I love it. Helps you get value out of a low curve, enables surge, lets a finisher hit fast, and can cycle for a new card in the late game. Heck, it's an instant-speed 1CMC cantrip in red. That alone makes it good.
This new Chandra isn't terrible. Her -X isn't a 'final ability' like we have on most planeswalkers. It's more of an answer to weenie rush and token decks, and lets you clear away mana dorks and utility creatures, too. That would be much more relevant on turns 3-5, but the option is there.
Her tokens force your opponent to choose between taking 30% of their life total to the face, losing field advantage to a token that's going to die anyway, or possibly putting their fatty in range of a spell like Roast. Once she hits the board, anything with one or two toughness becomes dead weight in your opponents' hands. With a low creature-count, your opponents are less able to block your own creatures, supplemented by a free pair of 3/1's every turn.
This Chandra is meant to be put in a control deck. She nets you card advantage, digs for answers and game-enders, clears chump blockers out of the way of your finisher, and can keep the pressure on with the threat of six damage if you have nothing better to do. That's why she costs six.
You don't HAVE to tap all of your creatures. You can tap one or two to clear away dangerous blockers and attack with the rest. It isn't "giving up your attack step". It's giving each creature the option of going for a specific creature rather than the opponent. Against a deck that is heavy on deathtouch or one that has a lot of utility creatures, this card is amazing. People seem to be stuck in a rut of "If it's not a immediate game-ender, it's crap".
I, for one, ENJOY slower, lower-powered gameplay. It's more fun for me when it takes several cards working together and careful strategy to pull out a win than slapping my opponent in the face with a board wipe and attacking with everything. I fell out of Magic around the first Zendikar sets because I didn't like the fact that if I didn't have Primeval Titan-Valakut, Stoneforge Mystic, Jace the Format Sculptor, or some form of cheating an Eldrazi into play, I was going to lose. I don't have $200 to drop on a deck, so I like the idea that the format has slowed down to the point where my $40 deck can actually win sometimes.
Does that mean that new cards won't affect other formats? Yes. Does that mean that those older cards will get more expensive? Yes. But it also means that newer players can actually have a good time at FNM without dropping a paycheck on cards, and gaining new players is critical to the success of a game company.
Consistency is powerful, and in an Ally deck, it's deadly. People thought Scry wasn't going to have a huge impact, and this is no different. A 3/4 Ally with haste for 4 is plenty good. Digging for Allies and guaranteeing you won't get mana flooded in the late game is spectacular.
Rarity isn't a measurement of power level; it's a restriction upon Limited. This guy would be a pain at rare, and bog everything down to hell at uncommon.
You spend three mana on a creature that must be removed. That means you break even advantage-wise, but your opponent is down a removal spell. If they don't remove it, it will just get bigger and bigger with zero mana input from you, and it can literally tank anything in combat. The abilities and power-level aren't that flashy, but it's costly for an opponent to remove.
And that's just by itself. Trample makes it amazing. Slap hexproof on it, and you have a virtually indestructible wrecking ball. Give it deathtouch, and you have the best blocker on the planet. Not mention all the +1/+1 counter/fat creature support we just got in Khans.
This guy deserves mythic status because we do NOT want to see every single person pulling it at Limited or Draft.
Flavor through the roof. The Vorthos in me is in tears. I love the concept of scrambling to break your demonic contract before it bites you in the butt, or going into the deal knowing you have a way to break it when you've gotten what you need out of it. Very black, and very fun.
Obviously, you're not going to run this card without a way to remove it. Think outside the vacuum, people. Disperse, Naturalize, Sultai Charm, and numerous other removal that you'll probably run anyway can get rid of it.
For those wondering, the probability of your opponent milling two nonland cards that share a color, assuming a monocolored 60-card deck and decent land draws, is about 35%, and that number goes down for decks that use a lot of artifacts. This card is more powerful against aggressive decks and ramp decks, as those decks usually have less lands in them. With a sufficient amount of control and card draw, this card can win games by itself. Add in cards like Altar of the Brood, Jace's Erasure, and Memory Erosion, and all you have to do it stay alive while your opponent's deck is dumped in to the grave.
I'm curious; how does commander damage work with Kytheon/Gideon? If I'm not mistaken, this is the first legendary flip card that can deal combat damage on both sides. Would damage from either side count towards total commander damage, or would only Kytheon's damage count(as he would be the 'original' commander)?
Ugin, [TITLE] (6)
Planeswalker - Ugin
+1: Exile target creature. As long as it remains exiled, its owner may pay (3) to return it to the battlefield.
-5: Take an extra turn after this one.
-7: You get an emblem with "You may pay (X) rather than pay the mana cost for spells you control, where X is that spell's converted mana cost."
{5}
I've theorized on color-personality types for a long time. This is supposed to apply both to card flavor, and human personality types, FYI.
What the color combination SHOULD be is a leader. Cunning, efficient, and willing to do anything to ensure the success of themselves and their allies.
THAT is where green comes in. It takes Blue/Black's manipulation and selfishness and applies it to those around it. The team's success is your success, and vice versa, so it will tip any odds in favor of the group.
Likewise, Black makes Blue/Green's theme of improvement and growth more power-oriented. If the community is stronger, then you will be stronger. Being the most powerful person in a group of weaklings has no real value.
Blue adds intellect and focus to Black/Green's longevity and stubbornness. Patience is the virtue of Black/Green, and Blue uses that time to set up its plans. Instead of simply outlasting an opponent, this color combination would make sure its opponents simply can't play the long game.
Anafenza's (the white clan's leader) exile clause not only neuters Sidisi (the black clan), but also prevents Zurgo's (the red clan) +1/+1 counter ability to activate.
Personally, I dig delve. I think people are underestimating it. People seem to think it's all about that one-shot cheap spell, and then its done, because your graveyard is empty, but I think it's a way to provide options. It's about using your resources to your best advantage, and only blowing through your graveyard to tip the scales in your advantage. Delve is not about casting every card off your graveyard for 1 mana. You only need one 1-2 mana bomb to tip the scales in your advantage.
First of all, I know all the delve cards are overcosted by 2-3 mana. This isn't just to compensate for the ability to cast them cheaper; it allows you to adapt as you build up your play. Obviously, self-mill is a must. Your graveyard needs to be full. You only need to exile a couple of cards each to keep your delve cards on-curve, and as you keep self-milling, you can slowly cast them for cheaper and cheaper. It's all about advantage. Sure, in the short term, delve cards are worse, but once you get the ball rolling, you can cast better cards than your opponent with less mana.
Her tokens force your opponent to choose between taking 30% of their life total to the face, losing field advantage to a token that's going to die anyway, or possibly putting their fatty in range of a spell like Roast. Once she hits the board, anything with one or two toughness becomes dead weight in your opponents' hands. With a low creature-count, your opponents are less able to block your own creatures, supplemented by a free pair of 3/1's every turn.
This Chandra is meant to be put in a control deck. She nets you card advantage, digs for answers and game-enders, clears chump blockers out of the way of your finisher, and can keep the pressure on with the threat of six damage if you have nothing better to do. That's why she costs six.
I, for one, ENJOY slower, lower-powered gameplay. It's more fun for me when it takes several cards working together and careful strategy to pull out a win than slapping my opponent in the face with a board wipe and attacking with everything. I fell out of Magic around the first Zendikar sets because I didn't like the fact that if I didn't have Primeval Titan-Valakut, Stoneforge Mystic, Jace the Format Sculptor, or some form of cheating an Eldrazi into play, I was going to lose. I don't have $200 to drop on a deck, so I like the idea that the format has slowed down to the point where my $40 deck can actually win sometimes.
Does that mean that new cards won't affect other formats? Yes. Does that mean that those older cards will get more expensive? Yes. But it also means that newer players can actually have a good time at FNM without dropping a paycheck on cards, and gaining new players is critical to the success of a game company.
You spend three mana on a creature that must be removed. That means you break even advantage-wise, but your opponent is down a removal spell. If they don't remove it, it will just get bigger and bigger with zero mana input from you, and it can literally tank anything in combat. The abilities and power-level aren't that flashy, but it's costly for an opponent to remove.
And that's just by itself. Trample makes it amazing. Slap hexproof on it, and you have a virtually indestructible wrecking ball. Give it deathtouch, and you have the best blocker on the planet. Not mention all the +1/+1 counter/fat creature support we just got in Khans.
This guy deserves mythic status because we do NOT want to see every single person pulling it at Limited or Draft.
Obviously, you're not going to run this card without a way to remove it. Think outside the vacuum, people. Disperse, Naturalize, Sultai Charm, and numerous other removal that you'll probably run anyway can get rid of it.
If there's something you want to keep on the board, just make 'X' one lower than its CMC and clear out everything smaller. Evacuation can't do that.
For those wondering, the probability of your opponent milling two nonland cards that share a color, assuming a monocolored 60-card deck and decent land draws, is about 35%, and that number goes down for decks that use a lot of artifacts. This card is more powerful against aggressive decks and ramp decks, as those decks usually have less lands in them. With a sufficient amount of control and card draw, this card can win games by itself. Add in cards like Altar of the Brood, Jace's Erasure, and Memory Erosion, and all you have to do it stay alive while your opponent's deck is dumped in to the grave.
Ugin, [TITLE] (6)
Planeswalker - Ugin
+1: Exile target creature. As long as it remains exiled, its owner may pay (3) to return it to the battlefield.
-5: Take an extra turn after this one.
-7: You get an emblem with "You may pay (X) rather than pay the mana cost for spells you control, where X is that spell's converted mana cost."
{5}
What the color combination SHOULD be is a leader. Cunning, efficient, and willing to do anything to ensure the success of themselves and their allies.
THAT is where green comes in. It takes Blue/Black's manipulation and selfishness and applies it to those around it. The team's success is your success, and vice versa, so it will tip any odds in favor of the group.
Likewise, Black makes Blue/Green's theme of improvement and growth more power-oriented. If the community is stronger, then you will be stronger. Being the most powerful person in a group of weaklings has no real value.
Blue adds intellect and focus to Black/Green's longevity and stubbornness. Patience is the virtue of Black/Green, and Blue uses that time to set up its plans. Instead of simply outlasting an opponent, this color combination would make sure its opponents simply can't play the long game.
First of all, I know all the delve cards are overcosted by 2-3 mana. This isn't just to compensate for the ability to cast them cheaper; it allows you to adapt as you build up your play. Obviously, self-mill is a must. Your graveyard needs to be full. You only need to exile a couple of cards each to keep your delve cards on-curve, and as you keep self-milling, you can slowly cast them for cheaper and cheaper. It's all about advantage. Sure, in the short term, delve cards are worse, but once you get the ball rolling, you can cast better cards than your opponent with less mana.