For years, players clamored for a return to the plane of Kamigawa. Many felt that the world was being unfairly neglected due to the poor reception of the initial sets during their time in Standard and that the world was rich enough for a return. Eventually, Wizards caved and brought us Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty - a return set heavily influenced by Japanese pop culture as well as the original Kamigawa block. The set was a massive success and is packed to the brim with awesome designs and popular cards.

Today, we're going to go through and rank the mythics this amazing set brought with it. Let's dive right in!

• 18. Explosive Singularity
• 17. Spirit-Sister's Call
• 16. Jugan Defends the Temple // Remnant of the Rising Star
• 15. Kairi, the Swirling Sky
• 14. Kura, the Boundless Sky
• 13. Tezzeret, Betrayer of Flesh
• 12. Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion
• 11. Junji, the Midnight Sky

10. Blade of the Oni

When you look at Blade of the Oni at face value, it doesn't seem like much. When it ends up being good, though, it turns out that it's really good. This made it a somewhat fringe option for more aggressive Black decks in Standard. Additionally, while I try to weigh more heavily in these lists for its utility in the era it was from, it's shown a surprising amount of life showing up in Pioneer decks thanks in no small part to the printing of Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber.

9. Tamiyo, Compleated Sage

Tamiyo was hardly the best mythic in the set, but it's still quite noteworthy for a number of reasons. The most obvious is the implications that came with the innovation of Phyrexian planeswalkers, something that had never been seen before either in-game or in the lore. With the introduction of Tamiyo, all bets were off as to the possibilities. Additionally, the compleat mechanic also provided an interestingly innovative way to make use of Phyrexian mana - a mechanic frequently seen as broken in its original iteration.

8. The Kami War // O-Kagachi Made Manifest

You might think The Kami War looks like it's a little too, shall we say, extra - and you'd be right! For quite a good chunk of its life, the card felt destined for Commander play where it naturally thrived. However, it also saw some amount of play in Standard thanks to the prevalence of Five-Color Domain decks that could utilize the card's power. It's big, splashy, and cool, though difficult to pull off well. When it comes together right, though, it's well worth the effort you put into it!

7. Atsushi, the Blazing Sky

When looking back at the original Champions of Kamigawa, Ryusei, the Falling Star felt paltry compared to other spirit dragons like Yosei, the Morning Star and Kokusho, the Evening Star. Thankfully, they made up for it this time around. Atsushi is an excellent card for attacking, blocking, overall rate, and both sides of its death trigger are relevant in multiple scenarios. This made it a modest player for Constructed formats like Standard and a surprisingly great addition to Red Commander decks.

6. Ao, the Dawn Sky

Ao, the Dawn Sky proved to easily be the best of the five dragons. There's plenty of value opportunities the card offers on its death, with your option of getting to put multiple creatures into play or super charge your whole board. This made it a popular card in builds of Esper Legends until it was eventually refined into the Esper Midrange builds we came to know throughout 2023 and the first half of 2024.

5. Kaito Shizuki

Kaito's first outing felt rather modest. It didn't push the envelope too hard, nor did it become a major staple the way his Duskmourn: House of Horror version did. However, Kaito Shizuki still put up some extremely impressive showings in a variety of Midrange lists, most notably Dimir Midrange. This made it a mainstay during its entire time in Standard, providing quite a bit of power to those decks.

4. Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant

This iteration of Jin-Gitaxias was less devastating than its predecessor Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur. Still, the effects can be quite devastating, forcing opponents to often cast multiple spells to be able to do anything. Better still, it doubles the first of many kinds of spells you cast each turn, giving you tons of value. This made it not only a modest player in Constructed in spite of its high mana cost, but a powerful card in Commander as well.

3. Kodama of the West Tree

The original Kodama cards from the first Kamigawa block were pretty unexciting, but felt somewhat iconic as well - particularly with Kodama's Reach being such a major card. Well with there existing a Kodama of the Center, North, and South Tree, it was only a matter of time until we got East and West. Kodama of the East Tree came out in Commander Legends, so this one came to finish the cycle, and this one has proven massively popular in Commander. Dishing out counters or else using equipment and auras is always a popular way to play, making it a staple for decks utilizing these strategies and becoming the biggest Commander card of the set.

2. Hidetsugu Consumes All // Vessel of the All-Consuming

When you think of most powerful cards in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, you probably don't immediately think of Hidetsugu Consumes All. This is probably due to the prevalence of cards like the channel lands like Boseiju, Who Endures and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki. In reality, all of these powerful cards are rares, meaning this is where we land for the second best mythic in the set. It might not seem like much, but the ability to exile all low mana permanents and graveyards have made it an extremely playable Constructed card, seeing play as far back as even Legacy.

1. The Wandering Emperor

Two times in the game's history has it been scary to stare down four open mana as an aggro player battling against a control player. The first was the powerful Settle the Wreckage during Ixalan Standard and the second was The Wandering Emperor. This card was a truly dominating force during its tenure in Standard and continues to wreak havoc in Pioneer and occasionally in Modern. Easily the best mythic in the set.

Paige Smith

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