Table of Contents
For a very long time, we’ve had the same number of card types in Magic and cards like Tarmogoyf have always had a fixed ceiling of its size. However, with March of the Machine we are getting a brand new type – Battle. In this particular set, we get a specific subtype of Battles, namely Siege. In this piece, I want to take a look at seven potential homes for this new card type in Standard.
Article List
- Many Faces of Monastery Mentor With March of the Machine
- Seven Battle Decks With March of the Machine
- Eight Team Up Decks With March of the Machine
- Seven Praetor Decks With March of the Machine
- March of the Machine Constructed Set Review and Decklists: White
- March of the Machine Constructed Set Review and Decklists: Blue
- March of the Machine Constructed Set Review and Decklists: Black
- March of the Machine Constructed Set Review and Decklists: Red
- March of the Machine Constructed Set Review and Decklists: Green
- March of the Machine Constructed Set Review and Decklists: Multicolor and Colorless
Naya Dragons
Naya Dragons
by Skura
Standard
best of 3
15 mythic
36 rare
4 uncommon
5 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (17)
Enchantments (8)
Lands (25)
60 Cards
$340.84
Dragons have not been an archetype in Standard, as it’s been difficult to balance the expensive threats, and Dragons have always been costly, with early-game presence. However, proper interaction can help you survive until the later stages when Dragons start coming online.
Thankfully, there is a new card that is both synergistic with the theme *and* helps solve the underlying issue. Enter – Invasion of Tarkir. Its floor is dealing 2 damage to a creature, battle, or player. While an overpriced Shock is not what you want, it’s a relatively okay-ish fail-case scenario. However, it does have a very powerful ceiling. With 9 Dragons in the deck, you’ll usually reveal 1-2 when you play Invasion of Tarkir, turning this innocuous two-drop into Boros Charm or Lava Coil.
This battle has five health points which are trivially easy to decrease with the Dragons in the deck and other creatures floating around. I’d expect this to flip in most games, granting you a 4/4 trampling flyer that can keep Shocking the opponent.
Interestingly, Invasion of Tarkir is not legendary so you can play a subsequent copy and flip a previously played battle.
Mono White Midrange
Mono White Midrange
by Skura
Standard
best of 3
6 mythic
19 rare
16 uncommon
19 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Sorceries (4)
Artifacts (4)
Enchantments (12)
Lands (22)
60 Cards
$259.32
Another promising battle is Invasion of Gobakhan. It provides an Elite Spellbinder effect. You’re paying one mana less for no body, but in a controlly shell that shouldn’t be an issue. Indeed the Mono White deck that’s been at the top tables for quite some time now fits the bill.
It’s a unique effect that white usually does not provide. You get to see what the opponent is up to and temporarily put off a spell from being cast. When used on an already expensive spell like Farewell or Bladecoil Serpent it’s entire possible that the opponent will never get to play the card, since the game will come to an end before then.
On top of the effect, you’re getting a siege that has just three life points, making it trivial to flip. Between the incidental damage of creatures like Spirited Companion or Ambitious Farmhand, it’ll get flipped within one or two attacks. The Wandering Emperor Samurai with a single buff kills it in one attack. The flipside is not game changing but is a great way to boost your army. The previously mentioned 1/1 creatures can grow every single turn, similarly to Wedding Announcement tokens.
If that wasn’t enough, you can play out multiple Invasions and so get multiple flip sides. Getting more than one +1/+1 counter every single turn is certainly going to bury the opponent when they’re under siege of your army.
Mono Red Aggro
Mono Red Aggro
by Skura
Standard
best of 3
0 mythic
15 rare
20 uncommon
25 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (16)
60 Cards
$58.14
Mono Red is getting plenty of love from March of the Machine. Bloodfeather Phoenix is a new evasive threat that will be coming back akin to Arclight Phoenix. Khenra Spellspear is a prowess threat that ensures the damage gets through thanks to trample. The creature base now has got substantially stronger than it used to be just a set ago.
In addition to the threats, there is a siege that might just slot into those types of decks and that’s Invasion of Regatha. Conceptually, battles are pretty bad in aggro decks, as you’d much rather deal the damage to the opponent’s face rather then to a battle, unless the flipside is particularly game-changing. In this case, the front half is good enough that you never really need to flip it to enjoy it fully. I’d think of it as Boros Charm which historically has been very good. When played in multiple copies, the opponent won’t know when their life total has decreased drastically. You might even ping off a creature here or there with that last line of text.
However, flipping isn’t impossible. Nahiri's Warcrafting is an excellent addition to the archetype. It kills any big creature, crucially Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, destroys planeswalkers or…flips Invasion of Regatha. This way, you get to effectively pay 3 mana to get a 4/4 prowess threat in Disciples of the Inferno.
I am excited to sleeve up some Mountains.
Jund Windgrace
Jund Windgrace
by Skura
Standard
best of 3
4 mythic
28 rare
15 uncommon
13 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (14)
Artifacts (4)
Lands (27)
60 Cards
$243.82
The midrange colours of choice in Standard have been Rakdos, Mono White, and Grixis. Jund had been trying to get to those top tables, but green has admittedly left a lot to be desired. The main, and arguably only, reason to play Jund was Soul of Windgrace but that’s not enough.
March of the Machine changes that dynamic by bringing not one, not two, but three powerful additions. Deeproot Wayfinder is an above-rate threat that provides card selection and potentially even card advantage. Kogla and Yidaro is a great curve topped that will alone end the game in 2-3 attacks.
Invasion of Ergamon is like Bloodtithe Harvester copies 5-8. It generates mana, ramping you up to a turn-three Soul of Windgrace and provides a looting effect. This dynamic perfectly lines up, since you can discard a land to the effect and return it the following turn with Windgrace.
This deck does not need to close the game as soon as possible, so it can take the time to flip the battle. Then, it gets a 3/4 trampler that further fuels Windgrace.
If you’re a Jund afficionado, this is your moment to shine.
Azorius Mentor
Azorius Mentor
by Skura
Standard
best of 3
12 mythic
20 rare
0 uncommon
28 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (4)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (23)
60 Cards
$326.94
Monastery Mentor being added to Standard is absolutely huge. It’s an eternal all-star that dominates the game all by itself if left unanswered. In order to fully take advantage of it, you should put it in a shell that plays a ton of noncreatures. In this deck, there is a plethora of spells that trigger Mentor and generate even more creatures. Wedding Announcement is arguably the best white card in Standard so we couldn’t not play it. Importantly, the flip side boosts all the tokens forever, including Monks.
All those tokens floating around interact very well with convoke, since you’ve got plenty of creatures to help pay the cost. Meeting of Minds is one of the best blue spells that could be played in that role. When played for two mana, it’s already *very* strong but it could even be played for one, topping Expressive Iteration as the best card draw spell when that happens.
Invasion of New Phyrexia slots right into this strategy. It triggers Mentor when you play it, creates even more threats, scales very well as the game progresses, and gives you a planeswalker on top of all of that. It will very much depend on the game whether you want to sink 6 damage into the battle to flip it but sometimes it might. The job has already been done with all the Knights you got to cast with it.
I really want Monastery Mentor to survived so it’s paired here with Skrelv, Defector Mite and Make Disappear. It’s possible that some Shore Ups could also slot into the shell.
Five-Color Control
Five-Color Control
by Skura
Standard
best of 3
12 mythic
36 rare
0 uncommon
12 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Artifacts (3)
Enchantments (8)
Lands (25)
60 Cards
$354.34
Five-Colour Domain Control has been picking up in popularity. It’s a deck that very much wants to prolong the game as much as possible, as it has arguably the best late game possible. One of its biggest assets is hardcasting Atraxa, Grand Unifier. With six different types of permanents, Atraxa can draw a true ton of cards pulling you even further ahead. Even though the decklist might suggest that there are five types in the deck, don’t get fooled. Battles count separately and this is where Invasion of Alara comes in.
Invasion of Alara is pure card advantage. You get to draw a card and cast the other for free. While there is a four-mana cap, you still get to cast Drag to the Bottom, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, or Soul of Windgrace, which all count as excellent hits – especially when played without paying their cost. Flipping it is no easy task with its seven health points but if you do manage to accomplish this truly daunting task, you get so many effects that the opponent will get a headache.
Most decks couldn’t support the mana to play Invasion of Alara but this deck was built as a five-colour strategy to begin with so Alara slots into it right out of the box.
Rakdos Midrange
Rakdos Midrange
by Skura
Standard
best of 3
0 mythic
35 rare
17 uncommon
8 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (15)
Sorceries (4)
Enchantments (8)
Lands (24)
60 Cards
$209.7
Rakdos Midrange has surpassed Grixis as the most popular midrange variant in the format. Even though one might think it’s impossible for the deck to get even more better cards, March of the Machine comes for the unneeded rescue.
Invasion of Azgol is not a rare or a mythic, but it can be a nice addition to the removal suite played in Rakdos. While there is nothing to get excited about when it comes to removal, you can still get the backside on top of that. In this shell with Bloodtithe Harvester and Tenacious Underdog in the two-mana slot, you already get a ton of power for a relatively low cost. Flipping a four-health-point battle is going to be easy. The payoff isn’t spectacular but it’s an evasive threat that grows over time. Crucially, it triggers regardless of whose permanent was put into a graveyard so you can easily force it with your own removal or enable it by, for instance, sacrificing your Blood tokens.
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Skura
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