The latest Magic: The Gathering set, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty has had a great fan response, according to MTG head designer Mark Rosewater. Because of this, Rosewater predicts there are likely to be future MTG sets based in the Japan-inspired world of Kamigawa. In a comment left on his Blogatog blog on Wednesday, he set the Kamigawa plane at a four on his famous ‘Rabiah scale’.
The Rabiah scale, for those not in the know, is how Mark Rosewater judges the likelihood of any given plane reappearing in future MTG sets. It’s a scale that uses Rabiah, long deemed the world least likely to be revisited in a Magic: The Gathering set, as a yardstick. Rabiah lies at ten, so a four means that future MTG Kamigawa sets are not guaranteed, but are pretty probable.
To give some perspective, in an article about the Rabiah scale which Rosewater wrote for Magic’s website in 2018, he put Theros just above where Kamigawa sits now, at a three. Just two years later, we got a new Theros set, 2020’s Theros Beyond Death. The dragon and warlord-filled plane of Tarkir also got a four in that article, while the uber-popular plane Ravnica received a one.
It might seem a bit surprising that Kamigawa could play host to future MTG sets. After all, the original Kamigawa block from 2004 was a historic flop for Magic: The Gathering. In the past, Mark Rosewater himself has spoken at length about the problems with the plane.
Getting just one more Kamigawa set was a shock, and something that likely wouldn’t have been possible without the death of MTG blocks. But pulling the plane thousands of years into the future and giving the setting a fresh coat of glowing cyberpunk paint in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty appears to have given it a new lease on life.
Of course, the Rabiah scale (and its companion for MTG mechanics, the Storm scale) should be taken with a healthy pinch of salt. Rosewater serves as the main line of communication between fans and MTG-maker Wizards of the Coast, but he is just one person, and the Rabiah scale is just his opinion. It may be in need of some rebranding, too, since Rosewater recently seemed more open to the idea of a return to Rabiah.
At the very least though, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty has clearly proven that a failed past Magic: The Gathering plane can still turn out a hugely successful set with just a little reworking. It’s something the powers that be at Wizards of the Coast are sure to have noticed. Perhaps more experimental revisits and revamps will be possible in future?
For now though, we’ve got the mean Streets of New Capenna to explore, followed by a double-helping of Dominaria, with the Dominaria United and The Brothers’ War sets. Check out our guide to stay current on all the scheduled 2022 MTG set release dates.
Source: Wargamer
