[Monday Musings] Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Analysis, Pt. I

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    Welcome back to TwistedSpoon Studio! It's not Monday, but we're still Musing about the latest and greatest addition to everyone's favorite multimedia franchise. That's right, this week we're talking about Pokemon Legends: Arceus! Well, okay, maybe not. You read the title, right?

 


Themes and Structure

    Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is all about the conflict between old and new, tradition and technology, history and progress. This mirrors not only the desire to reinvent a world that R&D viewed as a failure for decades, but also a genuine tension in Japanese culture. Having maintained isolation from the rest of the world for centuries, Japan was essentially dragged into the industrial revolution in the 1850s; over the next hundred-and-fifty years, Japan would leap from medieval to modern at a dizzying pace.

    This theme is represented in the set via artifacts and enchantments. Of course, you can't do a set based on Japan without Samurai and Ninjas. Or, apparently, anime-style mecha Vehicles. (Excuse me while I squeal in delight!) While it's not an explicit theme, the set also features a higher-than-average number of Legendary cards to call back to Champions block.


    Mechanics

        NEO features a lot of mechanics. We'll get into all of the moving parts in this beautiful machine next week, but today we're going to focus on the seven named mechanics in the set. That's right, seven.

    • Reconfigure: 0.54 ASFAN
      • 3c/5u/5r/1m

        Reconfigure is one of two new mechanics in the set. One of the best ways to up something's ASFAN in a Magic set is to put it on creatures. Artifact sets like Mirrodin and Kaladesh have long used this technique to fit more artifacts in, as did Theros for enchantments.

        Here, it's used for equipment to help the "modified" mechanic. Equipment-matters themes are great, but they tend to run into one of two problems: Too many equipment and not enough creatures, or vice versa. (Fun fact, I used a similar technique to solve the same problem in FUR, but that's a conversation for a different column.)


    • Modified: 0.84 ASFAN
      • 6c/7u/2r/2m

        The other new mechanic is a batching keyword called modified. Modified first appeared on one of those Mystery Booster test cards, albeit in a slightly different form. It's also the first batching mechanic since Dominaria introduced the idea with historic back in 2018. 

        The fun thing about modified is that it cares about any kind of counter, paving the way for ability counters to make their return. If anyone is counting, that actually makes for an eighth mechanic, but that's a discussion for next week. I love counters-matter themes like the Simic and Abzan decks from their respective sets, so this one has me pretty excited.


    • Ninjutsu: 0.77 ASFAN
      • 5c/7u/4r/1m

        You never know who might be a ninja. Is that guy a ninja? How about that dog? How about that... Is that just an ogre head with legs? Wait, no, it's a ninja. Ninjutsu's back!

        Ninjutsu is a bit of a weird one. Introduced in Betrayers of Kamigawa, it's been printed a couple of times in draft innovation sets. Much like Morph, Ninjutsu creates some beautiful mind games; unlike Morph, it also interacts with ETB effects and Channel abilities.

     

    • Channel: 1.29 ASFAN
      • 11c/6u/6r/0m

        Channel, like all mechanics, is basically kicker. Instead of paying more mana for more effect, you pay different mana for a different effect. Channel can do anything and everything. That being said, I think Channel distinguishes itself from generic mechanics like kicker and cycling through its flavor.

        In Saviors of Kamigawa, Channel went on Spirits to make them feel more ephemeral. In NEO, it goes on artifacts and enchantments-- you can channel either magic or technology into spells. (Sure, the technology is powered by ancestor magic, but let's be honest. If it connects to Twitter, it's not that magical.)

     

    • Sagas: 0.93 ASFAN
      • 6c/8u/5r/3m

        Sagas are back, baby! MaRo has always been good about slowly rolling out design space, and Sagas have had my favorite progression of just about any mechanic. Dominaria set the stage for Sagas as stories that unfold over three turns; Theros: Beyond Death gave us Sagas with four chapters; Kaldheim premiered multicolor Sagas; and now NEO introduces two firsts for Sagas. (Three if you count the five-color saga!)

        Not only do we have double-faced Sagas-- we have Sagas at common! One of those is more exciting than the other to most people, but I think the latter is actually a bigger landmark. I'm looking forward to seeing more Sagas in limited.


    • Vehicles: 0.58 ASFAN
      • 4c/4u/5r/0m

        Have you ever put a guy inside a car inside a train inside a helicopter and smacked someone in the face with it? Now you can do that again, but with Gurren-Lagann-style mechs in mechs in mechs. Vehicles are deciduous, but it's been a while since we've seen them at this volume or with such a cool conceit. Coming soon to a Gunpla model near you!


    • Legendary: 0.71 ASFAN
      • 8u/22r/12m

        Legendary is an evergreen mechanic, but it bears noting here. Champions block had the first Legends-matter theme in Magic, and while it's not a theme of NEO, there are certainly more Legendary cards here than in your average set. Given the number of sagas, artifacts, and Legends in the set, I wouldn't be surprised if historic returned in the upcoming Dominaria pseudo-block following New Capenna. 

        

    Doing My Part

        That's all for this week, but worry not: this is only part one! Next Monday will be part two, a deep dive into all of the moving parts. We'll be covering things like the ASFANs of artifact and enchantment creatures, modifications, and the mechanics above by color. Stay tuned!

        I'm still feeling out this format, so all feedback is welcome. Let me know what you're looking for in a set analysis! Keep in mind that these aren't meant to be limited primers so much as a reference sheet, but feel free to use it however you want.

        For more Kamigawa analysis, look no further than my Champions of Kamigawa breakdown; or for more cyberpunk Magic, take a peek at these custom mechanics. If you want to see how custom sets are made (or at least how I do it), check out Festival of Urbestia! Coming up next week, we've got part two of this article on Monday, a new custom mechanic article on Wednesday, and the final Urbestia worldbuilding article on Friday. 


        See you soon!

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