MTG players have been waiting to see what tricks Wizards of the Coast had up their sleeves regarding the game’s newest set, and they did not disappoint. The first look for March of Machines kicked off this past Sunday at the Philadelphia MTG convention. Alongside a new insane Commander staple created by an MTG World Champion came some incredible new tag-team-esque spoiler cards. Even though all these great things were shown off yesterday, as of the writing of this article, further information has not stopped hitting the internet. In a promotional email from Wizards of the Coast, we have some new information about the upcoming MTG Battle card type!
MTG Battle Cards for Everyone!
Against some players’ assumptions, this information was not leaked from some super-secret Wizards of the Coast communications. If you’re subscribed to Wizards’ MTG newsletter, there’s a good chance this is in your email right now (though you may need to check the spam or promotions folder). Right after the first look at the upcoming March of the Machines set, Wizards of the Coast gave us even more information. Not only are the new Battle card type spoiled by Phyrexia: All Will Be One’s hottest card 100% confirmed to be a part of March of the Machine, but they will also be available in every single Set and Draft booster pack! This also means that MTG Battle cards may not be available in every Collector Booster pack.
This email also points out that the new Battle card type is double-sided. While these have become significantly more common in recent history, double-sided cards were a rarity not too long ago. Nowadays, you can find them with almost every set in some shape or form.
Player Speculation
Following this new information regarding the upcoming Battle mechanic, MTG players took to Reddit to speculate what the double-sided nature of MTG Battle cards could mean. Here are some of the most popular theories at the moment:
“So probably something you have to complete, if you do you flip it over and get the reward/upgrade to your stuff on the back.” – Dogsy
“I’m guessing whatever is on the backside is some kind of benefit for whoever “wins” the battle.” – gredman9
It seems that an overwhelming number of players are speculating that the front side of the MTG Battle card has some sort of achievable objective that one or both players can try to meet. The backside of these cards then rewards a payoff for achieving the objective. Considering that one of the more considerable speculations for the MTG Battle card type is a reworking of the abandoned Skirmish mechanic from War of the Spark, this makes sense.
“I don’t know how many people tried Wizard’s attempt at Harry Potter tcg back in 2001, but this feels like the Quidditch mechanic “Match,” or maybe just Adventures.
Matches were symmetric challenges with the winner getting a reward.
Adventures were temporary hindrances where the opponent had to perform steps to undo the effects.” – Onuzq
Another interesting speculation from Redditor Onuzq references an older TCG from 2001 but makes a similar point. Quidditch sounds like a pretty similar mechanic idea to the Skirmish tug-of-war idea presented by MTG creator Mark Rosewater during War of the Spark. This information is still incredibly fresh as of the writing of this article, so players have not had much time to discuss this new information.
Every Pack Can Feature a Ragavan!?
This newsletter also confirms a question many MTG players in my circle have been asking me as of late: how rare is this new Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer reprint? We’ve already addressed the answer to this question but, alongside the new newsletter detailing the new information regarding the MTG Battle card type is some information that should help clear this up.
Think of the new Multiverse Legends cards like the Mystical Archive from Strixhaven or the Retro Artifacts from The Brothers’ War. These will be available in draft and set booster packs for March of the Machines, which means you can open them in draft. It also means that the troublesome Modern monkey will be coming to MTG Arena.
This also means that Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice are likely to see massive drops in price. Think of these like the Mox Amber chase card from The Brothers’ War. A lot of these are going to be opened, which will make these cards a lot easier to access for players right before the release of the straight-to-Modern Tales of Middle-Earth set. While it means Ragavan will get a reprint that it desperately needs, it also means that a lot of Modern MTG players will be out by what will likely be a couple hundred dollars. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the format, but I hope that it will make Modern more accessible for everyone.
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