Sets (NEO) Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Previews

EyvUApclIsXf8JwVFMd-SZ30Duz1R6DtWkujW0JmJ0g.png

This is an early frontrunner for "best common for cube!" Not only is this an Enchantment Creature, it works in aggro through equipment and aristocrats through *gestures vaguely*. Additionally, this is a another piece towards giving WR resilience to sweepers, which is super important for the Wildfire-less Wildfire strategy that they can play, though I forget what other card I called out for that strategy at the moment. This + Anax, Hardened in the Forge is the core of something really nasty.

Edit: it's the white dragon, Ao, but I guess any of them would work.
 
That preview stream was painful to watch. And this time it wasn't just due to wotc employee's acting.

The stream they always do afterwards is always soooooo much better. They go over all the cards and themes again but slowly and discuss in depths while taking questions from the audience. And most importantly: Nobody is fake acting. It’s always the same host but the guests and often the most important person from the announcement video + the lead director of the set. This means you get some inside information as to why each keyword ended up the way it did and why each faction got a certain flavor or not. It’s simply a really good, honest show.
 
There's already a dozen cards I'm excitedly looking forward to testing, wow! Leaning away from Scrap Welder even though it's my jam in a hundred ways, just because it's a bit too fair and too slow. Would love to play literally any cube that can justify it though.

scrapwelder.jpg
Scrap Welder 2R
Creature - Goblin Artificer
T: Sacrifice an artifact with mana value X: Return target artifact card with mana value less than X from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste until end of turn.
 
There's already a dozen cards I'm excitedly looking forward to testing, wow! Leaning away from Scrap Welder even though it's my jam in a hundred ways, just because it's a bit too fair and too slow. Would love to play literally any cube that can justify it though.

View attachment 6482

I really wish this was a Trash for Treasure like effect on just an ETB 2/2 or 2/3. That's EXACTLY what my U/R artifact archetype would love to supplement it. I think crappier Scrap Trawler doesn't quite get there in higher powered environments barring some degenerate artifact action.
 
So far, I'm really liking some of the Sagas, especially since a lot of them feel like they're actually going to synergize pretty well with Keldon Warcaller this time around.

EDIT: I also think that Reconfigure is interesting, especially since it fixes the "what if I don't draw any creatures?" issue that equipment tends to have. Like how Simian Sling is basically just Tormentor's Helm as a 1/1.
 
Imagine a highly contagious evil being able to travel to anywhere in the multiverse with the sole purpose of spreading until there is nothing left.
I'm imagining wotc trying to write themselves out of that corner.

I wish The Wanderer wasn't broken, flash planeswalker would be something I'd be interested in. I'll probably find some cards to include because of the various enchantment and artifact creatures, but so far I kind of just don't want to play the cards, and it's probably more on an emotional level. in other words, maro is still wrong
 
How is The Wandering Emperor broken? She seems appropriately balanced to me.

On the flip side... who called Shrine Creatures?

Go-Shintai-of-Shared-Purpose-NEO-672.jpg


EDIT: I also just realized that this set might actually set up some back-door support for a -1/-1 counter-based cube, since creatures with -1/-1 counters on them are Modified.
 
Last edited:
You have all the agency of when you want to cast her and get to use two loyalty abilities before the opponent can react, it's a lot harder to play her into an undesirable condition. Either she gives you two bears you have to get through, or she removes one of your opponent's threats, and you also get the choice of supplementing her with another 4-drop or keep up mana against possible interaction. Adding on that all of her abilities give permanent board presence and I just don't believe I would want anyone to have to play against her.
 
Yeah wow I didn't realize she had access to all three abilities right away. Thats very rare for a planeswalker by itself, and then you get to cast her at any time. All three abilities can upset combat math without sending her to the grave.
 
Honestly, does giving Phyrexians the ability to compleat planeswalkers actually change much? While individual Phyrexians can't move between the planes, the infection sure as hell can.
 
Honestly, does giving Phyrexians the ability to compleat planeswalkers actually change much? While individual Phyrexians can't move between the planes, the infection sure as hell can.

Normally the infection cannot.

Because everyone and everything that gets even 0,1 % infected will 100 % turn compleat. And Phyrexia have historically always had troubles traveling between planes. Karn accidentally brought some Phyrexian oil to Mirrodin at the end of the first Mirrodin block without knowing it. It would not have been able to attack Mirrodin without Karn’s planeswalker ability.

It was a HUGE surprise to see Vorinclex on Kaldheim. Not only because it was totally out of place but also because it seemed impossible for it to have traveled from New Phyrexia to Kaldheim. The surprise is a little less on Kamigawa because we have already seen the Vorinclex.
 
Man this feels like Strixhaven so far. There is a lot of text to wade through.
It's never going back, unfortunately.

It almost feels like they've coded some AI program that just randomly generates cards with as many "knobs" as possible at every single level. Insane. It's actually pretty COOL on a card or two here and there, but yes, quite exhausting to read through and process again and again and again...every single card in every new set.
 
Honestly, does giving Phyrexians the ability to compleat planeswalkers actually change much? While individual Phyrexians can't move between the planes, the infection sure as hell can.
Yeah, like the original Phyrexian Oil that infected Mirrodin was brought there accidentally by Karn. I think all compleating Planeswalkers does is give the story higher stakes because it allows more characters who we care about to be at risk in any given setting.

Honestly I think this is a cool change, and I think it makes sense now that Planeswalkers are basically just regular people who can move between worlds instead of godlike entities who are nearly impossible to kill. It makes New Phyrexia feel like a real threat instead of a cruel imitation of the original Phyrexians.
 
thewanderingemperor.jpg

I really like the art on the normal version of the Emperor.

As for the card, I think this is a really solid Planeswalker for control decks or other types of base White decks in general. Control decks love this as a way to muddle the board against creature decks, potentially even letting them save board wipes until later. Likewise, midrange decks can use the timing flexibility this card provides to help combat pesky counterspells or break a mirror. I'm not sure how well this fits into what Aggro decks want to be doing but the fact that this can come down and make a couple reasonably sized vigilant blockers or screw up some combat math can make this pretty good for aggro. This is definitely the most versatile White Planeswalker we've seen, and thankfully it's in a color that could use the help.

While I think calling this card broken is a stretch, this is probably one of the better Planeswalkers we've seen in general. I don't think this card is as powerful as Oko, Thief of Crowns and Jace, the Mind Sculptor or as annoying as Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, and Nissa Who Shakes the World, but I do think she has the potential to be in the same tier as these cards.

I just hope she ends up being Famous instead of Infamous. Think Liliana of the Veil instead of Teferi, Time Raveler.
 
I just found this quote on MaRo’s blog about Planeswalker Phyrexianization:
MaRo said:
This isn’t my area of expertise, so I’m going to do my best to explain it, but I might get a few small details wrong. Bear me with me.

Phyrexians can’t hold a spark. It has to do with the fact that they’re soulless and you need a soul to hold a spark. It’s the same reason some other creature types can’t become a planeswalker (well, without some extenuating circumstance like with Karn).

Pre-mending planeswalkers were immune to Phyrexianization based on their ability to have total control over their form. This is not true with post-mending planeswalkers.

The Phyrexians are aware of the Multiverse. Prior to the Mending, they used portals to travel between planes, but the Mending shut down the portals (with only once exception that I know of - The Planar Bridge, but even that can’t transport living tissue).

Because Phyrexianizing someone removes their soul, it would take away a planeswalkers ability to planeswalk, which is what definitionally makes one a planeswalker. Thus, Phyrexianizing a planeswalker wasn’t a solution to the Phyrexians’ problem.

Jin-Gitaxias is on Kamigawa studying spirits made manifest believing that it might hold valuable information for the Phyrexians. It turns out it did and Jin-Gitaxias learned how to compleat a planeswalker without removing their soul/spark. That’s what’s going on. Read the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty stories for more info.
Tl;Dr Pre-mending walkers were immune to Phyrexianization because they completely control their form, Post-Mending walkers are not because their forms are static (well, I can think of one Walker who’s form isn’t static, but I’m
sure that’s just a coincidence and not at all relevant to the lore ;) ). However, if a new planeswalker was Phyrexianized, they could no longer planeswalk because their soul (and by extent their Planeswalker spark) would be destroyed. Jin-Gitaxias’s research on Kamigawa let him figure out a way to Compleat someone while still retaining their soul, which allows Phyrexian Planeswalkers to exist now.
 
Top