It’s no secret Magic: The Gathering is returning to one of its most requested planes in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. Though a few years ago, Wizards of the Coast would have said it would be extremely unlikely we’d see the Japanese-inspired location represented in its own set again. Today, we’re getting our first good look at what Kamigawa is like in the present day, full of more bright lights and advanced technology than we’ve ever seen in Magic before.
Taking place 1000 years after the original three-expansion Kamigawa block from 2005, Neon Dynasty takes the Japanese flavor of those classic sets and adds a distinct cyberpunk style. The brief video attached to the tweet above shows all kinds of visuals not typically seen in Magic. LED panda masks, a neon-lit metropolis, and what may or may not be holograms scream that this is not just a leap forward for the plane, but the game itself.
Before Neon Dynasty, there were complicated machines and artifacts, but most were magical in nature and primitive-looking compared to what the Kamigawa residents are using nowadays. Even guns are rarely seen printed on cardboard, making the possibility of a wild west plane as unlikely as a return to Kamigawa was. Hopefully, with Magic expanding its technological horizons by the way of ninjas and samurai, we’ll see the concepts available to the game expand as well down the line. Maybe Streets of New Cappena, another upcoming set full of demon mobsters and noir aesthetics will lean into more real-world modern weaponry.
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is coming to Magic: The Gathering Arena on February 10, with the full physical set releasing a week later. We’ll see more of the expansion tonight during Wizard’s weekly Magic Twitch stream, likely to show off plenty of art, box and booster packaging, and some cards and mechanics, as is the norm when pre-orders for sets go live.
How does the new futuristic style of Kamigawa look to you? Which tropes or mechanics are you hoping to see in Neon Dynasty? Let us know in the comments below!
