Posted in: Card Games, Games, Magic: The Gathering, Tabletop, Wizards of the Coast | Tagged: cyberpunk, Kamigawa, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, magic, MTG, MTGNEO, preview, WotC

Magic: The Gathering's Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Presentation Recap

Wizards of the Coast, the tabletop gaming giant behind Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, has begun the rollout of new previews to usher in the spoiler season for their next Magic set: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty! This set is a mashup of many different genres that are majorly influenced by Japanese history and pop culture alike, and man, does it ever show! Let's take a look at some of the things which were showcased in Wizards' presentation, aired over Twitch and Youtube earlier today.

New Mechanics

First off, we want to highlight the new mechanics seen in the set. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is set in a cyberpunk interpretation of the plane of Kamigawa, which itself is (or rather, was, and we will get to why we say that in a moment) based on feudal Japanese history. When last we saw this plane of existence, it was approximately 1,300 years in the past with respect to the "Argivian Reckoning" timekeeping system that Magic: The Gathering uses for its own purposes (although by stricter methods some might argue that it was 6,000 years prior instead – timelines don't matter much in a temporal crisis, however, so this can be excused). For a frame of reference, the Mending of Dominaria (occurring at the end of the Time Spiral block) was 60 years in the past relative to the Magic timeline's present day.

Timeline wonkiness aside, this means that Kamigawa has seen a plethora of innovations as time carried on. However, between the innovations of the present and the traditions of the past, Kamigawa is wrestling for its very soul. This in itself is expressed through both an artifact subtheme (to represent the cyberpunk present) and an enchantment subtheme (to represent Kamigawa's feudal past).

The traditions of Kamigawa's past are represented by a high amount of enchantment cards, including Auras, Sagas, and enchantment creatures. These are all mechanics that will be present in the set. As for the artifacts…

Reconfigure, a new mechanic in the set, allows artifact creatures to seamlessly shift from their forms as creatures to utility as a special form of Equipment. Normally in the past, cards like Bludgeon Brawl were printed with potential interactions that would disallow creatures from being Equipment. Reconfigure gives Wizards of the Coast some fun space to design with while turning that idea entirely on its head.

Other returning mechanics include Channel and Ninjutsu. And while not all Ninjas will have Ninjutsu, this brings us to the discussion of tribal presence and associated synergies:

While tribal synergies are not expected to be as much of a cornerstone of this set as they were in the original Kamigawa block, certain creature types will have a greater showing than others. Champions of Kamigawa, the first set in the Kamigawa block, had five legendary Dragon Spirit creatures. This set will bring us back to those days by printing a new cycle of legendary Dragon Spirits, such as Ao, the Dawn Sky, seen above. Spirits will have a presence in Kamigawa despite the end of the Kami War those 1,300 years ago. Beyond that, we are apt to see various Samurai and Ninja creatures, although it is a sure bet that many cards that will reference Samurai will also reference Warriors, and many cards referencing Ninjas will reference Rogues as well.

New Showcase Frames

What would a new Magic: The Gathering expansion set be these days without a smattering of new showcase frame treatments? As a reasonable segue into this concept, let's begin by looking at some cards with the new Samurai and Ninja showcase frames:

Additionally, we will see borderless frames, akin to the ones we have seen in sets past, as well as the softglow frame treatment, which is relevant to various cards representing the modernization of Kamigawa in Neon Dynasty, such as this one:

Additionally, one particular card, Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos, will have as many as five different softglow treatments, all of which are quite rare to open in booster packs of the new set, even Collector Boosters.

And of course, Planeswalkers will be featured prominently in the storyline of the set and as such, planeswalker cards will be present as well. With them, four new borderless planeswalker cards will be included as showcase cards in Neon Dynasty as well:

But while there are four Planeswalkers prominently featured in the story behind Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, one of them… Well, let's just say we audibly gasped when we saw this card revealed for the first time:

This was a mind-blowing reveal when we saw it. Thankfully, for those who cannot read Phyrexian, there are versions in your local languages as well, both in a standard frame and a borderless one:

Suffice it to say, whatever has transpired to succeed in turning Tamiyo into a Phyrexian-corrupted being, it can't spell out anything good for anything in the Multiverse. With this revelation, it is clear that nothing and nobody is safe from the Glistening Oil and the corruption that is Phyrexia.

While we are still free of Phyrexian corruption, what do you think about these previews? Do you believe they'll impact your favorite Magic: The Gathering format? Let us know your opinions on Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty in the comments below!

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