March of the Machine Limited Set Review: Green

Hey everyone! The full March of the Machine card list has dropped and that means it’s time to see what MOM has been cooking up. I was going to try to twist MOM and Maro together there, but even I thought better of stooping that low. Wait, you actually want a terrible joke? Then who am I to deny such a request. This set is ready to battle more than a teenager whose MOM just grounded them. Even DAD would be embarrassed of that one.

Seriously though, it looks like a really fun set with lots of flashbacks to fan favorite scenarios. Plus, you can smash someone in the face with Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and when has that ever gone wrong.

Here’s the usual grading scale:

• 5.0: Disgustingly powerful and basically unbeatable. Either answer it the turn it comes down or just pack up your cards. (Tovolar's Huntmaster, The Meathook Massacre, Starnheim Unleashed)
• 4.5: Incredible bomb that still gives your opponent a slim chance. (Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Alrund's Epiphany, Grand Master of Flowers)
• 4.0: Great rare or the absolute best uncommons and removal. (Froghemoth, Morbid Opportunist, Skullport Merchant)
• 3.5: Great role filler or removal that you never cut. (Magic Missile, Cathartic Pyre, Battle Cry Goblin)
• 3.0: Good playable that I’m basically never cutting. (Usher of the Fallen, Search Party Captain, Dragon Turtle)
• 2.5: Decent playable and the bar I hope nearly every card in my deck to reach. (Mourning Patrol, Steadfast Paladin, Goblin Morningstar)
• 2.0: Mediocre filler that normally is your 20-23rd card(s). (Contact Other Plane, Mindleech Ghoul, Timberland Guide)
• 1.5: Replaceable, overall bad filler. Could also be decent sideboard cards. (Secrets of the Key, Spiked Pit Trap, Village Rites)
• 1.0: Bad filler. Gets cut most of the time. (Secret Door, Mystic Skull, Funeral Longboat)
• 0.5: Very unhappy to main deck this, but maybe it has fringe sideboard applications. (You See a Guard Approach, Bramble Armor, Compelled Duel)
• 0.0: Unplayable in every possible situation. (Mimic, Change of Fortune, Curse of Shaken Faith)

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Ancient Imperiosaur

Rating: 4.0/5

RAWR! I like big dinos and I cannot lie. Some people might question this card after looking at the casting cost and lack of value thrown on, but at a certain point stats matter. This is well past that point.

Let’s look at a relatively normal game. Turn two Ral's Reinforcements into turn three random creature into this. That’s a turn four 12/12 trample with ward two to make life very difficult for anyone trying to stop it.

Arachnoid Adaptation

Rating: 2.0/5

The theory of ambushing an attacking flyer always sounds good. The big problem is that you have to cast the spell before blocks into open mana. I don’t like chanting “Big Money, No Whammies!” every time I go to play my trick.

At least when played as an offensive trick you can be the one forcing the issue and playing it when they are tapped out. Being a one mana trick means it could get some play in that role with the fallback of hoping to pick a flyer out of the sky.

Atraxa’s Fall

Rating: 2.0/5

This does just enough that I am willing to run one in the main. It should have a target between incubators hatching artifact creatures, everyone wanting to play battles, and being able to swat a flyer out of the sky.

Blighted Burgeoning

Rating: 1.5/5

It’s our typical three mana ramp with this set’s mechanic on it card. Unless you are up to some multicolor shenanigans, you don’t want to be doing this.

Bonded Herdbeast // Plated Kilnbeast

Rating: 1.5/5

I can’t imagine anyone being excited by Thornhide Wolvesin 2023 (or really ever). The big advantage of most of the transforming creatures is that you can play them early while still being relevant later. This is just a generic curve topper that turns into a slightly less generic curve topper.

Chomping Kavu

Rating: 2.5/5

A 4/4 for four doesn’t hold the same sway it used to in the stats department. Chomper being able to dodge getting gang blocked by a team of dorks is a nice little bonus though.

Converter Beast

Rating: 2.0/5

If you can get past playing an 0/1 for four mana, it is swinging in for five the next turn. It’s still basically a big vanilla creature, but you can get some value by Scrollshifting the 0/1 to drop another 5/5 into play.

Copper Host Crusher

Rating: 1.5/5

It’s really, really big, but really, really expensive. Hexproof is great because you don’t just lose your eight drop to a random removal spell. Yeah, I said eight drop. Nope, it doesn’t do anything when it enters play.

I just checked it for at least the tenth time and it still doesn’t have convoke.

Cosmic Hunger

Rating: 3.5/5

The instant speed Rabid Bite effects are always premium removal and this one lets you hit Planeswalkers and Battles as well. You should probably take this if you’re into winning games with green decks.

I am extremely disappointed that they turned Koma into a Phyrexian and that we had to find out about it from flavor text. We didn’t even get a sweet card…

Crystal Carapace

Rating: 1.5/5

Normally auras like this are an unplayable dumpster fire. This one has two things going for it. The ward making it easier to not get wrecked by removal and the ability to cycle it away when it’s bad. This is still the type of variance I don’t want in my life.

Deeproot Wayfinder

Rating: 2.5/5

The extra toughness means that this can rumble right into most opposing Grizzly Bears. The ability has such a huge delta because free early ramping is completely insane, but a random surveil is very meh.

Doomskar Warrior

Rating: 3.5/5

The backup is a real boon here especially with the trample helping you set it up to grab an extra card out of nowhere. After that you still have a decently sized trampler that they have to deal with or get buried in card advantage.   

Fertilid’s Favor

Rating: 1.5/5

I want this card to be good because a combat trick that ramps is fertile ground for design space shenanigans. It feels like the magic number for this would be three mana, but I’m at least willing to give it a whirl.

Glistening Dawn

Rating: 4.0/5

Playing this with four lands out just results in paying the going rate for two 4/4s (four mana each once you account for hatching them) where you can’t even block for a turn. Getting them both out of one card more than makes up for that.

You can change the equation a bit with any of the ways to flip them early, but you really want to make sure they line up well with what’s on the battlefield before you commit. I really like waiting until six and being able to flip one right away.

Gnottvold Hermit // Chrome Host Hulk

Rating: 2.5/5

The front side of this is as generic as they come, but you’re not going to be too embarrassed to be dropping it. The back side is where you can start to do some legitimate damage. Since it changes base power and toughness, it sure would be convenient if you had some 0/0 creature with a bunch of +1+1 counters on it. I wonder if there are any in this set…

Herbology Instructor // Malady Invoker

Rating: 2.5/5

This is what happens when you push teachers too far. Everything starts really nice with some free life on a defensive body and then after a few turns of putting up with everyone’s crap all hell starts to break loose.

It is really expensive to flip and it is limited on what it can remove (it does get better if you stick +1+1 counters on it beforehand), but what else can you expect out of them with as little funding as they get.

Invasion of Ikoria // Zilortha, Apex of Ikoria

Rating: 3.5/5

You’re always going to be paying the tutor tax on the front side, but it does drop it directly onto the battlefield so it’s within one mana of what I’d want to pay. I’m happy with battles as long as they are within that range.

It also has a whopping six defense, but that backside is a really beefy payoff. Being able to force all your non-human damage through including eight more from definitely not Godzilla here should probably end the game on the spot.

Invasion of Ixalan // Belligerent Regisaur

Rating: 3.5/5

If you somehow manage to miss hitting any permanents in five cards, then I don’t know what to tell you. Either this wasn’t the deck for this card or you got really unlucky. This effect is worth one mana so you’re only paying one extra to have access to the battle.

When I read Belligerent Regisaur, I just picture a really drunk dinosaur ranting at people. Even in the picture they are just talking to the people like “Let me tell you something buddy…”.

Oh yeah and a 4/3 trample that can gain indestructible when you cast a spell is pretty great. That also includes creature spells and if you’re in green, you might have a few of those.

Invasion of Muraganda // Primordial Plasm

Rating: 1.5/5

Five mana for a +1+1 and a fight?!? Are you kidding me? It’s not even a bite! Then a whopping 6 defense to get a 4/4 whose ability is best described as ok. I certainly won’t be battling to take this one.

Invasion of Shandalar // Leyline Surge

Rating: 2.0/5

For those of you that don’t know, Shandalar is the greatest iteration of digital Magic that has ever been conjured. Sure, sometimes the AI would Lightning Bolt its own creature while mana burning for three, but that was part of the charm. You could wander into a dungeon to find a Black Lotusand a Time Walk just lying on the ground. It even had an end boss where they thought playing a giant five color deck made it better. It would be huge if they made an updated version of it, but I will not be holding my breath.

Oh, you want card reviews…fine…Kind of expensive, but as long as you’re playing an attrition-based game, then getting three of your best permanents back can be nice. It just does stone cold nothing in the early game. The back side probably won’t be very relevant by the time you could flip this unless you have a stack of monsters in your grip.

Invasion of Zendikar // Awakened Skyclave

Rating: 2.5/5

Explosive Vegetation has been out of favor with the limited community for a very long time. This has a low enough defense that you should be able to easily flip it making that veg more of a throw in on the deal.

Iridescent Blademaster

Rating: 2.5/5

In a world filled with bears, the one who can win a combat on it’s own is king. I also like the threat of activation on this when pressuring battles.

Kami of Whispered Hopes

Rating: 2.5/5

You’re hoping to have plenty of backup creatures if this is in your deck. I wouldn’t want to be playing this as a three mana ramper, but the Hardened Scales effect on top of that makes a nice combo.

Overgrown Pest

Rating: 3.0/5

While not quite the piggy that Contagious Vorrac was, at only 2/2 this is still a pest. It’s also cool that it lets you grab any double-faced cards and doesn’t limit it to battles. It’s kind of hard to imagine missing a land and a double faced card in the top five. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up on my overperformers list.

Ozolith, the Shattered Spire

Rating: 3.0/5

Two mana to add two +1+1 counters every turn is going to add up in a hurry. It’s not only that, but all of your other backup creatures are suddenly stacking counters like they are going out of style.

I doubt it will happen much, but you do have the cycling to fall back on in an emergency.

Placid Rottentail

Rating: 1.5/5

I can’t believe we’re getting a Peter Cottontail crossover with The Last of Us and it’s not even a secret lair. Nobody is hopping out of their chair to play a 1/1 vigilance so its value lies in getting some value after dumping it into your graveyard. That gets dicey unless you are self milling.

Polukranos Reborn // Polukranos, Engine of Ruin

Rating: 4.0/5

With a casting cost like this, it is usually at least a four or five drop even if you are heavy green. That is still in the acceptable range to pay for a 4/5 reach, but we’d already be done talking here if that was it.

Turning into a Wurmcoil Engine variant is where the real power is hidden. It takes a lot of mana to get there, but it’s worth it when you do.

Portent Tracker

Rating: 2.5/5

It’s a two mana ramper that has additional utility later in the game. It’s sweet that it can play either offence or defense on battles. It’s one of those cards whose impact tends to be greater than it appears.

Ravenous Sailback

Rating: 3.0/5

It’s nice to have an Uktabi Orangutan in a format with a lot of viable targets. The Phyrexian incubator tokens are prime targets that will help you sail back into the game. You’ll be disappointed if you have to drop this as a 3/4 haste, but it’s not like it’s a dead card if that happens.

Sandstalker Moloch

Rating: 2.0/5

Yes, I would play this in the main. The downside isn’t big enough to offset the upside if you get to trigger this. I would most likely board it out if it couldn’t trigger though.

Seed of Hope

Rating: 1.5/5

You better hope you don’t miss when you play this. I would be in on this if it flipped three cards, but I’m out at two.

I understand that mathematically you’ll hit the majority of the time, but unless you have multiple things that you want to mill with a low enough concentration of non-permanents it’s taking a chance that’s not worth the slight upside this card offers.

Serpent-Blade Assailant

Rating: 2.0/5

This is one of the backups that will almost always put the counter on another creature. Smaller deathtouch creatures don’t really care about being slightly bigger so you might as well get the bonus elsewhere.

Combine with Tandem Takedownand Cosmic Hunger for best results.

Storm the Seedcore

Rating: 2.0/5

Outside of the gorgeous art, this is just another version of Overrun that pales in comparison to the original. The wider you are going, the more you are missing out on from this card.

Streetwise Negotiator

Rating: 3.0/5

Once you get past all the text this is functionally a 3/3 for two (just don’t use it to Cosmic Hunger something) that gives you options. We’ve played plenty of cards like Backup Agentand this is a better version.

Tandem Takedown

Rating: 3.5/5

I don’t think anyone is going to miss Lukka since even Elesh Norn was like “Just let it happen”.

A little harder to cast than Cosmic Hunger, but also harder to get blown out. I don’t think I need to talk you into playing this card.

Tangled Skyline

Rating: 2.0/5

I know I am higher on these than a lot of people, but I like the little collect em all bonuses for your Phyrexians. Gaining five life can also help offset not having the blocker right away.

Timberland Ancient

Rating: 2.5/5

Another super chonker that can cycle for a land when you need it. Reach and trample is a nice combination providing a useful skill no matter which side of the beatdown you currently are.  

Tribute to the World Tree

Rating: 3.0/5

It’s going to be hard to cast, but it’s worth it as long as you can drop it early. All of your small creatures suddenly eat a Super Mario Mushroom while your bigger creatures turn into cantrips.

Vengeant Earth

Rating: 1.5/5

The best use of this is when you’re beating down and it can act as a pseudo removal spell while your other creatures rumble in. It’s not that great as a combat trick except for on previously incubated Phyrexians where it’s a Titanic Growth.

It is also limited to creatures you control, so you can’t do the post combat kill their big creature trick.

Vorinclex // The Grand Evolution

Rating: 4.5/5

An undercosted, very large monster that gets two Forests into your hand when it ETBs. Already thrilled with that. As previously discussed, trample and reach is a highly versatile set of skills. Easy windmill slam.

Those Forests help you get to the backside where you can add a couple of creatures and a ton of counters followed by letting all of your guys start to call all of your opponent’s creatures out for a fight.

War Historian

Rating: 2.5/5

There are a ton of Wind Drake variants in this format so a 3/3 reach for three just lines up well against them. Gaining indestructible when attacking a battle is fantastic if you are on that plan.

Wary Thespian

Rating: 2.0/5

Any 3/1 for two needs some kind of value attached to be playable these days. Surveil on ETB and death seems like just enough for this to make the cut.

Wildwood Escort

Rating: 2.5/5

Slightly bigger Gravedigger that wisely prevents you from looping them at common. As long as you’re not trying to go really low to the ground, you’ll want this card.

Wrenn and Realmbreaker

Rating: 3.0/5

This is really disappointing considering the concept of the card. It’s freaking Wrenn combined with Realmbreaker, that seems like it should be expensive and absurd. Instead we got cheap and alright.

The Chromatic Lantern static ability is probably a little better in limited than constructed if you’re splashing or have double pips.

The plus ability doesn’t untap the land so you can’t use it to protect itself if you drop this on turn three. After that it can hold that creature up as long as you don’t mind playing down a land.

Overall, it’s solid, but not game breaking.

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Wrap Up

If you’re looking for chonkers, then green is your hook up. Some of them are significantly better than others, but there are plenty with Keyword Big to go round. Its also packing its usual variety of questionable ramp to get them out quicker.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back tomorrow with my March of the Machine limited review of Artifacts, Lands, Multicolor. Until then, stay classy people!

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below.

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