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March of the Machine: The Aftermath
March of the Machine The Aftermath
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description Planeswalker's spark[1]
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[2]
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
MAT expansion symbol

Expansion symbol

March of the Machine: the Aftermath is a non-draftable Magic micro set that was released on May 12, 2023.[3][4][5][6][7]

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".[8][9][10] It is a micro set of 50 cards following up on March of the Machine, and was released both in tabletop and digital.[11][5][12] From a product standpoint, it is considered an extension of March of the Machine.[13]

Aftermath contains 50 regular cards (15 uncommons, 25 rares, 10 mythic rares), and 180 alternate versions of those same cards.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16] 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[ | ]

Main article: 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[ | ]

MAT Epilogue Booster

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.[17]

The set also features Epilogue Collector Boosters as well as a Bundle.[5] 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[a]
  • Global Tabletop Release: May 12, 2023

Promos[ | ]

Mat-bundle

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.[19] Draft boosters contained one Aftermath card and one Multiverse Legends card with the rest being March of the Machine cards.[20]

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.[21] A number of cards in the set generate tokens, so a list is provided below for reference.

  1. {C} 1/1 Thopter artifact creature with flying for Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival.
  2. {C} 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[ | ]

PD

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[ | ]

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.[22] 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 public reception.[23] Another stand-alone Epilogue set similar to Aftermath was made highly unlikely as a result.[24]

Wizards of the Coast market research often ask players to rank a set on a scale, and then looks 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 ever recorded at five percent.[25][26][27]

The immediate poor reception caused Wizards to cancel an already designed epilogue set for Outlaws of Thunder Junction, folding many of the designs into the main set as The Big Score bonus sheet. The fallout also caused a restructure in the way Beyond Boosters were designed for Universes Beyond: Assassin's Creed.[28] Long term, the product concept of Epilogue Boosters was cancelled entirely.[27]

Trivia[ | ]

Gallery[ | ]

Key art[ | ]

External links[ | ]

Notes[ | ]

  1. The official digital release for Aftermath was May 11th but the set became available for purchase on Arena on May 9th. This was due to the smaller set size resulting in far fewer bugs and checks than normal.[18]

References[ | ]

  1. Mark Rosewater and Daniel Holt (November 24, 2023). "Drive to Work 1089: Expansions Symbols with Daniel Holt". Transistor.
  2. Information below the text box
  3. Wizards Presents 2022 (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (August 18, 2022).
  4. Adam Styborski (August 18, 2022). "The Next Year of Magic From Wizards Presents". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. a b c Wizards of the Coast (December 13, 2022). "March of the Machine Arrives in 2023". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. David Humpherys (May 9, 2023). "Leading March of the Machine Set Design". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. Jess Dunks & Matt Tabak (May 16, 2023). "March of the Machine: The Aftermath Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. Mark Rosewater (August 18, 2022). "March of the Machine Aftermath is a new kind of thing.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  9. Mark Rosewater (August 19, 2022). "Will Aftermath be a standard Legal set?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  10. Mark Rosewater (November 08, 2022). ""What are you counting exactly?"". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  11. Mark Rosewater (August 18, 2022). "Is March of the Machine: Aftermath going to be legal in standard?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  12. Wizards of the Coast (February 19, 2023). "A First Look at March of the Machine". magicthegathering.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023.
  13. Mark Rosewater (October 30, 2023). "Are all six of those sets considered to be Tentpole Sets?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  14. Max McCall and Adam Styborski (May 2, 2023). "Collecting March of the Machine: The Aftermath". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  15. Mark Rosewater (May 2, 2023). "Doing the Aftermath". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  16. WeeklyMTG - March of the Machine: The Aftermath (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (May 2, 2023).
  17. Wizards of the Coast (December 13, 2022). "March of the Machine: The Aftermath: Epilogue Booster". Magic.gg.
  18. MTG Arena (May 9, 2023). "we'll release #MTGAftermath two days early". Twitter.
  19. Wizards of the Coast (April 17, 2023). "MTG Arena Release Notes – March of the Machine". magicthegathering.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023.
  20. Clayton Kroh & Megan O'Malley (May 8, 2023). "MTG Arena Announcements – May 8, 2023". magicthegathering.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023.
  21. Kendall Pepple (May 3, 2023). "The Tokens of March of the Machine: The Aftermath". magicthegathering.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023.
  22. March of the machine aftermath leaked. Reddit (April 20, 2023).
  23. Mark Rosewater (July 31, 2023). "State of Design 2023". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  24. Mark Rosewater (October 11, 2023). "How likely are we to see another Epilogue set like Aftermath?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  25. Mark Rosewater (November 27, 2023). "Odds & Ends: 2023, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  26. Mark Rosewater (February 9, 2024). "Do we not get to rate March of the Machine: The Aftermath?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  27. a b Mark Rosewater (September 30, 2024). "Odds & Ends: 2024, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  28. Blake Rasmussen, Max McCall, Zakeel Gordon (February 13, 2024). "Epilogue on Epilogue (Video)". Magic: The Gathering. YouTube.
  29. Gavin Verhey & Jacob Mooney (June 10, 2023). "Magic: The Gathering Trivia Show! Can You Guess the Card From Design Notes?? (Video)". Good Morning Magic. YouTube.
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