Chandra, Fire Artisan from War of the Spark

The newest take on Chandra starts off with a very different kind of ability for a Planeswalker… A non-loyalty one!

It’s important to note that it doesn’t matter who removes the counters from Chandra — you or your opponent — or how they are removed. You can take them off with that [-7], or by operating a Heart of Kiran in some format. Or, in the most obvious scenario, you tick Chandra up from four loyalty to five; the opponent attacks her to death… And gets five to the face for his trouble.

But let’s talk about that [-7] for a second, shall we? In addition to a Wheel of Fortune like effect (that doesn’t force you to discard your hand!) Chandra will give the opponent a zinger for seven. That’s kind of like an Ultimate itself, isn’t it?

This new Chandra is going to be an important tool in the new Standard. It’s probably easier to work with than Experimental Frenzy, for instance. A Red Deck is far less likely to “get stuck” than under Frenzy, because Chandra lets you keep playing cards normally, on top of her [+1]. And when you go [-7] to try to finish the game? A Red Deck can both appreciate dealing seven to the opponent’s face and have a low enough set of casting costs to actually take advantage of the Ultimate’s time limitation.

Verdict: This card is going to be awesome in Standard!

War of the Spark: The Best of the Rest

Chandra is actually the last card we talked about this episode, more or less. Check out some other War of the Spark discussions:

• Niv-Mizzet Reborn – A hell of a Mulldrifter! “Somehow a Tidings with selection that has a 6/6 flyer attached”
• Angrath’s Rampage – Mike was originally lukewarm until he realized this card kills Bogles and Geist of St. Traft. “Modern, here we come!”
• Dreadhorde Invation – Patrick thinks one of Mike’s favorite cards so far is only pretty good. Just remember that a 1/1 ground creature (or +1/+1 counter) is much worse than a whole new 1/1 flyer.
• Bolas’s Citadel – How much would you pay for an Experimental Frenzy that would not shut down your ability to use your hand?

All these, and tons more!

You’ll have to give Chandra, Fire Artisan (and pals) a listen to find out more:

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