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Today has marked one of the most exciting days of the year for the MTG community: the release of a new premier set! This time around, we’re returning to the Japanese-inspired plane of Kamigawa for the first time in Standard since 2005 with Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. The events of Neon Dynasty’s story take place over 1,200 years after the original Kamigawa block, and as a result, we’ve been thrown into a futuristic setting where MTG’s usual fantasy elements meet high-tech artifice and vehicles.
At the beginning of each new Standard format, we scour the internet to collect as many decklists as possible from content creators, pro players, and all across the MTG social media sphere. In this series, we compile all of the decks we can find into a master list for you to browse. Whether you want to test out some pre-built decks or you’re just looking for inspiration to build your own, you’re sure to find something that interests you from some of the best minds in the community.
This time around, we’ve seen quite a few new Historic brews featuring cards from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and we’ve included a number of Alchemy decks as well. You can press here to jump straight to the decklists, or check out some of our other Neon Dynasty content below:
In the meantime, let’s take a look at some new brews! We’ve seen quite a range of decks today, but we’ll get started with a quick rundown on some of the archetypes that have been showing up the most so far.
The “Tribal” Decks – Samurai and Ninjas
One of the most highly anticipated aspects of Neon Dynasty is the return of two beloved creatured types in Magic: Samurai and Ninjas. The latter also brings the return of the popular ninjutsu mechanic that was introduced with the original Kamigawa block.
Did you miss the Rogues archetype in Standard? The Ninjas decks that are cropping up aren’t quite the same as the Rogues decks of last year’s Standard, fueled by Zendikar Rising and supercharged by Throne of Eldraine, but they’re playing a similar blue/black tempo gameplan and they do have a number of cards in common. Here’s an example:
Standard Dimir Ninjas by CovertGoBlue
by Paul
Standard
Tempo
best of 1
6 mythic
26 rare
17 uncommon
11 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (4)
Creatures (28)
Instants (8)
Sorceries (2)
Lands (18)
60 Cards
$221.98
Meanwhile, the Samurai decks haven’t been quite as popular, but they’re around. The ones we’ve seen thus far are essentially Boros or Mardu aggro decks built around a couple of key Samurai cards.
Standard Boros Samurai by SaffronOlive
by Paul
Standard
Aggro
best of 3
1 mythic
49 rare
6 uncommon
4 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (1)
Creatures (17)
Sorceries (4)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (25)
60 Cards
$313.5
Sideboard
15 Cards
$18.07
Whether the Samurai tribe is going to succeed in Standard is very much up in the air, but the deck didn’t look too bad on stream today – it could have been a fluke, or it may turn out to be a sneaky underdog. Either way, it seems like some of the Samurai cards will find their way into Standard decklists even if it isn’t as a part of a tribe-specifc deck.
Artifacts, Auras, and Vehicles
One of the key features of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is the set’s focus on artifacts, including equipment and vehicles, and enchantments, especially auras. It’s no surprise to see that many deck brewers have been choosing artifact and/or aura themes ranging from Azorius Artifacts to Mardu Equipment to Naya Runes. You’ll find all of these decks and more in today’s master list, but here’s one example each from the artifact and enchantment-based decks.
Standard Mardu Equipment by Bryan Gottlieb
by Paul
Standard
Artifacts
best of 3
2 mythic
30 rare
18 uncommon
10 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (15)
Instants (2)
Sorceries (2)
Artifacts (17)
Enchantments (1)
Lands (23)
60 Cards
$188.34
Sideboard
15 Cards
$70.69
Bo1 Standard Abzan Enchantments by Jim Davis
by Paul
Standard
Midrange
best of 1
2 mythic
26 rare
20 uncommon
12 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (21)
Sorceries (4)
Enchantments (13)
Lands (22)
60 Cards
$181.5
Historic Impact
While the focus of the community immediately following the release of a premier set is usually squarely set on Standard, we’ve also seen a good number of Historic decks popping up featuring new cards from Neon Dynasty as well. Expect to find some updates to previously known archetypes in Historic among today’s decks, but there was also an eyebrow-raising innovation.
The card Parhelion II was originally printed back in War of the Spark, and besides being a bomb in Limited, it didn’t see much play in constructed formats. However, the printing of the vehicle-focused creature Greasefang, Okiba Boss has provided a way to cheat the eight mana skyship directly into play from the graveyard.
MTGA Zone author Reto came up with this list, which he managed to score a 24-8 records with in best-of-one events. Stay tuned for a guide to the archetype from Reto, but in the meantime, here’s his decklist:
Bo1 Historic Mardu Parhelion by Reto
by Paul
Historic
Combo
best of 1
1 mythic
43 rare
8 uncommon
8 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (16)
Sorceries (14)
Lands (23)
60 Cards
$335.04
Sacrifice, Midrange, and More
There’s lots more variety to be found in the decks from day one of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. Midrange decks have received some new tools, especially sacrifice shells powered by Oni-Cult Anvil, a card that some are calling the return of Cat/Oven to Standard.
We’ll be back tomorrow with more decks as these new and/or improved archetypes continue to develop, so enjoy the decks, have fun with the new set, and we’ll see you then!
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Paul
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