New Battle Cards/Mechanic Leaked - March of the Machine Spoilers

If you take a look at the reminder text for Atraxa, Grand Unifier it references "battle" as a card type, which is something we've never seen... Until now! Earlier today the first card with the battle card type was leaked and it's pretty insane. So, without further ado, let's take a look at "Invasion of Zendikar", what it is, and how it works.

What Are Battle Cards?

First things first, this looks unlike most cards we've seen. It's presented horizontally, (almost like a planechase card), has multiple sides, and has a strange value in the bottom right corner. Next, there's a sub-type. In this case, it's "siege". This means that there are likely going to be other types of Battle cards as well but what they may be, remains to be seen.

For now, let's focus on Invasion of Zendikar - As it enters the battlefield, you choose an opponent to defend it. This means that you (and any other players besides the defending player) can attack it and the defending player can block those attacks. Then, when it's defeated, it's exiled and you can cast the other side of it.

I'm assuming the value in the bottom right corner is related to it being defeated. If I had to guess, I would say that you'd need to deal it a total of three damage. But it's possible it could be something slightly different like dealing it damage with three creatures.

As for the card effect, you get to search your library for two basic lands and put them onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. It's worth noting that this is an uncommon and I'm guessing WOTC had planned to reveal the card type on a slightly flashier card but they obviously can't control what gets leaked.

When you defeat the Battle card, you'll get to cast the flipside, which is "Awakened Skyclave." This Elemental is a land in addition to a 4/4 creature with vigilance and haste. It can also tap to add one mana of any color. This combination is pretty powerful as it can tap for mana or attack immediately. And it can do both in the same turn (thanks to the vigilance) if you attack before tapping for mana. Overall, I think the concept behind this card is pretty cool and Awakened Skyclave is fairly good.

Flavor Perspective

I do think the concept is kinda funny from a flavor point of view. Let's walk through this together. The player casting the battle card, in this case, "Invasion of Zendikar" is the one bringing the event to fruition. And you're forcing an opponent to be the one defending the plane with their creatures. Not to nitpick but this could lead to some very strange circumstances. For example, a player playing a phyrexian-themed deck (like poison/toxic or an Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines build) could be the one defending against their attack.

Plus, as The Magic Historian joked on youtube, players will likely be fighting this siege with some rather unconventional armies. Imagine you're playing squirrel tribal and an opponent name's you the defending player. Well, now Zendikar is in the hands of your 1/1 squirrels.

This doesn't affect the card type/mechanic from a gameplay perspective. And to be fair there are plenty of other whacky situations in nearly every game of MTG but I thought it was worth bringing up. Mainly because I thought it was interesting that the person casting this card was forcing another player to defend it.

Aside from that, there's one thing I want to mention and it refers to the flavor text and how it relates to the MOM storyline. Warning: Storyline spoilers are incoming. If you don't want to know what happens don't read any further. Ok, the flavor text says, "Nahiri tried to bend Zendikar to Phyrexia's will. In response, the world rose against her."

However, in the actual story, Nahiri does her job pretty well and takes over the skyclaves without issue. In other words, the "awakened skyclave" concept seen on the card doesn't happen in the lore. Again, it doesn't hurt the cards for WOTC to bend the lore to fit the gameplay ideas but I did think this was an interesting instance.

Conclusion

I'm excited to finally have gotten a look at what Battle cards are and how they work. Despite my poking fun at the lore concepts, I think the leak is cool. I'm looking forward to seeing some more of these and seeing what other sub-types of battle cards there are. Comment down below and let me know what you think of the card.