Magic: The Gathering had a busy 2021 with sets like Kaldheim and Time Spiral Remastered, and 2022 is off to a strong start with the slick cyberpunk set Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. This is the first set that takes place on the Japanese-inspired plane of Kamigawa since 2005, and this setting has been vastly improved since then.
At last, the flavor and gameplay of Kamigawa are up to modern standards, and players can find a lot to like in Neon Dynasty, from the artifact synergy to the Vehicles and, most of all, the classic creature tribes. The Samurai and Ninja tribes, in particular, are bigger and better than ever in Neon Dynasty, and in more than one way.
The original Kamigawa had a strong tribal component, but its tribes reflected that block's deep design flaws. One major issue was the "parasitic" nature of these tribes, meaning that tribes such as Samurai, Ninja and Moonfolk only worked well within the context of Kamigawa cards, and couldn't work well with any cards from other blocks. This served to isolate the Samurai and Ninja tribes, and the Kamigawa block alone didn't have enough cards for either tribe to make them legitimate for formats such as Commander or Modern format. A few more Ninjas and Samurai appeared elsewhere, but not nearly enough.
The other major issue was that these tribes had awkward mechanical identities. All Samurai had the bushido effect, but only Samurai had it. This meant Samurai were monolithic and had limited design space. The same was true for Ninjas, who had few abilities other than ninjutsu or "when this creature deals combat damage to a player" effects. This made the tribes narrow and tedious in gameplay, discouraging Wizards of the Coast from making more of them. Wizards moved on to more flexible tribes such as Goblins and Zombies, but years later, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty finally gave the Samurai and Ninja tribes the reboot they desperately needed.
Most of the original Kamigawa block's issues were fixed in Neon Dynasty, from the original block's non-resonant themes to its parasitic card design, and the Samurai and Ninja tribes benefited from that update most of all. Both tribes are still true to what they were in the original, but they are now broader and more diverse within the context of Neon Dynasty and the game as a whole. These Samurai and Ninjas can fit into other decks and work with other creature types much more easily, which is vital for Constructed formats and even the context of Neon Dynasty booster draft Limited.
In gameplay terms, Samurai and Ninjas work well with related creature types that are more universal in the game -- Warriors for Samurai, and Rogues for Ninjas. Flavor-wise, Samurai and Ninjas are simply Japanese-inspired Warriors and Rogues, and gameplay-wise, Neon Dynasty understands that. Now, many Samurai grant their bonuses to not just fellow Samurai, but also Warriors, and some Ninja-themed cards are equally beneficial for Rogues. This makes it easier to make tribal decks in Limited and Constructed alike.
Finally, the Ninja and Samurai tribes became more flexible in color identity and gameplay, such as abandoning Bushido in favor of a variant of the exalted mechanic from Shards of Alara. Now, Samurai grant each other different bonuses for creatures that attack alone, and these Samurai also tap into Neon Dynasty's other gameplay themes, such as "artifacts matter" and "enchantments matter."
To that end, Neon Dynasty features artifact Samurai and enchantment Samurai creature cards, a first for Magic: The Gathering. Now, a Samurai creature can be relevant in gameplay even if it's not in a tribal deck at all, something the original Samurai can't claim. Similarly, the Ninjas make use of artifacts and enchantments in all sorts of ways, keeping them relevant whether or not a given deck is Ninja tribal. Ninjas can easily slot into any blue-black deck where having tribal synergy is a bonus, not a requirement.
All of this eases the strain on players who want to build Ninja decks or blue-black evasion decks in Limited, and something similar can be said about Samurai in red-white decks. Tribal support is still here, but the world of Kamigawa no longer hinges on it, and that is nothing but an improvement for this notorious setting.
Source: Trendz OH
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