As is the case with most large scale events, Wizards of the Coast announced some new cards during the Neon Dynasty Championships. These cards are going to be added to MTG Arena specifically for the Alchemy and Historic Formats.
There’s around 30 or so cards being added to go along side Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. We don’t have all of them yet, but content creators are previewing more and more cards each day. These new cards will be released on March 17th.
The First Reveals
The Neon Dynasty Championships revealed 6 of the new cards, including a new Mythic Rare cycle.
Most of the cards here are generally pretty average on their face so we’ll only hit on the notables. The first card that’s pretty interesting is the Kami of Bamboo Groves. Being an Arboreal Grazer in effect is really nice, and the ability to channel it away to create 2 Forests is incredibly beneficial for Landfall and Ramp strategies.
Our Mythic cycle mechanic is a cost reduction if you don’t have a specific type or card in your hand. Forceful Cultivator cares about lands, and Mothrider Cavalry cares about creatures. While the rate of these creatures without their effect is mediocre at best, for their 2 mana alternate cost, they’re quite compelling.
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New Mechanic: Intensity
Many of the mechanics in this group are returning ones, such as Seek, Draft, and Conjure. But there is a new mechanic being introduced: Intensity. We’re not sure if this is the only new mechanic or not, but this is one is really cool.
Intensity is almost like a charge counter, but without the counter. When a condition is met, an ability triggers, and the effect happens equal to the Intensity number. Then the card perpetually (permanently) increases its Intensity number, making it stronger over time.
Bellowsbreath Ogre is honestly not anything spectacular, but it’s a solid fair card. It doesn’t seem to really be a card to abuse, rather just a decent beater that can help clean up some blockers. On the otherhand, Runaway Growth definitely has some potential to be broken.
If we can find a way to untap a land infinitely, then we have the ability to generate infinite mana. My guess is that this would most likely take place in Historic, but stay tuned as I’ll be brewing some lists with this card.
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Cards Revealed So Far
As I mentioned, content creators and community members are getting previews for these cards as well. There’s quite a bit coming out, so we’ll just hit on some of the highlights here.
Speaking of cards that have the potential to be abused, Foundry Beetle is one of them. In a similar vein to Fearsome Whelp, if you can find a way to protect this seemingly harmless little insect, you have the makings of a killer combo deck.
Futurist Spellthief is a pretty sweet card. It copies a spell in your hand, which has a multitude of uses. Copy a creature for more board presence, or maybe a draw spell for card advantage. Heck you could even copy a counter spell, and since you can spend any colored mana to cast it, you have ultimate flexibility.
Saiba Syphoner is the blue iteration in the Mythic cycle. It’s reminiscent of Snapcaster Magein that its a flash creature that gets you an instant or sorcery back to cast again. Not to mention, it shuffles itself back into the deck if it dies, so you can continue to grind the game out.
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These cards are all very cool. Some more powerful than others sure, but cool nonetheless. Expect to see these release on MTG Arena on Thursday, March 17th. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled to social media as well for all the cards previewed.
