With so many wonderful creature types in MTG, it’s easy to forget about ones that deserve a little more attention. Thankfully, we’re about to go back to Kamigawa, and that means we’re also about to see the return of a few much-beloved, but currently unsupported, creature types.
We’re obviously not talking about Ninjas, which get the odd powerhouse in every random set, but their more close-combat cousins, the Samurai. Samurai in MTG have always been a bit odd, and it’s mostly because their ability, Bushido, is kind of useless unless they’re fighting other creatures. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty could well see the Samurai rising to greater heights, and we’ve already seen one hint that that could be the case.
It’s time to rise up
While we’ll undoubtedly get more cards in the coming weeks, we’ve already seen one leak that could well mean a turning point for this tribe. That card is Eiganjo Uprising, a sorcery that costs X, one red, and one white, and reads, “Create X 2/2 white Samurai creature tokens with vigilance. They gain menace and haste until end of turn. Each opponent creates X minus one 2/2 white Samurai creature tokens with vigilance.”
Frankly, the card isn’t all that great unless you’re paying three mana for it, because then you’re the only one getting a token. Sure, in a bind, it can lead to one turn that’s massive, but the number of creatures coming back at you could be a problem, unless you’re playing a group hug EDH deck.
However, it does hint at a few different things. First of all, it seems like the Samurai are angry, which is fun. More importantly though, it seems to be hinting at a decently-sized Samurai presence, and that probably also means we’ll be getting some more Samurai-specific synergies. We’re hoping for a few Samurai lords akin to Talemp. Samurai General that’ll push the tribe into more playable, and ultimately more powerful, territory.
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