MTG Head Admits March Of The Machine: The Aftermath Is The Worst-Received Set Of All Time

thegamer.com:

It's official: March Of The Machine: The Aftermath is the worst-received Magic: The Gathering set of all time. The release, which was constantly plagued with controversy, has been the worst received since records began 25 years ago, making it a clear failure in terms of fan response.

This admission comes courtesy of a candid Q&A with MTG head designer, Mark Rosewater. Here, Rosewater admits that The Aftermath was a complete mess and that MTG is well aware of how unpopular it was with fans.

The answer came after one question described the set as a "great concept", but poor in its execution. Rosewater admits that this is the case, at least according to the metrics MTG has been privy to since its launch.

"We often ask players to rank a set on a scale, and then we look at the top-two-box score, meaning how many people rated this with one of the top two ratings," explains Rosewater. "March of the Machine: The Aftermath has the lowest top-two-box score for a randomized booster product we've ever had. Ever! In the history of us tracking this metric, which is something like 25 years."

Rosewater certainly doesn't shy away from how much of a failure it's been in this regard, saying that it wasn't even the worst received "by a little", and is a clear loser here. He also admits that he's not "not super optimistic about its future".

March Of The Machine: The Aftermath was a mess before it was even released. In fact, you'll probably remember it best as the leaked set that prompted Wizards of the Coast to get the Pinkertons involved. Yes, those Pinkertons. The leaker, YouTuber Dan Cannon, was allegedly threatened by armed guards who caused him and his family great distress and claimed he would be hit with huge fines and even prison