TLDR; March of the Machine Story Pt. 4

We have taken the important story beats from the fourth chapter of the March of the Machine story and highlighted them below. If you want to read the official story in its full form you can find it here. If you are looking to preorder March of the Machine you can do that at boarshatgaming.com.

Looking for our other chapter recaps, you can find them here:

Tyvar Heads Home

Tyvar returns to his home plane Kaldheim. When he arrives the plane is already under attack by the Phyrexian army, and a serpent the size of a mountain is strangling the World Tree. Tyvar jumps straight into battle. While fighting he runs into his brother Harald. The ground starts to break beneath them, before they get swallowed whole Tyvar creates a platform from the rock for the elves he was fighting alongside to allow them to escape. Finally Tyvar and Harald jump aboard a ship and set sail.

Rough Boat Ride

The ship takes off across the water before being swallowed into The Cosmos in a flash of bright light. After a brief moment they find in front of The World Tree. The sight is freighting. Tyvar leaps off of the ship and back into battle, determined that if today is his last that he will at least go down as a hero.

“If Kaldheim survives, let it survive because we fought! If it dies, let it die a warrior’s death, axe in hand, a boast on its lips, and mead in its belly!”

Meanwhile On Kaladesh

Pia Nalaar, Chandra’s mother, believed in Chandra and the Gatewatch to handle the invasion before it happened. By the third day she knew she had to do something about it. Saheeli worked on “Operation Golden Scales” that was said to keep the streets safe. They all worked tirelessly day and night until the fourth day when the skies opened and they knew that the Phyrexians had arrived on Kaladesh. They knew that they would have to be the ones to defend their plane from the Phyrexians.

Operation Golden Scales

As the invasion begins, Operation Golden Scales goes into effect. Chambers spring up all along the streets and from them bronze attack lizards spring out of them. They vary from the size of small dogs to the size of a house. Some lizards even have helicopters and fly up into the sky. Saheeli pulls up in her cruiser, and shouts and Pia to get in. They take off swerving left and right to avoid all the explosions and chaos.

Aetherflux Reservoir

Pia and Saheeli are concerned for the Aetherflux Reservoir and notice that all of the Phyrexians are heading towards it. So they race off in their cruiser towards it to try and stop it from being taken. While on their way Pia’s friend Baji shows up in a flying skimmer and Pia jumps aboard from the cruiser. Since there is only room for one in the cruiser, they offer to provide Saheeli cover as she continues to drive it from below.

In the Sky

Pia is concerned about the skimmer they are riding in as it rattles and shakes through the sky. Baji starts to explain to Pia that he built the ship himself, everything will be fine. Before he could even finish his sentence a javelin flies through the window and impales Baji through his chest and through his seat, stopping inches away from Pia’s face. Pia notices Phyrexian birds in the sky around her and the skimmer beings to nose dive. She pushes half way onto the pilot’s the seat, stuck between against Baji’s body and grabs the controls. Unsure on how to fly the ship but determined to survive. She must survive until her daughter, Chandra is set to come for tea next month.

Meanwhile on New Capenna.

This is a place teeming with sin and filth, and Atraxa will be its savior.

Atraxa arrives on New Capenna and is disgusted at the sight of everything. She is happy that she will be the one to bring its salvation. So begins the invasion of New Capenna. Atraxa wants to find the Phyrexian ship that was here long ago and starts listening to the hivemind of the newly compleated citizens of New Capenna for answers.

Museum

The hivemind leads her to a museum. She just finds paintings and statues of the citizens of New Capenna. She tears them all down in disgust. They glorify the individual which is the opposite of the unity of Phyrexia. She finds no answers and destroys the entire building, reducing it to rubble. Atraxa then runs into a angel with a stone face. She hasn’t hated anything more than she hates the sight of these angels. She acts out of instinct and destroys the head of all the statues until there is nothing left but dust. Phyrexian soldiers complain that the vapor that covers New Capenna makes them ache. The response? “Phyrexia does not ache”. And so the Phyrexian soldiers press on and continue to harvest the citizens of New Capenna.

Visitors Again

The angels of New Capenna watch Atraxa take off to continue the invasion. With the angels is their visitor.

Why not stop her? asks the visitor.

It is not yet time.

It does not feel like the right answer—but the visitor cannot disprove it.

Have faith. It’s almost here, the end. You’ll know what to do when we’ve gotten there.

Mysterious Visitors

That ends chapter 4 of March of the Machine story. Chapter 5 continues here.

Todd Silvia