Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, the Japanese-inspired cyberpunk expansion set that’s due to release for Magic: The Gathering next year, will include full-art Land cards influenced by traditional Ukiyo-e Japanese paintings. Revealed in the set’s first preview stream yesterday, we’ve had a peek at ten of the upcoming Lands, alongside a new neon card treatment.
Aping traditional Japanese woodblock paintings, the new showcase Lands replicate the visual style and form of Ukiyo-e art, which you might recognise in paintings such as The Great Wave and Ōtani Oniji II as Edobei. The MTG cards depict both the semi-feudal cyberpunk plane of Kamigawa as it’s presented in this set – complete with technologically advanced cities, grimy alleys, and animals that look to be constructed from crystals – as well as an older, more traditional version of Kamigawa as it appeared in past releases.
The Ukiyo-e Lands will be found in one-third of all Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty draft and set boosters. Every collector booster, however, is guaranteed to contain one foil version. Check out the new showcase Lands below.
Alongside the arty Land cards, Wizards of the Coast also revealed a new neon card treatment that will be making its way to the set. The new frame includes neon ink that, supposedly, makes the card look as if it’s glowing in a strong neon hue.
However, in a first for MTG’s showcase card styles, the neon treatment will only be available for a single card in the set: Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos. The card will be printed in four different colours – yellow, blue, green, and red – each with a different level of rarity. The rarest of them all will be the yellow version that’s only available as a promotional card at WPN (Wizards Play Network) Premium stores.
Hidetsugu is a returning character from the original 2004 Kamigawa block, although he’s now looking significantly more demonic. Check out a brief demo of the card’s neon effect that Wizards have knocked up here.
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty will release for tabletop Magic on February 18, after hitting MTG Arena on February 10. The set’s full spoiler season will kick off properly on January 27.
Until then, have a look at all the free MTG Arena codes you can snag, or our pick of the best MTG deck builders you should be using to formulate your decks.