of the invasion's resolution and bridges the story toward Magic's next chapter.

Set legacy

March of the Machine sits at a genuinely pivotal moment in Magic's publishing history. Whether it sticks the landing as a satisfying conclusion to a years-long story is, honestly, something reasonable players disagree on - but its ambition is hard to argue with.

The associated Multiverse Legends sheet - bonus cards drawn from throughout Magic's history - made MOM boosters a destination for players chasing reprints of powerful and beloved cards, independent of the main set's own card power level.

The follow-up micro-set, The Aftermath, represented an experimental product format for Wizards: a small, non-draftable epilogue set sold separately. How well that experiment was received shaped how Wizards thought about supplemental storytelling products going forward.

In terms of competitive impact, March of the Machine introduced 387 new cards to Standard and the wider format ecosystem. The full extent of its format impact - which cards defined metas, which were sleepers, which were busts - is best tracked through current tournament data rather than fixed in a static guide, since the competitive picture continues to evolve.