Monored has a new commander incoming - a transforming PW 3 cmc legendary chandra. She deals damage and kills creatures, pretty much the red job description. The beauty is that she has 0 build-around-me requirements (unlike Jaya and Feldon that must be built around at least somewhat), so she opens up the potential for a pure monored goodstuff deck. Also she should be a staple in most monored decks anyway, since she deals damage on a cost ratio on par with Sulfuric Vortex and can kill dudes too. I'm thinking she might be the best mono red tiny leader out there!
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Also of note, the very first reply shows how the card is almost certainly fake.
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Hm... Torn. I kind of want this to be real because I think the creature side has an interesting design. However the Planeswalker side is fairly boring and doesn't really solve any of Red's issues. I mean, it's a repeatable damage source but red has those already. Would have been nice if there was something that could pass for an attempt to shore up it's weaknesses with card advantage.
Also of note, the very first reply shows how the card is almost certainly fake.
Further reading in the thread however reveals why it's almost certainly real I'm 99% sure it's real, but I don't want this thread to discuss that - rather, assuming it's real, is it useful and how?
I've been playing Zurgo Bellstriker for some time, and I think this Chandra is not all that impressive. She is very slow for a mono red deck. The deal 1 and the untap ability are mediocre, because if you fall behind on the first turns, you'll never get a chance to crawl back to the game. (especially agains Shu Yun, Yasova, Anafenza, Doran, Geist... you know, the competitive stuff) The Planeswalker side is somewhat useful, but then again, it needs a lot of preparation.
I can't agree that it's slow, nor that it needs a lot of preparation. Chandra will flip on turn 4 guaranteed, unless destroyed/countered. Any mono red deck will have two red spells to play on t4, having tapped out for their commander on turn 3. Against opposing aggro, you can also spam removal turn 1-2 and keep instant speed removal for their last blocker, attack with Chandra on turn 4 and kill that blocker before it's declared, untapping Chandra, dealing 2 combat damage and then the final ping for flipping her.
Since flipping Chandra t4 after dropping her t3 is extremely plausible, it necessarily follows that she will deal five damage on turn 4, with the option of directing two of those to a creature. Compare that with Sulfuric Vortex, which is desirable in most mono red TL lists. Instead of no life gain, you get 1 more damage .5 turns earlier and the option for creature removal plus a game winning ultimate, should the game last that long. Or, compare it with the good half of Browbeat - 5 damage to the face for 3 mana. Regardless, this is not slow by any measure.
The biggest problem IMO with Chandra is that she's a bad top deck and that she can be killed before flipping, both of which are mitigated by running her as commander rather than as a card in you deck. And that has the further advantage of having a straight burn commander with very few build-around requirements, so you can just run the 49 best burn cards in your main and an optimal sideboard for your meta.
However the Planeswalker side is fairly boring and doesn't really solve any of Red's issues. I mean, it's a repeatable damage source but red has those already. Would have been nice if there was something that could pass for an attempt to shore up it's weaknesses with card advantage.
The key thing IMO is that it's not "a" repeatable damage source, it is THE BEST repeatable damage source that you can run as a RDW commander in TL. So it's narrow, but it's the best choice if you want a straight burn deck in TL. You're essentially running a souped up Sulfuric Vortex as your commander, which is huge. Chandra is best, because she only costs 3 to cast and nothing to use, unlike Jaya or Feldon, so you can use all your mana to cast burn spells in hand while pinging with her simultanously. True, she lacks their versatility, but if straight burn is what you want, she is best. In a straight burn deck, a reliable repeatable damage source is just as good as card advantage, since drawing more cards only gives you more direct damage anyway.
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A series of seven articles using Magic to explore the very stuff of the Universe!
"At least for those who can play cards, their present incarnation is not quite wasted."
[Click here for the articles!]
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/the-rumor-mill/604758-magic-origins-chandra-fire-of-kaladesh-chandra
Also of note, the very first reply shows how the card is almost certainly fake.
Whether it's a comedy or a tragedy, if there is cheering, the story will continue on.
Just like the many lives.
For the us who are still in it and still in the journey, send warm blessings.
- We will continue to walk down this path until eternity.
Further reading in the thread however reveals why it's almost certainly real I'm 99% sure it's real, but I don't want this thread to discuss that - rather, assuming it's real, is it useful and how?
I can't agree that it's slow, nor that it needs a lot of preparation. Chandra will flip on turn 4 guaranteed, unless destroyed/countered. Any mono red deck will have two red spells to play on t4, having tapped out for their commander on turn 3. Against opposing aggro, you can also spam removal turn 1-2 and keep instant speed removal for their last blocker, attack with Chandra on turn 4 and kill that blocker before it's declared, untapping Chandra, dealing 2 combat damage and then the final ping for flipping her.
Since flipping Chandra t4 after dropping her t3 is extremely plausible, it necessarily follows that she will deal five damage on turn 4, with the option of directing two of those to a creature. Compare that with Sulfuric Vortex, which is desirable in most mono red TL lists. Instead of no life gain, you get 1 more damage .5 turns earlier and the option for creature removal plus a game winning ultimate, should the game last that long. Or, compare it with the good half of Browbeat - 5 damage to the face for 3 mana. Regardless, this is not slow by any measure.
The biggest problem IMO with Chandra is that she's a bad top deck and that she can be killed before flipping, both of which are mitigated by running her as commander rather than as a card in you deck. And that has the further advantage of having a straight burn commander with very few build-around requirements, so you can just run the 49 best burn cards in your main and an optimal sideboard for your meta.
The key thing IMO is that it's not "a" repeatable damage source, it is THE BEST repeatable damage source that you can run as a RDW commander in TL. So it's narrow, but it's the best choice if you want a straight burn deck in TL. You're essentially running a souped up Sulfuric Vortex as your commander, which is huge. Chandra is best, because she only costs 3 to cast and nothing to use, unlike Jaya or Feldon, so you can use all your mana to cast burn spells in hand while pinging with her simultanously. True, she lacks their versatility, but if straight burn is what you want, she is best. In a straight burn deck, a reliable repeatable damage source is just as good as card advantage, since drawing more cards only gives you more direct damage anyway.
A series of seven articles using Magic to explore the very stuff of the Universe!
"At least for those who can play cards, their present incarnation is not quite wasted."
[Click here for the articles!]