MTG Kaito boosts Dimir strategies in Phyrexia: All Will Be One

Dimir colors in Magic: The Gathering have a new planeswalker through Kaito, Dancing Shadow in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, providing value through drain and gain strategies, along with card draw and return to hand effects. 

First introduced to MTG during Kamigawa: Neon Nights, Kaito returns in Phyrexia: All Will Be One (ONE) with a new planeswalker card that could impact the Standard meta. Drain and gain strategies have been sitting on the fringe of the meta since the release of The Brothers’ War. Despite competing directly with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse as a four-drop, it’s possible the Praetor and Kamigawa planeswalker could share the spot in a Dimir deck.

Kaito, Dancing Shadow

• Mana cost: 2UB
• Type: Legendary Planeswalker—Kaito
• Rarity: Rare
• Starting Loyalty: Three
• Passive ability: Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, you may return one of them to its owner’s hand. If you do, you may activate loyalty abilities of Kaito twice this turn rather than only once.
• Plus-one: Up to one target creature can’t attack or block until your next turn
• Zero: Draw a card
• Minus-two: Create a 2/2 colorless Drone Artifact creature token with Deathtouch and “When this creature leaves the battlefield, each opponent loses two life and you gain two life

The Ninjutsu flavor of Kaito, Dancing Shadow’s passive is spot on, allowing the planeswalker to return a creature to hand after dealing combat damage to an opponent. It’s an ability that synergizes with enter-the-battlefield effects while also boosting Kaito’s value in that the planeswalker gets to activate another loyalty ability that turn. 

Kaito, Dancing Shadow protects itself through the plus-one ability and by creating a 2/2 Artifact drone with Deathtouch. The second activation will most likely always be drawing a card that synergizes nicely with Sheldred, the Apocalypse, potentially draining an opponent for a total of four life per turn while you gain four life if the drone is removed from the battlefield. 

Players can test out Kaito, Dancing Shadow through Phyrexia: All Will Be One prerelease events that start on Feb. 3. A digital launch for the MTG set will take place on Feb. 7.