Thalia and The Gitrog MonsterThalia and The Gitrog Monster | Art by Howard Lyon

Hey, everyone! Save for a detour into Commander 2011 last week in commemoration of 15 years since that set's release, I think I've hit my stride covering the most played cards from sets in reverse chronological order, starting with Lost Cavers of Ixalan.

Today, I'm bringing you one of my favorite sets, March of the Machine! Observant readers may point out that I've skipped over The Lord of the Rings, but fear not! I already wrote about that beautiful crossover set last year.

Let's march right into the top 10 list, shall we?

10. Surrak and GoreclawSurrak and Goreclaw - 89,924 decks, 527 as commander

This may have finished in the middle of the pack — herd? — of Bears in Commander ranked by Christ Guest, but this 6/5 is fine as a bit of top end in any aggressive deck like Ayula, Queen Among BearsAyula, Queen Among Bears, or as a midrange bridge between mana generators like Llanowar ElvesLlanowar Elves and huge monsters like Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger.

I just checked and a group of bears is called a sloth, which is funny, because this pair certainly accelerate how quickly you get opponents to zero life points if they stay on the battlefield for more than a turn cycle.

It also makes perfect sense that they're seen the most often in the 99 of Helga, Skittish SeerHelga, Skittish Seer, whose abilities let you play expensive creatures that benefit from getting trample and haste.

9. Invasion of IkoriaInvasion of Ikoria - 110,496 decks

I was pretty excited when the battle card type made its debut in my column when I wrote about the most played DFCs in Commander.

Now, this particular battle has invaded a second list! It's no wonder, because a Green Sun's ZenithGreen Sun's Zenith/Finale of DevastationFinale of Devastation variant that itself becomes a must-answer threat offers some serious upside in creature-laden decks.

Running a battle also gives you an additional way to assemble four or more card types in your graveyard for turning on powerful delirium cards like Shifting WoodlandShifting Woodland, Demonic CounselDemonic Counsel, and Traverse the UlvenwaldTraverse the Ulvenwald.

It's not absolutely necessary, of course; decks running and can get a ton of cards, including lands, artifacts, and enchantments, into the graveyard, but I'd say getting to four with a battle earns you a few style points.

8. Breach the MultiverseBreach the Multiverse - 155,308 decks

This joins Peer into the AbyssPeer into the Abyss in the "seven-mana sorcery that enables a two-card combo" club. You'll need a lot of mana to make it work, but it pays you off with a game win:

It's also a pretty efficient way to mill a lot of cards at once, combo or not, which makes it very useful to The Wise MothmanThe Wise Mothman and Teval, Arbiter of VirtueTeval, Arbiter of Virtue, among other commanders.

Finally, The Infamous CruelclawThe Infamous Cruelclaw builds come up again as ideal homes for splashy, expensive spells just waiting to be flipped off the top of the deck and cast for free.

7. City on FireCity on Fire - 155,544 decks

This isn't the that multiplies damage — Fiery EmancipationFiery Emancipation, Furnace of RathFurnace of Rath, Dictate of the Twin GodsDictate of the Twin Gods, Angrath's MaraudersAngrath's Marauders, and more have come before.

But this baby's been on a hot streak, seeing play in more EDHREC decks than all of the above.

What gives it the edge is almost certainly that you can cast it with a steep discount thanks to convoke. That upside is balanced by the fact that you might have needed those creatures that helped you cast City to deal lethal damage, but Magic: The Gathering is all about tradeoffs.

Besides, you can include this in a combo that gets everyone dead without entering combat, freeing up your random dorks to act as Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise. Here, the cost reduction can matter a lot:

6. Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror - 149,211 decks, 15,798 as commander

Here's another frequently-played double-faced card; Etali ranked second among DFCs in the format and fifth among most played DFC commanders.

His text box is just so powerful, scaling well with the size of a table and getting supercharged by CloneClones, blink effects like Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet, ReanimateReanimates, and other methods of double-dipping on enters abilities.

I'm not exactly keeping count, but if my column had a GOAT card award, Etali would certainly be in the running.

I haven't even mentioned his back half yet! If the value and card advantage he generates hasn't yet won you the game, you can flip him into a Blightsteel ColossusBlightsteel Colossus and let poison counters clean up.

5. Ozolith, the Shattered SpireOzolith, the Shattered Spire - 185,447 decks

Writing about March of the Machine feels like I'm covering an all-star game, or a testimonial match for readers more familiar with football than basketball.

This green rock featured in Bennie Smith's list of best colored artifacts in Commander and is an absolute menace in +1/+1 counters decks.

Not only does it work like a Hardened ScalesHardened Scales or Conclave MentorConclave Mentor; it also gets the counter party started with an activated ability!

Enabling the counters deck two different ways definitely propels it to the upper echelon of that archetype's key cards.

Based on EDHREC data, only Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots appears in a higher percentage of counters decks, and that's a staple across the entire format!

Finally, you'd be surprised how often cycling this will come up, especially when you're flush with other ways to amplify your counter production.

It's the cherry on top of a sundae of a card.

4. Tribute to the World TreeTribute to the World Tree - 204,811 decks

Garruk's UprisingGarruk's Uprising, The Great HengeThe Great Henge, and Elemental BondElemental Bond are in almost 1.5 million decks, not counting when they appear together, showing you that really likes drawing cards off of playing big creatures.

Tribute, while harder to cast, offers upside over its analogs by growing your smaller creatures as well.

This buff ability opens a few doors for it that might not be accessible to the big-creature-favoring Bond and Uprising. Shroofus SproutsireShroofus Sproutsire's token generation can enter dangerous territory when each of your tokens threatens three damage.

Likewise, Kudo, King Among BearsKudo, King Among Bears decks are built around making your 2/2s better than your opponents' forced Bears.

Finally, this is one of the many enablers for Shalai and HallarShalai and Hallar damage-dealing shenanigans. When you're not drawing a ton of cards, you can call Tribute counterproductive.

3. Corrupted ConvictionCorrupted Conviction - 206,739 decks

Utility cards always perform well on these lists, and this is as useful as they come. Deadly DisputeDeadly Dispute may be more powerful overall and Village RitesVillage Rites may have been printed years earlier, but sacrifice and tokens gamers are convinced that running extra copies of that effect will help their decks run smoothly and execute their game plans more effectively.

A lot of commanders want a ton of these effects: Judith, Carnage ConnoisseurJudith, Carnage Connoisseur can chain them with her token generation ability, netting additional value from the Imp damage in the process.

Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIERSephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER needs cheap ways to control when creatures die, and Teysa KarlovTeysa Karlov enjoys triggering abilities at will. Conviction does it all, and for just one mana!

2. Kami of Whispered HopesKami of Whispered Hopes - 266,887 decks

MOM was a great set for the +1/+1 counters archetype! Apart from unleashing The OzolithThe Ozolith into the format, it also brought us a Hardened ScalesHardened Scales stapled to a Gyre SageGyre Sage, which sounds absolutely bonkers on an uncommon.

But that's not all! the deck also got Dusk Legion DuelistDusk Legion Duelist, which is played in over 50,000 decks, and Botanical BrawlerBotanical Brawler, which puts a decent shift in for Shalai and HallarShalai and Hallar, Hamza, Guardian of ArashinHamza, Guardian of Arashin and more aggressive takes on the theme.

Back to the here and now: Kami doesn't just get big. It also makes infinite mana with Freed from the RealFreed from the Real and Pemmin's AuraPemmin's Aura, while Walking BallistaWalking Ballista figure in another combo to deal infinite damage:

Three mana is kind of a lot for a counters enabler or a mana creature, but you get both in one card and all the upside the marriage brings.

1. Faerie MastermindFaerie Mastermind - 307,447 decks

It's cheap, blue, it punishes opponents for playing Magic: The Gathering, and it gets better the more players there are.

That's a quick and easy recipe for the best card in the set and a fitting tribute to one of the game's competitive greats, Yuta Takahashi.

You can even generate infinite mana with the Mastermind, which shouldn't be allowed, like, existentially:

Compleat This!Compleat This!

And, with March of the Machine chronicled, I'm that much closer to writing about the top 10 most played cards from every set in Magic: The Gathering's long and storied history.

What's your favorite card from this one that didn't make the list? It's gotta be Inga and EsikaInga and Esika and Chrome Host SeedsharkChrome Host Seedshark for me. Comment yours down below!