I know that steampunk themes are something that
Magic fans (and, presumably, designers) have
been thinking about for a long time, but it
still impresses me how well Chandra's look fits
in Kaladesh and how well Kaladesh goes with
Chandra's look. We may not be at steampunk's
historical peak of popularity, but I always
welcome its vibe and its themes, and I have no
doubt many of you will too.
Because of my personal taste as above, I always
rate Chandra highly personally. I'll try and be
a little objective, though, and try and figure
out what this particular version of her adds
even if someone else is your favorite! The fact
that she has four abilities is very
eyebrow-raising: it's a clear callback to Jace
the Mind Sculptor, and we all know how that
went. Chandra will probably not turn out to be
quite as dominating, as she doesn't have an
ability that draws infinite cards, but she still
has an awful lot going for her. I think it's
hard to give a planeswalker four abilities (thus
three that can be used pre-ultimate) and not
have them come out versatile and usable, much
less when one of them is an on-demand boost for
red's beloved X spells and another gives you
extra cards in the now-characteristic red
manner. In fact, I think she provide a boost to
her deck's gameplan at basically any time she
might be cast, and that's not something you can
say about most cards, planeswalker or no.
The third four-ability planeswalker we’ve had,
and the second one to cost four mana.
Comparisons to Jace, the Mind Sculptor were
inevitable.
Chandra, needless to say, is powerful. Her -3 is
a Flame Slash to any creature, which is usually
enough to get them off the table. She brings two
+1 abilities; one is a semi-card draw ability
that can turn into damage to the face if you
don't (or can't) cast the card immediately (note
that lands are a guaranteed 2 damage), and going
from 4 mana to 6 or 7 makes some of the top of
the curve red cards all that more threatening.
Her ultimate is actually feasible if you protect
her (four turns in), and it should end the game
unless you have no hand to work with.
I don't think she's quite the red Mind Sculptor,
but she's one of the more powerful red
planeswalkers we've seen in a while, presenting
a good argument over Koth of the Hammer. She
should find a home in Standard and maybe Modern.
