Neon Dynasty

I appreciate how they downplayed the Universes Beyond sets.

Honestly, I would have liked sticking with the Echoverse a little longer than one set. Moving on to a new story immediately sounds like the heroes win against the villain and the parallel universe vanishes. A year of what-if sets would have been amazing. What if Alara was never split into shards? What if the Mirrans defeated the Phyrexians on their own and we experienced Mirrodin Pure? What if the Eldrazi were never summoned to Zendikar and we saw the Kor Empire? Oh well.

Ikoria falling out of the sky onto Kamigawa for a kaiju battle set is magnificent.

Zhalfir getting its own Afrofantasy/Afrofuturistic set is amazing and I want to see where Magic takes that setting when they have people whose cultures are being represented leading and contributing to the project. Just look at these character designs:

“Why is Kaima attacking? We’ve done nothing wrong!”

The shouting naga monk fled, just as the boar-shaped spirit in question trampled another nearby house. Even with Kaima on the warpath through the peaceful village, the monk still barged into one of the few intact buildings, and slithered to a stop amid an indoor shrine.

“Hama! It’s time to leave!”

“One moment, Mister Shigeki!” a cheerful, elderly voice replied from the back. “I’m just finishing up these last few-”

But before Hama could even appear, Kaima burst through the front door, and wall as well. Part of the roof collapsed, narrowly avoiding both Shigeki and the shrine. There it stood, fury glowing in its eyes, and the veins of light that crisscrossed its body.

“Hama…” Shigeki pulled a blade from his robes. “Never mind. Stay back there.”

But it was too late. A second, more elderly naga appeared from the back room. She regarded Kaima not with fear, but merely surprise.

“Oh! Kaima. What an unexpected surprise. Have we disturbed nature somehow…”

Kaima took one thunderous step closer.

“…in our very small, very self-sustaining village? Where spirit and mortal realms merge?”

Kaima paused, confused.

“Well, of course! Surely we are worse than the megacities! Worse than the corporations and their factories!”

To Shigeki’s utmost surprise, Kaima took an awkward step backward.

“Unless, of course, you were…merely looking for an easy rampage?”

Kaima shook its head, before quickly retreating through the hole it had made. This left Shigeki staring at his elder in disbelief, and earning a knowing smirk for his trouble.

“What was that?” hissed the younger monk.

“It was…an unfortunate truth,” Hama sighed, tiredly. “Modern methods of fighting have become so good, as to repel the spirits themselves. So, the reckonings don’t happen where they are needed.”

“They happen out here. Where they can at least get a few licks in,” Shigeki gasped in realization.

“They too get frustrated at the state of the world. And so they lash out…”

Got inspired to try and make magic cards out of Deltarune characters, here’s the first!