Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is almost out, and for its limited format, there are a lot of cards one must expect their opponents to throw at them at instant speed. Although there are not more instants in this set than usual at lower rarities, the return of the Channel keyword means there are many permanents that can be discarded at instant speed for an effect, like a sort of uncounterable instant.
This isn't even to mention the many ninjas with the Ninjutsu ability, which allows them to be placed from the hand tapped and attacking at instant speed if you return an unblocked attacking creature to your hand before damage is dealt. These ninjas with Ninjutsu appear in all colors except red, meaning up against a mono-red opponent is the only time you will not have to worry about them. For most of these ninjas, one must only worry about unblocked attackers suddenly dealing extra damage or having a surprise saboteur trigger, with the exception of three at lower rarities. I'll cover those ninjas and then get into the rest of the notable interaction at lower rarities. Also, keep in mind that even if a card is very bad, even unplayable (like a sideboard card in best-of-one: something you'd never play if you could avoid it), your opponent may very well still have it in hand. You never know if someone's draft went horribly wrong, or if they are just not as adept at evaluating cards (or maybe they're a genius who knows secrets of the meta no one suspects??).
Moonsnare Specialist - This card can come down during combat out of nowhere and totally destroy an attempt to double block or cast a pumping combat trick. Be mindful of creative use of this card! The silver lining is that it deals a measly 2 damage to your face, often lessening damage you wouldve otherwise taken.
Nezumi Prowler - Though perhaps not as meddlesome as the previous ninja, this one can still come down and create a surprise trade with a blocker of yours while gaining life at the same time. This one hits a little harder too.
Silver-Fur Master - Doesn't often function as a combat trick, but if your opponent has multiple ninjas this can come down and affect your blocking.
Assassin's Ink - Just a Hero's Downfall, but keep in mind it can cost as little as 2 black mana.
Disruption Protocol - Counterspells are important to play around! Be wary of open blue mana and untapped artifacts! That includes equipment attached to tapped creatures, so don't be fooled.
Essence Capture - Another reason to be wary of open blue mana. It may seem narrow, but many cards like equipment and enchantments are creatures too in this set when they otherwise wouldnt be.
Mirrorshell Crab - Yet another counterspell. This one isn't so bad though, only requiring you to leave 3 mana up to pay the tax. Keep in mind this can counter abilities too including Channel, but not mana abilities since they don't use the stack.
Spell Pierce - A fourth counterspell, and the third common one at that! It even costs 1 mana, always. The bright side is you won't see it so much, as anyone playing this card is going to have a pretty hard time countering anything at all in this format.
Kindled Fury - First strike for one mana at common. Beware.
Moonsnare Prototype - You may not expect blue to remove permanents with a 1-for-1 trade, but it does happen. Be sure to consider whether the card you're putting on top is better to draw than a random card in your library. Remember that sometimes when you're in a pinch, the only way to win is by playing to your outs, and that means opting for putting the card on the bottom of your library if it means there's an outside chance you'll draw the one card you really need.
Planar Incision / Touch the Spirit Realm - Sure, these aren't great cards in basically any limited format, but there is something to be aware of besides the fact that these cheaply costed cards can blank your removal spell. There is a big "modified" theme in this format, which includes auras and counters such as +1/+1 counters. These blink/flicker effects aren't as good as using a removal spell to create a blowout, but it's still a 1-for-1 trade you should keep in mind if your deck is heavy on modified creatures.
Seismic Wave - This card is certainly notable as a card to play around while developing your battlefield in a match, but additionally as a reason to not heavily pick 1-toughness creatures that aren't artifacts while building your deck.
Storyweave - A saga, even a saga with one lore counter on it, could always become a threat versus a green player.
You Are Already Dead - The spell most likely to make you facepalm in a match, in my opinion. It isn't so bad, just don't forget about it or it will screw with you and deal emotional damage.
And that's about all the notable tricks you should be aware of! A reminder that this list with commentary does not include every card published in this guide, and even the guide isn't exhaustive of instant-speed spells and abilities at low rarities in this format. There are plenty of cards which are instant-speed but not at all likely to interfere with you, and also many ninjas with ninjutsu that do little more than chip in for extra damage, which are still threats to be aware of but not worth all listing here. I hope my guide will help boost your winrate this draft format! Let me know if there is anything I missed, and don't hesitate to share this with your other buddies drafting Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty!
If you'd like to peruse the Scryfall search results I used to compile this guide, the links are here:
Ninjutsu: https://scryfall.com/search?q=set%3Aneo+is%3Abooster+o%3Aninjutsu+%28r%3Acommon+OR+r%3Auncommon%29&unique=prints&as=gridℴ=set
Instants: https://scryfall.com/search?q=set%3Aneo+is%3Abooster+%28r%3Acommon+OR+r%3Auncommon%29+-o%3Achannel+t%3Ainstant&unique=cards&as=gridℴ=name
Channel: https://scryfall.com/search?q=set%3Aneo+is%3Abooster+%28r%3Acommon+OR+r%3Auncommon%29+o%3Achannel&unique=prints&as=gridℴ=set
