Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is the next set coming from Magic: The Gathering and it is revisiting the plane of Kamigawa, but this time 200 years in the future.
The entire world is a mixture of the old and new, with a lot more cultural accuracy due to the work by consultants to ensure that the set is honoring Japanese culture and not providing a clumsy, stereotypical mixture of Asian cultures in a specifically Japanese setting.
In a digital panel, the creative team shared images of the upcoming four Planeswalker cards and how they connect with the mythology of modern Kamigawa.
The lost Emperor of the Plane was previously introduced in War of the Spark, but the full nature of her identity wasn’t revealed until now:
Tezzeret is back and as usual up to no good:
Tamiyo has become “completed” which is a new mechanic in Neon Dynasty that allows you to pay phyrexian mana:
The new ninja planeswalker who will be the protagonist of the set:
Each of these cards ties into the ongoing story, which you can read on the official website (there is also an origin story for Kaito to know what his life was like earlier in the story). For those wanting a summary of the events it goes as follows:
Kaito, as shown above, will be the protagonist of this set’s main story. He was childhood friends with the lost emperor, who disappeared ten years ago when the emperor was attacked. Kaito has been trying to find her as a member of the Futurist, a group that wants to keep advancing technology on the plane.
On his journey, he ends up meeting Tezzeret, who is on Kamigawa collaborating with the Futurists but also working with Jin-Gitaxias, who is doing experiments with Kami on the plane. Tezzeret also seems to be involved with the attack on the emperor.
The Wanderer is revealed to be the Lost Emperor of Kamigawa.
Tamiyo ends up falling victim to Jin-Gitaxias’s experiments that allow him to Phyrexianize Planeswalkers without them losing their spark. This is just the beginning of the story.
There will also be several different variant frames of all of the Planeswalkers:
(1) Borderless
(2) Samurai Showcase
(3) Phyrexian
It is looking to be a promising set, with plenty of fun cards, but the story skills are what I felt deserved to be showcased the most. It has gotten me excited to see what the future will bring to Kamigawa, especially with Jin-Gitaxias and Tezzeret doing their evil deeds.
(image: えすてぃお/ESUTHIO)
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