The Very Best Of Magic: The Gathering | 2022
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- Опубликовано: 4 июн 2024
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Игры
For those who were travelling this holiday (or may still be stuck doing so!) a that a brand new Shuffle Up And Play dropped on Monday! Watch it here: ruclips.net/video/obYus8qolWA/видео.html
I feel like wizard's train of thought might be "variance" on the quality of sets/products; that way, the best sets/decks stand out more than it's lesser counterparts
I'mma need you to get that English Degree and wipe it on this pinned comment my boi.
Professor, could you make another review video for card sleeves? I've heard Dragon shield recently became trash and most of the players are switching to Ultimate Guard Katanas etc. I think it is pretty important for competitive format players and also us EDH guys. Perhaps even with scientific ways and trying to rip them apart by heavy shuffeling.
Kamigawa was totally the best. Shocked people have the same opinion.
I'll be honest. I don't enjoy watching videos of people playing Magic.
I was here just wanting to hear about the good things in magic and then that bonus pringle foil from the secret lair broke me
Just like my marriage
@@thirdcoast6513 ouch 🫣
@@thirdcoast6513 you ok?
@@thirdcoast6513 a Pringle bent foil mtg card broke your marriage?
Meh. You get used to it.
14:09 teferi giving us a glimpse at both versions of the take.
Was just about to type about this. Editor made an oopsie
I got to hear more of the Professor's voice, and it was a point worth repeating. Thanks Teferi, please feel free to meddle with the TCC videos whenever you want!
Also the note for the editor at 15:33 "All of that is off camera" :D It happens
This has happened a few times in prof’s vids. Don’t they check them before uploading? :P
‘A white hole????’
Gonna be honest, the negative stuff always gets more views, but this stuff right here is the stuff I love. It's nice seeing what had prof and other RUclipsrs excited.
Were all tired of the triggered man baby videos.
You're more likely to click on stuff that makes you angry, but that's not actually what makes you feel good.
@Faultier sad but true. Outrage always seems to get more attention
Same mate
a bit ironic you accidentally ended with "exited" instead of "excited"
#1 highlight for me is you winning on Game Knights
He came for blood that day 😳
Oh wow, I haven't found time to watch that yet. I MUST watch it now!
And winning with SO MUCH FLAVOR!
That was wild
Isnt #1 the 30 year anniversary
The real best thing for MTG is the continued existance of this RUclips channel. I started playing commander this year and already have six decks.
Praying for your wallet rn
@@sosukelele hopefully some of them are proxy only...
@SOSukelele thanks! It certainly was not cheap, but worth it.
@@xaxscratchxax926 I'm afraid not. Only the real thing.
@@Mikedagraaff there's nothing quite like the real thing but after I spent about 5k on cards/decks I decided that enough is enough. Any new decks will be proxy only. Upgrades or changes to existing decks will be reals cards. Keeps me more honest with the money. Can build/buy a full commander deck for $37 nonfoils $72 foils.
Would love to see a return to the 3 block structure. We don’t have to do it exactly the same where the main draft format uses multiple sets, but having a year where the sets are cohesive and tell an immersive story is wonderful.
Speaking of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, one of the best thing WIzards did with that set that I don't think people (well, outside of Asia) noticed was the Virtual Art Exhibition for all of the artwork they did for the set. It was absolutely incredible. I honestly wish we had something like that for each new plane we visit in Magic. Getting to take a stroll in Towashi through VR /desktop was a completely new way to enjoy & appreciate the amazing art this game has to offer.
It's sadly no longer available, but you can easily find footage of it on RUclips, and I highly encourage anyone who liked the art of Kamigawa Neon Dynasty to take a look!
Kamigawa wasn't a new plane to visit....
Aside that I agree 🥰
Links please
@@danacoleman4007 Here’s a link! ruclips.net/video/PgF-SydlhBw/видео.html
@@joshshin6819 They never said Kamigawa was a new plane. "I honestly wish we had something like that for each new plane we visit in Magic". They are saying it would be nice to have the VR experience for new planes.
the bad part about this is that it's no longer available... :(
Brothers War was the highlight of the year for me. Not for the gameplay of the set itself precisely but reminding me of the stories and characters that made me love the game in the first place
It's honestly a very good set too, honestly, it fixes the treasure issue a bit, introduces retro artifacts that get powerful cards into normal players hands, and has great legendaries, cards, and lore integration!
Best set of the year imo and mishra has taken my top spot for favorite character and story. Gix is a bad ass and this is my first time hearing of him and the old phyrexia
The web stories for brothers war are some of the best we've had in years.
I got the Urza precon and even tho it's not the most powerful its kept up on tables and even dominated at them out of the box
I remember opening a random pack and saying "Is that an artifact with the correct border" then I bought the commander decks and nearly cried. As someone who learned to play back during the original phyrexian invasion it was amazing to see the antiquities war brought to life. Also Dominaria untited reminded me of my first block. I'm now caring about the story again and wondering if Teferi will remake the nine titans and guilt Jared into joining instead of sending his GF to die.
It was Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty that actually got me to play Magic for the first time ever this past year. And I fell in love with the game because of it. Thanks prof.
Same here actually! A friend had been trying to get me into Magic for 7 years, and when he told me there were Cyberpunk Ninjas…I finally broke and went to my local card shop. Been playing magic since!
Same for me.
First started to play just before Neon Dynasty came out so that was fun to experience
I really loved the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty anime trailer. I was lucky enough to get a Raiyuu the Storm’s Edge during my first Neon Kamigawa draft and fell in love with Samurai’s attack alone mechanic.
I had been playing the game very casually for a few years, but Kamigawa was the first prerelease I went to and it’s what got me sucked into the game.
Honestly I loved the brothers war this year, it was the main set I waited for all year. Gix was finally playable, we finally got an urza planeswalker, meld was back, a ton of artifact reprints, and Ashnod finally got a card? Man this set had it all for me personally.
Glad you enjoyed it! I found it had cool cards too
Jumpstart 2022 might have been one of the best things to happen this year but it literally happened suddenly and without much information around it. I didn't even know it was coming out until after it came out and it is sold out everywhere. I can't even get a pack at any of my local shops.
Totally agree with Neon Dynasty being the best, it’s become one of my favorite sets of all time.
Still buying it sealed to this day!
I broke my “no packs only singles” policy for Neon Dynasty, it was that good.
@@jacobd1984 I’m buying another box as we speak 😂😭 those full srt lands are 🤌🤌🤌
Gonna build a neon dynasty agro deck hopefully this weekend
simp
As someone who came into their local game store, and remembers buying Jugan as a single for my first kitchen table deck - werewolves back in Dark Ascension - and then turned that into perusing old binders for samurai for my 2nd kitchen table deck, I am beyond thrilled that Kamigawa came back. Even better is that most of the community seems now to share my love for the plane and the characters that I have felt for years alongside the likes of Innistrad, Amonkhet and Tarkir. Neon Dynasty has easily become my favorite set ever.
Dominaria United is honestly one of my favorite sets of all time. The return to magic's oldest plane in time for the 30th anniversary just felt right, and everything about the set, from the new cards to the limited environment, was almost perfectly executed. It doesn't beat Dominaria for me, but it still did a damn good job.
And it's only 200 bucks a box
As someone who started playing during Invasion I really liked Dominaria United. It's like a true crime show, the following is true but the names have been changed to protect the innocent lol
The thing that I really enjoyed from this year was the support that the Gladiator Format received from Arena through the two limited time queues. It showed how wotc can still support community driven formats despite how commander turned out
That was really cool - I really hope gladiator gets regular queue support tbh, lots of variety and it’s wc friendly like brawl
I feel like all the 4 Standard sets in 2022 were really good. I personally really loved New Capenna and i'm abit sad it didn't get more praise.
You seem to be among a small minority then... but to each their own.
I really dug the flavor of new cappena but it got the short end of the stick because it was the only non nostalgia set. Brothers War was a call back to Antiquities, Dominaria United was Invasion block, and Neon Genesis Kamigawa is it's namesake.
@@skillganon606 I only got into Magic starting with Strixhaven, so I got zero nostalgia for any of the above. Yet I still found New Capenna to be leagues worse than each of them... IMO the flavor mostly just boiled down to puns on every piece of mafia/crime lingo imaginable, and beyond that, there were only hints and glimmers of a larger world. That didn't include anybody actually fighting crime, btw, which struck me as strange.
@@empirate100 Capena suffers from the issue of WotC having set ADHD. In the long long ago we had 3 sets for every new world and it allowed them to flesh the story out. And Kamigawa has a set and a world to refer back to and as I said earlier the latter two sets are basically rehashed sets from the 90s. It's kinda nice that it's been almost 30 years and we are still dealing with the fallout from the first major story line.
@@empirate100 I think part of the reason why i liked New Capenna so much was that it was so underrated, and I got very positivly surprised once i got to play with some of the cards. There are alot of fun and powerful mechanics and hidden gems in the set, that were overlooked initially.
I love that Kamigawa Neon Dynasty was the best of 2022. Cause I started during the first Kamigawa block and over the years I realized the power level of that block was... to be desired.
you just spoiled the video for me.
@@ericzettl1563 Don't look into the comments before you watch the video. The whole point of the comments is to talk about the videos content.
@@TheJ1A2K3E4 it was the first thing shown right under the video. i am on my phone, there wasn't much i could do to avoid this since when you don't watch in fullscreen it's just right there underneath. it is also a quite common thing to hide spoilers somehow or mark them so people don't accidentaly get spoiled like i did. like really common. i don't think i am to blame for this tbh.
The limited and standard power of the Kamigawa block may have been lacking, but the sheer number of super desirable and powerful cards now is quite something.
Neon Dynasty was the first set I ever played Magic with because of the style. I motivated myself to go to prelease at my LGS without ever playing before. People were so nice and patient. Been playing magic since.
I loved the "not me, wait until you see my worst of video" moment, Prof gets to do a little villain monologue, as a treat.
Great episode. As someone who was drawn back into MTG thanks to the 40K cross over, and then discovering all of the shenanigans taking place, it's cool to see a focus on the positive elements of the game that took place this year. Hats off, Prof.
as someone who has recently gotten into Magic this year because of the Warhammer Decks and Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, this video resonated with me.
@14:00 So nice you said it twice! Honestly gave me a bad deja-vu moment...
I don't think the 425 commanders thing really means that much when like 200 of them are just a scuffed version of an already existing commander
Thank you
Completely agreed with 3 points out of 5. As tough as this year may have been, Kamigawa single-handedly makes it one of the better ones we had in a while, and I hope the coming year has more of those and less questionable marketing decisions. Have a good one, everybody!
Universes beyond Dark Souls commander decks, I crave it. It's such a perfect and awesome fit. Great characters, artefacts and world.
Honestly this was a good balm for a lot of the salt going around.
If I had to pick a top five WOTC-related things I like the most:
5. Also community related but specifically the New Perspective grant that existed with M30 and seems to be continuing into MagicCon going forward. It's pleasing to not only see established creators get support but marginalized and less seen members of the community get a shot at a leg up. It appears this may also expand in the future.
4. The List in New Capenna. Finally, the dang List made sense and added a genuine sense of joy to opening set boosters.
3. Street Fighter. The team behind these cards really flexed their creativity and design skills to really deliver some unique designs that I genuinely do not believe would have been doable or even conceived of without the prompt of "put Street Fighter Ryu on a card"
2. Every standard set. Kamigawa was a slam dunk and near impossible to top but I think in one way or another each set this year had exciting elements and were fun to play with.
1. Sidharth Chaturvedi's Secret Lair. Entirely selfish and personal reasons for this one. I lost my grandmother at the top of this year, and when this lair got spoiled the story depicted on captured so much of those emotions. So much so that I ended up sharing it with my mother (who has always tolerated my TCG obsessions at a distance) and she connected with it the same, not having any context for the cards themselves and said "I'd like to have a set of these myself." These are game pieces and in that context it's not a valuable purchase, but sometimes they can be more than that. This game and those cards let us both move a bit more forward.
to me the best thing this year is the in store promo old border reprints for 30th anniversery but Kamigawa neon was soooo good
I know the negative stuff always does better (unfortunately) but these videos MATTER. I hope more people watch, thank you Prof!
Surprised this video isn’t 5 minutes long 😂
It was a good year for mtg
@@nik700you mean for Hasbro?
If you set aside the Magic community being a crybaby manchildren and Hasbro being a greedy bastard, then it's not a surprise.
@@Timbochop I, much like Prof, am talking about the game, not corporate decisions. Standard sets were great (new capenna was a bit underwhelming but far from bad), amazing commander precons and suplementary products like 2X2 and jumpstart 22. Also, the vid with the top 5 negatives of the year is coming, you'll get your chance to complain about hasbro
@@h3h3podcastclipper what an idiotic statement 😂
Been playing magic for 14 years, and Neon Dynasty is probably my favorite set ever. It's a hit on every front for me, art, story, mechanics, great limited environment, and it introduced two of my favorite new characters in Kaito Shizuki and the Wandering Emperor.
Some other things that I loved this year:
Golden packs on arena: It’s definitely a positive shift for the arena economy.
Retro frame artifacts in Brothers’ War: I hope they do one of these (RFA, Mystic Archive) every year moving forward! It’s such a great way to get reprints out there in an exciting and accessible way, and it makes limited more fun.
Numbered retro frame artifacts: This is such a great way of supporting the collection aspect of the game in a way that has no negative impact on the game aspect of the game.
Discovering Magic this year has got to be the highlight of my 2022, I remember stumbling across Kamigawa Neon Dynasty and immediately falling in love with the art and lore. Finding creators such as you have been amazing and hearing your video intro always brought me back to when I first saw fell in love with this game. Thank you Sir Professor!
As Graham said during the Kamigawa PPR, "This set is a BANGER!"
Kamigawa was SO good that it becomes hard to describe it fully. It really checked every box. I got a sheer volume of fun from a month of NEO drafts that I usually can't get from a year of other sets. I won in interesting ways and was beaten in such spectacular and unexpected and impressive ways that I found myself literally clapping at my computer for my victorious opponent. Truly a treasure of a set.
So I'm obviously very late in coming back to MTG (I'm 43). I've collected it on and off over the years, including playing in its very early days. This Christmas I wanted to get back into my collection, dust it off a little, and try and build some interesting, fun-looking decks. But soooo much meta, so many words and phrases I didn't understand, like trying to read the lingo of a younger generation! So the best part of MTG in 2022 for me was finding this channel. Tolarian Community College is the best way to be reintroduced to this wonderful game and its world. So thanks, Brian and everyone that contributes.
It's still magic, it's just now Magic the Commandering.
Edit:
I'm with you as someone who loves Ninjas and Anime and was sad to hear how lackluster the last Kamigawa was, I was blown away by how amazing the set was, and everything that surrounded it. In addition, the new ninjas to make my Yuriko deck backbreaking was a plus.
Very much agreed and wow Kamigawa! The vehicles, dragons, enchantments, even taking a new spin on equipment. Love the new prerelease format, and I have to prop the commander deck designs of the year from War Hammer to Party Time to Shorikai (and more). Even if you only picked up the commander decks from 2022, you'd be loving the year in design!
Yeah I agree, the negatives this year is more impactful even with the huge positives being effective. However, as one person would say “focusing on the negatives all the time would only hurt yourself long term.”
My personal favorite thing to happen in magic in 2022 was the return of paper competitive play in the form of RCQs and the Paper PT coming back.
Thanks for taking time to go over some of this year's Highlights. Even though this has been a struggle of a year for the game, these silver linings and your love of Magic still remind me why I keep coming back to this game.
Just started learning/playing MTG over the Christmas holiday after contemplating for months.
Kamigawa was originally what caught my eye and it just stuck in my mind for what felt like forever til I eventually just said “fine let’s give magic a shot” currently loving arena as that’s the most convenient way for me to play currently but looking to move into physical in 2023.
All this said I want to say thanks for doing what you do here at this channel. The resources provided have helped me so much I appreciate it. 🙏🏻
Get out before it's too late
well said, as always, Prof! I've been burnt out and skipped the last several sets as I'm sure many have, but it's always great to be reminded that this is, at it's core, a game that I love even if I dont love everything that has been done in the past year
There are some things I don't necessarily like about the breakneck release schedule but a bonus is that there are often new and more thematic art and things added to cards to customize your decks with (which is fun as a Commander player being able to pick between variants to customize your deck). I really like all the variants honestly, it makes it feel so much more customized when you sit down at a table to play. I get that it might be hard to parse through all the new cards from a monetary standpoint (all the new Norns) but as a player I honestly love it...
Always love the positive content. I appreciate this video so much. On the topic of a ton of new commanders, I’ve gotten into artisan edh (uncommons and commons only) with all the fun uncommon legends being released. I’ve bought budget decks I brewed as Christmas gifts to my playgroup, getting to experience what WotC goes through in balancing decks in a bubble! It’s been awesome, difficult, and easily the most fun I’ve had as a deck builder.
As someone who began in the Kamigawa era and adored it, Neon Dynasty was literally what brought me back to Magic. Absolutely the best work WotC has done in years. I was kind of shaky on the premise but they put in the work to make it feel like part of Magic.
At around 14 minutes there's a little loop haha
I'm a new MTG commander player who got sucked in through the Warhammer Commander Sets! My very first commander deck was the Chaos deck, and now I'm sitting pretty on four different commander decks - with the most recent one being one I built entirely by myself!
It's not fun for my wallet to join another hobby which costs so much, but it's certainly fun for me!!
Sweet video. You're right. The 10% good does get lost amongst the 90% bad/average.
Thanks for reminding me of some of the great things that actually did happen with Magic this year! I love that so much cool stuff is out there even if it feels like we’re fighting the flood of product all the time. I appreciate that you keep highlighting the positives.
The flipside to this is gonna be spicy
And will have much more views than this video.
Clearly the best thing that happened in magic this year was Phil foglio painting again.
Love the positivity Prof! To many more positive news in the upcoming year of 2023 🎉
I got started with the Kamigawa Set Commander Precons and I had an absolute blast playing this year. My first commander deck is still my favorite deck i own. I met great people and enjoyed the awesome community, despite the flaws magic is my favorite game to play with friends and with big thanks to the team behind this channel for getting me more into the game.
I absolutely loved playing Pre-release this year. It was always a big buzz and a massive joy to be able to play with people in person again.
Kamigawa has ALWAYS been one of my favorite products in magic and kamigawa neon dynasty was by FAR the best thing to happen this year in magic. Thanks prof for helping me and others remember all the good that happened in a dark year for magic's history. I didn't get to open jumpstart 2022 until very recently and was disappointed I had not opened some sooner. Here's to more of the good in 2023. We can all try and forget about magic 30th edition over a box of Kamigawa neon dynasty.
Thanks Prof. A good reminder of the power of perspective… where a lack of positivity sours any hint of goodness
Thanks Prof!! The best thing to happen for me in magic this year, is that I’m rediscovering the game I enjoyed as a kid, and thanks to channels like this, I’m better informed about the game.
The best thing this year is that Magic has never been more affordable and easy to get into. The tons of variants and foils from collectors packs makes the price on basic nonfoil cards are as cheap as they've ever been.
I've honestly really loved the kind of unique brews and strategies the different commanders of this year have given us. My stand out favourite has been the Choose a Background commanders from Baldur's Gate, there's a lot of fun variety in how they work together. Without feeling busted like partner
Hearing Kamigawa Neon Dynasty top this list felt really special because...it was my first MTG set. If you can't tell by the pfp, I'm a big Yu-Gi-Oh player (among other card games) that never really gave MTG a look but the style, the flavor, the lore...everything about Kamigawa hooked me. It got me into reading the broader story to understand the shocking reveals, it got me invested in characters, and it got me playing a game I haven't been interested in for over 20 years. While WotC is rightfully getting dragged for decisions, as a new fan, I can't wait to see what happens and where we go next
Kamigawa was also a home-run. I am still buying up cards and set boosters to crack packs. Even the lands are fantastic!!
My favorite thing has been running drafts with my friends for each of the main sets. We had so much fun with Kamigawa, New Capenna, Dominaria United, and Brother's War.
I was back in the town where I first learned to play Magic for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty’s prerelease. It was great to see old friends again, and I actually placed in a prerelease event for the first time.
Definitely a highlight of the year for me.
the best thing in magic for me was meeting you in mexico and having my tolarian scholar signed, thanks for another year of great content uwu
Awesome video! Thanks for the good vibes!
You always make great content Prof and your energy is like no other. Keep doing great work. Love you man.
Kamigawa Is what brought me and my boys back to Magic. Jump Start 2022 is what were playing now
The uh, interesting editing choices on this video really do provide an interesting behind the scenes on how Prof makes these videos!
I'm sure this is a busy time of year and the video had to be rushed, but I honestly hope he keeps it this way, I think it's really interesting. 😁
The first line reminded me of your posts about a recent set already being old, with people already thinking about the new spoilers
hey i’ve never thought about the many new commanders in a positive light before this video but it was really nice to hear your optimistic perspective on it
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty was the first set released after I had started playing magic (through the mono-deck game box and the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt commander decks), and I was instantly hooked. I remember thinking "Wow... I've been missing out on this great stuff all these years." But after talking with some veteran players, I realized how truly exceptional this set was. It's what got many of them to come back to MTG, and after playing will all subsequent sets, only Brothers' War came close to topping it in terms of story, mechanics and sheer gameplay fun.
I discovered Magic this year ! Got into it, and I am now a part of this great community, pretty intimidatiing from the outside, but really nice and close on the inside
As someone whose first set was the OG Kamigawa, it's always held a very special place in my heart. While I know it's not supremely powerful, it has always been one of my favorites. What they did this year with Neon Dynasty was everything I could've hoped for and more. It's quickly become my favorite set of all time. Everything about the set from top to bottom was executed flawlessly. I am seriously considering getting into Cubing just so I can make a cube for this set to draft whenever I feel like.
Thanks prof your the reason I still play magic I've had many issues with the game and the compy lately. But recently been playing commander with my play group and gosh it just reminds me how much I love this game and how amazing this game is. I will always love mtg ❤️
Grats on the pauper round win! Happy new year!
Wow. Professor, I haven't heard the pre-release explained in that way. I've only seen online banter with negative connotations. That gave me a whole new perspective
Personal feelings about the Warhammer decks aside the other negative with them is availability. Despite claiming they are on the third print run my lgs which is a premium store has yet to be able to get a restock. Numbers were cut a week before release and nothing else has become available. Jumpstart has been similar with us getting a measly 2 cases and not being able to restock at all since launch.
Yeah I've also been surprised by the lack of printing on Jumpstart.
You could have easily bought any warhammer deck at release or at least in Europe.
I love how the thumbnail image for the video about the best part of MTG in 2022 is the card "Discover the Impossible".
Lol, nice one, Prof.
Totally agree, i was able to pick up the Chaos Warhammer deck at target while Christmas shopping for a less then I paid for the Tyranid one I got online. I’m also on my way to building my first cube with the New Jumpstart 2022 using the dragon shield shells you recommended Professor, thanks and happy new year!
I for one love the positivity, Professor. Great list. You're the top of 2022.
So glad that kamigawa gets the love it deserves. One of the best sets flavorwise.
I miss the credits of you leaning back in your chair in the afternoon light. Very peaceful and nostalgic image.
I love the phrase “commander is a vanity format”.
The best thing was playing against you in the showdown in Mexico a few weeks ago!
Thank you very much, Professor! These kind of videos are necessary to keep the "negativity" somehow graspable (in both ways of meaning). Cause otherwise we will let the bad decisions take our love for that game - and that should not happend, for what it is for us. Wish you all a 'Happy Ending' to this troublesome year 2022! Get save into the new year and enjoy these last days of 2022.
Kamigawa was what got me into magic and I just love that set, the art and the setting and ofc the lore it's amazing
Kamigawa, Neon Dynasty, was one of the best sets that I have ever played. I still miss the set and wish that we experienced the set as a block.
I started a new full time job three months ago, and I am also basically a full-time caregiver for my spouse. Because of this, I had to stop playing MTG entirely, and had far less time for watching MTG content. I also found myself getting very melancholy when watching MTG content, because I missed it so much.
Because of this, I haven't watched any of the SUaP episodes released since I started my job, but I still watch as many of your videos as I can, and I am pleased to report that I always find joy in watching your videos. Even though I miss playing the game, and many channels make me sad, you don't. Thank you for always producing such high-quality content, and for being the connection to MTG that I can still enjoy. 💙
Hang in there! And best wishes for the new year!
Professor, thank you for saying that Neon Dynasty was the best thing of this year.
It not only was my favorite set of this year, it was actually my no. 1 game of 2022. The original Kamigawa was what got me into MTG, and sitting down at a Japanese hibachi place for the pre-release (The LGS I go to is that badass) felt like I rediscovered the game all over again. Since it came out, it's been my goal to make a dozen Neon Dynasty commander decks, and I'm about halfway to completing that goal. No set in recent memory has ever made me feel such pure, unadulterated, genuine joy like Neon Dynasty did......and I'm also with you on wanting it to be 3 parts instead of one!
The best thing about commander was the interesting constraints it had. Introducing so many commander specific/targeted products resulted in the homogeneity you are describing by essentially removing constraints piece by piece. Partners, companions, easy to cast 5 color legends with no downsides, perfect manabases so you can just play a pile of good stuff, etc.
7:50 2002 was a pretty great year though.
Kamigawa and New Capenna tied for me this year for entirely different reasons. Kamigawa was fantastic for standard and modern, a breath of fresh air those formats needed. There was enough variant strategies in it that players had options: Samurai, Ninjas, Shrines, Vehicles.
New Capenna was great for Commander and had quite a few good combos that really made for some interesting experiences for us. This was my wife’s favorite set (as she’s into Dieselpunk) and was very happy when I built a New Capenna themed commander cube. I didn’t even have to make house rules; it felt like the thing built itself.
Homerun Prof! This was a great video. And agreed, Jumpstart was fantastic again (got our family back around the kitchen table w/ MTG). And Neon Dynasty was a beautiful, enjoyable, energizzed set. My favorite in a long time.
Agreed that WotC prioritizing the LGSs over digital and crappy big box stores is a huge plus. Kamigawa NEO was sublime. And yes, I also miss blocks. I wanted to stay on Kaldhiem and Kamigawa!
Quick question: where can I buy those sculptures?!
Couldn't agree more about Neon Dynasty!
Although I did not have the opportunity to draft it (yet), it was a joy to crack packs of, discover the wondeful cards, world and story of it. I sadly missed on the original block, but I learned about the many nods to it.
The fact that they nailed what could originally be perceived as a very balsy concept ("What do you mean, a "futuristic neo asian scifi" set of MTG?!") give this set yet more credit.
I very much hope that we'll be going back to it soon to learn more about the lore and the world 👍
Great video, thank you Professor. Just FYI, in case it was an editing accident, you repeat yourself around the 14min mark. Happy New Year!
Thank you for a fun video reminding me of some of the highlights of this year. It is far too easy to fall into a negative mindset with WotC's terrible communication skills so it's always nice to remember what made us love this game in the first place. Thank you, & have a wonderful start to the new year.
Great list! I love playing pre-releases. Although I always have fun, there is always that one person I play that is so focused on just winning that it taints the experience. Like Phyrexian Oil in a wound.
I just did my first draft ever with Kamigawa Neon dynasty, and I have to say it was an unbelievably fun experience. I think this set is absolutely incredible and it makes me want to learn everything about this plane