As regular readers of this space no doubt
know already, Chandra is my favorite
planeswalker. I was happy to see this new
incarnation of her for a number of reasons, not
least that you can actually see her real hair
this time. If you want to actually play her in a
deck, though, you won't be disappointed either:
her zero-cost ability is a unique and often
powerful way to draw cards in red decks, and
while one damage to a player is rarely going to
take over a game, its ability to force large
creatures past scary blockers like Wall of Frost
certainly can. (Although it's not out of the
question to ping someone down to zero with her
+1 ability.) Her ultimate is more for fun
settings than the kinds of games you read about
on those links below the daily articles on
MagicTheGathering.com, but it's deliciously red
and oh-so-Chandra. I hereby swear that
somewhere, someday, I will copy Tooth and Nail
with it.
History has shown us that when it comes to
planeswalkers, three mana and four mana is a big
difference. Planeswalkers want to get in play
fast because they take time to charge up.
Chandra is no exception-- she's four mana and
four starting loyalty with an ultimate of -7.
Her +1 isn't bad. It pings away at a player
while it picks off small creatures and keeps big
ones from blocking. And it can target zero
creatures, so you don't need an opponent to have
a creature in order to get value from it. The 0
ability isn't bad either, but it's random. You
don't know for sure if the top of your library
is a spell, or if you have the mana for it, or
if you want to cast it this turn. Theros
bringing Scry back has helped, but it's not a
perfect solution. The ultimate is also too
unpredictable to bank on. You might not have an
instant or sorcery in your top ten. Or it may be
a combat trick you can't get good use out of.
The intent is obviously that you get a burn
spell and go supernova... If you hit one. If
there were more solid red scry or a bigger
incentive to play Izzet control id go for it.
Personally, I find it just too swingy to rely
on.
Today we look at the number ten card of the
year with Chandra, Pyromaster which is a four
mana Red planeswalker with four loyalty. Her
+1 deals one damage to target player and up to
one target creature they
control and that creature can't block that turn.
This ability is decent, with possible low end
removal and some burn combined with support for
your attackers. The 0 can effectively give you a
second draw step each turn, though with just one
turn to use it, and is beneficial in a pinch or
when the +1 isn't needed. The -7 should win
games outright or make winning dramatically
easier by massive direct damage, removal of any
threats, or even a swarm of tokens with Haste.
Overall this is a solid planeswalker that works
well with several deck types and is sure to see
play across current formats for quite some time.
In Limited this is like many planeswalkers in
being a first pick in Booster, both for the
repeatable burn with blocking interference and
the card advantage of the 0 effect. The ultimate
is a little less likely to win the game and is
somewhat risky given the smaller deck sizes,
which makes the first two abilities more
efficient in most situations. The double Red
makes splashing difficult, though a two color
deck with your best available Red cards should
be viable in either Sealed or Booster.
