Two of my favourite Arena BO1 decks are my UR Giants and my WB Cleric decks. With Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty spoilers now done, I took a look to see what new cards might help me improve those decks. At first glance, it does not look like either deck will unfortunately see a lot of updates.
On the creature front, the new set comes does not come with any new Giants or Clerics. This is less of a concern for my Clerics deck but does keep my Giants deck saddled with a few creature cards that would be easy cuts (I’m looking at you Zalto, Giant Fire Duke).
On the lands side of things, the very intriguing and likely breakout card of the set, Boseiju, Who Endures, fits into neither of the decks with the current mana bases. The other Legendary Lands also don’t stand out as automatic additions.
The two Legendary Lands that could go into my Clerics deck each come with downsides. Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire could replace an existing removal spell and give my mana fixing a small boost. Could be worth an inclusion to test it out.
Takenuma, Abandoned Mire’s Channel cost is quite high but could help put some clerics into the graveyard for a dying Orah, Skyclave Hierophant to bring back to the battlefield. My first thought is that it’s simply not worth it though. – Too many hoops to jump through.
Only one Legendary Land could be useful in my giants deck. Otawara, Soaring City, could help protect my costly giants should they come under threat. Rather than losing them, they would return to my hand. The downside is the high Channel cost that would likely prevent me from playing another giant during my turn.
One new land inclusion for my Clerics deck could be Scoured Barrens. The life gain would work well with Cleric of Life’s Bond and Voice of the Blessed. For my giants, the Izzet Swiftwater Cliffs comes in tapped and its life gain would not trigger if Quakebringer was in play. That one is a pass.
Where things could get more interesting is with the new equipment cards that double as creatures. For example, reconfiguring Lizard Blades onto Quakebringer would definitely be a sweet play – Especially if Calamity Bearer is on the battlefield as well. The Reality Chip could also be an interesting addition – If nothing else, worth a try.
Could my Clerics deck benefit from Blade of the Oni, the Equipment Demon? I suspect that its ability to turn an equipped creature into one with base power and toughness 5/5 and menace and still remain a Cleric would be a powerful combination. But that assumes it can stay on the board long enough given that it comes in as a creature with only 1 toughness. Leech Gauntlet with Lifelink also has potential and Lion Sash just looks like it could be a strong include (too bad it does not have lifegain like good old Scavenging Ooze).
Lastly, the sagas that turn into creatures are definitely intriguing but none of them leaped out at me. Except maybe for Behold the Unspeakable for my giants deck but do I really need another 5 CMC card in my deck, especially if I have to give up a giant for it?
Finally, there may be some opportunities to replace a few cards with new Instant and Sorcery cards. Unquenchable Fury could be interesting in my Giants deck and there are a few possibilities for the Clerics as well. For example, could Lethal Exploit replace Baleful Mastery? I definitely need to spend a bit more time on these cards.
All in all, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is shaping up to be an interesting set but I suspect it will take me in new directions rather than helping me with my existing Arena BO1 decks.
Family Magic 
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