The spoiler season for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty kicked off today. There were tons of new cards previewed and a lot of new insights as to what is happening on the plane of Kamigawa. Let’s get started!
Pre-Stream Spoilers
Wizards of the Coast started showing off spoilers even before the official stream began. While playing some sweet lo-fi music, they debuted several double-faced saga cards.
Common Rarity Sagas
For the first time ever, sagas are printed at a common rarity. This might have interesting implications for Pauper.
Life of Toshiro Umezawa // Memory of Toshiro
The first two chapters of Life of Toshiro Umezawa contain modal abilities, something we have not seen on saga cards before. This allows for some flexibility before the saga transforms into a mana dork.
Michiko’s Reign of Truth // Portrain of Michiko
Both the front and back sides of this saga care about the number of artifacts and enchantments you control. This will be relevant in Kamigawa because all sagas are enchantments.
Boseiju Reaches Skyward // Branch of Boseiju
This saga makes sure you won’t miss your land-drops and it transforms into a creature that gets bigger for every land you control.
The Dragon-Kami Reborn // Dragon-Kami’s Egg
Here’s a rare saga card that provides a way of casting creatures without paying their mana costs.
Teaching of the Kirin // Kirin-Touched Orochi
The front half of this saga makes a creature token and puts a +1/+1 counter on a creature. Its back half is a creature that can perform each of these abilities whenever it attacks.
Read More: Where to Find Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Previews
Factions of Kamigawa
Everyone has a different relationship with technology. On Kamigawa, these mindsets are represented by five different factions.
The Imperial Court
The imperial court is the center of authority on Kamigawa. They take a steady approach to technology as their priority lies with “overseeing the merges between the spirit realm and the mortal realm.”
Saiba Futurists
The Saiba Futurist “push the boundaries of leading-edge technology”. They view technology as the answer to any problem.
Asari Uprisers
The Asari Uprisers are “not interested in regulating or controlling access to technology.” They want everyone on Kamigawa to have access to tech because they view technology as a “liberating and equalizing force for the people.”
The Reckoners
The Reckoners make up the criminal organizations of Kamigawa. They use technology in a practical manner for the deeds of their organizations.
Order of Jukai
The Order of Jukai are “happy with their non-technological way of life” and “want technology to stop spreading around the plane.”
Read More: Wizards of the Coast Announces MTG Challenger Decks For 2022
Influences of Traditional Kamigawa
Kamigawa is an old plane with a lot of history. There have been three sets that took place thousands of years before Neon Dynasty. Wizards of the Coast included many of these classic themes in the new set.
Dragon Spirits on Kamigawa
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty presents new takes on the Dragon Kami, a cycle of legendary Dragon Spirits, from the original Kamigawa block.
Here are Kairi, the Swirling Sky, and Ao, the Dawn Sky.
The Kami
There is a relationship between the spiritual and mortal worlds of Kamigawa. Currently, the balance between these worlds is out-of-sorts and the Kami spirits are flowing into the mortal world.
Shrines Return with a Twist
Shrines are a type of legendary enchantment that originated from Champions of Kamigawa. These enchantments get more powerful the more Shrines you have on the battlefield.
Shrines will return in Neon Dynasty, but this time, they are creatures in addition to being enchantments.
Legendary Lands
Champions of Kamigawa placed a big emphasis on legendary cards of all permanent types including lands. Legendary lands are back in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. Check out Boseiju, Who Endures:
Read More: MTG Announces Long Awaited Pauper Banned and Restricted Changes
Mechanics of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
Returning Mechanics
Ninjutsu – This is a mechanic specific to Ninja creatures, that allows a player to return an unblocked attacker they control to their hand to put a Ninja from their hand onto the battlefield attacking in its stead.
Channel – As seen on Boseiju, Who Endures (above), Channel is an ability that allows you to discard a card for an alternate effect.
New Mechanics
Modified: Modifying a creature means equipping it, enchanting it with an Aura, or placing a counter on it.
Reconfigure: This ability enables creatures to become enchantments and vice versa.
Read More: WOTC Vice President of Design Addresses the MTG Modern Banned List
The Planeswalkers of Kamigawa
Tezzeret
The last time players saw Tezzeret, he was causing mayhem in The War of the Spark. Now he’s back in Kamigawa with a new, evil agenda.
The Wanderer
In The War of the Spark, players got a first look at a mysterious, unnamed Planeswalker only known as The Wanderer.
It turns out, The Wanderer is actually the Emperor of Kamigawa, and we finally get a face to put to the name. Plus, she’s the first-ever Planeswalker with flash!
Kaito Shizuki
Kaito Shizuki was childhood friends with The Wandering Emperor until the Emperor disappeared. Now, Kaito is on Kamigawa seeking the whereabouts of his old friend.
Read More: Satoru Umezawa – An MTG Commander Buyer’s Guide
Phyrexians are Back!!!
Tezzeret is working with a friend on Kamigawa. Or should I say, “scheming”. The evil, Jin-Gitaxias is back! And he is looking for The Reality Chip to achieve his goal of assimilating all other planes with Phyrexian technology.
Preconstructed Commander Decks
Two preconstructed Commander decks will release alongside Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. Buckle Up is a blue and white deck focused on vehicles. And Upgrades Unleashed is a red and green deck centered around Auras and Equipment.
We have yet to see the full commander decklists, but we’ll be covering them when they come out so stay tuned! For now, let’s look at the two face Commanders of these decks:
Kotori, Pilot Prodigy
She’s the best pilot around. Kotori can crew any vehicle you own. And she grants lifelink and vigilance to an artifact creature at the beginning of your combat phase.
Chishiro, the Shattered Blade
Here we see the modified mechanic in action. While Auras and Equipment primarily fall under white’s color identity, Chishiro showcases these card types with a red and green spin.
More Spoilers
Tamiyo, Completed Sage
In the last second of the stream, WOTC dropped a bomb on Magic players. They hinted that Jin Gitaxias is on Kamigawa working on a secret project. That project turned out to be Tamiyo! And it appears she’s turned into a Phyrexian herself!
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty releases on February 10th on Magic Arena and MTGO. Prereleases will take place on February 11-13, and the set officially drops in paper on February 8th. You can check out all the latest spoilers for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty here.
