Is Neon Dynasty one of the greats?

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motleyslayer
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Post by motleyslayer » 1 year ago

yeah I feel that they were able to maintain some of the cool designs from the original block while making it different enough to be interesting

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Post by void_nothing » 1 year ago

Most of a year later, Neon Dynasty holds up for me. A lot to love about the set as a whole.
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Post by RxPhantom » 1 year ago

I'm even more convinced than I was when I started this thread that Neon Dynasty is one of the greatest sets ever made. It executed on every imaginable axis. It may even be my number one.

When I evaluate sets these days, one of the (admittedly subjective) criteria that I use is how many cards can fit into, or inspire new packs for my JumpStart cube. Neon Dynasty not only reignited my interest in that cube, but in Magic itself. The more I think about it, I think it is my favorite ever. Hmmm....

1. Neon Dynasty
2. Innistrad
3. Khans of Tarkir
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Post by duducrash » 1 year ago

Khans of tarkir was a blast. Im amazed at how relutant WOTC is to go back there

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Post by RxPhantom » 1 year ago

duducrash wrote:
1 year ago
Khans of tarkir was a blast. Im amazed at how relutant WOTC is to go back there
If memory serves, the original Khans timeline was a lot more popular than the Dragons one, which poses some problems for a return.
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Post by motleyslayer » 1 year ago

void_nothing wrote:
1 year ago
Most of a year later, Neon Dynasty holds up for me. A lot to love about the set as a whole.
I feel like a lot of people feel the same way, they love a lot about it

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Post by Androk » 1 year ago

I really enjoyed NEO. Personally, I thought there was a very good string of limited formats for a bit there, but they started to lose me during AFR/MID/VOW.

I say this as someone who considers limited to be my primary format.

After 3 sets in a row that I wasn't super fond of, NEO was a breath of fresh air.

I'd say I started drafting seriously during Ixalan block. I might have fonder memories of the last return to Ravnica than perhaps I should...but specifically with Allegiance, that was the set where I truly honed my drafting skills, and by that I mean actually learning to read the open lane, so that set holds a special place in my heart.

Throne of Eldraine is one of my favorite formats ever. Yes, there were some busted rares, but I found you could win a bunch with strong common/uncommon builds too. Plus, after cutting my chops with Ravnica, having 15 different draft paths was something I found to be incredible.

I thought Theros2, Ikoria, Zendikar3, Kaldheim, and Strixhaven were all fun and enjoyable formats, though I'd take Eldraine over any of then.

Then AFR/MID/VOW happened, and while I drafted them a bunch, I found them to be much less exciting than the prior 2 years. AFR and VOW are the only two sets I haven't 4xed on Arena...Im not big on MID either, bit I was able to 4x that because I got a kick out of silly 4c flashback decks. I didn't trophy a ton, but those decks were fun and could net me 4 or 5 wins so I could keep on going at least.

Then NEO came along, and like I said, breath of fresh air. There was so much more you could do than what was available in the previous 3 sets, but that's why I'm hesitant to call it an all time great. If it had come out in 2020, when every set was good in limited, would it be that much better?

SNC was a slog, actually, call that the 3rd set I haven't 4xed. As someone who prefers to draft in paper, 2 months of NEO followed by 5 months of SNC (with some 2xM mixed in, no to Baldurs Gate)...that was just a kick in the nuts.

I was originally excited for DMU, but I found it ultimately boiled down to Domain vs Mardu. I don't think that set had quite as many viable draft paths as people seem to think.

Which leads me to BRO....I think this set is an all time great. Apparently a lot of people don't like it, but I think it's amazing. I've done so many ridiculous things with this format. I think I may like it more than Eldraine.

Yes, there are bombs, I've seen a lot of people complain about Wurmcoil Engine. But there are answers too...Prison Sentence, Shoot Down, Subjugation, the black exile...every color besides red can answer a Wurmcoil at common.

But when I talk about ridiculous things....I had a game where my opponent and I just spent the first few turns ramping. He cast a Wurmcoil. I then copied it with Sculpting Steel and Exiled it with Dhoot Down on the same turn....now I have the Wurmcoil. Not only that, my next turn, I cast Helm of the Host and equipped, now I have ALL the Wurmcoils! What other standard limited format can you do that?

One of my other favorite decks, I first picked an Unwinding Clock. I then prioritized power stones and creatures with mana activations like Dprite and Savant. I proceeded to pick up a Staff of Domination. That deck was wonky as he'll, but it was GOOD! Pretty sure I trophies. What other standard limited format can you do that?

I've had decks with powerful rares, and decks with synergistic C/UCs. When you can trophy either way, IMO, that's the mark of a great format.

I've had decks where I just take the best cards I see, pick up Stalwarts, Refractory, Wilds, etc, and run 4/5 color piles, and I can trophy with those too.

NEO was very decent, but I think BRO is up there with the all time greats. There's been a lot of times where I feel like I'm playing a Cube deck, and I've never had that experience with another standard limited format.

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