As the climactic chapter in the Phyrexian Arc, March of the Machine is a true celebration of the multiverse. Bringing all of Magic’s planes together, whether big or small, Magic’s heroes are going all out in the fight against the Phyrexians. Thankfully, for non-Vorthos players, March of the Machine is compelling for more than just its themes and incredible lore. As, in celebrating the Multiversal themes of the set, Wizards of the Coast is printing all manner of reprints! Predominantly found within the Multiverse Legends booster sheet, this celebratory promotion features gorgeous reprints galore! Alongside this, The List is also being overhauled for March of the Machine, although perhaps not to players liking. In a break from the established order, March of the Machine takes The List differently.
Flavor First
Typically, within any MTG set, The List has been a source of compelling reprints and decent value. Appearing within roughly 25% of Set Boosters, The List is hardly a sure thing. However, it’s nevertheless an enjoyable bonus. Alongside providing occasional value, The List also expands upon a set’s themes, mechanics, and characters through classic reprints. For March of the Machine, this is no different, with Wizards playing into the set’s Multiversal themes. As you might expect, this means many classic and long-dormant planes are being reprised, just like the main set. Even cards from 1998’s Portal Second Age are being reprinted to show the scale of this multiversal war!
With classic cards from all manner of planes being reprinted, unsurprisingly, The List for March of the Machine is incredibly flavorful. Unfortunately, however, that’s just about all the latest version of The List has going for it. From a flavor perspective, it’s incredibly fitting that Heliod, God of the Sun, is being reprinted in The List. After all, Heliod, the Radiant Dawn is an impactful part of the story and a powerful card within the main set. When it comes to value, however, Heliod, God of the Sun, is hardly what you want to be pulling from the list. As, according to current TCGplayer prices, you can pick up a copy of Heliod, God of the Sun, for just $2.99.
Alongside reprinting the classic versions of now compleated characters, The List also reprints plenty of missing characters. These include Avenger of Zendikar and Soul of Shandalar. As defenders of their respective planes, it’s obviously sensible that these cards are getting reprinted. Their values of $3.25 and $0.27, however, aren’t exactly ideal.
Substantial Losses
As you might have already gathered from the prices above, with flavor being the focus of March of the Machine, The List’s value has taken a hit. After all, with only 300 cards making up The List, cuts had to be made somewhere. Sadly, when deciding what to cut, Wizards removed several powerful and pricy creatures that are evidently lacking flavor. While they’re not exactly gone, thanks to Multiverse Legends, this even remarkably included the existing pair of Phyrexian Praetors. Priced at $10 and $15 respectively, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and Sheoldred, Whispering One departing The List is undoubtedly a disappointment for value hunters.
Unfortunately for value fans, these two powerful Praetors aren’t the only fairly expensive cards to be cut. As joining them on the cutting room floor are cards such as Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Karn Liberated, and Old Gnawbone. On average, these cards have been worth around $10.50, $12.50, and $20, respectively, making them obviously quite lucrative. Thanks to its price, Old Gnawbone was even one of the most expensive cards on The List previously!
Thankfully, while most of March of the Machine’s list is devoted to flavor, there are some value bombs. Eidolon of the Great Revel, for instance, is a new $10 addition that’s not to be scoffed at. Alongside this, March of the Machine also introduces one of the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoth Triomes to The List. While it’s hardly the whole set, finding a $17 Ketria Triome in a Set Booster is certainly hard to complain about. Last but not least, the surprisingly stable $19 Phyrexian Crusader is also being integrated into The List.
Continuously Compelling Value
Thankfully for value fanatics, unlike The List for Unfinity, March of the Machine isn’t overhauling everything. Out of the 300 cards that make up the list, March of the Machine is only changing 75 of them. This means that while there’s plenty of thematic flavor to enjoy, there’s a decent amount of value too. High-price cards such as Sword of Feast and Famine and Mycosynth Lattice, for instance, are both sticking around. Subsequently, the loss of six $10+ cards is hardly the end of the world for The List enthusiasts.
Thankfully, March of the Machine also has that in droves for those after even more value. Through the Multiverse Legends bonus sheet, MTG players should have no trouble finding iconic and expensive legendary creatures. Available within Draft, Set, and Collector Boosters, not only are these reprints valuable, but thanks to new art and card frames, they’re absolutely gorgeous. As if that wasn’t enough, exclusively to Collector Booster, each Multiverse Legends card is also getting 500 serialized variants. Should the prices from The Brothers’ War indicate anything, these prized collectible cards could be worth upwards of $2000!
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