MTG Designer Explains Mediocre March of the Machine Reprints

As an event set and the climactic chapter in the Phyrexian Arc, Wizards has understandably gone all out for March of the Machine. Fan favorite Planeswalkers and villains have died, and there’s even a brand new card type to celebrate the occasion! Remarkably, however, these celebrated MTG set details aren’t the only things March of the Machine has going for it. As to really amp up the themes of the multiversal war, Wizards created the Multiverse Legends bonus sheet. Reprinting many iconic Commander-favorite legendary creatures, this bonus sheet promises to be an incredibly valuable addition to the set. Unfortunately, however, despite reprints of Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.) and Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice Flying, vigilance, deathtouch, lifelink
At the beginning of your end step, proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.) , many MTG players aren’t entirely happy with the offerings. 

Pitiful Pricing

Throughout the Multiverse Legends bonus sheet, unsurprisingly, not every card is as expensive as Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.) . After all, few recently released cards compare to this powerhouse that sees extensive play in both Commander and Modern. That being said, a number of the bonus sheets cards are still rather valuable. Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice Flying, vigilance, deathtouch, lifelink
At the beginning of your end step, proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.) , for instance, commands a similar price tag to Ragavan in the $60 range. Alongside this, reprints of the original Phyrexian Praetors, and Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon Flying
Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
{B}: Skithiryx gains haste until end of turn.
{B}{B}: Regenerate Skithiryx. are all relatively expensive. For better or worse, however, while many of the bonus sheet’s mythic rares offer compelling value, the same can’t be said for the lower rarities. 

Discounting a few rare cards such as Seizan, Perverter of Truth Seizan, Perverter of Truth At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player loses 2 life and draws two cards. , and Ayara, First of Locthwain Ayara, First of Locthwain Whenever Ayara or another black creature you control enters, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
{T}, Sacrifice another black creature: Draw a card. , it’s easy to call the rest of Multiverse Legends disappointing. After all, many of the reprinted legendary creatures cost less than a dollar on the secondary market. While new art and card frames should hopefully garner additional value, there is only so much that looks can do. Due to this dismal value, many players across social media haven’t been too best pleased with the Multiverse Legends spoilers. 

Between all the complaints about value, many MTG players were baffled as to why some cards were being reprinted. There are several cards from the less than-a-year-old Dominaria United, for instance, such as Raff, Weatherlight Stalwart Raff, Weatherlight Stalwart Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, you may tap two untapped creatures you control. If you do, draw a card.
{3}{W}{W}: Creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain vigilance until end of turn. . Not only are these cards fairly new, but they’re also already available within the set’s themed Booster Fun frame. Since these cards really didn’t need to be reprinted, many players were understandably confused as to what was going on. In order to try and find some answers, some players took their complaints right to the top.

Much Maligned Multiverse Legends

Voicing their frustrations, Tumblr user Kidcincinnati recently asked MTG’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater, what was happening with Multiverse Legends. While stating they try to be “super enthusiastic about Magic because it brings me a ton of joy,” they nevertheless couldn’t dismiss their complaint. Subsequently, within their post, Kidcincinnati stated that the reprints with preexisting Booster Fun treatments left them feeling “super bummed. […] it feels super underwhelming to see it again with a tiny variation.” Thankfully, after fielding this complaint, Rosewater went on to reveal that making Multiverse Legends wasn’t as easy as you’d think. Rather than being free to fill it with enough reprints to make Commander Masters jealous, Wizards had rules to follow.

“There were a bunch of restrictions on what could be on the Multiverse Legends sheet. They had to be desired cards that were still alive and could be actively fighting in the war. We didn’t have the luxury of removing cards because they’d used the frame before. We gave them all new art to make them look distinct.”

Mark Rosewater | MTG Lead Designer

On Tumblr, while a few criticisms were continuing the debate, most players accepted Rosewater’s reasoning behind Wizards’ decisions. On Reddit, however, players were more vocal about their disappointment, with many highlighting better options that were available. User u/losenota_, for instance, noted that many Multiverse Legends characters have had better printings in the past. Failing that, cards such as Killian, Ink Duelist Killian, Ink Duelist Lifelink
Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.)
Spells you cast that target a creature cost {2} less to cast. , Tatyova, Benthic Druid Tatyova, Benthic Druid Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, you gain 1 life and draw a card. , and Syr Konrad, the Grim Syr Konrad, the Grim Whenever another creature dies, or a creature card is put into a graveyard from anywhere other than the battlefield, or a creature card leaves your graveyard, Syr Konrad deals 1 damage to each opponent.
{1}{B}: Each player mills a card. (They each put the top card of their library into their graveyard.) were all highlighted as viable options. 

Alongside the constraints that Rosewater mentioned, other players pointed out there are likely additional reasons behind the lackluster bonus sheet. Namely, as u/HoopyHobo pointed out, the March of the Machine Limited environment was likely a big consideration. With one Multiverse Legends card appearing in every Draft Booster, this booster sheet is undoubtedly going to have an impact. To stop it from completely warping every Limited march, however, Wizards surely had to temper their despite to reprint Commander-favorites. Evidently, this has caused some disappointment, but hopefully, it should be for the better. 

“I think limited was a major factor, particularly for the uncommons since they’re going to show up in limited a lot. Raff from DOM works with historic spells, and MOM has zero sagas and relatively few artifacts and legendary cards. There are no new downshifts to uncommon on the bonus sheet, so the rare Radha from DOM was probably never considered for the uncommon RG slot.”

u/HoopyHobo

Serialized Solutions

Thankfully, while much of the Multiverse Legends bonus sheet isn’t much to write home about, there is still value to be had. This is thanks to serialized cards returning cards within March of the Machine. Appearing in less than 1% of March of the Machine Collector Boosters, these numbered MTG cards should be exceptionally valuable. Judging by pricing trends from The Brothers’ War, even the most unassuming uncommon card should be worth at least $100. On the other end of the scale, the highly prized mythic cards such as Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.) may be worth upwards of $1000!

If that value isn’t enough to excite you, hopefully, later this year, Commander Masters will delight players with reprints aplenty. Only a trio of cards have been announced from this set so far. However, it’s already shaping up nicely. It’s hard not to get excited about a reprint of the $200-$400 Capture of Jingzhou Capture of Jingzhou Take an extra turn after this one. after all. What more goodies are in store for this set, however, we’ll just have to wait and see. 

Read More: Insane MTG March of the Machine Uncommon May be the Best Card in the Set!