March of the Machine/Trivia

==Maro's March of the Machine Teaser==
Mark Rosewater gave his traditional teaser with the following hints.
===First up, here are some things you can expect:===
*Numerous cards that mechanically care about Phyrexians: , , , , , ; ; 
*A double-faced token (one that transforms): An Incubator artifact token that transforms into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature.
*A card that costs XUUUU: 
*A variant of a mechanic returns to a premier set for the second time since it originally appeared: Basic landcycling, first appearing in Scourge, then returning in Alara Reborn.
*A legendary creature returns not seen since Homelands: (transformed from )
*A creature capable of dealing eleven poison counters: (once transformed)
*Some planes show up in card names that have never done so before: Amonkhet, Azgol, Belenon, Eldraine, Ergamon, Fiora, Ikoria, Kaldheim, Karsus, Lorwyn, Moag, Tolvada, Ulgrotha, Xerex
*Wrenn returns with a new partner: <c>Wrenn and Realmbreaker</c>
*Two draft archetypes that have a creature types matter component: Phyrexians, Knights
*The tenth ___ and ___ sword: 
===Here are snippets of rules text, you’ll see:===
*"You may cast spells with flash or flying from the top of your library." — 
*"An Aura, God or Demigod card" — 
*"where X is the excess damage dealt this way." — 
*"This spell can't be copied." — 
*"Activate only if you've cast two or more spells this turn." — 
*"Each player can't cast more than one non-Phyrexian spell each turn." — 
*"X twice, where X is the number of lands you control." — <c>Glistening Dawn</c>
*"Whenever a permanent transforms or a permanent enters the battlefield under your control transformed," — 
*"If the opponent protects it, remove a defense counter from it." — 
*"At the beginning of your upkeep, if you haven't been dealt combat damage since your last turn, you draw a card and you lose 1 life." — 
===Finally, here are some Phyrexians in the set:===
*Creature — Phyrexian Bear Rhino — 
*Creature — Phyrexian Devil — (transformed from )
*Creature — Phyrexian Dog Warrior — 
*Creature — Phyrexian Jackal — (transformed from )
*Creature — Phyrexian Samurai — , 
*Creature — Phyrexian Shade — 
*Creature — Phyrexian Shark — 
*Creature — Phyrexian Treefolk — (transformed from )
*Creature — Phyrexian Viashino — 
*Creature — Phyrexian Weird — (transformed from )
===And some creature type lines of denizens fighting them:===
*Creature — Moonfolk Ninja — <c>Rooftop Saboteurs</c> (transformed from <c>Invasion of Kamigawa</c>)
*Creature — Aetherborn Vampire — 
*Creature — Fungus Rabbit — 
*Creature — Dwarf Pilot — , 
*Creature — Raccoon Warrior — 
*Creature — Goblin Spellshaper — (transformed from )
*Creature — Wolverine Dinosaur — 
*Legendary Creature — Elder Giant Dog — 
*Legendary Creature — Ape Dinosaur Turtle — 
*Legendary Creature — Cyclops Homunculus — 
==Gavin's March of the Machine Teaser==
Gavin Verhey gave a teaser with the following hints about the new cards in the Commander decks:
#There is a red card with enchant planeswalker — 
#There is a card that calls back to a specific group of cards from New Phyrexia — (Splicers)
#There is a card that begins "whenever you cast a Phyrexian or artifact creature spell..." — 
#There is a card with the same ability three times! — <c>Conclave Sledge-Captain</c> (Backup)
#There is a cycle of cards that all have the ability word "Will of the Planeswalkers" — (), (), (), (), () 
#There is a card with a sentence that begins, "As many times as you choose..." — 
#There is a card with the Parley mechanic! — 
#There is a card that cares about Merfolk! — 
#There is a plane that references an iconic creature from Alpha — ()
#There is a new Kithkin in these decks! — 
#There is an Angel Ally! — 
#There is a Phyrexianized M11 Titan in the set— 
#There is a new card with Eminence! — 
#There is FINALLY something that creates a 1/1 Butterfly creature token with flying (#FreeTheButterfly) — 
==Callbacks==
===Legendary callbacks===
*The "Rare compleated Generals" cycle all have callbacks to Phyrexians of the past, some with stronger links than others. 
**<c>Ayara, Furnace Queen</c> is closest to <c>Geth, Lord of the Vault</c> and <c>Geth, Thane of Contracts</c>.
**<c>Heliod, the Warped Eclipse</c> has art, Power/Toughness and abilities similar to <c>Consecrated Sphinx</c>.
**'s Power/Toughness and abilities are a callback to . Etali's front ability is also strongly reminiscent of <c>Etali, Primal Storm</c>.
**'s name and triggered ability are callbacks to .
** is a callback to the Phyrexian monster cycle, a 5/5 with a beneficial effect upon taking damage.
*Most legends on the Legendary team-ups have only one printing to draw from, so mechanically are similar to them. For those with multiple iterations:
**<c>Borborygmos and Fblthp</c> discards lands like <c>Borborygmos Enraged</c>, and can also make itself <c>Totally Lost</c> (or perhaps <c>Super-Duper Lost</c>).
**<c>Drana and Linvala</c> takes from <c>Linvala, Keeper of Silence</c> but its ability-stealing effect is from an unknown source.
**<c>Hidetsugu and Kairi</c> templates with the red ability of <c>Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos</c>.
**<c>Surrak and Goreclaw</c> takes the Formidable haste-granting from <c>Surrak, the Hunt Caller</c> and the trample from <c>Surrak Dragonclaw</c>. 
**<c>Thalia and The Gitrog Monster</c> gives it <c>Thalia, Heretic Cathar</c>'s two abilities.
** has the highest power of any eternal creature card. Its stats are exactly twice those of .
**<C>Zurgo and Ojutai</c> has temporary hexproof and a saboteur ability like <c>Dragonlord Ojutai</c>, and <c>Zurgo Bellstriker</c> gives a form of Dash.
===Siege callbacks===
*<c>Invasion of Alara</c> generally refers to Cascade, while <c>Awaken the Maelstrom</c> takes cues from all of the five shard Ultimatums, most notably <c>Clarion Ultimatum</c>'s quasi-copying and <c>Violent Ultimatum</c>'s destruction effect.
*<c>Invasion of Arcavios</c> can fetch Lessons.
*<c>Invasion of Innistrad</c> continues the Innistradi 13 theme.
*<c>Invasion of Lorwyn</c> uses the clause from <c>Eyeblight's Ending</c>.
*<c>Invasion of Tarkir</c> reveals Dragons like the <c>Draconic Roar</c> cycle.
*<c>Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia</c> is just as large as the <c>Segovian Leviathan</c>.
*<c>Ephara, Ever-Sheltering</c> uses a Homeric Epithet as the Gods in Theros Beyond Death and is a God that requires a condition to become a creature, though it only needs one fulfilment.
*<c>Kyren Flamewright</c> has the only new Spellshaper printed for a decade and invokes the legacy of Squee.
*<c>Grandmother Ravi Sengir</c> uses the updated version of the <c>Sengir Vampire</c> trigger, like that on <c>Sengir, the Dark Baron</c>.
*<c>Guildpact Paragon</c> has a small version of <c>Niv-Mizzet Reborn</c>'s entry trigger.
*'s ability is similar to Eternalize.
*'s second ability counters dethrone, and her third ability is reminiscent, fittingly, of the monarch.
*<c>Primordial Plasm</c> removes abilities as <c>Muraganda Petroglyphs</c> desires.
* is a callback to .
===Others===
*'s art is a callback to .
*<c>Etched Familiar</c> trades the card drawn for one more power and two damage from <c>Filigree Familiar</c>. The seller takes no responsibility for modified goods.
*<c>Fertilid's Favor</c> gives a creature <c>Fertilid</c>'s size and a player one activation of its ability.
*<c>Knight-Errant of Eos</c>, with one creature convoking, is a creature that looks for two 1-mana creatures, like the <c>Ranger of Eos</c>.
*<c>Sunfall</c> is a callback to <c>Phyrexian Rebirth</c> and <c>Starfall</c>.
*<c>Rampaging Raptor</c> brings to mind <c>Questing Beast</c>.
*<c>Seraph of New Phyrexia</c> has a trigger reminiscent of <c>Fallen Angel</c>.
*<c>Glissa, Herald of Predation</c> continues to combine First Strike and Deathtouch.
* creates variable sized tokens like .
*<c>Phyrexian Archivist</c> is exactly <c>Cogwork Archivist</c> plus the Phyrexian type, in the same location.
*<c>Ephara's Dispersal</c> shares similarities in art and mechanics to <c>Stern Dismissal</c>.
==Other trivia==
*<c>Thalia and The Gitrog Monster</c> calls out a joke popular amongst LoadingReadyRun fans that the arm in <c>The Gitrog Monster</c>'s mouth in the art was Thalia's, of which most of the humor is from insisting despite all evidence to the contrary.
*<c>Saiba Cryptomancer</c> boasts their "level-seven proxy", close to a meme from the early 2010s.
* previews the Booster Fun treatment for cards in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
* is the only creature card with horsemanship not from Portal Three Kingdoms.
*A design for the card that became was requested by the Wilds of Eldraine Vision Design team to help set up backstory for the Wicked Slumber.
*March of the Machine is the first set since New Phyrexia to have no rare or mythic rares lands.
*With two guaranteed DFC slots with shifting rarities plus a Multiverse Legends slot, it rivals Strixhaven: School of Mages in printing complexity. Additionally, mathematical breakdowns of the rarity distribution in March of the Machine suggest that it was a pilot program for the distribution model used by Play Booster, which launched six months later.
==References==
Category:Magic set trivia