Faerie Mastermind | Art by Joshua Raphael

White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | Artifacts/Lands | Gold I | Gold II | Reprints | cEDH| Battles| Pauper

We're in the Endgame Now

Hello, everyone! It’s your friendly neighborhood Jesguy here, and welcome to the March of the Machine Blue Set Review!

With New Phyrexia's invasion of the multiverse underway, we'll be looking at cards from across a wide array of planes and seeing which ones make the cut for our format!

Let's not waste any time and get planeswalking to...

Mythic and Rares

Jin-Gitaxias // The Great Synthesis

... the clutches of the big blue man himself, Jin-Gitaxias!

I'm a fan of all the new Praetor designs. They aren't immediately game-changing like their two previous iterations, but if you let them stick around, they will enact their vision of perfection on the game and certainly put you in the lead.

Jin-Gitaxias wants you to cast big, splashy noncreature spells. If any of those have a mana value of three or more they will replace themselves once cast. This incentivizes playing a slightly slower game where expensive mana rocks, like Midnight Clock or Sceptre of Eternal Glory, hedge it out when compared with cheaper alternatives, like Arcane Signet. Along with this, cost-reducers, like Sapphire Medallion and Cloud Key, pull double duty, letting you cast more spells per turn while still letting you draw a card on each! Throw in Teferi's Ageless Insight and Alhammarret's Archive and your hand will be full in no time!

We're already on a roll with this fella, and I haven't even covered Jin's back half: The Great Synthesis!

This Saga is wild. You can only flip it once you have at least seven cards in hand, meaning when you trigger Chapter 1, you'll be drawing a minimum of seven cards. That's a high floor, but that's also a really enticing reward. Chapter 2 is a Phyrexian Whelming Wave, and then Chapter 3 is a mini-Omniscience, both of which synergize together very well.

There is so much power baked into this back half, it's absurd. Doubling your hand size, bouncing all non-Phyrexians back to hands, and then casting your entire hand for free (which lets you replay all your previously bounced creatures)? Goodness. The biggest down side to The Great Synthesis is that it's a Saga and will only trigger after you draw. That is, unless you want to expedite the process.

Being able to Proliferate with cards like Thrummingbird, Contagion Engine, and Inexorable Tide quickly works you through each Chapter of Jin's Saga, letting you have all your cake and eat it too.

Overall, Jin-Gitaxias is an absolute beating, easily netting you value regardless of which face he is on. While he doesn't give you a direct build path, he pushes you in the direction of big, splashy, and Phyrexian, and honestly, that's what I feel a Praetor should do. This is definitely a good card for this character to go out on.

Chrome Host Seedshark

Hey- uh, Shark Typhoon, buddy, you aren't looking so hot, are you sick or something?

Chrome Host Seedshark is a really neat card. A 2/4 flier for three mana is a great stat line, and the ability to cast a bunch of spells and Incubate seems awesome. It certainly isn't as outright strong as its six-mana predecessor, but it's still got quite a bit of game to it.

The most obvious home for it comes in the shape of Spellslinger decks who can cast a bunch of spells on an opponent's turn, then use their excess mana on theirs in order to transform their tokens into Phyrexians. Having your spells turn into creatures is something these style of decks love, and while the two-mana "tax" you need to pay on each may seem like a drawback, I think it can be a benefit since it helps them dodge board wipes until you're ready to unleash your army and go for a kill!

I also think this is a really cool card for Artifact decks. Any noncreature artifact you cast now comes with a second artifact for free, giving you extra sac fodder, extra artifact creatures, or extra triggers on ETB effects!

Overall, I think Chrome Host Seedshark is a really solid card with low investment that can end up paying dividends in decks that want it. I like it a lot.

Complete the Circuit

Congrats on the best boy Quintorius, Loremaster igniting his spark! I wonder if he's going to end up being Jeskai.... 👀

Speculation aside, I'm a bit torn on this card. Copying spells is neat, but six mana is a ton, even if you have creatures to Convoke it out. My go-to card to compare any spell-copier to is Bonus Round. Yes, it's in another color, but for three mana, Bonus Round will end games on the spot, often due to Storm-like shenanigans.

Even if you can discount it to three mana, I'm not sure Complete the Circuit can do that, even if it has the bonus of letting you cast sorceries as instants. Sure, it'll copy a single spell twice, which is definitely awesome, but what happens if you can't discount it? At that point, six mana is way too much to pay for this effect. It's really cool when you can cast something like this for cheap, but nowadays in EDH, there are a lot of very good board wipes getting flung around. You are never guaranteed to have a board presence; you can't take that for granted.

I'm not trying to discount Complete the Circuit completely, but I am dubious of it. It's a great option to have, and any Young Pyromancer-like Spellslinger decks will be interested, but I think the mana cost prohibits inclusion in other decks outside of that style of build. Sorry, Quint.

Faerie Mastermind

Faerie Mastermind is Yuta Takahashi's invitational card, and that's easy to tell, since it's looking to be a multi-format powerhouse.

On the EDH end, it is still quite good, but not as wild as it might be in 60-card formats. A 2/1 flash flier is a great place to start, and being able to nab an extra card whenever an opponent draws a second card in a turn is really slick. Players love drawing cards in EDH (myself included), so this criteria will be incredibly easy to meet, and if somehow no one is drawing cards, well, with the last ability you can force them to! This ability is better later in the game when there are fewer opponents and you are handing out fewer cards, but it's still a great option to have!

Faerie, Rogue, Flying, and any other style of deck that wants a cheap, evasive threat will gladly slot in Faerie Mastermind to their lists. It's an excellent card with little downside.

Invasion of Arcavios

I know an unconditional instant and sorcery tutor is rare to see, but damn, Invasion of Arcavios just feels overcosted and unimpactful.

Five mana is a lot to ask for this kind of effect. Tutoring is cool, but if you spend five mana in your turn to search for a card, you probably won't be impacting the board immediately. That's not even mentioning that it takes seven damage in order to flip this invasion, which is a TON!

A Mystical Tutor variant and Archaeomancer stapled together on a single card is awesome, but unless you can flip it, it isn't worth the investment in my opinion. If you can blink it a couple times, that's awesome, but otherwise, it just feels kinda bad.

I don't want to sound down on this card, but my main hangup with it right now is that I just haven't played with any battles yet. I haven't even mentioned it's back half, Invocation of the Founders, because I think it is too lofty of a goal to achieve. Just play Double Vision or Thousand-Year Storm if you want that effect.

As of right now, Invasion of Arcavios seems inefficient and like too much work to get the reward on the backside. I hope I am wrong though, because it does seem very fun.

Invasion of Segovia // Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia

What Invasion of Segovia lacks in pure rate it makes up for in character. Any plane that has Krakens and Segovian Angel that are 1/1s is an instant favorite of mine.

At first glance, this battle seems relatively unimpressive on its front side. 2 1/1 tramplers for three mana isn't much to write home about whatsoever, especially when you need to deal four damage to the battle in order to flip it. Once it's flipped, though? Whew.

Having three creatures that you can now utilize to Convoke out your noncreature spells is big game, and that doesn't even cover the fact that Caetus untaps four of your creatures at the beginning of your end step too! Everything about this card points towards Convoke, Tokens, and spells, and it does a great job mashing them all together. While it takes a bit of build up, I really like how fun this Invasion feels.

See Double

So, I won't lie, in my initial review, I had three paragraphs talking about how unimpressed I was with See Double... before I realized that it's just a better Stunt Double.

Neither mode seemed great at first, and I was digging into the nuts and bolts about what made a modal spell good or bad, talking about what decks, would want it, how it compared to other options... but nah, none of that matters. It's just all upside.

Don't think too hard about this one. Stunt Double sees play in almost 16,000 decks, and a version of it that comes with both Token and Spell synergies should do just as well.

Transcendent Message

Mmm, mmm, mmm. I am a sucker for X spells, and even more of a sucker when they draw me cards. Transcendent Message gives me those good feels.

We've had a fair number of similar spells recently, but Transcendent Message just feels different. Often, it feels pretty bad to play something like Stroke of Genius in a blue deck that doesn't also have green, but with Message, you can put your creatures to work and pump that "X" to a nice, big number!

Young Pyromancer, Monastery Mentor, Talrand, Sky Summoner, and any deck that revolves around these style of cards will be able to make full use of Transcendent Message since it will easily refill your hand with ease. The quad blue in its cost has the potential to be a hindrance, but depending on what color tokens you'll be making, as well as your mana base, it shouldn't be a massive issue.

If you're in a Spellslinger deck that has a bunch of creatures or tokens, definitely try Transcendent Message out. It seems like it would be an absolute blast to cast.

Zephyr Singer

Zephyr Singer isn't the only vocalist here; I intend to thoroughly sing its praises. What a great card!

This soaring Pirate is all upside. A 3/4 vigilant flier is a solid creature on its own, and its inherent synergies in existing Pirate decks just makes it better! These decks often care about having evasive threats that make contact with opponents, and what better way to do that then turning four of your ground creatures into fliers?

Not only is it absolutely excellent in the aforementioned Pirate decks, but any kind of list that cares about on-hit effects, like Coastal Piracy or Larceny, would be interested in this flying performer. It also seems like an perfect inclusion to the Jeskai Convoke precon as well, if you were looking to pick that up!

Uncommons and Commons

Artistic Refusal is expensive, but I am a sucker for modal spells. Thanks to Convoke, you can drop this spell's casting cost down to a more manageable number, like three, and then counter a spell while Cataloging! Is it the most efficient spell ever? Certainly not, but I don't think it is a stretch to think decks that run Talrand, Sky Summoner or Young Pyromancer might be in the market for this.
Astral Wingspan is a solid enchantment for Aura decks. +2/+2 and flying is nothing to scoff at, especially when the card replaces itself and when your Mesa Enchantress and Kor Spiritdancer can help cast it. Not every creatures in these decks can get suited up, so put the rest to work!
Change the Equation is a niche modal spell that will often be meta-dependent. I don't want to rule it out entirely, but the majority of the time it will lose out to spells like Arcane Denial or Counterspell. If your meta has lots of cheap spells and/or lots of red and green decks, Change the Equation might be a good tool to have access to.
Invasion of Kamigawa // Rooftop Saboteurs is... fine. Four mana to put a stun counter on something is was too expensive, and having to deal four damage to it before it flips into a flying saboteur seems like a lot of work for a mediocre payoff.

Invasion of Vryn // Overloaded Mage-Ring is a sorcery-speed Rain of Revelation, which is a fine card to imitate. It trades being an instant for being able to copy a single spell on its back half, which is a nice bit of utility to have. I don't think it's great by any means, but I definitely think it's better than our previous blue battle.
Oracle of Tragedy is a cheap creature that does... some things? a 1/3 that loots is fine, and one that can shuffle things back into your library is...whatever, I guess. It seems like a cute piece for Inalla, Archmage Ritualist and Azami, Lady of Scrolls decks, but not much else.
Omen Hawker is a one-mana mana dork in blue! Sure, you can only use its mana for abilities, but that's still really solid. Not having to put mana into it to get mana out while also being net mana-positive with it aren't things to overlook. If you deck has lots of activated abilities, or if you want another combo piece with Freed from the Real, let's take a look at this fella.
Saiba Cryptomancer is a nice defensive trick stapled to a creature that leaves behind a +1/+1 counter. Seems great in Ninja decks or decks that care about +1/+1 Counters as a cheap, simple tool to help protect key creatures.
Xerex Strobe-Knight seems like the kind of card I'd poo-poo, but I think it's an interesting piece for Knights decks. Now that Knights are also in blue, I think it's important to make note of decent blue Knights whenever they pop up. One that has vigilance, evasion, and the ability to produce more Knights certainly clears that bar, and any Knights deck that is running cards like Bident of Thassa or Kindred Discovery will gladly add this to their ranks.

Ancillary Cards

Deluxe Dragster is a really interesting card. It basically has Horsemanship, and it can cast spells from your opponents' 'yards for free, and its Crew cost is only 2 as well! Over all, pretty solid! It seems great in any Vehicle deck or Mill deck that can consistently Crew it! It's pricy initially, but if you cast a few spells off of it, its value only appreciates.
Herald of Hoofbeats must have heard me say the "H-Word", because Horsemanship it brings back with aplomb! Knights decks are all about attacking and pushing damage through, and one that can make all of your Knights unblockable seems excellent for those lists!
Interdisciplinary Mascot is a nice addition to the Convoke decks that are sure to pop up thanks to the Jeskai precon, but I don't see it doing a whole lot elsewhere. It's high costed and doesn't do a whole lot. It's a nice add to the decks that care about Convoke, but not much else, unless I am missing something.

Path of the Enigma is a well-costed card, but man does it feel bad. I don't know why, but even though paying five mana for four cards is a good rate, doing it as a sorcery feels awful to me. It has extra play in Planechase variants, but I don't think that's enough to make it this card feel any better. Its rate is better than Transcendent Message, but it just doesn't feel like it will be as fun to play.
Schema Thief is a cute Thada Adel, Acquisitor variant that copies opponents' artifacts instead of fishing them out of their deck. Each have their pros and cons, but I quite like Schema Thief here since nearly everyone will have artifacts out. It's solid in Flying decks, Artifact decks, or in any deck where you want an evasive threat that nets you value. Nice!
Teferi's Talent, along with the others of its cycle, are narrow, splashy cards, that while fun, probably won't make their way into most decks. Being able to tack on an extra loyalty ability to a 'walker you control is neat, but most decks in EDH aren't running a high enough density of them to actually warrant inclusion. That said, if you are a planeswalker deck, or a deck that has a planeswalker as a commander, it's certainly worth a look. Even if you aren't building towards the -12 that this card provides, the additional loyalty this generates shouldn't be overlooked.

Progress Halts... Momentarily.

And there we have it, all the blue beauties from March of the Machine!

Honestly, this set seems like a massive undertaking for the designers at WotC, and I think they hit it out of the park. Having to balance so many planes, two sides of a war, all the mechanics, five Commander decks, tons of legends... the list seems to go on and on. While MOM's execution was by no means perfect, it was a massive step up from WAR, and I really appreciate the improvement.

As for my favorite blue cards, I've definitely got a few. Jin-Gitaxias looks like he will be an absolute menace to tables everywhere, and I love that for him. Transcendent Message is going to be perfect in my brand new Saint Traft and Rem Karolus deck. As for Herald of Hoofbeats... I just think Horsemanship is neat, okay?

What about you, though? What blue cards caught your eye? Any commanders you're stoked to build with? Any cards you agree or disagree with me on? Make sure you let me know down in the comments below!

You can reach me on Twitter (@thejesguy), where you can always hit me up for Magic- or Jeskai-related shenanigans 24/7. Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Please don’t hesitate to leave them below or get in touch! Stay safe, wear your mask, wash your hands, and keep fighting the good fight. I support you. No justice, no peace.

zephyr singer

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March of the Machine Set Review - Blue