Written by Reuben Bresler
Kamigawa is a plane beloved by Magic aficionados across the multiverse for its deep lore, detailed worldbuilding, and powerful imagery. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is Magic’s second trip to the plane, following a seventeen year hiatus since the end of the original Kamigawa Block. And things have changed since last we visited: thousands of years of evolution, technology, and conflict have shaped the world into something more akin to a modern real-world setting than perhaps anything Magic players have yet seen.
Neon Dynasty introduces us to characters and factions at a time when tradition is meeting technology at every step and turn. Sometimes they are in conflict, as shown when the street racers and mechs tromp through the domains of the Jukai forest and the swamps of Takenuma. Sometimes they are in harmony, such as the adoption of new research and materials to enhance the martial arts of ninjitsu and the samurai. And sometimes they are intertwined and intermixed in innumerable and complex ways. This is the case of one of the story’s main characters, a brand new planeswalker, and Kamigawa native: Kaito Shizuki.
Kaito is a brash and confident teen when we meet him searching the plane for the identity of a mysterious stranger with a metal arm who attacked the Emperor. His noir-style search leads him down mysterious alleys and around dark corners across the world. The Emperor, who Magic players know better as The Wanderer, and the plot’s main antagonist, the artificer and metal-armed Tezzeret, twist and turn their own machinations to further intrigue. And to top it all off, the looming threat of the Phyrexians becomes manifest, as the praetor Jin-Gitaxias has come to the plane to spread the Glistening Oil. And among those who are taken by the curse disease, the beloved field researcher planeswalker Tamiyo, who has become Compleat during the story.
All the while, the gangs and factions of Kamigawa jockey for power. Tradition and technology battle for supremacy and for the hearts and minds of Kamigawa’s future. The constant consternation between the spirit realm and the mortal world add more fuel to the already well-stoked fire. A potent backdrop to tell the compelling story of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty!
As per usual, Ultra PRO will be marching along a fabulous line of products and accessories such as playmats, Deck Protector® sleeves, Deck Box® card storage, and PRO-Binders featuring the latest planeswalkers and creatures from this newest release. For Neon Dynasty, these products feature both the futuristic neon aesthetic of modern Kamigawa as well as the pageantry and tradition of historical Kamigawa as they meld and mesh together. Nowhere showcases this better than on the Neon Dynasty Stitched Edge Playmat, featuring fluorescent accents decorating a trio of Oni demons.
The set’s main characters also appear on their own line of playmats, sleeves, and binders. The Wandering Emperor features prominently on many products, including her iconic blade and gasa-style hat. The Wandering Emperor, as she is called in her homeworld, is both blessed and cursed with an erratic planeswalker spark, and her power and prowess are eminently showcased across Ultra PRO’s product line.
And of course the Phyrexian influence, now that it’s files have been sufficiently downloaded and unzipped, is felt across the set. And that motif is reflected on a number of beautiful iterations, including imagery of Jin-Gitaxias, Tezzeret, and the recently Compleated Tamiyo. Each has a featured appearance on a character portrait playmat, lines of sleeves, and other prominent locations.
It wouldn’t be Kamigawa without dragons, and Neon Dynasty is no exception. One of Ultra PRO’s Table Playmats features the five living dragons of Kamigawa in one 6-foot long playmat perfect for at home or the game store. Ao, Kairi, Junji, Atsushi, and Kura are all lined up nicely in a row of beautiful portraiture sure to inspire and intimidate anyone who faces those who wield such power.
Ultra PRO’s Neon Dynasty line of products also features the icons of the realm you expect from Kamigawa as well. Demons, spirits, ninjas, samurai, mechs, good doggos, and everything simultaneously foggy and neon are well represented, illustrated, and beautifully prepared across dozens of trading card accessories. Check out the store and see which Neon Dynasty products speak to you!
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty releases worldwide on February 18, 2022, and you’re invited! Use #MTGNeon and #UPyourgame to tell us what you’re bringing to the party.
