Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty sure has given us some powerful enchantment cards! These cards have driven top deck performance across a wide variety of formats; which is incredible for so young a set.

Perhaps more importantly, they have contributed to many different kinds of strategies... All of them really, including combo, control, mid-range, and even the beatdown.

Let's look at the Top 5 enchantments from this set:

Number Five

Golgari Control | NEO Standard | EDEL, 4th Place MTGO Standard Challenge 4/2/2022

• Creatures (10)
• 3 Sarulf, Realm Eater
• 3 Shigeki, Jukai Visionary
• 4 Graveyard Trespasser // Graveyard Glutton

• Instants (8)
• 1 Harness Infinity
• 2 Ray of Enfeeblement
• 2 Witherbloom Command
• 3 Infernal Grasp

• Sorceries (12)
• 2 Bloodchief's Thirst
• 2 Culling Ritual
• 4 Dig Up
• 4 Invoke Despair

• Enchantments (5)
• 2 Binding the Old Gods
• 3 The Meathook Massacre

• Artifacts (1)
• 1 The Celestus

• Lands (24)
• 3 Forest
• 3 Swamp
• 1 Necroblossom Snarl
• 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• 2 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 3 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
• 3 Woodland Chasm
• 4 Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway
• 4 Deathcap Glade

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Binding the Old Gods
• 1 Culling Ritual
• 2 Ray of Enfeeblement
• 4 Check for Traps
• 2 Cragplate Baloth
• 4 Duress
• 1 Go Blank

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In this Golgari mid-range deck, Shigeki, Jukai Visionary operates more-or-less the way you'd expect. It can function as a kind of extra-slow Rampant Growth; but more importantly, it is a one-card incremental card advantage engine in a strategy that loves extra cards. It can re-buy small packets of effciency like Witherbloom Command, or really bury an opponent in a flood of Invoke Despair.

Notably, Shigeki is helpful two ways with Invoke Despair. First, it can be helpful when you have to blow Dig Up to find Black mana (getting back the cheap Dig Up for future use of its higher value mode)... But sometimes just digging for lands (hopefully black producing) early to get Invoke Despair online more quickly.

Temur Land Combo | OTJ Standard | scipios, 16th Place MTGO Standard Challenge 5/18/24

• Creatures (11)
• 1 Shigeki, Jukai Visionary
• 2 Kellan, Inquisitive Prodigy
• 4 Aftermath Analyst
• 4 Nissa, Resurgent Animist

• Instants (7)
• 3 Fires of Victory
• 4 Memory Deluge

• Sorceries (7)
• 3 Worldsoul's Rage
• 4 Ill-Timed Explosion

• Enchantments (6)
• 2 Spelunking
• 4 Virtue of Strength

• Lands (29)
• 6 Forest
• 6 Island
• 4 Mountain
• 1 Riveteers Overlook
• 4 Brokers Hideout
• 4 Cabaretti Courtyard
• 4 Maestros Theater

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Abrade
• 1 Bonny Pall, Clearcutter
• 3 Negate
• 3 Pick Your Poison
• 2 Tishana's Tidebinder
• 1 Titan of Industry
• 2 Tyrranax Rex
• 2 Vampires' Vengeance

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Shigeki is also a good example of a card that functions in both mid-range/control and combo. In the later Temur Lands combo deck it serves a very important function: Stopping an opposing Blue deck from being able to more-sies a finite number of Worldsoul's Rage.

This deck mostly has to kill with Worldsoul's Rage as a large Fireball effect; but even though it can be up in card advantage... The deck plays only three. An opposing Blue deck with four copies of Three Steps Ahead could just wait to counter all the Worldsoul's Rages... But not if Shigeki has something to say about it! With careful play a Temur mage could recycle up to as many as six Worldsoul's Rages; relying on the mana advantage from this deck's creatures to escape soft counters like No More Lies.

Number Four

One of the most special enchantments from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Jukai Naturalist actually brought along a ton of other cards.

Generous Visitor (also a denizen of Kamigawa) and our #3 enchantment [creature] would consistently go with the Jukai Naturalist.

But as you can see, a card that combines most of the functionality of old time hits like Sapphire Medallion and Knight of Meadowgrain at the same time can often give us more than one exciting build.

Sometimes you'll see more of an emphasis on Ramp and overwhelming the opponent by building advantages. Hallowed Haunting pays off these Naturalists:

Selesnya Enchantments | LCI Standard | IslandGoSAMe, 5-0 MTGO Standard League 12/22/2023

• Creatures (15)
• 3 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr // Katilda's Rising Dawn
• 4 Generous Visitor
• 4 Jukai Naturalist
• 4 Spirited Companion

• Instants (4)
• 2 Rite of Harmony
• 2 Seed of Hope

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Commune with Spirits

• Enchantments (16)
• 4 Hallowed Haunting
• 4 Ossification
• 4 Teachings of the Kirin // Kirin-Touched Orochi
• 4 The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration

• Lands (21)
• 1 Overgrown Farmland
• 4 Plains
• 4 Razorverge Thicket
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 4 Brushland
• 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 6 Forest

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Circle of Confinement
• 2 Get Lost
• 1 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr // Katilda's Rising Dawn
• 3 Knockout Blow
• 1 Rite of Harmony
• 3 The Stone Brain
• 2 Vanquish the Horde
• 1 Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity

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Other times it's more of an attack, with a powerful spread of creatures (many of which are themselves enchantment-synergistic):

Selesnya Enchantments | MKM Standard | Glados12, 3-1 MTGO Standard Prelim 3/13/24

• Creatures (26)
• 2 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr // Katilda's Rising Dawn
• 2 Skrelv, Defector Mite
• 3 Weaver of Harmony
• 3 Calix, Guided by Fate
• 4 Generous Visitor
• 4 Jukai Naturalist
• 4 Kami of Transience
• 4 Spirited Companion

• Instants (2)
• 2 Get Lost

• Enchantments (12)
• 4 Audacity
• 4 Michiko's Reign of Truth // Portrait of Michiko
• 4 Ossification

• Lands (20)
• 4 Forest
• 6 Plains
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 2 Overgrown Farmland
• 3 Razorverge Thicket
• 4 Brushland

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Calamity's Wake
• 2 Destroy Evil
• 2 Invasion of Gobakhan
• 2 Knockout Blow
• 4 Royal Treatment
• 2 Seal from Existence
• 1 Shigeki, Jukai Visionary

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One of the cool things about Jukai Naturalist when it was a big player in Standard was that you might not know which kind of opponent you were up against -- again, because many of the cards were the same between very different strategies -- so you'd be imagining yourself a genius slamming paper, only to be sliced by scissors.

Number Three

I gave this creature the nod over Jukai Naturalist in my Top 5 list because of its versatility. As we've already seen, Spirited Companion was already in every Jukai Naturalist deck... But it was also a favorite in Mono-White Control.

Of those, there were a huge variety; many of which were not even Mono-White.

Some decks were all sweepers with every variety of Vanquish the Horde and Farewell; using cards like Union of the Third Path to bridge the early and end games. Others were full of creatures themselves, re-buying Spirited Companion with a variety of other White permanents. Sometimes creatures; sometimes sometimes creatures if you know you know.

You can't really comprehend just how far a range Spirited Companion spanned in Standard until you look at Autumn's Top 8 deck from the spring of 2023:

Mono-White Control | MOM Standard | Autumn Burchett

• Creatures (9)
• 1 Spirited Companion
• 2 Loran of the Third Path
• 3 Ambitious Farmhand // Seasoned Cathar
• 3 Serra Paragon

• Planeswalkers (6)
• 3 The Eternal Wanderer
• 3 The Wandering Emperor

• Instants (1)
• 1 Destroy Evil

• Sorceries (3)
• 1 Sunfall
• 2 Breach the Multiverse

• Enchantments (9)
• 2 The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration
• 3 Ossification
• 4 Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Reckoner Bankbuster

• Lands (24)
• 10 Plains
• 2 Swamp
• 1 Caves of Koilos
• 1 Field of Ruin
• 2 Roadside Reliquary
• 4 Obscura Storefront
• 4 Raffine's Tower

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This deck durdled with small value plays and a little point removal for six or so turns until... Bang! Breach the Multiverse. The opponent might not even see it coming. Raffine's Tower cycled and the second Black might come from Reckoner Bankbuster in a roundabout way.

Spirited Companion - though not a four-of in this particular list - is emblematic of the kinds of cards that Autumn wanted to get to that Breach end game. Help me draw into more lands; keep me alive by blocking. Good doggie.

Number Two

What can I say about the best 1-drop that they've given the color red since Jackal Pup? Okay, since Monastery Swiftspear?

This card is kind of single-minded... Far less flexible than every other card in this list; but it makes the next-to-top spot on sheer ubiquity. Every Red (and most r-w and r-g) Standard and Pioneer beatdown decks love to start on it.

It is like a cheaper Viashino Pyromancer that is odd casting cost but also a persistent Giant Growth; and by the way it's a 2/2 for if you're a little patient.

Just one of many wonderful and performing builds:

Mono-Red | MKM Standard | Edel, 4th Place MTGO Standard Challenge 64 5/12/24

• Creatures (12)
• 4 Bloodthirsty Adversary
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear
• 4 Slickshot Show-Off

• Instants (13)
• 2 Witchstalker Frenzy
• 3 Lightning Strike
• 4 Monstrous Rage
• 4 Play with Fire

• Sorceries (4)
• 2 Obliterating Bolt
• 2 Scorching Shot

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Kumano Faces Kakkazan // Etching of Kumano

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Urabrask's Forge

• Lands (23)
• 17 Mountain
• 2 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 4 Mishra's Foundry

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Cemetery Gatekeeper
• 2 End the Festivities
• 2 Furnace Punisher
• 2 Koth, Fire of Resistance
• 3 Lithomantic Barrage
• 2 Unlicensed Hearse
• 2 Vampires' Vengeance

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Number One

Was there ever any doubt who would come in #1?

Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki has been great in basically every format; and won consecutive Pro Tours in 2023 on the way to being banned in Standard.

The card is hyper efficient in an obvious way. It makes two 2/2 creatures for three mana. In that sense it's kind of like a weird Stupor that forces the opponent to use two cards... Unless they want to be overwhelmed.

The problem is that each of its 2/2s is much more powerful than a vanilla Grey Ogre; either can take over the game by itself, and both are wild in the right shells.

Rakdos Midrange | MOM Standard | Nathan Steuer, Top 8 Pro Tour March of the Machine

• Creatures (9)
• 2 Graveyard Trespasser // Graveyard Glutton
• 3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• 4 Bloodtithe Harvester

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Chandra, Hope's Beacon

• Sorceries (15)
• 1 Abrade
• 3 Cut Down
• 4 Go for the Throat
• 1 Light Up the Night
• 2 Duress
• 4 Invoke Despair

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Reckoner Bankbuster

• Lands (26)
• 1 Mountain
• 10 Swamp
• 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• 2 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 4 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 4 Haunted Ridge
• 4 Sulfurous Springs

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Liliana of the Veil
• 1 Abrade
• 1 Rotten Reunion
• 2 Lithomantic Barrage
• 2 Duress
• 1 Cut Down
• 2 Razorlash Transmogrant
• 2 Glistening Deluge
• 1 Obliterating Bolt
• 1 Soul Transfer

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In this Pro Tour winner we see Fable of the Mirror-Breaker in its intuitive context. With tons of point removal, Nathan could force through the original Goblin token to generate lots of Treasures to help get out Chandra, or make the heavy black of Invoke Despair easier to bear.

Izzet Creativity | Pioneer | Reid Duke, 1st Place Pro Tour Phyrexia

• Creatures (2)
• 1 Xenagos, God of Revels
• 1 Worldspine Wurm

• Instants (25)
• 1 Dig Through Time
• 1 Secrets of the Key
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 1 Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge
• 2 Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave
• 3 Make Disappear
• 4 Big Score
• 4 Fiery Impulse
• 4 Fire Prophecy
• 4 Impulse

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Indomitable Creativity

• Enchantments (5)
• 1 Shark Typhoon
• 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

• Lands (24)
• 2 Mountain
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Hall of Storm Giants
• 2 Mutavault
• 2 Shivan Reef
• 2 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 3 Spirebluff Canal
• 3 Stormcarved Coast
• 4 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
• 4 Steam Vents

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 2 Hullbreaker Horror
• 3 Shark Typhoon
• 2 Narset's Reversal
• 3 Rending Volley
• 1 Aether Gust
• 2 Negate
• 1 Mystical Dispute

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This very different Pro Tour winner showcases Fable in all its glory.

Reid used every part of a complicated card to great effect. In its fail state, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker could be "regular" ... getting in for damage or producing value. But it was so much more here. Chapter II has greater context in a combo deck. Reid could get rid of weak cards and dig to his Indomitable Creativity.

If he needed fodder for that Creativity, Fable's Goblin token was there for him.

Soon between the various Clue and Treasure makers, Reid could make a Xenagos and a Worldspine Wurm and smash the opponent in a single attack!

LOVE

MIKE