Chandra, Awakened Inferno – MTG Core Set 2020 Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

To some, the title “Awakened Inferno” might suggest a more speed-oriented card than this one; that’s what some of Chandra’s other recent incarnations do, too. On the other hand, it also recalls the famous reminder text about “the land continues to burn“, and it is a welcome addition to red’s increasingly diverse game effects.

That’s because it provides options in what has often been the most difficult segment of the game for red decks: the late game. As a comeback effect, Chandra is very powerful: her global damage effect is dangerous and can be devastatingly one-sided, and her -X can take out a huge range of creatures and comes with a bonus. The fact that her damage emblems are almost impossible to stop and actually increase her loyalty is game-changing, as it gives any red deck that can afford her cost a degree of inevitability you usually only see in blue or green.

You should expect to see a lot of her in Standard, and perhaps even in other competitive formats, depending on how many rituals they can jam in and still have room for planeswalkers. 

Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 5/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5

omg woman

The mythic rare of the Chandra planeswalkers from Core Set 2020, this Chandra aims to do one thing: burninate. And she does it rather well! An uncounterable burn machine is a pretty good place to be, and Awakened Inferno brings three different flavors of burn. An emblem that can be stacked to burn opponents passively, a board wipe that can potentially be one-sided, and a single-target disintegration spell are what she has to offer; not subtle, and not particularly nuanced, but all three do the job nicely. It is irksome that her only way to damage opponents is through her +2 emblem, but that’s minor.

I’ve said before that six drops need to be immediately impactful, and Chandra does promise to be that; being able to potentially permanently burninate something is a good use of mana for red, and even just board wiping is nice. Six loyalty is also pretty legit, giving her a good buffer early on. That said, I think she’s in the awkward place of being powerful in more casual formats but a bit of a dud in Standard; red wants to go a lot faster than she wants to, and that leaves her as a powerhouse without a home, so to speak.

Constructed: 3
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.75
Multiplayer: 4
Commander: 4.25