Pioneer Set Review - March of the Machine: The Aftermath

A few weeks after the release of March of the Machine, Magic: The Gathering will have its first "mini set" in over a decade, with March of the Machine: The Aftermath.

The set has only fifty cards, and presents the consequences that the war against Phyrexia had on the Multiverse, including several Planeswalkers losing their spark.

Although a fifty-card mini-set sets the precedent for future product releases in the same category, The Aftermath has some interesting cards for competitive formats. Today, we'll look at their potential for Pioneer!

Humans got a new lord with Coppercoat Vanguard, and at an appropriate cost and in the right colors to make room in the Mono White versions. This new creature doesn't add to the toughness, but Ward 1 makes up for this drawback by making it harder to interact with removals.

Vanguard deserves a test in all variants of this archetype today, being one of the best cards in the set for Pioneer.

During the era where the Metagame was dominated by three combo decks - Dimir Inverter, Lotus Breach and Mono White Devotion - some Control lists, or even Mono White itself, used Gideon of the Trials to delay, or just lock the opponent out of the possibility of winning the match.

Deification could be interesting if, at some point, Gideon of the Trials becomes a viable option on Pioneer again.

Metropolis Reformer is an interesting option for Angels' Sideboard, as in addition to being found with Collected Company and Kayla's Reconstruction, it also hinders combo winconditions that need to target a player to work, while also being a huge hindrance for Burn.

It's not the most exciting card today, but this creature is an important option to have available in the format.

Honorable mention. Tazri, Stalwart Survivor seems like a card designed for Commander, but turning all of your creatures into mana dorks opens up as-yet-unexplored possibilities, as well as giving a potential archetype to Zirda, the Dawnwaker.

Filter Out is a solid, inexpensive option for dealing with a variety of problems. For example, it bounces Planeswalkers, and delays an Aura player a few turns by returning all enchantments to their owner's hand, among other options.

It doesn't feel like an instant staple in Pioneer today, but just like Metropolis Reformer, this spell is a nice addition to the Metagame's health.

There are some interesting options to copy with Vesuvan Drifter, especially creatures that have a restrictive cost, but with a body that instantly wins the game, or that do something when they attack or when they deal combat damage.

However, we don't have Brainstorm effects or cantrips that dig too deep into a deck, and Vesuvan Drifter is too vulnerable on its own to establish a strategy that requires you to use a high number of cards that will never cast or put into play.

Ayara's Oathsworn looks like a solid creature on its own, and can gain space in the Orzhov variants of Humans, for growing on its own, having a decent body with evasion, and still interacting with Thalia's Lieutenant and Luminarch Aspirant.

Markov Baron is another lord for the Vampire archetypes, and one that can be cast for free, as well as interacting directly with the Blood mechanic.

It doesn't seem like the card that will bring the archetype back to the competitive scene, but it adds redundancy, essential for any deck focused on the interaction between its creatures.

The Soulflayer and Graveyard Trespasser we have at home.

That said, Urborg Scavengers are lethal against strategies that want to reanimate Atraxa, Grand Unifier, or any other creature that is a keyword soup. It seems more impactful on Standard, especially after rotation, but could earn a spot on Pioneer should Atraxa or Soulflayer become too prevalent.

I would like to believe that Arni Metalbrow is a powerful engine, capable of establishing a new archetype. However, its lack of immediate impact and the need to pay costs to get creatures from your hand into play make it too conditional for Pioneer.

Reckless Handling is a Gamble for artifacts. It's useful in situations where you want a specific artifact in your graveyard if you empty your hand first.

I can't imagine any Pioneer deck opting for this card today, as it would take a change in how to build Mardu Greasefang lists to turn it into an Entomb, while strategies like Hammer Time need tutors that add to its consistency.

Nissa, Resurgent Animist looks great in formats with Fetch Lands and Elementals.

Pioneer lacks a good means of taking advantage of her abilities, as the only "Fetch" good enough for the format is Fabled Passage, but perhaps, Nissa deserves a slot in some Four-Color archetype that attempts to take advantage of creatures like Risen Reef, Omnath, Locus of Creation, Omnath, Locus of the Roil and the Cavalier cycle.

While I'm not sure why this card was in a set that was supposed to show the aftermath of the Phyrexian invasion of the Multiverse, Tranquil Frillback is a decent Sideboard option for Mono Green Devotion, or Gruul Vehicles, due to its flexibility.

The new Calix is much better at an enchantment proposal than its Planeswalker version. Despite its higher cost, it becomes lethal alongside any enchanted creature, due to its ability to copy enchantments.

One of the biggest problems with Auras is the lack of redundancy, and Calix gives a hand in this regard. However, three mana is still a lot for an archetype that seeks to prey on the opponent's lack of interaction to win the game quickly, and it will still compete with Sram, Senior Edificer in the card advantage slot, which I believe that the Kaladesh dwarf has the upper hand.

Honorable mention. Someone really wants Portal to Phyrexia to work as a viable wincondition. In this case, Campus Renovation is one of the best artifact reanimation effects available on Pioneer today.

Cosmic Rebirth doesn't deserve a slot in Abzan Greasefang. It doesn't have the same 2-for-1 impact that Can't Stay Away does, and it's not playable from its controller's graveyard.

On the other hand, it can be worth a try to recur some other specific permanent, like Jeskai Ascendancy.

The Lurrus of the Dream-Den that the Auras have at home.

Danitha, New Benalia's Light suffers from the same issue as Calix, Guided by Fate: It works on an archetype that plans to end the game quickly, and competes for card advantage with other cheaper impactful cards, such as Sram, Senior Edificer and Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice.

Jirina, Dauntless General is another reason to explore the benefits of adding a splash in Humans.

Ikoria's new humanity leader is a targeted answer to some of the top threats in the Metagame today, while punishing the opponent for relying on sweepers to deal with an established board.

Given the amount of interesting additions for Orzhov Humans, this would be an opportunity for a reprint of Dark Confidant, or a variant of it for Humans, in a Standard set.

Nahiri's Resolve is unimpressive on its own, but it's also more of an effect similar to Teleportation Circle, which, in addition to reusing all your creatures' ETBs, still grants them +1/+0 and Haste, while protecting them from sweepers and sorcery-speed removals.

Five mana seems like a high cost for Pioneer, but the format's ETB decks are also the ones that seek to take advantage of Yorion, Sky Nomad, and are already naturally geared towards the late-game.

Narset, Enlightened Exile doesn't guarantee any immediate impact the moment it comes into play, and its controller needs to untap a turn to get the most value out of her.

On the other hand, she gives Prowess to all your creatures, and turns, for example, 1/1 creatures into Monastery Mentor's tokens. Also, untapping with Narset only once sometimes means playing the strongest spell in your hand twice, or performing a sequence that turns your creatures into an army that can win the game in a single turn.

Perhaps, a list geared towards token generators such as Young Pyromancer, Third Path Iconoclast, and Monastery Mentor can extract the full potential of the new Narset on Pioneer.

Honorable mention. Nashi, Moon's Legacy is an excellent recursion for lists focused on legendary permanents, such as the Esper Legends variants in Standard.

Pioneer has its pool of relevant Legendary cards, and Nashi's 3/4 body with Menace and Ward make it a decent threat if it stays on the battlefield.

Niv-Mizzet, Supreme looks like a one-off addition to Niv-to-Light should this archetype return to the competitive scene in the future.

Most of the two-color spells on these lists are extremely impactful, and the ability to reuse them for the cost of discarding something useless, or even another two-color Instant, or Sorcery, to cast them from your graveyard makes the new dragon a powerful value engine.

It also interacts with Bring to Light, which can be cast from your graveyard to fetch another important card.

Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin looks like The Aftermath's card with the most potential to impact Pioneer, in an archetype that often uses the splash for green to resort to Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - Rakdos Sacrifice.

The new Ob Nixilis triggers on any effect that causes the opponent to lose one life. Its obvious interaction is with Witch's Oven, Cauldron Familiar, and Mayhem Devil, where each activation will grant two +1/+1 counters on the new creature, as well as exile two cards from the top of your deck, creating a card advantage engine.

Four mana is a high cost for Rakdos variants, and Jund versions likely benefit more from Korvold, as it sacrifices a permanent on its own, while guaranteeing a draw instead of just exiling the top card.

However, new versions of Sacrifice may emerge, seeking to propose an attrition plan without the need to resort to green to obtain a wincondition that also offers value.

Another important point of the new Ob Nixilis is that it has an infinite damage combo with All Will be One. On it, any effect that deals one damage to the opponent will cause the creature to get a +1/+1 counter on it, which will trigger All Will be One, which deals one damage to the opponent, creating an infinite looping.

Since Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin looks decent on its own, we might consider building this combo on Standard and Pioneer to evaluate its potential. However, just like the Rona, Herald of Invasion combo, you're using a bad card to try to establish an infinite interaction, and the cost of All Will be One is way more restrictive than Retraction Helix.

Dragon decks still don't have enough potential to have space in Pioneer, but Sarkhan, Soul Aflame is an excellent support, and will certainly have its potential maximized when we return to a plane like Tarkir.

There are several dragons that generate a lot of value when they come into play or attack: Glorybringer, Goldspan Dragon, Terror of the Peaks, Iymrith, Desert Doom, Dragonlord Ojutai and Hidetsugu and Kairi are good examples of options to copy with Sarkhan, while also being decent threats on their own.

It doesn't seem like a competitive option in the current Metagame, but it's another good support for an archetype that has many enthusiasts in the Magic: The Gathering community.

Sigarda, Font of Blessings can be worthy of a slot on Angels' sideboard, both by protecting their threats from removals, and by offering a decent card advantage effect in a list where all creatures are either angels or humans.

It doesn't seem like an immediate inclusion in Pioneer, but like the other support that Angels received in this set, it is an option for possible changes in the Metagame.

Honorable mention. Karn, Legacy Reforged can be useful in a forgotten Pioneer strategy since its appearance during the Streets of New Capenna season, the Metalwork Colossus decks.

But the golem also seems redundant for this archetype's proposal, given that it doesn't help to find the combo pieces, in addition to depending on the main wincondition being in play to become a threat.

Mutavault and Faceless Haven are more appropriate colorless lands for lists that would benefit from Drannith Ruins.

March of the Machine: The Aftermath is one of the weirdest sets I've reviewed since starting my work in content production.

Its placement in the release window and the lack of some crucial elements of lore in its cards makes it seem like the set is an experiment by Wizards, where the release of a "mini set" allows them to add specific cards without harming the Limited environment.

Humans are the biggest winner of this set, while Angels and Rakdos Sacrifice received some updates as well. There are also a variety of cards that have a lot of potential but have yet to find a suitable home to pass the test of fire in competitive formats.

Thanks for reading!