Pioneer Set Review: March of the Machine

March of the Machine preview season has come to an end. With the entire set revealed, we kicked off our review season on Cards Realm, where we performed our analysis of the potential of the new set's cards for major Magic: The Gathering formats.

In this article, I kick off the season with my Pioneer review!

March of the Machine's big news is due to the launch of the new card type, Battle. Last week, I wrote an article about how these permanents work, and their potential for competitive Magic.

In a brief summary, Battles are permanents that have immediate effects when they come into play, and from which the opponent is chosen to protect it. Like Planeswalkers, we can attack Battles and, if they take damage, they lose the same amount of defense counters. When a Battle has no defense counters, its controller exiles it and casts its transformed side without paying their mana cost.

Since it's a mechanic that impacts combat like we've never seen it before, in this review, I'll be measuring most Battles based on their ETB effects, considering that their transformation is a bonus rather than a necessity.

This analysis may prove wrong in the future, but spending a combat phase to transform a Battle doesn't seem, for the most part, a very intuitive action in Pioneer as we know it today, and there will be plenty of testing after the release to figure out which ones are worth it, and when it is necessary to attack them.

I commented on Archangel Elspeth in a highlight for Standard. During the writing of this article, I concluded that she doesn't have what it takes to see play in Pioneer today.

The new Elspeth competes with Collected Company in most archetypes. And even in a deck like Mono White Humans, it loses in a direct contest with other Planeswalkers, like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar or The Wandering Emperor.

Dusk Legion Duelist interacts well with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord and Luminarch Aspirant. Being a vampire rather than a human makes it difficult for him to enter the format today, but if this tribe gets enough support for an Orzhov version to grow in the future, perhaps he deserves a spot on a more aggressive shell.

The new Elesh Norn is one of the strongest cards in the set, and at the same time, one of the hardest to find a home.

She punishes combat damage and Burn players, can block well with its body, and its mana cost is appropriate for its abilities. On the other hand, the transformation into The Argent Etchings is a high-risk, high-reward move.

If you pay the costs, sacrifice three creatures, and Elesh Norn transforms, chances are you'll win the game, as she puts ten power on the board the moment she comes into play to then give +1/+1 and Double Strike for all your creatures on the next turn. And if that's not enough, the third chapter will usually be a one-sided sweeper.

The new Elesh Norn is very strong, and while it might deserve occasional slots in Goostuff archetypes, like Enigmatic Fires or Niv-to-Light, it's also one of the best March of the Machine cards to try to build decks around.

Guardian of Ghirapur is pretty good in Angels. In addition to being a 3/3 with Flying that reuses your creatures' ETB, it also interacts with Righteous Valkyrie and other cards that care about angels entering the battlefield, in addition to the obvious interactions with other important cards, such as Esika's Chariot, Skyclave Apparition and Omnath, Locus of Creation.

Heliod, the Radiant Dawn can fit as a one-of into Enigmatic Fires decks, to return some sacrificed enchantments. Its transformed side is also pretty solid, but counter interactive with Fires of Invention.

Knight-Errant of Eos is difficult to rate. On the one hand, it grants a tremendous card advantage if you dedicate a turn to casting it with at least three creatures.

On the other hand, tapping these creatures will mean not attacking with them, and the fact that it puts the revealed cards into your hand makes it inferior to other options, such as Collected Company and Kayla's Reconstruction.

Honorable mention. Monastery Mentor now exists in Magic Arena and becomes legal in Explorer.

Phyrexian Censor is an effective hate against Izzet Phoenix and Lotus Combo, and makes a difference on Aggro mirrors, where you are on the play and can pressure the opponent early and then punish their higher drops by forcing them to come into play tapped.

Its flexibility will make it a worthy option on sideboards, but Archon of Emeria still looks better in matchups where Rule of Law effects matter.

Exiling all creatures can make Sunfall find a one-of slot in Azorius Control, next to Farewell.

Another of the best cards in the set.

Surge of Salvation is a great addition to permanent-oriented combo decks like Abzan Greasefang, while also protecting go-wide archetypes such as Humans from damage-based removals and/or red sweepers.

While not as effective as Silence on the combo turn, Surge of Salvation is a solid answer against a variety of situations, and any Rakdos Midrange player will have to reconsider how to play around this card.

Invasion of Gobakhan feels like one of the most solid Battles of March of the Machine. An Elite Spellbinder for two mana is very effective in delaying a Control or Midrange's plans and, assuming you've cast a creature the previous turn, you can attack it to lower its counters.

This is one of the few Battles that actually rewards you for attacking it, and its flip side turns each combat into a cumulative effect that grows your creatures. In addition, it also offers protection against sweepers and removals.

However, its effects and lack of impact on Aggro decks make it a poor maindeck option, and its inclusion on the sideboard looks bad in a format where Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is a staple and where Elite Spellbinder is also available.

Idyllic Tutor was reprinted in Theros Beyond Death and hasn't seen play, even in lists that rely on specific enchantments. So, I don't think Invasion of Theros will be relevant on Pioneer.

Change the Equation is an excellent sideboard card for Control decks, where it dedicates slots to answering green and red threats, as well as dealing small threats from the top of the Aggro decks for just two mana.

It's not superior to Aether Gust in every way, as it doesn't deal with resolved threats, or with cards that can't be countered like Thrun, Breaker of Silence, or with expensive spells like Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Emergent Ultimatum.

This spell is a definitive answer against troublesome threats, while Aether Gust is a temporary solution. So, I believe that both will alternate spaces according to how the Metagame demands it.

Cards that represent world champions tend to be relevant in competitive formats, and Faerie Mastermind, which represents Yuta Takahashi, doesn't seem to be an exception.

Notion Thief saw quite a bit of play in the format when Izzet Phoenix was the best deck, and Faerie Mastermind might not punish all the opponent's extra draws, but it does punish recurring card draws such as Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, Ledger Shredder, Raffine's Informant and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker.

Also, since it has Flash, this faerie can be cast in the End Step and protected with counterspells while establishing a clock in the air for a low cost, in addition to guaranteeing two extra draws per turn with its mana sink ability.

Spells with the potential to become free spells should always be considered. Meeting of Minds is decent alongside Third Path Iconoclast and Young Pyromancer in the Izzet Pyromancer lists, where there is no shortage of creatures to pay the convoke cost.

Azorius and Mono Blue Spirits may also be interested in this card, but there are more interesting options for archetypes that are as proactive as them.

Moment of Truth is an efficient new card selection, but still offers a 1-for-1 trade in your hand. For combo and control decks, I think Impulse is still the most comprehensive option, and Strategic Planning is more synergistic with Arclight Phoenix.

Invasion of Arcavios is an efficient tutor for instants and sorceries, and if transformed, becomes one of the most powerful value engines in the format. However, its mana cost is more limited than Mastermind's Acquisition and Fae of Wishes, so I don't have high expectations for this card on Pioneer.

The new Ayara is interesting alongside high-cost permanents that you can cast for cheap, like Delve creatures, Tolarian Terror or Shadow of Mortality. Her transformation is a decent reanimator effect, but its cost is too high, and it does too little for Pioneer.

Honorable mention. It's been almost two years since we last had a cheap sacrifice effect with no cost payments and/or no usage restrictions on a Standard set, and having more cards like Bloated Processor could enable new future iterations.

Render Inert kills most Planeswalkers, removes counters from Battles, and even draws a card. If one or more Battles become staples, this spell could be relevant in the competitive scene.

Sheoldred is strong in mirrors of fair decks, where every threat matters, games stretch, and five mana is a reasonable cost to cast a creature. Its immediate impact is worse than Ravenous Chupacabra on occasions, but its skill set makes it quite efficient.

On the other hand, The True Scriptures is easy to activate in Midrange games if players don't prey on each other's graveyards often, and when it's in play, it also offers a set of effects that zero out the opponent's resources, and ends it with a Rise of the Dark Realms in the third chapter.

It might be worth a slot on Rakdos Midrange's Maindeck or Sideboard.

If you want to run a Battle that can be useful while being discarded to fuel Traverse the Ulvenwald, then Invasion of Innistrad is likely to be more appropriate, as it is an instant-speed removal.

Its cost is high to destroy just one creature, and five defense counters require more than one creature to transform it, but its other side is also relevant and helps expand your pressure on the board.

Chandra's Phoenix is a card people have been asking for in Pioneer for a few years now, and Bloodfeather Phoenix is an improved version of what was once a Mono Red Aggro staple in Standard.

Boros Burn was one of the archetypes that lost space due to the loss of resilience after Lurrus of the Dream-Den was banned and, perhaps, this new card might bring some potential to the deck to return to the Metagame. With the new phoenix, you can dedicate some slots on Burn to having a recurring threat when your board is empty, which will count two more damage on your topdeck spells.

Another place where this creature could have a home is in the Mono Red Phoenix, which never had much space in the competitive scene, but made some results back in the format's first year.

I would love to see Etali, Primal Conqueror work on Pioneer, but I don't see where it could work as it requires a high investment of resources to become a real threat.

In the combos with Indomitable Creativity or Transmogrify, we have more efficient options, such as Atraxa, Grand Unifier or the instant-win combo of Xenagos, God of Revels with Worldspine Wurm , and you don't have to pay nine mana to turn them into game-winning threats.

Despite being a sorcery, Into the Fire is a solid addition for archetypes that want to put one-off cards back into the deck, as it offers a sweeper that, despite not being Ideal, holds the first wave of creatures, while never being a dead card in your hand.

I can imagine some situations where we would like to play with Lithomantic Barrage instead of Rending Volley and/or Fry, and there are advantages to only needing to spend one mana to deal with some Azorius Control cards. But as long as Greasefang, Okiba Boss exists, there is no room for us to have the luxury of having targeted answers at Sorcery-Speed.

As a spell, Nahiri's Warcrafting feels slow for Pioneer, but it deserves an honorable mention for dealing five damage in Battles, as well as resolving Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and other big threats.

Its card advantage effect also matters late-game, where we have plenty of resources to spend three mana on a removal and still cast one of the exiled cards.

Honorable mention. I still think Questing Beast is the best four-mana creature with Haste for Gruul Aggro. However, Rampaging Raptor deals damage in Battles, which will be a plus if one of them proves to be good enough for Pioneer.

Urabrask isn't a bad card, but there are more efficient options on Pioneer. In fact, this was one of the most hyped cards in the new set, and for the wrong reasons.

As it damages Planeswalkers and Battles, Volcanic Spite will replace Fire Prophecy on all archetypes that care for this card, such as Izzet Creativity or Gruul Transmogrify.

Wrenn's Resolve are copies 5 to 8 of Reckless Impulse, which are copies 8 to 12 of Light up the Stage.

As these cards aren't present in the current Metagame, I don't think Wrenn's Resolve will have as much of an impact on Pioneer. However, redundancy matters, and its inclusion is an improvement for Prowess decks, should they ever come back.

Invasion of Kaldheim is one of the best Battles of the set. In addition to having a Seismic Assault on its other side (and four counters means flipping it with Render Inert), this permanent practically "doubles" the number of cards in your hand if you perform a long combo turn.

It might be worth testing on decks that generate insane amounts of mana for a giant turn.

I don't see Invasion of Mercadia as a good card. But in need of options for triggering Delirium, its effect is decent, and at a reasonable cost.

I believe that Invasion of Tarkir is the most viable Battle for Eternal formats in March of the Machine. A Shock for two mana sounds awful, but it still costs just two mana, interacts with small creatures, and matters if you need Delirium.

Its other side is also decent, although it requires some effort to transform. A 4/4 creature with Flying that doubles as removal and/or extends the clock every turn is viable in the current Metagame.

I'm particularly interested in it in Modern and Legacy, where we have access to Dragon's Rage Channeler and Murktide Regent, which interact directly with Invasion of Tarkir while being staples of those formats.

The amount of support that Wizards has been giving lately to make a Hardened Scales deck work on Pioneer is impressive. And even then, it will fail until we have the keyword which is at its core in Modern: Modular.

Ozolith, the Shattered Spire is an effective addition to this theme, and even works on its own. However, as long as counters between creatures aren't transmitted to each other, I don't see this strategy growing on Pioneer.

If you play Mono Green Devotion, don't buy Tribute to the World Tree, it doesn't do anything you want. Buy Polukranos Reborn instead, as it is well positioned in a Metagame where Rakdos and Greasefang are the best decks.

It doesn't grant the ramp like Old-Growth Troll does if it dies, but its 4/5 body trades well against a variety of creatures, and manages to block Parhelion II's angel tokens and survive the combat. This detail may seem small, but the difference of a turn between these two archetypes is what defines a player's victory or defeat.

Transforming him isn't too much of an effort if you have a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in play, and a 6/6 with Reach and Lifelink that spawns tokens on death triggers makes it a problem and a wincondition on its own.

I don't think Abzan Greasefang wants this card. There are more important things to play on the first turn, and the fact that Seed of Hope only returns permanents that it has put into the graveyard means its recursion potential is too small.

Unless you're running an Elf deck, every other archetype that can cast Tribute to the World Tree doesn't want it and/or would rather be playing The Great Henge.

And even on Elves, this enchantment doesn't do anything on its own, and to start the "Glimpse of Nature effect", you require two lords on the battlefield - and if you have two lords in play and your opponent haven't killed them, it is likely that the game is already won.

Vorinclex seems to be the worst of this Praetor cycle. He is inferior to Elder Gargaroth as a 6/6 for five mana with keywords, his ETB effect is irrelevant in decks that want him, and his transformation, besides being expensive, needs other cards to do something that Transmogrify or Indomitable Creativity already does for less.

That said, it's a great reference to Tooth and Nail, released in the first Mirrodin block.

Wrenn and Realmbreaker has an important skill set: it theoretically protects itself the turn it comes into play and generates some immediate value while helping with the self-mill plan.

I consider it too slow (and too greedy in mana) for Abzan Greasefang, but with Traverse the Ulvenwald versions gaining more space, maybe it deserves a test in some lists, as it offers one more card type in the graveyard, while its -2 grants recursion when needed.

Wrenn and Realmbreaker perhaps deserve a run in the Nykthos Ramp versions who seek to abuse Planeswalkers such as Teferi, Who Slows the Sunset and Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God. In these lists, it could function as extra copies of Oath of Nissa.

Finale of Devastation hasn't seen play on Pioneer, and the restriction of "non-humans" lessens the scope of Invasion of Ikoria. Its other side is an 8/8 with Reach that guarantees pseudo-Trample for your non-human creatures, so if it gains space in the Metagame in the future, transforming it seems a viable option to close the damage against the opponent.

Invasion of Ixalan works as a more comprehensive Once Upon a Time, but lacking the text that made it so broken that it had to be banned.

The lack of type restrictions and the fact that it replaces itself in your hand the moment it comes into play can have some useful applications, given that it's the same color as most of the cards that care for Delirium.

Its other side is a 4/3 creature with Trample and a conditional ability. Therefore, I don't think it's worth declaring attackers against it.

As mentioned above, I don't think Hardened Scales effects have room on Pioneer until we have an efficient means of passing counters from one creature to another.

Honorable mention. Drana and Linvala features the core ability that has made Linvala, Keeper of Silence a Modern staple for years. Its presence in Pioneer is important in case we need to put creature abilities in check.

Honorable mention because many will try to play Ghalta and Mavren in the third turn with Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord.

Ghalta and Mavren doesn't protect itself, nor does it offer any immediate impact upon coming into play. So, either you'll need more parts to make it good, or you'd be better off playing Indomitable Creativity or Greasefang, Okiba Boss archetypes, where you don't have to wait a full turn cycle to extract value from your game-winning combo.

Halo Forager looks good, but for three mana and at Sorcery-Speed, it lacks flexibility. That said, it's a rogue in the right colors and plays well with cheap proactive spells like Thoughtseize. Therefore, deserves an honorable mention.

Thalia and the Gitrog Monster does a bit of everything: she survives any combat, crashes opponents' board, grants a ramp, and draws cards. In general, her abilities look great on their own, but how will they work together?

Abzan colors aren't known for trying to play fair today, and the days of Siege Rhino have long passed on Pioneer. But Thalia and the Gitrog Monster's ability set can revitalize this strategy due to how efficient they are on their own.

Therefore, my conclusion is that this card will either be on par with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse' power level, or it will be just another creature to suffer from a huge hype while failing to deliver results after its release.

I feel the same about this card.

Despite the restrictive cost, Invasion of Alara has one of the strongest ETBs in the Battle Cycle, especially given its potential alongside Yorion, Sky Nomad. Its transformed side does a lot for just one spell, but the effort of "skipping" seven damage to the opponent just to get a win-more effect doesn't seem necessary.

Invasion of Ergamon is a decent card on its own and helps speed up the cast of Esika's Chariot, or serves as an enabler for Indomitable Creativity. Its transformed side helps to find other Battles, but it requires a very high effort for a small body.

In a vacuum, Invasion of New Phyrexia is an alternate version of Finale of Glory, which never saw play on Pioneer. But on the other side, conveniently enabled by the tokens you create, there's Teferi, Akosa of Zhalfir.

To cast Teferi with Invasion of New Phyrexia tokens, you need five mana and no blockers on your opponent's board. If you want to dedicate resources to this, having a creature deck with an efficient mid or late-game, such as an Esper Legends, would be advisable.

But this Teferi combines with Knights, a tribe that, despite receiving support with Marshal of Zhalfir, doesn't have enough synergy to be viable. So extracting maximum value from it still seems unlikely, at least until the release of Wilds of Eldraine.

Therefore, while both Knights and Battles aren't supported in the format, as powerful as Invasion of New Phyrexia seems individually, it is not on par with Pioneer's current power level.

The Swords cycle is finally complete, and the Sword of Once and Future (or Sword of Snap and Caster) is, as the joke insinuates, a Snapcaster Mage as a piece of equipment.

Although this effect is very strong and matters on attrition mirrors, Sword of Once and Future's greatest quality is in its protections, which guarantee a clean path against Rakdos Midrange. Therefore, we can expect its occasional presence on the sideboard of some proactive strategies, such as Gruul Midrange and Spirits.

Five mana to destroy a permanent seems unimpressive. But since Invasion of Ravnica is a Battle that interacts with the battlefield, I think it deserves an honorable mention.

March of the Machine brought plenty of new things to Pioneer. While they don't feel like instant inclusions to some archetype or explicitly break the format, there's a lot of hidden potential in its cards.

Battles seem developed with a lot of care to avoid breaking the game without an appropriate answer. Most of the ones that matter and/or interact with the board cost too much for their effects, and are obsolete when compared to spells with similar abilities available in the format.

The new set looks healthy for Pioneer, and I'm interested in finding out how the Metagame will develop from April 21st.

Thanks for reading!