Risona, Asari Commander – Exclusive Magic: The Gathering Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Preview Card

You may have noticed our preview card if you were following Kamigawa Neon Dynasty leaks before the previews. But I assure you that it is one of the finest quality preview cards you have ever seen. You can read all text and statistics on the card. Take that, early pack openers with terrible potato cameras!

Ekaterina Burmak, Art

I’m Risona the Asari Commander. She’s a legendary Human Samurai creature in the Boros/Lorehold colors that costs 1RW to cast. Risona brings a good three-power and three toughness, and Haste, and is ready for action. Where Risona makes her mark is her rules text which says, “Whenever Risona, Asari Commander deals combat damage to a player, if it doesn’t have an indestructible counter on it, put an indestructible counter on it. Whenever combat damage is dealt to you, remove an indestructible counter from Risona.” That second clause is key to keeping Risona alive. Make sure you’re board is prepared to defend so Risona can remain to slay safely.

Ekaterina Burmak, Art

Risona, in any format, will work well with a Samurai deck. Kamigawa, Neon Dynasty shows that Samurais no longer care about Bushido. They are more interested in whether Samurai or Warrior animals attack on their own. It is the only way to combat. The set includes many Samurai who have Vigilance. This allows them to strike without tapping, making them ready for the next turn. Risona, unfortunately, doesn’t, but her Haste and Indestructible counter gained upon drawing blood from an opponent’s life points is plenty of incentive to have her lead the charge into battle and continue being the lone Samurai in fights triggering all other Samurai effects without the worry of losing her in battle. If you have the space, ensure that your board is filled with creatures such as Imperial Subduer, Selfless Samurai which can tap down beefy blocks, rare Selfless Samurai which add Lifelink for solo-attackers, and Peerless Samurai which reduces the cost of your next turn’s spell, effectively ramping up your character. We’ll take any ramp effects we can get in White/Red, right? 

As for making Risona your Commander, I’m not sold on it yet. Risona isn’t doing much for building around besides being a Samurai and making herself a great target for the aforementioned solo Samurai/Warrior attacks once she’s been granted indestructibility. To get the most out of her, you’d want some kind of trickery to move her Indestructible counters around, like The Ozolith, and a way to exile and return Risona every turn like Teleportation Circle to dump the counters on other creatures. Although she may be better suited as a tool to the 99 counters decks, there are more skilled minds than mine who can figure it out. This does however give me an idea of a Historic deck.

Art by 加藤 綾華/KATO AYAKA

Risona Asari commander is available in three card types. The standard art is by the extremely talented Ekaterina Burmak and can be found in the traditional Magic frame as well as the extended art frame that can only be pulled in collector’s booster packs. More of Ekaterina’s art can be found on the borderless Chandra, Dressed to Kill from Crimson Vow and Wish from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Risona will also be included in the alternative Samurai frames. It includes wonderful artwork by Kato Yamaka, who has previously submitted work for the Fire Emblem CipherTM TCG. This Samurai frame version can be found in any booster product but has a special foil-etched treatment that can only be found in collector’s boosters. We were lucky enough to be provided with high-resolution images for both of these beautiful pieces of art to give you the clearest look at this card.

Ekaterina Burmak, Art

Wizards of the Coast thanks for letting Game Informer Take part in the Kamigawa Neon Dynasty preview series. Personally, I’m like a hawk during new set previews, needing to see every new card coming out, so this is very cool to be a part of. If you’d like to know more about the new set, check out our set mechanic preview to give you the lowdown on the new and returning mechanics for Neon Dynasty. 

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty comes to Magic: The Gathering Arena February 10th, with prereleases at local games stores starting February 11th. On February 18, the official physical release will be made.