We now have access to the entire catalogue of cards in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and it looks like this set is going to have a real impact across constructed formats of all kinds. Obviously smaller card pool formats like Standard will change, but it won’t be limited to that. There are cards in Neon Dynasty that will find a ready home in EDH, and even some that stand to shake up formats like Modern and Legacy. Today, we’re going to look at the top 10 most important Neon Dynasty cards.
10. Kodama of the West Tree
I’m ready to be wrong about this one, but Kodama of the West Tree seems to me like it’s going to do some really gross stuff in Commander, at least, and potentially other formats if things come together. Green (and green-white) decks love to put +1/+1 counters onto creatures, and now all those creatures get trample and pull a bunch of basics out of your deck? This card will go in more or less any +1/+1 counter themed deck in EDH, and I feel like it will do a ton of work in them, too.
9. Jukai Naturalist
There are only a handful of cards that offer an effect like this – three, to be precise, with Herald of the Pantheon, Starfield Mystic and Starnheim Courser. Having access extra redundancy in EDH can really juice up a deck’s consistency, so expect to see this in enchantment-based Commander decks moving forward. In Standard it will have to work a lot harder, although if there’s an enchantment deck with things like the Sagas and the new Oblivion Ring, Touch the Spirit Realm, then Jukai Naturalist will be an immediate four-of.
8. Secluded Courtyard
I’m a sucker for a tribal deck at the best of times, and having another Cavern of Souls/Unclaimed Territory for those with greedier mana bases is very welcome indeed. My three-color Knights deck will love this (we even get Tournament Grounds as an extra Unclaimed Territory), and tribal decks across multiple formats will be better supported thanks to the existence of this card. I’ll be looking at Historic, in particular, to see if Secluded Courtyard can power up tribal decks there – it might be time to see if I can make Historic Knights work again.
7. Otawara, Soaring City
There’s been a lot of talk about the cycle of legendary lands, and while they all look pretty good, there are two that really stand out (we’ll come to the other one later). Having an uncounterable, instant-speed unsummon effect that hits more or less every threat you might care about might not sound earth-shattering, but when it’s and stapled onto a land, the flexibility it offers plus the low cost of adding it to your deck both mean that Otawara means business. It might have a low cost in adding it to your deck, but it won’t have a low cost in terms of monetary price for long, I suspect.
6. Lion Sash
Scavenging Ooze is a proven staple card across multiple formats, and has been for years. Lion Sash is essentially a white Scavenging Ooze, losing an extra point of power and toughness and the incidental life gain in exchange for extra flexibility with its ability to become an Equipment. The reconfigure cards remind me of totem armor, and will be very useful in the face of sweepers – and as Lion Sash is reasonably cheap and good place to put extra mana, I can see it being a real contender in both aggressive and grindy white decks.
5. Spell Pierce
Spell Pierce isn’t a new card, but it’s an important card. Typically played in more tempo-oriented strategies, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better way to defend an early threat and keep your game plan ticking along. Every time it has been in Standard it has overperformed, and there’s no real reason to expect things will be different this time. If there’s an aggressive deck that plays blue in any capacity, make sure you play around Spell Pierce in mind – particularly in post-board games.
4. Farewell
Flexibility is always cited as one of the most important aspects of a Magic card, and Farewell is definitely flexible. We’ve seen the role cards like Merciless Eviction play in EDH, and Farewell will be right up there with other hugely powerful six-mana sweepers such as Austere Command. This is such an effective answer to overwhelming Commander board states, and offers the flexibility to leave some of your stuff untouched if you so choose – plus, it even hits graveyards. Farewell is excellent, and will be an auto-include in many EDH decks that like a nice, clean battlefield.
3. Nashi, Moon Sage’s Scion
Martin Juza wrote about the potential this card has in a recent article, and I have to say, it wasn’t hard to convince me of its power. Any card that lets you cast other cards for free will always have a very, very high ceiling, and Nashi is just full of upside. From being reasonably cheap, being an unpredictable threat with ninjutsu, and being able to play lands so you don’t whiff, Nashi is the complete package and will very likely be a real player in constructed Magic.
2. Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant
This drip-feed of Phyrexian Praetors we’re getting is a little disconcerting. Vorinclex turned up on Kaldheim, now Jin-Gitaxias is kicking it on Kamigawa? I’m worried, and you should be too. I’m also worried about the power of this card – not only will EDH players be able to do truly ridiculous things with its first ability (copy Time Stretch, anyone?), the second ability is pretty obnoxious. Not too obnoxious, thankfully, as it only triggers once a turn, but it will definitely be enough to turn a table against anyone who runs out the new blue Praetor. It might be too expensive for Standard, but this will be a Commander favorite for many.
1. Boseiju, Who Endures
Without a doubt, the new uncounterable Naturalize/Stone Rain is going to be the most important and impactful card in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. Boseiju, Who Endures is going to have a huge effect in formats from Legacy right down to Standard. In any deck that can recur lands from the graveyard – such as with Wrenn and Six in Modern – Boseiju will serve as a critically important way to keep opponents in check, blowing up everything from sagas to vehicles to utility lands. With most of the new legendary lands, it’s going to be hard to find reasons not to play them in one- and two-color decks, but Boseiju in particular is going to be bonkers. Flexibility, cost, and power all come together in one of the best support cards we’ve seen in awhile.