Table of Contents – Ultimate Guide to Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 1 - Top Commons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 2 - Top Uncommons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 3 - Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour
Chapter 4 – Guide to Vehicles
Chapter 5 – 5 Limited Deck Archetypes
Welcome all to the Ultimate Guide to Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Limited and Prerelease. It’s time for the Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour. Each set brings new challenges when it comes to reviewing it and figuring out what options you or your opponent have. Kamigawa is full of enchantments and artifacts which without removal could win your opponent the game. This guide will help you with the knowledge of what cards your opponent might still have in their hand. Tricks like keeping a certain colour mana open turn after turn might make your opponent think you have a certain card in your hand when you don’t.
To make it easier, I’ve broken the combat tricks and removal cards down by colour so you can have an easier reference to what cards you’re looking for in your opponents’ hand. Once you have the information from this guide you can learn to change the order of your spells and mana spending to outwit your opponent.
White Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
White provides plenty of removal spells to use at both instant and sorcery speed.
At sorcery speed Banishing Slash can be used to remove all sorts of permanents while Lucky Offering is a cheap way to destroy a cheap artifact. There is also the Saga The Fall of Lord Konda that can help you exile a creature with mana value of four or greater. If you just want to remove it all, White has a nice sweeper in the set called Farewell.
At instant speed, White has three spells you can cast. The best is March of Otherworldly Light which can scale to exile an artifact, creature, or enchantment. Repel the Vile is a situational removal spell while Wanderer’s Intervention can help deal four damage to an attacking or blocking creature. White has three combat tricks to watch out for. Light the Way can be an annoying combat trick for only one White mana. Regent’s Authority is another one mana combat trick that you might overlook. For a bigger blowout, watch out for the multiple targeting When We Were Young.
When it comes to enchantments White always delivers with a few removal permanents. Intercessor’s Arrest can shutdown any permanent while Touch the Spirit Realm exiles a permanent until it’s removed.
When it comes to creatures with Flash, Kyodai, Soul of Kamigawa is a 3/3 flying blocker that can also give another target permanent indestructible. Born to Drive can provide two 1/1 blockers in a pinch if needed.
Finally, there is the mighty Flash planeswalker The Wandering Emperor. It can hurt you in multiple ways by either, pumping up a creature, making a 2/2 blocker, or exiling a tapped creature.
Blue Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
Blue starts off with its usual pool of counterspell cards to choose from. Spell Pierce and Mirrorshell Crab can counter a spell if your opponent doesn’t have the mana to pay an extra cost. Essence Capture can counter a creature spell while also pumping up one of your creatures. The only blanket counterspell lies with Disruption Protocol.
If you are looking for more ways to bounce a permanent, you can look no further than Chapter 1 of the saga Inventive Iteration. Another enchantment Blue can use to shut down a large threat is Awakened Awareness.
At instant speed, Blue has a few options to watch out for. March of Swirling Mist can be used to phase out a ton of creatures to clear the way for an attack or stop one. Saiba Trespassers can be discarded to tap down two creatures for a turn. Planar Incursion can blink a creature or artifact at instant speed while you can discard Moonsnare Prototype to put a permanent back on top of its owner’s library.
There are also two Auras with flash to keep an eye out for. Short Circuit can bring down a flyer and drop a creatures’ power by three. Tamiyo’s Compleation is an answer to almost any permanent on the battlefield and will shut it down completely.
Lastly, Blue does have one combat trick with Suit Up which can change any creature or artifact into a 4/5 creature.
Black Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
Black, as always, has a slew of removal spells. At instant speed, it starts off with one of the best in the set, Assassin’s Ink. Debt to the Kami can exile a creature or enchantment of your opponents’ choice. Lethal Exploit can kill a small creature while You are Already Dead can finish off a creature that’s already taken damage. March of Wretched Sorrow can be used to kill a creature and gain life. Dokuchi Silencer can be cast for two mana with Ninjitsu to destroy a creature or planeswalker by discarding a card.
At sorcery speed, the removal continues in Black with Soul Transfer.
Black has a couple of Auras that can kill a creature, one you put on your own creature, the other on your opponents’ creature. Twisted Embrace will pump up a creature and destroy another one, while Clawing Torment can be used to finish off a creature and make it unable to block. You can also give a creature -1/-1 at sorcery speed in the first two chapters of the Saga Life of Toshiro Umezawa. Gravelighter can be used to help remove a single threat of your opponents’ choosing.
Black has a few mini sweepers to choose from. Invoke Despair can be used to have a player sacrifice a creature, enchantment, and planeswalker. Malicious Malfunction can give all creatures -2/2 to clear off the battlefield of low toughness creatures.
The only non-removal combat trick to worry about in Black is Return to Action that can pump up a creature and return to the battlefield after it dies.
Red Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
Overall surprisingly, Red doesn’t have a ton of removal spells in Neon Dynasty. To start off you have the mega damage spell Explosive Singularity.
Red has a few ways to deal damage at instant speed starting with Kami’s Flare that can deal three damage to a creature or planeswalker with the possible upside of damaging your opponent. Seismic Wave can hit any target for two damage but also provides a mini sweeper by damaging each nonartifact creature your opponent controls. Voltage Surge is the cheapest way to deal some damage and you can sacrifice an artifact to pump it up to four damage if needed.
One of the more versatile ways to deal damage comes from Twinshot Sniper. If there is an annoying Vehicle driving around, you can use the sorcery speed Explosive Entry to destroy it.
When it comes to combat tricks you can discard Ironhoof Boar to give a creature +3/+1 and trample. Kindled Fury is a cheap 1-mana combat trick that can give a creature first strike.
Green Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
Green starts off with some situational removal spells including the ability to discard Bamboo Grove Archer to destroy a flying creature. To destroy artifacts or enchantments you can use Fade into Antiquity at sorcery speed and Kappa Tech-Wrecker at instant speed.
Green can kill creatures by using spells that deal damage equal to a creature’s power to an opponents’ creature. Spinning Wheel Kick can be used to take out multiple creatures at once. Master’s Rebuke isn’t as powerful but can be cast at instant speed. Green does have a way to make an instant creature by discarding Roaring Earth.
Green is loaded with is combat tricks, aided by the Channel ability. Discarding Favor of Jukai or Jukai Preserver will pump up a creature to help during combat. Boon of Boseiju can be a huge stat boost depending on the greatest mana value among permanents you control. Storyweave is an interesting way to instantly transform a Saga into an enchantment creature while giving it two +1/+1 counters.
Finally is the card I consider to be the Green counterspell, Tamiyo’s Safekeeping.
Multicolour, Artifact, and Land Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
The return of Tamiyo, Compleated Sage will be something to watch out for as it can keep creatures tapped down. Colossal Skyturtle can be used early in the game to bounce a creature for two mana. Hidetsugu Consumes All can be used as a sweeper for permanents with mana value one or less. We also have the mighty Saga The Kami War that can both exile a nonland permanent followed by bouncing one the following turn.
For lands, Boseiju, Who Endures can destroy any artifact, enchantment, or nonbasic land for just two mana. Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire can be discarded to deal four damage to an attacking or blocking creature. You can discard Otawara, Soaring City to bounce almost any permanent to their owner’s hand. Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance can create two 1/1 Spirit tokens at instant speed to block if needed.
I hope that this Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour will provide some value and insight into your plays. Thanks again for reading Chapter 3 of the Ultimate Guide to Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Limited and Prerelease. Next up is Chapter 4 and the Guide to Vehicles. If you’ve missed any of the other chapters for this guide, click below to check them out.
Table of Contents – Ultimate Guide to Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 1 - Top Commons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 2 - Top Uncommons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 3 - Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour
Chapter 4 – Guide to Vehicles
Chapter 5 – 5 Limited Deck Archetypes
