Early Spoilers from Neon Kamigawa
As expected, the bans in Standard have arrived and Arlund’s Epiphany, Divide by Zero, and Faceless Haven will no longer be playable.
The format is destined to undergo great changes in regards to the bans and the upcoming release of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.
There aren’t many spoilers, but some revealed cards have potential.
We’ll look at these cards and consider their potential impact in the meta and which decks they could be played.
KYODAI, SOUL OF KAMIGAWA
Let’s start with this dragon that could be a good back-up for Mono White. The deck’s curve almost always closes to three, but you shouldn’t have a problem playing this card in ⅔ copies when playing 23 lands.
It’s a four mana 3/3 flying with flash and gives indestructible to a creature as long as it remains under your control. Protecting Skyclave Apparition and Adeline was missing in this deck (Valorous Stance could rarely provide protection) and could often make the difference.
This card vaguely reminds me of Restoration Angel. While it had synergy with cards like Thragtusk, which activated their effects when they came into play, it was often used to defend creatures.
Overall, this is a widely promoted card that will likely find enough space.
KAITO SHIZUKI
The first planeswalker of the expansion seems to be strong. It has three mana and three counters. If it has entered under your control, it phases out at the end of your turn so it can’t be attacked or destroyed. Basically, it defends itself the first turn it enters.
Its +1 makes you draw a card, and you must discard one if you have not attacked. With its -2 you create a 1/1 unblockable ninja unblockable, which is an excellent ability to activate the +1 the next turn.
Its -7 puts a blue or black creature from the deck into play every time one of your creatures deals combat damage to your opponent.
Where could this planeswalker be played?
Had it existed at the time of UB Rogue, you’d be talking about a card destined to dominate the meta. I can’t think of any current Standard deck where it could be used at its best (maybe UB Zombies?).
However, I am sure that this expansion will be full of very playable cards of these colors. It may not be immediate, and may even be a few months, but I’m sure that a card this powerful will find space.
THE LEGENDARY DRAGONS
Kamigawa returns and with it—the legendary dragons. Let’s see which ones might find a place.
Ao, The Dawn Sky is a five mana 5/4 flying vigilance. When it dies, you either look at seven cards and put nonland permanents in play until you get a total of four mana or less, or it gives you two +1+1 counters to all your creature or vehicle permanents.
It has an aggro deck ability, but its five-mana cost doesn’t help it much. I’m not convinced that it can find a place in Mono White.
Unless some other deck comes out that can take advantage of its abilities, I don’t see where it can be played.
Kairi, the Swirling Sky is a six mana 6/6 flying ward three. When it dies, it either returns nonland permanents for a total of six mana to your hand, or it mills six cards and returns up to two instant/sorcery cards from your graveyard to your hand.
It’s cumbersome, so I don’t know if you would ever want to play it. Maybe some copies could be played in UR Dragons if it continues to be a dominant deck, which I doubt.
Overall, it doesn’t seem like a card that can have a big impact on the meta.
Atsushi, The Blazing Sky is a four mana 4/4 flying trample. When it dies, you Light up the Stage or it gives you three treasures.
This isn’t bad at all and could provide a nice advantage. It will probably be tried in Temur Midrange (perhaps replacing Moonveil Regent) and some new Mono Red that I’m sure will come out sooner or later.
Kura, the Boundless Sky is, along with Kairi, probably my least favorite of the dragons. It’s a five mana 4/4 Flying Deathtouch, and when it dies it fetches three lands from the deck and puts them in your hand, or it puts an x/x where x is the number of lands we control.
There are so many decks that play green, and at that mana cost, it’s hard to find room even for the much stronger Wrenn and Seven, so I don’t see how this dragon can succeed.
The last dragon is supposed to be Junji, The Midnight Sky, however this hasn’t been confirmed. If it is, you can bet we’ll discuss it in a future article!
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