The second Standard set of Magic: The Gathering's 2023 March Of The Machine puts in plenty of cards across all the formats. One of the main formats played is Standard, which only allows cards from the latest set releases to be legal. Some niche strategies are being bolstered to new heights while old favorites are getting even stronger.

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Many cards with powerful effects are featured in the set. March Of The Machine offers new tools for multiple archetypes, allowing for a wide variety of strategies to be played in the format.

10 Archpriest Of Shadows

One of the strongest decks in Standard is Reanimator, bringing out high-cost creatures from your graveyard to get around their mana cost. As such, a creature that lets you reanimate is going to be a strong fit into the deck.

Archpriest Of Shadows lets you put a creature from your graveyard onto the battlefield for the low cost of simply dealing damage to a player or battle. While this is already nice, you can give this effect to a creature that is unblockable to ensure you get to use the effect.

9 Rampaging Raptor

Red decks want to win the game as quickly as possible. Rampaging Raptor fits into this kind of game plan perfectly. Four mana is generally where creature costs cap out in most builds, and a 4/4 with trample and haste is nothing to scoff at.

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If it does connect to an opponent, you get the added bonus of dealing the same amount of damage to a planeswalker or battle. In a format where there is a large number of planeswalkers being played, Rampaging Raptor is a perfect counter to them since you don't have to attack them to deal damage to them.

8 Kroxa And Kunoros

Kroxa and Kunoros by Ignatius Budi

One of the many team-up cards from March Of The Machine, Kroxa and Kunoros is great for Standard. Reanimator decks playing a midrange game plan tend to have a lot of cards in their graveyard from removing or drawing and discarding. This allows it to be loaded up to take advantage of Kroxa And Kunoros' effect.

When it hits the battlefield, it becomes an immediate threat on its own as a solid blocker and attack, even if you're not using the effect. If you do, it's even better when you can bring an Atraxa Grand Unifer along with it to have two terrifying creatures that both need to be dealt with.

7 Phyrexian Censor

Phyrexian Censor is a very strong control piece, as it prevents your opponent from casting a lot of spells. It slows your opponent's creatures down as they enter the battlefield tapped to make them useless for a turn.

While this affects you as well, there are plenty of Phyrexian spells in Standard – on top of March Of The Machine – that a Phyrexian control deck is very possible. Phyrexian Censor would be the cornerstone of that deck, as it then becomes one-sided since you're only playing Phyrexian spells.

6 Baral And Kari Zev

Spellslinger decks were decent before, but with March Of The Machine, they get a whole lot better. Now you can play Baral And Kari Zev, which lets you cast a spell for free so long as it has a lower mana value than the instant or sorcery you cast first that turn. Even if you don't, you get a free 2/1 token for your trouble.

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Baral And Kari Zev having first strike makes it strong as well, especially when you mix in burn spells to ensure it wins combat before the defending creatures even have a chance to deal damage to it.

5 Monastery Mentor

While not new to Magic: The Gathering, Monastery Mentor has not been in a Standard-legal set since Fate Reforged in 2015. The card comes into Standard where a strong Jeskai spellslinger deck has legs. Mixing it with Third Path Iconoclast gives you two 1/1 tokens for the price of one.

You can combine it with Baral And Kari Zev to add even more fuel to the fire, casting a ton of spells and amassing an army of tokens to overwhelm the opponent. Standard has plenty of powerful one and two mana instants and sorceries, allowing you to gain the effects of these cards multiple times a turn.

4 Invasion Of Gobakhan/Lightshield Array

Battles are, in many ways, sorceries with an upside, making most of them playable. However, Invasion Of Gobakhan stands out as the best one for Standard. Being able to remove an important card from your opponent's hand is strong, as seen when Elite Spellbinder was legal. Invasion Of Gobakhan comes in with a small number of counters as well, making it easy to defeat the Battle side.

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When it transforms, you get a constant source of free +1/+1 counters anytime a creature attacks. Not only that, you have a way to give all your creatures protection by sacrificing it. The card isn't legendary either, letting you stack effects up.

3 Elesh Norn

Every New Phyrexian Praetor got a new card, but for Standard, it's Elesh Norn that stands as the strongest. It forces your opponent to pay mana when they deal damage to you, or take two damage themselves. With certain decks relying on Painlands that make them take one damage for mana, this damage can stack up and make them think twice before attacking or using any burn spells.

While you won't often flip to the backside in Standard, if you do, you get an army of tokens that get stronger before the entire battlefield gets destroyed (save for lands, Phyerxians, and artifacts), and the Saga returns to Elesh Norn.

2 Thalia And The Gitrog Monster

Thalia and the Gitrog Monster is a fantastic stall card with powerful keywords. First strike and deathtouch are one of the best combos you can get, especially on an easy-to-cast creature. While this is good on its own, Thalia And The Gitrog Monster slows your opponent down substantially, especially with how many nonbasic lands are played.

While it does require you to sacrifice a land or creature to attack, Abzan colors let you accomplish this with no problem with cards like Wedding Invitation and Skrelv's Hive. You also get some extra ramp, as you can play an extra land each turn.

1 Surge Of Salvation

Although not the most exciting card, Surge Of Salvation is incredibly powerful. For just one mana, you give all of your permanents hexproof, not just one like other similarly costed cards. Not only that, but all sources of damage that come from a black or red source become zero.

This completely shuts down common red board wipes like Brotherhood's End and can make blocking cards like Sheoldred the Apocalypse no problem since they don't deal damage. Surge Of Salvation can save a permanent of any type, and its versatility as a hate piece for black and red sources will make it a sideboard staple for as long as it's in Standard.

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