Magic: The Gathering Finally Returns To Kamigawa, But It’s Cyberpunk Now

Magic: The Gathering is returning to a fan-favorite plane with the release of the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set in early 2022. Players first saw this world inspired by Japanese mythology in 2003, when the idea of Magic: The Gathering traveling to worlds other than Dominaria was new. Because of the power level of the artifact-heavy Mirrodin block immediately preceding it, Kamigawa‘s cards were toned down and saw much less play as a result. Big wins like the Ninja creature type and Shrines were balanced out by the failure of Epic spells and the parasitic Splice onto Arcane mechanic. In terms of pure competitive power, Kamigawa ranks alongside Homelands as one of the weaker periods of Magic‘s long history.

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Despite the mechanical failures, Kamigawa’s unique war between its Kami spirits and the factions of humans that call the plane home has long remained a Magic: The Gathering player favorite. As the series has continued to explore Magic: The Gathering‘s multiverse and returned to popular planes, a second trip to Kamigawa has been long requested. The designers at Wizards of the Coast have apparently heard the outcry, and Kamigawa will be one of the locales revisited by Magic in 2022. However, it’s a version of Kamigawa much different than the one from decades prior.

During today’s Magic Showcase 2021 stream, Vice President of Magic: The Gathering R&D Aaron Forsythe and Senior Creative Director Jess Lanzillo went into detail about Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and how it shakes up the original setting. The set takes place 2,000 years after the original Kamigawa releases, now showcasing a colorful futuristic cityscape. The team specifically called out to cyberpunk fiction as inspiration and promises brand new gameplay mechanics, but not everything from the old releases will apparently go by the wayside. Ninjas and samurai are confirmed to return, including Kaito, a new ninja planeswalker with a cybnernetic body. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is the first Standard-legal expansion for Magic: The Gathering set coming in 2022, and it will come after the already announced Innistrad double feature, Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow.

Following the return to Kamigawa, 2022 will see Magic head to a brand new plane in Streets of New Capenna. This set features a quintet of three-colored demon crime families who rule over a fantastical urban setting. In the second half of 2022, Magic will also head back to Dominaria once again with Dominaria United before flashing back to one of the multiverse’s most pivotal events in The Brothers War. The stream additionally introduced new sets for Jumpstart, a new Un-set, and details about the game’s upcoming Universes Beyond brand crossovers, including a Magic: The Gathering LOTR expansion.

2022 will seemingly be another strong year for Magic: The Gathering, and it with start with the beloved world of Kamigawa. While the neon aesthetic is certainly different than what many love about this classic world, it fits right in with current Magic sensibilities and allows for an easy mechanical do-over. Magic is more mainstream than ever, so its planes need to be welcoming to fans of all types and skill levels. Perhaps the card designers at Wizards of the Coast can push cyberpunk forward in a way that Cyberpunk 2077 just couldn’t.

Source: Magic: The Gathering/YouTube

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