Kamigawa

Racoon Vs. Tanuki Type

With the introduction of Racoon as a relevent type will we see the 2 Tanuki cards from NEO erratad to Raccoon Dog?

I’ve been told by experts in the topic, Tanuki aren’t Raccoons, even though they are sometimes referred to as “raccoon dogs”.

Dogs Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Raccoons

Llorwyn Reception

Hey Mark! How was the reception of Llorwyn back in the day? Tmk tonally it was much lighter than the average set. Did it have any issues being cutesy/lighter subject matter?I’m looking forward to Bloomburrow and was wondering if Llorwyn had any specific effects on it also

I believe the only block to perform poorer than Lorwyn, in our key metrics, was Champions of Kamigawa.

Bloomburrow Champions of Kamigawa Lorwyn

Kamigawa Foxes Birthday Trivia Request

Birthday trivia request!My all time favorite card since I was 16 was Eight-And-A-Half Tails. Now I’m 34 as of today, and thinking back on how fondly I enjoyed the lore of the Kamigawa foxes.
Are there any Kamigawa foxes still alive in Neon Dynasty that were alive in the original Kamigawa block? I know there are references to Sensei Golden-Tail in NEO (and most recently in MH3) but are any of them still around? If so, are you allowed to disclose which ones are?

I wasn’t involved with Neon Dynasty’s creative, but my gut is they’re still around. Happy Birthday!

Birthday Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Modern Horizons 3 Sensei Golden-Tail Story / Lore

Magic's Modern World Building

Hi Mark,I brought this up before but I have been seeing Magic getting much more comfortable with modern technology and how much of a disconnect that is (to me) seeing it on the table. I am not talking about advanced technology, but rather mimicking directly our real-life technology. New Cappenna, Kamigawa, even Karlov and thunder junction touched this, but the high tops are tv sets from the duskmourn previews make everything feel mundane and not "magic" to me. Is this type of world building direction something we are going to see more often? Do you think that UB living in more modern settings has allowed sets like this to be made, where previously they wouldn't have? I think people are excited I think the set is going to be loved, I think design and art has been amazing this year, but again for me every has been feeling less magical.

Magic does what it always does, push boundaries. Magic is not inherently tied to any time period. You can have modern settings where Magic plays a big role in the world.We’ve been testing how modern Magic can be. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty was very modern and it was beloved.But if the overall feedback is modern things are too much, we can pull back. Duskmourn is definitely pushing into new area.What do you all think?

Art Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Modern Pop Culture Spoilers

Booster Pack Fortune

Hello and Happy Birthday! One of my older MTG memories is when a friend and I were shopping at the local card shop as teenagers when Betrayers of Kamigawa was recently released. My friend said I always had good luck at picking the booster that had the card he wanted, so he had me pick one out for him that day. I said something along the lines of "there's no way you're getting it" and he cracked it and the shopkeeper laughed and said "Didn't get whaaaa?"

: )

Betrayers of Kamigawa Birthday Boosters Humor

NEO's Popularity in Japan

This might not be something you know off the top of your head, but was NEO popular in Japan?

It was.

Japan Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

New Capenna Unpopularity

Hey Mark, I was reading the Rabiah scale article and was a bit sad to see New Capenna had a low popularity among players. It's my favorite plane, so I have a bit of a bias. I was wondering if you knew what players disliked about it? Was it because of the limited environment? Were the cards just weak overall in the set? Or did players just not like modern concepts in magic lore? (That last one I struggle to believe because of the popularity of NEO, but that could just be because of Japanese culture)

I can’t always explain the why of the data.

Japan Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Limited Modern Rabiah Scale Story / Lore

Rabiah Scale Updates

Just read your latest Rebiah Scale article, and you mentioned unpopular sets sometimes having a huge resurgence like with Kamigawa. I was wondering if in these articles you might update whether a planes Rabiah rating has been changed by new sets, and whether Kamigawa's may have changed. Thanks for your time! :)

Kamigawa is now a 4 thanks to the success of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Planes Rabiah Scale

Future Plane Returns

Hey Maro, how’s it going…which is more likely to happen first: another return to Kamigawa or a return to Amonket?

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty doing so well, greatly raises the chances of going back. Amonkhet, with what happened to the world in the last visit, is the trickier return.

Amonkhet Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mark Rosewater

Potential of Hand Size Theme

Does hand size have sufficient design space for a bottom-up set theme?

Saviors of Kamigawa tried it, and it didn’t go well.

Bottom Up Design Space Saviors of Kamigawa Your Hand

Returning to Kamigawa

Since NEO did so well, are the odds of returning good? I'd love to get a set about the modern conflict with the kami, rather than about an external antagonist

I’m pretty confident we’ll return to Kamigawa one day.

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Modern

Top Selling Premier Set

All this talk about sets that sold well has got me curious: what was the best selling premier set of all time?

Right now? I think Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty holds that record.

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Premier Sets

Changeling Inspiration Error

Hi Mark! In your two-part article Looking Back (and I think on a recent podcast too) you mentioned Mistform Ultimus as the inspiration for Changeling, but it's not a legendary creatures from Champions of Kamigawa, it's from Legions (I noticed because I started playing MTG on the Onslaught block).

It was a mistake.

Champions of Kamigawa Changeling Creatures Drive to Work Legendary Creatures Legions Mistform Ultimus Onslaught Onslaught

Mistform Ultimus Correction

Mistform Ultimus deffinitely isn't from Champions of Kamigawa

Yeah, it’s from Legions. I’m not sure why I keep messing that up.

Champions of Kamigawa Legions Mistform Ultimus

Lorwyn Return Expectations

Hi Mark. I'm a huge fan of Lorwyn as it was my first weekly draft format, the mechanics and gamefeel of it are so unique but I fear that a return wont match those because some of the things I love have since been called mistakes. The 'on rails' draft was great for teaching me what archetypes are and the abundance of on board tricks meant I was learning key skills about forming mental shortcuts. Should I temper my expectations about this return trip matching gamefeel or returning mechanics.

Lorwyn is the worst-selling large set (in contrast to its time) in the history of the game. Returning there is not just doing 100% what we did last time. That doesn’t mean 0% either. Think of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. It will use modern design technologies, but still have nostalgia for what people loved about the world.

Draft Formats Fear Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Lorwyn Mechanics Modern

Synergy in Set Types

I'm sure this isn't helped by the extra year added on to standard, but UW has 4 kindred synergies its trying to support currently within standard (spirits, soldiers, knights, detectives). It feels like soldiers and knights could have at least mentioned each other to help cross set synergy out, as right now, these decks are very much locked into their own sets when looking for support. Has it shown to be a problem per your data? If so do you have ideas on what could be done different?

There are no Kindred cards in Standard, but my guess is you’re talking about typal themes. The philosophy is the set that cares makes the typal cards that mechanically matter and then other sets will make more creatures that share the type. We will batch on occasion, but only if both types are relevant in the set the card is in. (Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty had Ninjas and Rogues in it, for example.) We will mechanically return to more popular creature types over time, but that usually isn’t relevant for Standard.

Batches Creatures Detective Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Kindred / Typal Knight Ninjas Rogue Soldier Spirit Standard

Double Faced Cards

Hey Maro, Kamigawa Neon Dynasty and March of the Machine I think are definitely the best limited sets in recent memory (perhaps some of the best limited sets of all time). Both NEO and MOM used double faced cards, which I think enhanced the play experience of those setsWhy aren’t double faced cards used more often/in every set?

We use them a fair amount, but they come with additional costs, both in production and complexity.

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Limited March of the Machine Mark Rosewater

Bushido Mechanic Reception

I thought Bushido played okay? Wasn't that part of why it was the prime example of a decent mechanic with a name that was way too specific to reprint in most sets?

When I was working on Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty vision design, I went to the play design team and asked them if they liked the game play of bushido. They said no.

Bushido Card Printing Game Play Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mechanics Play Design Reprints Vision Design

Mechanics Evaluation Recap

FYI you actually did your worst 10 mechanics once before in Drive to Work #693 and this was your list at the time:10. Haunt - Guildpact9. Radiance - Ravnica8. Ripple - Coldsnap7. Processors - Battle for Zendikar6. Annihilator - Rise of the Eldrazi5. Epic - Saviors of Kamigawa4. Rebel Mercenary - Mercadian Masques3. Gotcha - Unhinged2. Rhystic - Prophecy1. Bands with Others - Legends

FYI

Annihilator Battle for Zendikar Coldsnap Drive to Work Eldrazi Epic Guildpact Haunt Legendary Creatures Mechanics Mercadian Masques Mercenary Processor Prophecy Prophecy Radiance Rebel Ripple Rise of the Eldrazi Rise of the Eldrazi Saviors of Kamigawa Zendikar

Cascade vs Discover

The difference between Cascade and Discover seems about the same as the difference between how Hideaway used to work and how it works as of NEO. Why did you update Hideaway but replace Cascade? Is it because Cascade is a more popular mechanic than Hideaway was? Is there some mechanical reason? Did the Hideaway update go poorly?

It has to do with what the exact changes are and how many cards of the original version get used. Also, the change could happen if the original flavor wants a tweak.

Cascade Flavor Hideaway Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mechanics