With March of the Machine, Magic: The Gathering ended its years-long story arc centered on the Phyrexians' attempted conquest of the entire multiverse. Despite its grand premise, many fans felt that March of the Machine's story was a disappointment, with its rushed finale and lack of a strong payoff turning the once-feared Phyrexia into another disposable antagonist. With MTG's next set bringing players back to the fairytale-inspired plane of Eldraine, Wizards of the Coast has the chance to turn a new page and bring back classic MTG storytelling.
Wilds of Eldraine marks MTG's first proper return to the plane since Wizards first introduced it in 2019's Throne of Eldraine -- a set well-loved for its power and top-down fairytale premise. Eldraine was among many of MTG's planes invaded during March of the Machine, with an early spoiler for The Aftermath micro-set showing that its rulers, King Algenus and Queen Linden Kenrith, had died in the conflict. Now that New Phyrexia's invasion has concluded, Wilds of Eldraine can finally move forward with MTG's storyline in a new and hopefully more engaging direction.
Wilds of Eldraine Can Streamline MTG's Story
The most refreshing part of Wilds of Eldraine's story is the lack of any major, multiverse-spanning antagonist. With MTG's multiverse being more connected than ever, the upcoming set's apparent focus on the mystical wilds of one plane -- a shifting land of strangeness and dark magic -- likely means fans of MTG lore won't need to remember dozens of named characters. After nearly a year of the story being consumed by Phyrexia's machinations, Wilds of Eldraine's more focused plot will be an appreciated return to the more episodic, self-contained stories that earlier MTG sets thrived on.
Story isn't the only place streamlining will benefit MTG. The multiverse-spanning nature of March of the Machine means lots of cards from different planes appear in one set together, muddying the cohesive feel that single-plane sets have. Throne of Eldraine's take on storybook fantasy was a much-loved aesthetic, and Wilds of Eldraine's release coming soon after Tales of Middle-earth brings LotR to MTG means the game will be returning to its traditional fantasy roots, which is great for those who are tired of MTG's biomachinery, body horror and multiversal travel.
March of the Machine's Poor Ending Has a Silver Lining
While March of the Machine's ending may have soured fans' enjoyment of MTG's plot, the multiverse is now rid of its three largest threats. With the extraplanar Eldrazi dead or trapped in Innistrad's moon, the Elder Dragon Planeswalker Nicol Bolas de-sparked and sealed away, and Phyrexia banished to an inaccessible pocket of the multiverse, the game has few major antagonists that could become predominant threats. Just as Throne of Eldraine provided a refreshing change of pace after 2019's War of the Spark disappointed fans, Wilds of Eldraine has the chance to explore a new era of self-contained storytelling that deals with smaller conflicts, rather than one multiverse-ending threat after another.
With Wilds of Eldraine still months away, players need to wait and see how MTG's storyline will evolve until then. With many of MTG's planes surviving Phyrexia's onslaught, the next few years of sets can explore these worlds, following them as they pick up the pieces from the invasion without needing an overarching plot to tie everything together. For fans of Eldraine's storybook feeling, Wilds of Eldraine could be a refreshing return to a simpler story that long-time MTG fans are fond of.