Commander Asari Lisona - Exclusive Magic the Gathering Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Preview Card

Users who have seen the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty leak before the preview may have found an exclusive preview card, but I can guarantee this is the best quality they’ve seen so far. Even better, you can actually read all the text and stats on the card. Bring your early unpacks with the terrible potato camera!

Art by Ekaterina Burmak

Let me introduce you to Commander Asari Lisona properly. She is a legendary human samurai creature of the color Boros/Lorehold that costs 1RW to cast. Bringing three solid strengths and three tenacity and acceleration to the board, Risona brings a decent body for her cost and is ready to dash for offense. Where Risona makes the mark is her rule text: Whenever you take combat damage, you remove an invulnerable counter from Risona.” This second clause is key to keeping Risona alive. Make sure your board is ready to defend so that Risona can safely kill you.

Art by Ekaterina Burmak

I think Risona will fit nicely into Samurai decks in almost any format. Kamigawa: In the Neon Dynasty, Samurais is no longer about Bushido, but whether Samurai or Warrior creatures are attacking alone. You know, an honorable way to fight. A lot of the samurai in the set are vigilant and can attack without tapping, so they can block the next turn. Risona unfortunately doesn’t. However, her haste and indestructible counters gained when drawing blood from enemies’ life points are enough motivation to keep her going into battle and continue to be a lone samurai in a fight that triggers all other samurai effects. Her worries about losing her in her battle. On a limited basis, fill the board with creatures like the Imperial Subduer to take down powerful blockers, the uncommon Selfless Samurai that adds a Lifelink to a single attacker, or the Peerless Samurai that reduces the cost of your next spell. That turn, effectively ramps you up. We’ll use the ramp effect we get from white/red. Is that correct?

As for making Risona your commander, nothing has been decided yet. Risona doesn’t do much to build buildings other than being a samurai, and once she is endowed with her invincibility, she makes a great target for the aforementioned solo samurai/warrior attacks. To get the most out of her, you’ll want some sort of cheat that moves her Indestructible counters around, like The Ozolith, and a way to exile and return Risona every turn, like the Teleportation Circle, to discard her counters to other creatures. She might be better suited as a tool for 99 of the counter deck, but has a better mind figuring it out than I do. But it does give you an idea for a stuttering historical deck.

Art by 加藤 綾華/KATO AYAKA

Risona, Asari Commander comes with three different card handling methods. The standard art is from the very talented Ekaterina Burmak, which can be found in the existing Magic Frames and Extended Art Frames that can only be retrieved from the Collector’s Booster Pack. More of Ekaterina’s art can be found in Chandra Without Borders, Dressed to Kill from Crimson Vow, and Wish from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Like the other samurai on the set, Risona can also be found in an alternate samurai frame that comes with great art by Kato Ayaka, who isn’t familiar with the card game, who previously submitted art to the Fire Emblem Cipher TCG. This version of the samurai frame can be found on any booster product, but has a special foil-etched finish found only on collector’s boosters. We’ve been fortunate to provide high-resolution images of these two beautiful creations so that you can see these cards in the clearest possible way.

Art by Ekaterina Burmak

Thanks to Wizards of the Coast for allowing Game Informer to join the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty preview season. Personally, I’m very excited to be part of this program as I’m like a hawk during a preview of a new set and I have to make sure every new card comes out. If you want to know more about the new set, check out the Set Mechanics Preview, which provides information on the new and returning mechanics of the Neon Dynasty.

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty will launch on Magic: The Gathering Arena on February 10th and pre-release in local game stores starting on February 11th. The official physical tabletop launch will happen a week later, on February 18th.