Phasing is not the most common keyword in Magic: The Gathering but it does play a small role in certain sets and appears to be coming back with Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. The futuristic cyberpunk setting is the perfect environment for the keyword to return, but will it feature heavily across the set?
What is Phasing and what does it mean? We’ve got all the info you need so that when a card hits the battlefield and it resolves, you know what to do!
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What is Phasing?
Phasing – in its simplest form – makes something disappear from the battlefield without it actually leaving the field of play. This means that any card that has phased out cannot take any action but also cannot be targeted by any spells or attacks.
When used just right on a specific card, Phasing can be very powerful but that is why it’s not a commonly used keyword compared to, say, Mill or Lifelink. Those keywords are more common because they are much easier to deal with and are easier to track and resolve.
Other cards to use the mechanic are Sandbar Crocodile and Teferi, Master of Time
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Is Phasing back in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty?
It’s hard to confirm right now as only a few previews were shown during the WeeklyMTG stream, but Phasing did feature on Kaito Shizuki, a brand new Planeswalker.
With the cyberpunk theme in full effect, there are plenty of opportunities to implement Phasing and it makes complete sense using the advanced tech of the era. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is set around 1,200 years after the original Kamigawa set that came out in 2004.
Phasing has not been used throughout the previous sets in the Kamigawa block up until now.
