Five crime families, five mechanics
New Capenna is Magic's gangster plane: art deco, demons in suits, and five three-color crime families. Its structure is unusually clean because each family got one mechanic and nobody shares.
That one-to-one mapping is the thing to know. Brokers get shield counters, Obscura get connive, Maestros get casualty, Riveteers get blitz and Cabaretti get alliance. Learn which family you are in and you have learned what your deck does.
Themes
Shield counters
Brokers. If a permanent with a shield counter would be dealt damage or destroyed, remove the counter instead. A one-time save that answers removal and combat alike, which is why it plays as protection rather than as a stat boost.
Connive
Obscura. Draw a card, then discard a card, and if you discarded a nonland the creature gets a +1/+1 counter. Card selection and a body that grows, so it is never a blank on an empty board.
Casualty
Maestros. As you cast the spell you may sacrifice a creature with power at or above the casualty number to copy it. Turning a spare body into a second copy of your best spell.
Blitz
Riveteers. An alternative cost that gives the creature haste and a draw when it dies, but sacrifices it at the next end step. You are renting the creature for one attack and a card.
Alliance
Cabaretti. Triggers whenever another creature enters under your control. Tokens turn it on repeatedly, which is what makes the go-wide family work.
Hideaway
The only returning mechanic in the set. Look at the top cards of your library, set one aside face down, and cast it later once a condition is met.
Where You Can Play It
New Capenna has left Standard, but that is the only format it left. Here's where each code is legal now.
New Capenna left Standard at the August 2024 rotation, the one Bloomburrow triggered, alongside the other three sets of its rotation year. A rotation only ever removes cards from Standard, so everything here is still playable in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Limited
Unusually for a premier set, the draft format is built on five three-color wedges rather than ten two-color pairs. Each family is one archetype, and the mana is built to support it.
Brokers
Green-white-blue, shield counters
Defensive and value-oriented, protecting a threat long enough to grind an advantage.
Obscura
White-blue-black, connive
Card selection and incremental growth, the most controlling of the five.
Maestros
Blue-black-red, casualty
Sacrifice for value, copying spells off bodies you were happy to lose.
Riveteers
Black-red-green, blitz
Aggressive and disposable, renting creatures for damage and cards.
Cabaretti
Red-green-white, alliance
Go wide with tokens and trigger alliance repeatedly.
Commander
One per family, matching the draft archetypes exactly.
Bedecked Brokers
Perrie, the Pulverizer
Shield counters and defensive value.
Obscura Operation
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus
Connive and card selection.
Maestros Massacre
Anhelo, the Painter
Casualty and copied spells.
Riveteers Rampage
Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
Blitz, and the most popular of the five.
Cabaretti Cacophony
Kitt Kanto, Mayhem Diva
Tokens and going wide.
Building one of these into something of your own? The precon buying guide covers how to judge a deck, and the Commander deck template is the shape to build toward.
FAQ
No. It left Standard at the August 2024 rotation, the one Bloomburrow triggered, along with Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and the two Innistrad sets. SNC cards are still legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander.
Brokers (green-white-blue) have shield counters, Obscura (white-blue-black) have connive, Maestros (blue-black-red) have casualty, Riveteers (black-red-green) have blitz, and Cabaretti (red-green-white) have alliance. One mechanic each, with no overlap.
If a permanent with a shield counter would be dealt damage or destroyed, remove the counter instead. It answers both removal and combat, which is why it plays as protection rather than as a stat boost.
Draw a card, then discard a card. If the card you discarded was a nonland, put a +1/+1 counter on the creature that connived. Card selection attached to a body that grows.
It is an alternative cost. The creature gains haste and draws you a card when it dies, but you sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step. You are renting it for one attack and a card.
Five, one per family: Bedecked Brokers, Obscura Operation, Maestros Massacre, Riveteers Rampage and Cabaretti Cacophony.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. Streets of New Capenna released on Apr 29, 2022; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
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