Following the recent first-look livestream for March of the Machine, players have been anticipating the upcoming set more than ever. With major story moments, the still mysterious Battle cards, and Multiverse Legends, it’s easy to see why players are excited. On top of all those already tantalizing features, March of the Machine is primed to seriously delight Commander players. Not only is the fan-favorite Planechase mechanic getting new MTG cards after 11 years, but legendary creatures are also getting revitalized. As in March of the Machine, legendary creature team-ups are the name of the game. Much to players’ delight, this new flavorful feature isn’t just a temporary novelty for March of the Machine. In fact, Legendary creature team-ups are here to stay.
Tantalizing Team-Ups
Given their name, the legendary creature team-up cards in March of the Machine are fairly self-explanatory. Pairing two iconic or unlikely legendary creatures together, this new MTG feature showcases the scale of the Phyrexian Arc’s Multiversal war. After all, if Thalia and The Gitrog Monster are teaming up, you know there are some high stakes. So far, only four team-up cards have been announced, however, each one is already beloved. Even WotC couldn’t get enough of the new team-up cards when designing them, according to Magic’s Development Manager, Dave Humpherys.
“These team-up cards were just hugely popular internally. I think we started with just maybe a handful and in every playtest we did people were like ‘these are my favorite thing we need to make more of them.’ So we kept adding more and more to the set.” Dave Humpherys
Dave Humpherys | MTG Development Manager
Considering how much fans love the team-up cards so far, it should be no surprise that players are already requesting more. Not just from March of the Machine but from the myriad MTG sets currently in development. Thankfully for these hopeful players, it already appears like their wish is coming true. This was confirmed by MTG’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater, following a question from Tumblr user Jonpaulcardenas. For better or worse, responding to the question, “are team-up cards going to be the new norm going forward or just a MOM thing?” Rosewater revealed they are “a new tool in our toolbox.” Admittedly it’s too early to tell just how much this tool will be utilized in the future. Nevertheless, it certainly seems likely that we haven’t seen the last of team-up cards in MTG.
For Jonpaulcardenas, this isn’t exactly good news. While many players have been absolutely delighted by team-up cards and wish them to continue, there are some concerns. Jonpaulcardenas, for instance, highlighted how team-ups feel like yet another Commander-focused feature that’s invading premier sets.
“ Keep in mind as a non-casual non-commander player, this is a feature that doesn’t really impact me at all. Legendary, at least ATM, is just a drawback in non-casual non-commander formats so we actively want fewer legendary creatures impacting formats, so we can run 4 of them with know feel bad moments, not less.”
Jonpaulcardenas
The Ayes Have It
Unfortunately for Jonpaulcardenas, the consensus around March of the Machine’s team-up cards across social media is clear. Even with only four cards revealed thus far, MTG players already love them, and they definitely want more of them. Subsequently, upon hearing that they’re here to stay from Rosewater, many fans of the feature rejoiced. Even critics of Wizards like u/BrotherKaramazov on Reddit couldn’t deny their excitement. “I like to sh*t-talk WOTC as much as I can, but these duos are fun as f*ck and have this mechanical elegance in them.”
Alongside fans praising the new mechanic, several players highlighted how Rosewater’s reveal ultimately isn’t too surprising. After all, March of the Machine’s team-up cards are hardly the first to exist in MTG. For example, most recently, Halana and Alena, Partners appeared during Innistrad: Crimson Vow. Before this, we’ve seen pairings such as Rin and Seri, Inseparable, Gisa and Geralf, and technically even Wrenn and Six.
Due to this past precedent, March of the Machine’s team-up cards really aren’t anything too revolutionary. That being said, however, there are some major changes for this latest round of team-up cards. Not only are there a lot of them, according to Humpherys, but they also boast unique flavors that should set them apart. “Yeah, there are no new keywords here or anything, and the cards function just like any other legendary creature,” u/LaboratoryManiac highlighted on Reddit. “There are some mechanical threads connecting the team-up cards to the characters’ solo cards, but ultimately their implementation is purely flavor.”
Powerful Potential
For better or worse, it’s unclear how much team-up cards will be used following March of the Machine. However, one thing is clear: players are undoubtedly excited for more. So much so, in fact, that players are already speculating what team-ups are in the works. With players hoping for team-ups between “Aurelia and Rakdos,” “Jace and Vraska,” and even “Emrakul and 15 squirrels,” it seems the possibilities are quite literally endless. Thankfully for players who’re after more, it’s not long now before March of the Machine’s spoiler season begins in earnest. Ahead of the set’s April 21st release date, players can expect to see spoilers from March 29th to April 4th.
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