The Magic: The Gathering Commander format has an abundance of new cards to play with through the launch of March of the Machine.
Wizards of the Coast is fueling its most popular Magic format this summer through a number of Commander-specific releases, like Commander Masters and The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth. But before these supplemental MTG sets drop, players are getting a slew of cards playable in the Commander format through Standard-legal March of the Machine.
Best Commander MOM honorable mentions
Within the March of the Machine (MOM) set are a total of 15 Rare and Mythic Rare legendary mashup cards, along with a new mechanic/card type called Battle and five Praetors that can flip into Sagas.
None of the Transform Praetors were included in the best March of the Machine cards to pull for Commander since each is worth putting in decks based on power levels alone.
Just missing the cut were MOM cards like Tribute to the World Tree, Guardian of Ghiapur, Chandra, Hope’s Beacon, and See Double.
Related: All MTG March of the Machine cards worth money
Nine MOM cards worth pulling or buying singles for Commander
Cards that made the best March of the Machine cards to play pull for the Commander format are versatile and powerful, able to slot into a variety of different builds. They may not all break the meta but will have a significant impact on Commander.
From Convoke spells to legendary mashups and a planeswalker, here are the best March of the Machine cards to pull for Commander.
Terror of Towashi
Terror of Towashi is a solid Black four-drop with Deathtouch and a 4/3 body. What makes the Phyrexian Ogre stand out is its activated ability that reanimates a creature from your graveyard to the battlefield whenever it attacks at a cost of 3B.
Attacking with Terror of Towashi isn’t hard since it has Deathtouch and a toughness of three, meaning if it is blocked the Ogre will likely take out an important creature that an opponent had on the battlefield. And you still get to reanimate something as long as 3B mana was kept up when Terro of Towashi attacked.
Transcendent Message
Card advantage is necessary for an MTG format that only allows one copy of a card within a 100-card deck, making Transcendent Message a powerful Blue Instant that can draw a large number of cards under the right conditions. Using Convoke, players can pay the Blue mana cost through creatures on the battlefield, leaving any mana on the battlefield open to pay the “X” cost and draw that many cards.
Transcendent Message can provide a player card advantage over the rest of the pod and should be considered an auto-include within any Commander deck running Blue.
Invasion of Ikoria
Battle cards had a decent amount of success within the MOM Limited format at launch and will likely find similar results within Commander too. Invasion of Ikoria is the best Battle from March of the Machine since its front side can fetch a non-human creature from your deck with a mana value of “X” or less.
Commander players who can flip the Battle then get an 8/8 dinosaur with Reach. And as an added bonus, Zilortha, Apex of Ikoria has each non-human you control assign its combat damage as though it weren’t blocked, buffing up big stompy decks within Commander.
Faerie Mastermind
Faerie Mastermind was the only MOM card to make both the best Standard and best Commander card list due to its ability to draw a card whenever an opponent draws a second card that turn. In a multiplayer format like Commander, the Faerie Rogue can draw you multiple cards before it’s even your turn. Gaining card advantage is huge in a format like Commander and Faerie Mastermind is an auto-include in any build running the color Blue.
Sunfall
Clearing all creatures off the battlefield is slightly busted within the Commander format but that’s what Sunfall does. The White Sorcery speed spell costs 3WW and exiles all creatures. It then creates an Incubate token that has +1/+1 counters on it equal to the number of creatures exiled. Sunfall is an auto-include in any type of deck as it removes most threats while providing its controller a board presence after the wipe.
Sword of Once and Future
The final Sword of the Mirran cycle, Sword of Once and Future, isn’t the strongest of the 10 within the Commander format but it will have a significant impact. The Artifact Equipment has its controller Surveil two upon combat damage and has protection against the MTG colors Blue and Black.
Sword of Once and Future will likely end up in builds that contain multiple low-cost Instant and Sorcery spells that can take full advantage of the Artifact Equipment’s ability. Reanimation players will also want to grab Sword of Once and Future as it can pitch cheap spells into the graveyard with the Sword’s Surviel ability and get them back later.
City on Fire
Buffing up the amount of damage dealt by a source is always a good thing within the Commander format, especially when an Enchantment like City on Fire can get Convoked into play at a reasonable cost. The Red Enchantment has a casting cost of 5RRR, but don’t be deceived by the large numbers.
At least four creatures on the battlefield will reduce the casting cost of City on Fire to only four mana. Once in play, any damage dealt by a source you control becomes tripled. A Lightning Strike, for example, deals nine damage as opposed to three with City on Fire in play.
Wrenn and Realmbreaker
Fixing mana through mana dorks or Enchantments that allow a basic land to tap for any color are predominantly found in the MTG color Green. Wrenn and Realmbreaker from the MOM set will add even more color fixing to the Commander format through the planeswalker’s passive ability while also turning lands into creatures.
The three-drop planeswalker can also loot and even get an emblem where its controller can cast lands and permanent spells from their graveyard. Wrenn and Realmbreaker can slot into any Commander deck running three or more colors, providing a bunch of value from the moment the planeswalker drops into the battlefield.
Zimone and Dina
Zimone and Dina are already taking heat as potentially one of the most broken mashups from the MOM set in Commander. The legendary duo has a passive that drains and gains for two upon its controller drawing a second card. But the real power comes from their activated ability. Their controller can tap the duo and sacrifice a creature to draw a card and put a land card from their hand onto the battlefield tapped—which is repeated a second time if eight or more lands are on the battlefield for Zimone and Dina’s controller.
The broken aspect of Zimone and Dina is the legendary duo can draw nasty amounts of cards and put lands into play through with any number of MTG cards that un-tap permanents or lands, as long as there is a creature available to sacrifice.
