March of the Machine: The Aftermath

March of the Machine: The Aftermath
[[File:{{#setmainimage:March of the Machine The Aftermath.png}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	Planeswalker's spark
Design	David Humpherys (lead), Jadine Klomparens, Ari Nieh, Andrew Brown, Ken Nagle, Oliver Tiu, Cameron Williams, Mark Gottlieb
Development	Same as design
Release date	May 12, 2023
Plane	Multiversal
Themes and mechanics	Legendary matters
Set size	50 + 180
Expansion code	MAT
Development codename	Marathon Epilogue
March of the Machine Standard
Dominaria United The Brothers' War Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Secret Lair: From Cute to Brute March of the Machine: The Aftermath The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth

Expansion symbol

March of the Machine: the Aftermath is a non-draftable Magic micro set that was released on May 12, 2023.

Set details

“

Rebuild the Multiverse while building up your collection

”

Aftermath was a rare fifth premier set in the Standard environment, but it is also a "new kind of thing" and "not a normal expansion". It is a micro set of 50 cards following up on March of the Machine, and was released both in tabletop and digital. From a product standpoint, it is considered an extension of March of the Machine.

Aftermath contains 50 regular cards (15 uncommons, 25 rares, 10 mythic rares), and 180 alternate versions of those same cards. Different showcase-style cards are #51-100, #101-150 are etched foil, #151-185 are extended art (No Uncommons) and #186-228 are halo foil (skipping the retro frame cards), #229 is the Bundle promo, while #230 is the Buy-a-Box card.

Storyline

What is left when the dust settles after the epic four-part Phyrexian story arc? The very fabric of the Multiverse has fundamentally changed: many planeswalkers have lost their spark and omenpaths have now become the main way to travel between planes. Aftermath serves as an epilogue, tying up some loose ends and starting new beginnings.

Although marketed as a story focused micro set, there were no Story Spotlight cards in Aftermath. Many cards also lacked flavor text, and the set was only accompanied by two story articles. This left a lot of storylines unexplained.

Magic Story

Title	Author	Publishing date	Set	Setting (plane)	Featuring
March of the Machine: The Aftermath - She Who Breaks the World	Grace Fong	2023-05-01	March of the Machine: The Aftermath	Zhalfir	Nissa Revane, Chandra Nalaar, Teferi Akosa, Karn, Koth of the Hammer
March of the Machine: The Aftermath - Beyond Repair	Emily Teng	2023-05-02	March of the Machine: The Aftermath	Zendikar	Nahiri, Ajani Goldmane

Marketing

Epilogue Booster

March of the Machine: The Aftermath is sold in Epilogue Boosters: lore-packed boosters that continue the story in between sets, with a guaranteed foil and Showcase card in every pack. Each Epilogue Booster contains 5 cards, with a combination of 1–3 card(s) of rarity Rare or higher and 2–4 Uncommon cards. In every pack, a total of 1–2 card(s) of any rarity are Traditional Foil.

The set also features Epilogue Collector Boosters as well as a Bundle. Each Epilogue Collector Booster contains 6 Magic: The Gathering cards and 1 Traditional Foil double-sided token, with 4 cards of rarity Rare or higher and 2 Uncommon cards. Every pack contains a total of 5–6 foil cards.

The set is available in English and Japanese.

Events

• Digital release: May 11, 2023
• Global Tabletop Release: May 12, 2023

Promos

• Buy-a-Box: alternate art Jolrael, Voice of Zhalfir
• Bundle promo: alternate art Spark Rupture

Bundle

MTG Arena

March of the Machine: The Aftermath replaced the Alchemy set release for March of the Machine. It is available in store boosters per regular set releases and in a limited-time draft format. Draft boosters contained one Aftermath card and one Multiverse Legends card with the rest being March of the Machine cards.

Tokens and emblems

Aftermath did not feature any tokens using its own set code or expansion symbol but boosters included selected tokens and emblems from March of the Machine, March of the Machine Commander and Multiverse Legends. A number of cards in the set generate tokens, so a list is provided below for reference.

1. 1/1 Thopter artifact creature with flying for Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival.
2. Food artifact for Rocco, Street Chef.
3. Copy, for Calix, Guided by Fate, Narset, Enlightened Exile, Nashi, Moon’s Legacy and Rebuild the City.

Themes and mechanics

The cracked planeswalker symbol

"Legendary matters": Aftermath features several planeswalkers as desparked legendary creatures. These cards feature a cracked planeswalker symbol as a watermark. There is also an Aura that enchants Legendary Creatures (Leyline Immersion)

Several returning mechanics appear as one-offs: Constellation, Convoke, Jump-start, Landfall, Madness, and Undergrowth.

Reprinted cards

• Training Grounds, first printed in Rise of the Eldrazi, last seen as a Judge Gift card in 2022.

Misprint

• The halo foil version of Deification says "all of its loyalty counters", instead of "all loyalty counters on it".

Reception

A massive leak spoiled all the cards of the set. The small size of the set, the lack of cohesive storytelling and the price / quality ratio of the Epilogue Boosters caused Aftermath to have an unfavorable reception and probably lackluster revenues. Another Epilogue set like Aftermath is therefore unlikely.

Wizards of the Coast does market research on all their sets. They often ask players to rank a set on a scale, and then look at the top-two-box score, meaning how many people rated this with one of the top two ratings. It's a common metric used in data research. March of the Machine: The Aftermath had the lowest top-two-box score for a randomized booster product they ever had.

The poor reception caused Wizards to cancel an already designed epilogue set for Outlaws of Thunder Junction and restructure the way Beyond Boosters were designed for Universes Beyond: Fallout.

Trivia

• Deification basically gives a planeswalker Worship.
• Aftermath is the only set ever printed in which no cards are part of a cycle.
• Samut, Vizier of Naktamun is the first creature to be printed with the combination of exactly first strike, vigilance and haste.

Gallery

Key art

• 

  Featuring Sarkhan Vol, Nissa Revane, and Nahiri by Chris Rallis.

• 

  Featuring the Skyship Weatherlight, Kiora, Nissa Revane, Jolrael, Sarkhan Vol, Nahiri, Ob Nixilis, Samut, Sigarda, Karn, Tamiyo and Nashi by Boneface.

External links

• Official product page.
• WPN product page.