Last updated on June 28, 2024
Kasla, the Broken Halo | Illustration by Martina Fackova
March of the Machine is one of Magic’s most ambitious sets, and its complex design goals bleed over into its complementary lineup of Commander precons. March of the Machine Commander (MOC) features five decks pulling from all of Magic lore to expand on the bombastic themes of the main set.
Today I’m breaking down all five decks to give you my overall impressions of each one. Let's get right to it!
- Bundle of all 5 March of the Machine Commander Decks, with 1 Growing Threat, 1 Cavalry Charge, 1 Call for Backup, 1 Divine Convocation, and 1 Tinker Time
- Each deck set contains a 100-card ready-to-play deck (2 Traditional Foil + 98 nonfoil cards), plus 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Packs—each deck comes with a sample pack containing 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Introducing 50 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander—10 in each deck
- Accessories included with each deck—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
What Are the March of the Machine Commander Decks?
Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus | Illustration by Titus Lunter
MOC is a set of five preconstructed Commander decks meant to complement MOM, and each one explores a core mechanic or theme from the main set. These are intended as entry-level products for new players to engage with Commander, although recent trends have been pushing these precons into more complicated territory. They’re still excellent onboarding decks to start playing the format and provide enough reprint value and new releases to make them worthwhile for enfranchised players.
Each individual deck consists of 100 cards, including a premium foil face commander and a secondary foil commander. A thicker etched foil version of the face commander is also included, but it’s not legal for sanctioned play. Each deck contains nine unique new-to-Magic designs and a copy of the new Ichor Elixir card.
Periphery items include 10 double-sided tokens per deck, a deck box, and a life counter. Sealed product also includes two 2-card collector booster sample packs.
This product line marks the return of the fan-favorite Planechase variant, with each Commander deck providing a unique Planar die and 10 Planechase cards. For each deck five of the Planechase cards are new, while the other five are reprints.
Because of the Planechase tie-in, a few slots in each deck are dedicated to cards that interact with the planar deck. They all contain Ichor Elixir and a reprint of Fractured Powerstone. In addition, each deck comes with a card from the “Path of the Planeswalker” cycle, which includes cards like Path of the Animist and Path of the Pyromancer.
Call for Backup
Commander (1)
Creatures (39)
Abzan Battle Priest
Abzan Falconer
Alharu, Solemn Ritualist
Armorcraft Judge
Brawn
Champion of Lambholt
Conclave Mentor
Conclave Sledge-Captain
Constable of the Realms
Death-Greeter's Champion
Elite Scaleguard
Emergent Woodwurm
Enduring Scalelord
Falkenrath Exterminator
Fertilid
Flamerush Rider
Forgotten Ancient
Genesis Hydra
Good-Fortune Unicorn
Guardian Scalelord
Gyre Sage
Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
High Sentinels of Arashin
Incubation Druid
Juniper Order Ranger
Kalonian Hydra
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
Managorger Hydra
Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Mindless Automaton
Mirror-Style Master
Pridemalkin
Restoration Angel
Rishkar, Peema Renegade
Shalai and Hallar
Slurrk, All-Ingesting
Sunscorch Regent
Triskelion
Wood Elves
Instants (9)
Dromoka's Command
Generous Gift
Heaven // Earth
Hindervines
Inscription of Abundance
Inspiring Call
Return to Nature
Semester's End
Swords to Plowshares
Sorceries (3)
Cultivate
Kodama's Reach
Path of the Pyromancer
Enchantments (4)
Flameshadow Conjuring
Ion Storm
Together Forever
Uncivil Unrest
Artifacts (6)
Arcane Signet
Commander's Sphere
Fractured Powerstone
Ichor Elixir
Sol Ring
Strionic Resonator
Lands (38)
Bretagard Stronghold
Canopy Vista
Cinder Glade
Command Tower
Evolving Wilds
Exotic Orchard
Field of Ruin
Forest x6
Fortified Village
Furycalm Snarl
Game Trail
Gavony Township
Jungle Shrine
Kessig Wolf Run
Krosan Verge
Llanowar Reborn
Mossfire Valley
Mosswort Bridge
Mountain x2
Path of Ancestry
Plains x5
Rogue's Passage
Sungrass Prairie
Temple of Abandon
Temple of Plenty
Temple of Triumph
Temple of the False God
Terramorphic Expanse
Commander, Theme, and Strategy
Call for Backup is headed by Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener with Shalai and Hallar as the backup commander (no pun intended). It heavily features the new backup mechanic and basically operates as a normal +1/+1 counter deck.
This deck is thematically tight, with nearly every card contributing to the overall plan of stacking +1/+1 counters on your creatures. It’s all-in on creatures, with only one board wipe in the form of Heaven // Earth. It’s great for anyone who likes to go tall and smash face.
Notable Cards: Reprints and $$
I’m focusing on reprint value here since preorder prices for the new cards are heavily inflated at the time of writing, and most of those cards will tank in price once the product releases.
That said, Call for Backup only has three reprints worth $2+, including the big-ticket Kalonian Hydra, with Strionic Resonator and Flameshadow Conjuring both just over $2.
Shalai and Hallar has caught some buzz with the EDH community and is likely to be the standout commander of the deck. Naya commanders () with +1/+1 counters as a strategy haven’t been explored much since Marath, Will of the Wild in C13.
Path of the Pyromancer looks like a “must-have” card to me. The Planechase text can be distracting in normal games of Commander, but the effect of the card is great, basically giving you a big ritual effect without going down on cards. It’s reminiscent of Jeska's Will and Valakut Awakening, which are both very popular in the format.
Other notable mentions include Mirror-Style Master, a modified lord with a token copying effect, and Uncivil Unrest, a haste enabler and damage doubler for creatures with +1/+1 counters on them.
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin received new art, sporting a cool new goblin neckbeard.
The Verdict
Call for Backup is a simple deck with a handful of great new additions to the format. The deck needs a fair amount of tweaking to be competitive in most pods, but that’s to be expected from precons.
This is a great pickup for +1/+1 counter lovers, just know that it’s a little on the basic side.
If you're looking to upgrade Call for Backup, look no further.
- Call for Backup (Red-Green-White deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
Cavalry Charge
Commander (1)
Creatures (32)
Foulmire Knight
Corpse Knight
Knight of the White Orchid
Order of Midnight
Smitten Swordmaster
Wintermoor Commander
Worthy Knight
Acclaimed Contender
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
Exsanguinator Cavalry
Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
Knight Exemplar
Liliana's Standard Bearer
Midnight Reaper
Murderous Rider
Xerex Strobe-Knight
Aryel, Knight of Windgrace
Herald of Hoofbeats
Hero of Bladehold
Josu Vess, Lich Knight
Valiant Knight
Vodalian Wave-Knight
Arvad the Cursed
Ethersworn Adjudicator
Knights of the Black Rose
Locthwain Lancer
Syr Elenora, the Discerning
Syr Konrad, the Grim
Vona, Butcher of Magan
Elenda and Azor
Silverwing Squadron
Knight of the Last Breath
Instants (6)
Path to Exile
Swords to Plowshares
Despark
Pull from Tomorrow
Unbreakable Formation
Return to Dust
Sorceries (7)
Painful Truths
Read the Bones
Distant Melody
Fell the Mighty
Path of the Enigma
Promise of Loyalty
Time Wipe
Enchantments (2)
Chivalric Alliance
Knights' Charge
Artifacts (13)
Sol Ring
Arcane Signet
Conjurer's Mantle
Fellwar Stone
Fractured Powerstone
Mind Stone
Orzhov Signet
Commander's Sphere
Herald's Horn
Maul of the Skyclaves
Sigiled Sword of Valeron
Ichor Elixir
Vanquisher's Banner
Lands (38)
Arcane Sanctum
Bojuka Bog
Choked Estuary
Command Tower
Evolving Wilds
Island x6
Myriad Landscape
Path of Ancestry
Plains x8
Port Town
Prairie Stream
Shineshadow Snarl
Sunken Hollow
Swamp x5
Temple of Deceit
Temple of Enlightenment
Temple of Silence
Temple of the False God
Terramorphic Expanse
Thriving Heath
Thriving Isle
Thriving Moor
Commander, Theme, and Strategy
Cavalry Charge is the tribal deck of the bunch, putting knights front and center. Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir leads the charge, with Elenda and Azor as second (and third?) in command. I mentioned this in my Be’lakor, the Dark Master deck guide, but I love when established creature types push into new colors. This is an Esper () deck, giving knights an innovative blue presence.
This is another thematically-focused deck, featuring 33 knights and two other cards that produce Knight tokens. The face commander showcases the return of eminence, which was notoriously broken the last time we saw it. They toned down the ability here, but it’s still uninteractable added value from the command zone. Elenda and Azor is no slouch either, so this deck should operate fine with either commander at the head.
As far as strategy goes there’s not much to say aside from just play some knights and attack.
Notable Cards: Reprints and $$
Notable value reprints include Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Knight Exemplar, Hero of Bladehold, Vona, Butcher of Magan, Herald's Horn, and Vanquisher's Banner, making this the most valuable deck in terms of reprints.
New offerings are limited though since most of the cards here don’t translate well outside of dedicated knight-themed decks. Herald of Hoofbeats has a cool horsemanship callback, and Vodalian Wave-Knight has some viability in merfolk decks, of all things.
Conjurer's Mantle is a generic tribal payoff, and Chivalric Alliance is the most recent generic white card advantage tool.
Distant Melody and Hero of Bladehold received new art in this deck.
The Verdict
You know exactly what you’re getting into here. If you’re looking to expand your existing knight deck into new blue territory or you want the foundation of a good tribal deck with the staples that this deck provides, by all means, pick it up. Unfortunately, it’s a little sparse on generic offerings, with most of its new printings tied to the knight creature type.
If you're looking to upgrade Cavalry Charge, look no further.
- Cavalry Charge (White-Blue-Black deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
Growing Threat
Commander (1)
Creatures (32)
Blade Splicer
Bloodline Pretender
Bone Shredder
Burnished Hart
Compleated Huntmaster
Keskit, the Flesh Sculptor
Phyrexian Ghoul
Phyrexian Rager
Scrap Trawler
Shimmer Myr
Filigree Vector
Graveshifter
Master Splicer
Vulpine Harvester
Cataclysmic Gearhulk
Moira and Teshar
Phyrexian Delver
Psychosis Crawler
Shattered Angel
Blight Titan
Duplicant
First-Sphere Gargantua
Massacre Wurm
Noxious Gearhulk
Phyrexian Gargantua
Soul of New Phyrexia
Angel of the Ruins
Darksteel Splicer
Meteor Golem
Myr Battlesphere
Phyrexian Triniform
Ancient Stone Idol
Instants (6)
Swords to Plowshares
Despark
Go for the Throat
Excise the Imperfect
Mortify
Utter End
Sorceries (6)
Night's Whisper
Victimize
Ambition's Cost
Path of the Schemer
Yawgmoth's Vile Offering
Phyrexian Rebirth
Enchantment (1)
Artifacts (16)
Sol Ring
Wayfarer's Bauble
Arcane Signet
Fractured Powerstone
Mind Stone
Orzhov Signet
Talisman of Hierarchy
Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus
Commander's Sphere
Nettlecyst
Orzhov Locket
Sculpting Steel
Hedron Archive
Ichor Elixir
Scytheclaw
Coveted Jewel
Lands (38)
Bojuka Bog
Command Tower
Evolving Wilds
Exotic Orchard
Fetid Heath
Goldmire Bridge
Karn's Bastion
Path of Ancestry
Plains x10
Shineshadow Snarl
Silverquill Campus
Spire of Industry
Swamp x13
Tainted Field
Temple of Silence
Terramorphic Expanse
Vault of the Archangel
Commander, Theme, and Strategy
Growing Threat is led by Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos, the compleated version of Brimaz, King of Oreskos. This deck combines a Phyrexian tribal theme with artifact payoffs and a light reanimator subtheme. Moira and Teshar is the tag team backup commander and offers a graveyard-centric approach to the deck.
Half of this deck focuses on Phyrexians while the other half ties together different artifact synergies. It feels a bit disparate to me, only held together by Brimaz being on board. Brimaz reminds me of Daxos the Returned in that you get a cascading advantage for enacting your gameplan, but the strategy falters when the commander isn’t on board. But you’ll have a steady stream of creatures to sacrifice and beat down with if Brimaz sticks around.
Notable Cards: Reprints and $$
Reprints over $2 include Massacre Wurm, Ancient Stone Idol, Phyrexian Scriptures, Fetid Heath, and Karn's Bastion, which isn’t too impressive overall.
This deck introduces two excellent format staples. Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus is a living weapon version of Sword of the Animist, an excellent ramp tool for equipment decks and colors that don’t have strong ramp options.
Excise the Imperfect is the newest take on Generous Gift, a top-tier removal spell in casual EDH. This is my vote for best card from this precon series, right above Path of the Pyromancer.
Yawgmoth's Vile Offering received some absolutely stunning new art in this deck.
The Verdict
This deck is mining new strategic territory but does it in a way that feels confused. Clearly the incubate mechanic is supposed to tie together the Phyrexian synergies and artifact theme, but I’d look to focus on one or the other.
This is a good pickup for anyone who desperately wants a Phyrexian tribal deck, and it has some cool recursive and reanimator elements as well.
If you're looking to upgrade Growing Threat, look no further.
- Growing Threat (White-Black deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
Divine Convocation
Commander (1)
Planeswalker (1)
Creatures (28)
Cloud of Faeries
Goblin Instigator
Spirited Companion
Suture Priest
Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
Banisher Priest
Chasm Skulker
Duergar Hedge-Mage
Goblin Medics
Mentor of the Meek
Mistmeadow Vanisher
Nadir Kraken
Saint Traft and Rem Karolus
Village Bell-Ringer
Wildfire Awakener
Angel of Finality
Emeria Angel
Fallowsage
Keeper of the Accord
Kykar, Wind's Fury
Nesting Dovehawk
Joyful Stormsculptor
Venerated Loxodon
Flockchaser Phantom
The Locust God
Seraph of the Masses
Angel of Salvation
Flight of Equenauts
Instants (10)
Secure the Wastes
Swords to Plowshares
Ephemeral Shields
Devouring Light
Wear // Tear
Meeting of Minds
Stoke the Flames
Artistic Refusal
Shatter the Source
Chant of Vitu-Ghazi
Sorceries (6)
Path of the Ghosthunter
Battle Screech
Temporal Cleansing
Migratory Route
Austere Command
Hour of Reckoning
Enchantments (4)
Impact Tremors
Improbably Alliance
Conclave Tribunal
Whirlwind of Thought
Artifacts (9)
Skullclamp
Sol Ring
Arcane Signet
Fractured Powerstone
Commander's Sphere
Cultivator's Caravan
Wand of the Worldsoul
Ichor Elixir
Deluxe Dragster
Lands (39)
Command Tower
Evolving Wilds
Exotic Orchard
Frostboil Snarl
Furycalm Snarl
Island x8
Kher Keep
Mountain x8
Mystic Monastery
Plains x8
Port Town
Prairie Stream
Rogue's Passage
Skycloud Expanse
Temple of Enlightenment
Temple of Epiphany
Temple of Triumph
Terramorphic Expanse
Commander, Theme, and Strategy
Divine Convocation is a Jeskai () convoke deck looking to flood the board with cheap creatures and tap them to cast large convoke spells. There’s a light token theme, which fits naturally with convoke, as well as some Twiddle shenanigans meant to play into the tapping and untapping nature of the deck.
Kasla, the Broken Halo is all about convoke and… well, that’s just about it. It pays you off for casting other convoke spells and even has convoke itself, which is a nice way to ramp it out early and mitigate commander tax late. The alternative commander is Saint Traft and Rem Karolus, another convoke payoff that wants to be tapped and untapped multiple times per turn. They’re both fun rewards for filling a deck full of convoke spells, but Kasla’s a clear winner for me.
The strategy offers trickier gameplay than the previous decks. You want to spend the early turns putting as many bodies out on board as possible, then you want to start convoking with those creatures. There are a lot of “gotcha!” instants here like Chant of Vitu-Ghazi and Ephemeral Shield, so the deck rewards being proactive early and reactive late. Convoke also allows you to play certain spells while tapped out, so it can catch opponents off guard.
Unfortunately, the card quality is notably weaker here than the other decks. It’s light on wincons, instead opting to take the go-wide approach with tokens. The high-end convoke payoffs are fairly weak and fragile creatures like Seraph of the Masses and Flight of Equenauts. I also find it disappointing that the deck has so many filler commons and uncommons from the main MOM set, eight in total.
Notable Cards: Reprints and $$
The deck has decent reprint value. You’ll get Keeper of the Accord, Kykar, Wind's Fury, The Locust God, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Secure the Wastes, Skullclamp, and Impact Tremors. It’s a decent combination of value cards and Commander staples.
In terms of new cards, Mistmeadow Vanisher is the latest flicker enabler and looks great to me.
Nesting Dovehawk is a Growing Ranks on wings, and Wand of the Worldsoul is a really cool white mana rock that grants your next spell convoke. Think of it like the white Cryptolith Rite.
Cloud of Faeries and Kher Keep got new art in this deck.
The Verdict
This deck will play synergistically out of the box, but it fails to check a few categories. It’s not easy to upgrade because there isn’t a huge offering of convoke cards in Jeskai colors (52 total, including the ones already in the deck). The theme is so specific that cards like Kasla, the Broken Halo don’t fit anywhere outside the deck, and the power level of the individual cards here is much lower than the rest.
Despite these faults this precon has decent reprint value, some cool new cards, and a fresh take on a classic mechanic.
If you're looking to upgrade Divine Convocation, look no further.
- Divine Convocation (Blue-Red-White deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
Tinker Time
Commander (1)
Planeswalker (1)
Creatures (22)
Gilded Goose
Academy Manufactor
Feldon of the Third Path
Hedron Detonator
Master of Etherium
Pain Distributor
Tireless Provisioner
Tireless Tracker
Cutthroat Negotiator
Everquill Phoenix
Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Rashmi and Ragavan
Sandsteppe War Riders
Schema Thief
Vedalken Humiliator
Whirler Rogue
Sharding Sphinx
Shimmer Dragon
Thopter Assembly
Hellkite Igniter
Junk Winder
Workshop Elders
Instants (8)
Reality Shift
Chaos Warp
Stroke of Genius
Vampires' Vengeance
Perplexing Test
Spell Swindle
Struggle // Survive
Masterful Replication
Sorceries (11)
Rise and Shine
Crack Open
Root Out
Fiery Confluence
Path of the Animist
Echo Storm
Reverse Engineer
Thoughtcast
Saheeli's Artistry
Brass's Bounty
Dance with Calamity
Enchantments (6)
Curse of Opulence
Ghirapur Aether Grid
Imprisoned in the Moon
Weirding Wood
Thopter Spy Network
Aid from the Cowl
Artifacts (13)
Bloodforged Battle-Axe
Sol Ring
Arcane Signet
Combine Chrysalis
Fractured Powerstone
Gruul Signet
Izzet Signet
Simic Signet
Inspiring Statuary
Replication Ring
Skyclave Relic
Ichor Elixir
Spine of Ish Sah
Lands (38)
Cinder Glade
Command Tower
Evolving Wilds
Exotic Orchard
Forest x7
Frontier Bivouac
Frostboil Snarl
Game Trail
Island x8
Mountain x8
Myriad Landscape
Path of Ancestry
Simic Growth Chamber
Temple of Abandon
Temple of Epiphany
Temple of Mystery
Terramorphic Expanse
Vineglimmer Snarl
Commander, Theme, and Strategy
Tinker Time is a Temur () artifact deck that tries to tie together all the trinket-y artifact tokens that Wizards has created over the years. You’ll see plenty of Food and Clue tokens and a commander that actually cares about the distinction between Treasure and Gold tokens.
Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy wants you to amass a collection of artifacts with different names then pays you off by making Gremlin artifact tokens with trample. Alternatively, you can use Rashmi and Ragavan to make Treasure tokens and steal your opponents’ cards. Gimbal is the more synergistic commander, while Rashmi and the monkey are just generically powerful.
Notable Cards: Reprints and $$
The reprint value of this deck is abysmal. There’s Academy Manufactor, Tireless Tracker, and Curse of Opulence, all between $2 to $3 each, but that’s about it. If you’re trying to make a return on your investment, you’d better hope the new cards hold some serious value.
Dance with Calamity feels completely out of place, but it’s still a splashy new card that will likely see casual EDH play. It’s an over-the-top spell that presents a gambler’s mini-game, so it’ll be fun at the very least.
Hedron Detonator is another Reckless Fireweaver variant that can turn artifact loops into wins, and Pain Distributor punishes excessive Treasure use by your opponents, which is weird considering Sardian Avenger was printed not that long ago.
The Verdict
This deck is likely fun and synergistic out of the box and provides a few tools for existing artifact decks. It’s not too hard to find upgrades (Goblin Kaboomist, anyone?), but it’s not that unique of a strategy and feels very reminiscent of the Saheeli, the Gifted / Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer deck from C18.
It's also a huge financial bust, which makes it one of the weakest offerings here.
If you're looking to upgrade Tinker Time, look no further.
- Tinker Time (Green-Blue-Red deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
The Best March of the Machine Commander Deck
For Value
Knights are the big winner in terms of financial investment. The Cavalry Charge precon not only contains three cards worth $10+, it also includes a lot of the base cards for a generic tribal deck. It’s easy to dissect and use its parts for a different tribal deck altogether, although this might leave the knight-themed cards stranded.
My evaluations here don’t consider the prices of new-to-Magic cards, so the estimated value of these decks might fluctuate depending on where those prices settle. I also didn’t consider the Planechase-specific cards. Some of the reprints in this category demand a reasonable price tag, but the reprints should solve any scarcity issues and tank the individual prices.
- Cavalry Charge (White-Blue-Black deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
For Competitive EDH
None of these precons are really geared toward cEDH, but I’d guess that Tinker Time has the best shell for future competitive upgrades. Part of the reason is that artifact synergies are usually pretty easy to modify and have countless available synergy pieces, but I also think Rashmi and Ragavan is a generically powerful value commander.
Call for Backup is far from competitive, but Shalai and Hallar is probably the breakout commander of the entire set thanks to its combo potential. Path of the Pyromancer is also a standout card from the deck, but that’s about all it offers from a competitive standpoint.
- Tinker Time (Green-Blue-Red deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
For Fun
Divine Convocation isn’t perfect, but I’ll dub it the most fun deck out of the box. I think the overall power level is pretty weak, but the face commander cheats on commander tax and offers enough trickery and convoke shenanigans to catch players off guard.
Honorable mention goes to Growing Threat for its Phyrexian tribal synergies, but I could have done without the emphasis on artifacts when Tinker Time already has that covered. Plus, “Growing Threat” is about the most boring deck name I can think of.
- Divine Convocation (Blue-Red-White deck)—100-card ready-to-play March of the Machine Commander Deck with 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- 10 Planechase cards and 1 planar die to trigger unique abilities and jump across the Multiverse
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack—contains 2 special treatment cards from the March of the Machine main set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- Deck introduces 10 never-before-seen MTG cards to Commander
- Accessories—1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, Life Tracker, and deck box
Commanding Conclusion
Yawgmoth's Vile Offering | Illustration by Chase Stone
I think MOC does a good job of creating new archetypes and showcasing the major themes of the mainline MOM set. It’s hard to stand out in a sea of never-ending Commander precons, and I don’t think there’s anything exceptional going on here, but these decks have enough enticing reprints and flashy new cards to stand on their own.
This will be a memorable product for Planechase fans, but the rest of the Commander community will scrap these decks for new parts and move on. They’re perfectly fine and probably very fun to play out of the box against one another, but they don’t stand out amongst the best precons of all time. I’d buy these for the new cards and the reprint value, but I wouldn’t stockpile them as an investment. They’re just not that exciting.
And with that, I’ll leave you to decide how you feel about the latest in the ever-growing line of Commander products. Which one is your favorite, and how are you building around some of these new commanders from March of the Machine? Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord.
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