Champions of Kamigawa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Champions of Kamigawa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Expansion symbol |  torii gate |
|
| Release date | October 1, 2004 | |
| Mechanics | Spiritcraft, Flip cards, Legendary cards, Arcane |
|
| Keywords | Bushido, Soulshift, Splice | |
| Size | 306 (88 rares, 88 uncommons, 110 commons, 20 lands) | |
| Expansion code | CHK | |
| Development codename | Earth
|
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| Sets in Kamigawa Block | ||
| Champions of Kamigawa | Betrayers of Kamigawa | Saviors of Kamigawa |
| Magic: The Gathering Chronology |
||
| Fifth Dawn | Champions of Kamigawa | Unhinged |
Champions of Kamigawa is the name of the Magic: The Gathering expansion set released October 1, 2004. The first set of the Kamigawa block, it set the stage for the block's story, which was inspired by Japanese myths and revolves around the battle between spirits (kami) and living beings.
The set's expansion symbol is a torii, the entrance to the Shinto temple. This is especially important, as Kamigawa's original idea was summed up as "Shinto gone horribly wrong": Kami warring against their human worshippers.
[edit] Mechanics
Champions of Kamigawa introduced several new mechanics to the game:
- Arcane spells - some spells (instants or sorceries) have the Arcane subtype, which represent spells or abilities used by the kami in the War. It does nothing by itself, but other cards may interact with it (see below).
- Spirits - Due to the nature of Kamigawa, this block contains a large proportion of creatures with the subtype Spirit. These spirits represent the kami themselves, and numerous spells and permanents in the block interact with them in special ways to provide synergy.
- Bushido, or "way of the warrior", makes the creature tougher when it combats another creature (more specifically, the creature gets +X/+X when it blocks or gets blocked, where "X" is the number of Bushido points the creature has. This is usually compared to flanking, which weakens (-1/-1) the blockers of the creature.)
- Heroes - A nickname for a series of cards that flip when particular conditions are met (for example, when it deals damage to the opponent), becoming more powerful and legendary.
- Soulshift keyword appears on Spirit creatures and allows them to return another Spirit creature from the graveyard to its owner's hand when they perish.
- Splice onto Arcane - the spells having this keyword could be "attached" to another spell having Arcane subtype for additional mana investment. The spell 'spliced' remains in the player's hand able to be reused another time.
- "Spiritcraft" - Many spirits have abilities which trigger when another Spirit or an Arcane spell is played.
Champions of Kamigawa introduced changes to two common creature types. The Legend creature type was replaced with the Legendary supertype; the Wall creature type was freed from the rules that associated that prevented it from attacking. Each Wall creature was changed to the new Defender keyword which prevents them from attacking, allowing for a simpler use of the "wall" type creature across different creature types. For example, this allowed for the Lorwyn changelings, which have all creature types. Under the old rules, changelings would not be able to attack, through sheer benefit of being walls.
[edit] Notable cards
- The Myojin: high mana cost creatures that come into play with a Divinity counter and are indestructible as long it remains upon them. The counter can be removed for a devastating effect. They depict the five most powerful spirits in Kamigawa. Myōjin (明神?) is a title given to Shinto gods.
- The Honden: Legendary enchantments with the subtype Shrine that work together. Each upkeep, they bestow powerful effects, but they are even more powerful when used together, as their effects just replicate every time the player plays another Honden. Also the first enchantments to have a subtype (until the Aura rule was instated) and the first legendary enchantments. They do not get better with the Odyssey block Shrines, due to lack of subtype 'Shrine'. In Shinto, honden (本殿?) are the most sacred areas reserved for use of the kami.
- Time Stop: this card ends the turn immediately. The most powerful aspect of Time Stop is that, due to the rule's wording, it can be used to counter an uncounterable spell. It has seen limited play, including an appearance in the mono-blue deck which won the MTG world championships. It is also unique in that the card's text is a mere three words, its reminder text is forty-two words long.
- Kokusho, the Evening Star: this is the most popular card of the "Dragon Spirit" legendary cycle. Decks which utilize Kokusho take advantage of the "new" Legend rule, which immediately kills two legendary cards with the same name, and the fact that Kokusho makes opponents lose life when it leaves play, to facilitate quick and decisive victories.
- Meloku the Clouded Mirror: a blue Legend with the ability to make many additional creatures. The ability made it powerful enough for use as a pivotal win condition in Standard, Block Constructed and Extended decks.
- Isamaru, Hound of Konda: the first 2/2 creature costing one mana printed without any significant drawbacks. With no disadvantages besides being legendary, this creature became common in winning white weenie standard and extended winning decks, and has also been used as an example to justify the apparent ascending power of the latest cards. Isamaru (勇丸?) can be taken to mean "perfect courage" in Japanese.
- Gifts Ungiven, one of the most popular cards in the block for constructed play, this card is the centerpiece of several eponymous decks in all formats from Type 1 to Block Constructed.
- Cranial Extraction: the first "chase rare" of the set, early on in the set's release it would be sold at up to $25. While the card has yet never had the effect it was predicted to have in tournament play, it still commands a reasonable percentage of its original price and sees moderate play.
- Sakura-Tribe Elder: One of the strongest modern mana acceleration cards, acting as a defensive "chump-blocker" as well as mana fixer. This card's strength is apparent when juxtaposed to previous cards such as Rampant Growth, and Diligent Farmhand.
- Sensei's Divining Top: Allowed a player to look at the top 3 cards in their library. It is commonly used in combination with * Counterbalance from the Coldsnap set.
