It’s officially previewing season, Planeswalkers! Wizards of the Coast (WotC) had their official stream of previews for their next set, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. It’s been almost 20 years since the last time WotC took us to the Japanese-inspired plane of Kamigawa, and it looks like it’s going to be worth the wait. Here’s a breakdown of some of the notable cards and mechanics that have been spoiled so far.
Sneak Attack with ‘Ninjutsu’
No one is surprised that with heading back to Kamigawa we would get the creature-type Ninja again. The last time we saw Ninjas was back in 2019 with the first modern legal expansion set, Modern Horizons. With the return of ninjas, we see the return of the fun mechanic, Ninjutsu. Here’s a reminder of what the mechanic does;
Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand tapped and in attack mode.
Ninjutsu will pair well with some of the current standard legal rouges like Krydle and Zareth San, who want to make sure you have at least one unlocked creature before the damage phase. Cards like the lord, Silver-Fur Master, may help bring the rouge deck back to the top of the metagame if they add some of these ninjas as well because I really miss playing my Throne of Eldraine era Rouge deck in standard.
Jin-Gitaxias is Back on the Prowl
Back when spoilers for Kaldheim were being released last year, the entire community was wondering what Vorinclex was on this new plane. It was an obvious hint to the other Praetors making an appearance in upcoming sets, and WotC didn’t disappoint when they gave us the preview for the new Jin-Gitaxias.
His ability to copy spells would have made many people very worried with the extra-turns deck that was sitting at the top of the metagame, but the banning announcement from earlier last week gave us have a moment of relief until this set officially drops. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if a mono-blue control deck comes out of this set. The question that remains though, is when and where the other Praetors will make their appearance.
What Happened to Tamiyo?
We’re getting four new Planeswalkers in Neon Dynasty, but the one that stood out the most was the new Tamiyo. Take a good look at the mana value. Yes, fellow planeswalkers, that is the Phyrexian mana symbol. A hybrid Phyrexian mana symbol at that. So far this is the only card with Phyrexian mana in its mana value, but previews just started. One thing that I did notice is the downside of choosing to pay the two life versus playing a blue or green. The mechanic seems more balanced than its previous counterparts like on cards like Gitaxian Probe or Surgical Extraction.
The Futuristic Set We’ve Been Waiting For?
From the previews so far it looks like Neon Dynasty is shaping up to be a fantastical mix of Cyberpunk and Spirited Away. I’m personally excited to see the rest of the new mechanics and how they play. I’m really excited to see if Ninjutsu and Phyrexian mana are going to shake up the standard.
You can check out the full preview VOD below.
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty will be available on MTG: Arena on February 11.
Check your local game store for info about Pre-Release week February 11-17.
