With story chapters coming out almost daily, the hype for March of the Machine is at an all-time high. Recently, this hype reached newfound levels following a teaser from MTG’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater. Rosewater’s teaser fueled plenty of rampant speculation by laying out details about what players can expect from March of the Machine. Unfortunately, for excited players, however, it appears some of this speculation had been led down the wrong path. As, in their own teaser, Mark Rosewater made a mistake. Thankfully, Rosewater has since corrected this unfortunate mistake, reigniting the speculation wildfire once again. Sure, we might not know exactly what’s in store, but it certainly seems like a beloved fan-favorite MTG mechanic is returning!
Mistakes were Made
Initially, within their highly anticipated teaser, Mark Rosewater declared, “a variant of a mechanic returns to a premier set for the second time since it originally appeared.” Given how vague this statement was, players were quick to latch onto it and start blurting out theories. On Reddit, for instance, some players suggested Megamorph could be returning, while others theorized Monstrosity could return after ten years. While these theories were valid, the consensus was that Amass was going to appear once again. Having only been seen before during War of the Spark, Amass is incredibly flavorful for a war-focused MTG set. As fitting as this MTG mechanic would have been for March of the Machine, however, ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be.
A day after posting their all-encompassing teaser, Mark Rosewater realized, unfortunately, the information they shared wasn’t entirely accurate. Taking to Twitter to address the issue, Rosewater admitted they “just caught a mistake in my teaser. The variant of the mechanic did return once in a premier set. This is the *second* time it returned since it originally appeared. Sorry for the mistake.” Considering players had already hyped themselves up about the possibility of Amass returning, some were somewhat disappointed by this news. Others, however, were more than happy to resume their rampant speculation.
Aiding players in their predictions, Twitter user Magic Data Science (@mtg_ds) was quick to provide players with all the answers. Highlighting every MTG mechanic which has “appeared in exactly two premier sets and at least one non-premier set,” all the options were made plain to see. For better or worse, there’s no telling which one of the myriad mechanics was the lucky one making a return.
What the Flip?!
Despite Magic Data Science laying out all the options, somewhat remarkably, on Reddit, many MTG players deviated from the list. Rather than choosing any one of the seemingly sensible options, the consensus instead was that Flip Walkers would be returning. First seen in the aptly named Magic Origins, Flip Walkers showed iconic Planeswalkers before and after they got their Spark. Following this, another flip walker, Nicol Bolas, the Ravager, later appeared in Core Set 2019. As u/devintron71 noted on Reddit, this appeared to be something Rosewater had forgotten about.
Following up on this theory, u/harker06 noted how this prediction seemingly lines up with statements made by Blake Rasmussen. “Agreed. Blake said there are more than three walkers, less than 10, and implied it’s hard to put an exact number on it. I’m guessing three traditional Planeswalkers, some number of Flip Walkers, including Quintorius.” While, technically, none of these details have been confirmed just yet, it certainly seems this extended theory holds water. After all, Quintorius is on the box art of March of the Machine, and it appears their spark ignited during a recent story episode. Further confirming this theory, another March of the Machine Planeswalker was spoiled earlier today; Archangel Elspeth.
As is evidenced from Magic Data Science’s chart, Flip Walkers returning is hardly the only option. It is, however, the one most players were excited about, with all manner of suggestions being thrown into the ring. Reddit user u/RWBadger, for instance, suggested, “The Realmbreaker is gonna flip into Wrenn and the Multiverse or something.” Alongside this suggestion, several players theorized that Elesh Norn may also be getting the Flip Walker treatment. This theory stems from art found at MagicCon Philidelphia, which appears to show Elesh Norn in a Planeswalker-y pose.
Time Will Tell
Currently, as fun as it is to theorize, there’s no telling which MTG mechanic Mark Rosewater was hinting at in their teaser. Subsequently, MTG players will have to wait and see what gets revealed once MTG’s spoiler season kicks off properly. That being said, however, it’s entirely possible Wizards may be mixing up the traditional spoiler season once again. As we’ve just seen with Archangel Elspeth, it’s possible more cards will be spoiled during story episodes. Subsequently, we may be seeing the return of Flip Walkers sooner than expected! Whatever happens, however, all is bound to be revealed during the Debut stream for March of the Machine. Currently, this is scheduled to take place on the 29th of March, following the conclusion of the set’s story.
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