Early March of the Machine previews leads to aggressive speculation.
Earlier in the week, Wizards of the Coast kickstarted March of the Machine previews, where previews remain ongoing, showing off a range of exciting new cards. From the new Battle card type to other exciting additions such as Sword of Once and Future and Tribute to the World Tree, March of the Machine is looking fantastic. And with previews in full force, sales of Set and Collector Boosters are following suit.
Market Price: $217.75
Market Price: $119.58
With these reveals in mind, there’s been plenty of movement in reaction to these new cards. First, the face-Commanders for the upcoming March of the Machine Precons became known, in particular, Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir who leads the Cavalry Charge Commander Precon, is an exciting option that offers Emeninece, a historically powerful ability as seen on Commanders such as Edgar Markov and The Ur-Dragon. Not only does the Commander come with Emenience, but it’s a reasonably costed card that offers a solid Knight-focused theme, where purchases of Haakon, Stromgald Scourge and the Secret Lair printing of Knight Exemplar are on the rise, with the latter seeing copies bought out on TCGplayer.
Market Price: $8.22
Secondly, the introduction of the new Battle card type also forced some movement, Hex Parasite and Thief of Blood are seeing purchases as these cards can remove counters from permanents, or in this case, Battle permanents. Once a Battle card has zero counters, it flips, and you can take advantage of these spells ahead of schedule. While we don’t know how Battle cards will fare gameplay-wise, it hasn’t stopped players from snagging copies of these enablers to try in Modern, Legacy, and Commander.
Outside of speculation, there continues to be plenty of movement with Phyrexia: All Will Be One singles, so let’s dive in and see what’s selling best from across the week.
#10 Phyrexian Arena
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
A Commander staple that saw a reprint in Phyrexia: All Will Be One is Phyrexian Arena. While there’s some discourse on whether the card is decent anymore, it hasn’t stopped players from buying copies for current and future builds. Black Market Connections is the superior version of the effect, but an expensive card due to the singular printing in the Party Time Commander Precon from Commander Legends: Battle For Baldur’s Gate. With Phyrexian Arena, it remains a decent effect for Black-focused Commander strategies who want to keep things affordable and remains one of the best budget purchases you can make from Phyrexia: All Will Be One.
#9 The Mycosynth Gardens
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Appearing in a whole slew of Commander and constructed strategies is The Mycosynth Gardens, a mana option from Phyrexia: All Will Be One that’s become a staple in Modern’s Amulet Titan but also is an excellent card for Commander. Being able to copy a Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, or a Lion’s Eye Diamond is pretty fantastic and enables some busted early turns. Plus, the equity of The Mycosynth Gardens only improves the more artifact cards become printed, making it a solid purchase if you intend to gain the most value out of artifact cards in constructed or Commander.
#8 Skrelv, Defector Mite
Promo Pack: Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Copies of Skrelv, Defector Mite continue to sell amazingly well, as the Legendary Mite is becoming a constructed all-star. Appearing in Standard and Pioneer, the card offers protection (and evasion) to your threats, whether they be Toxic or Bogles-based. Currently, Selensya Toxic is becoming a staple archetype Standard, as it offers a solid matchup against the aggro-focused Esper Legends, which also runs a playset of Skrelv, Defector Mite.
Standard
Selesnya Toxic
Market Price:$188.20
Maindeck, 60 cards
Sortsort deckCreature (27)
- 3Annex Sentry
- 4Bloated Contaminator
- 4Crawling Chorus
- 4Jawbone Duelist
- 4Skrelv, Defector Mite
- 4Slaughter Singer
- 4Venerated Rotpriest
Instant (7)
- 3Soul Partition
- 4Tyvar’s Stand
Enchantment (4)
- 4Skrelv’s Hive
Land (22)
- 1Boseiju, Who Endures
- 4Brushland
- 1Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
- 4Mirrex
- 3Overgrown Farmland
- 1Plains
- 4Razorverge Thicket
- 4The Seedcore
Sideboard (15)
- 4Destroy Evil
- 1Knockout Blow
- 3Lantern Flare
- 3Melira, the Living Cure
- 4Wedding Announcement
With more Regional Championships occurring over the next few weeks (all of which are Standard), players continue to snap up Standard-playable cards to keep up with the metagame with a desire for competitive success themselves. Skrelv, Defector Mite is a big part of Standard going forward, with additional applications in Pioneer in Selesnya Bogles and Mono-White Humans, making the card a reasonable purchase if you intend to play Standard going forward.
#7 Skrelv’s Hive
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Where Skrelv, Defector Mite is a regular in Standard mainboards, Skrelv’s Hive is a popular option in the sideboard. Appearing in Mono-White Midrange and Selesnya Toxic, Skrelv’s Hive offers a steady stream of Toxic threats to aid you in reaching a poisonous victory. In addition, the card is decent in Token-focused Commanders such as Marneus Calgar or Rhys the Redeemed, where you can leverage the Phyrexia: All Will Be One card with other amazing effects. While it’s not quite on the same level as Bitterblossom, it’s another solid token generator at a reasonable mana value.
#6 Conduit of Worlds
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Another excellent Phyrexia: All Will Be One card for Commander is Conduit of Worlds, offering a similar effect to Crucible of Worlds with some combo potential thrown in for good measure. Paired with Second Chance from Urza’s Legacy, you can take infinite turns if you are on five or less life. Granted, you can’t cast any spells, but this situation is ideal if you have permanents in play with strong activated abilities or want to close the game with combat damage.
Market Price: $33.48
Outside of Second Chance, Conduit of Worlds is excellent for Land-focused archetypes such as Lord Windgrace, Tatyova, Benthic Druid, or Titania, Protector of Argoth, where you want to bonus effects from making extra land drops. And given the price, Conduit of Worlds is a powerful-yet-budget option for Commander and another one to consider if you play a Land-focused strategy in the format.
#5 Atraxa, Grand Unifier
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Market Price: $21.05
Becoming a staple of various constructed formats is Atraxa, Grand Unifier as it’s one of the best reanimation targets since Griselbrand. In particular, the Phyrexian Angel is making waves in Pioneer with Neoform Atraxa, which honestly looks to be a pretty powerful option to play in the growing eternal format. By using Neoform and Hooting Mandrills, you can cheat in Atraxa, Grand Unifier ahead of schedule, giving you a grip of cards and a massive threat. Interestingly, copies of Founding the Third Path are selling decently on TCGplayer since last week, as it’s a key enabler for the strategy. In addition, Atraxa Neoform clinched a Top 8 finish at the NRG Series Pioneer $5K in Chicagoland that weekend, so the competitive success is beginning to amass, generating interest from competitive players.
Not only is Atraxa, Grand Unifier continuing to see remarkable sales due to Standard, Pioneer, and Modern play but there’s also the element of Battle cards since March of the Machine previews are ongoing. As we now know what Battle cards are, and some of these look pretty good, the equity on Atraxa, Grand Unifier will rise as there’s more value in Standard with her entering the battlefield ability.
#4 Walking Ballista
Aether Revolt
Market Price: $13.55
Even with the extensive sales of Phyrexia: All Will Be One over the last month, Walking Ballista comes back to the fold even though sales have remained somewhat consistent since, forever, really. A constructed and Commander all-star, Walking Ballista offers flexibility, a win condition, and combo potential, making the card a solid purchase now or in the future. Even with the recent reprint in Jumpstart 2022, demand for Walking Ballista will remain as it’s one of the best creature cards printed.
#3 Venerated Rotpriest
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Continuing to be an all-important staple in Standard’s Selensya Toxic is Venerated Rotpriest, which is seeing solid finishes at various Regional Championships taking place across the world. While the Phyrexian Druid doesn’t see much play elsewhere outside of Gruul Storm and Simic Infect in Modern, the card looks to play a notable role in Standard going forward.
#2 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Market Price: $28.42
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines continues to see impressive sales as she’s become a staple in Commander, with added applications in Standard, Pioneer, and Modern. Any effect that allows you to double enter the battlefield triggers is remarkably strong, which is why the White-aligned Praetor appears in numerous Omnath, Locus of Creation builds in Modern, as you can double effects with cards such as Solitude or Subtlety.
Market Price: $26.72
Market Price: $48.58
The same applies to Pioneer, where you often see a one-off in Niv to Light or Five-Color Omnath, as it uses Leyline Binding to notable effect while also Torpor Orb-ing your opponents into oblivion. Obviously, in Commander, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines does some silly things and is becoming a solid option as a Mono-White Commander, as the effect is so powerful while offering a flavorful Phyrexian theme at the same time.
#1 Vampire Hexmage
Time Spiral: Remastered
As mentioned earlier, March of the Machine previews are in full swing, where we finally know what Battle cards are after the tease on Atraxa, Grand Unifier from Phyrexia: All Will Be One. On face value, the Battle cards seem decent and come with several counters when they enter play, and once the card has zero counters (through damage or otherwise), the Battle card flips into a spell. Of course, players are speculating what could synergize best with these new Battle cards, and copies of Hex Parasite and Thief of Blood are gaining momentum with stock slowly depleting on TCGplayer.
Market Price: $12.49
Market Price: $8.22
However, after day one of March of the Machine previews, copies of Vampire Hexmage, notably the Time Spiral Remastered printings completely sold out on TCGplayer shortly after, including foil copies. By looking at this price chart of Time Spiral Remastered and Zendikar copies of Vampire Hexmage, demand rose massively the day after the Wizards of the Coast March of the Machine stream ended.
Since then, players turned to non-foil and foil Zendikar copies of Vampire Hexmage to purchase instead, as you can use Vampire Hexmage to immediately trigger a Battle card without needing to attack or deal damage to the Battle card. Often with a speculation such as this, buyers will gravitate towards the more exoctic printings (as well as older foils) as these offer the higher ceiling with players, which is why Secret Lair copies of Knight Exemplar sold better in reaction to the Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir reveal earlier in the week.
In addition to the notable synergy with Battle cards and Vampire Hexmage, there are plenty of Counter-focused strategies around in Commander and eternal formats due to Phyrexia: All Will Be One and the continued popularity of Planeswalkers, where Vampire Hexmage is also an excellent answer to these archetypes. And with that, if you happen to have foil copies of Vampire Hexmage from Zendikar or Time Spiral Remastered lying around, it might be worth keeping an eye on the market as you could sell into some tidy profits.