A new six mana Chandra. Similar to Chandra, Flamecaller, but with a slower clock and no card selection options. Uncounterable burn of many varieties, though.
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From the mind of Raymond Swanland: Valla, a plane made entirely out of brownish spikes.
I like that she can both sweep or take out a big creature / planeswalker and be able to +2 really helps to keep her loyalty up to re-use those abilities. In terms of controlling the board, she has the most options out of any other 6-cmc walker, which I like. However, actually killing the opponent is a totally different story. Her +2 is inevitable, but sloooooow. If you're playing a big Chandra, you probably weren't spending a lot of time attacking your opponent beforehand.
This card is probably better than it looks at first glance, but being an extremely slow win condition makes her unattractive compared to Inferno Titan / Chandra, Flamecaller / Emissary of Grudges, and she isn't an archetype enabler like Wildfire / Burning of Xinye. These days I always say 6-cmc planeswalkers are either in the Elspeth / Chandra or Vraska territory, and this is probably in the Vraska camp for me alongside Liliana, Dreadhorde General and Ugin, the Ineffable.
Not saying this is going to be a staple or anything, but it deserves some testing at the least. This card can give red control decks a very versatile card. it is an answer to aggro decks as a sweeper, midrange decks by taking out there biggest threat. (for example there are only 9 creatures that she can't come into play and immediately shoot down. all 9 of these creatures cost more mana than Chandra). Against control decks, being un-counterable and having inevitability means your opponents have to take an active role once she comes down.
The overall power level of the card is only decent, but the flexibility on this card is really high and might allow her to make a cut into mid to larger cubes though.
I think this chandra is incredible, and competes favorably with the top tier 6 mana planeswalkers.
She deals with such a high % of board states when behind, can tick up to absurd loyalty at parity..
She gets around a major weakness a lot of sorcery speed ramp tap out decks have with cannot be countered.
Unlike other chandra she can sweep away weenies AND deal with a follow up threat if need be, given her high loyalty.
The +2 stacks such that a couple activations should kill any opponent content on grinding. (thankfully she's in the color that is good at doing damage, such that even a single +2 activation can put some pressure over time).
The situation where she suffers relative to 6 mana elspeth/6 mana chandra flamecaller , is if you are ahead, but you need to kill your opponent asap before they do something absurdly broken (sneak attack -> emrakul etc). Her damage clock is not even close to as good. Elspeth has an additional advantage of being proactive AND defensive with her +1, something neither chandra can do.
But I think her cannot be countered , absurd loyalty and her ability to deal with so many board states makes up for that disadvantage.
Conclusion: She's competitive with the best 6 mana walkers in cube and I think theres a >50% chance she's the best 6 mana chandra.
She seems worse than flamecaller to me at first blush. Only a little bit worse, but clearly worse.
Flamecaller stacks up damage faster with her plus, and it's nice that her minus is flexible. Of course, this Chandra has a lot more loyalty left after -3ing, and in a board stall her plus is better. Having a spot removal option is nice too, but I think having the card advantage mode on Ablaze makes her more flexible as a whole.
I can be convinced otherwise, but as of now I like Flamecaller more.
She seems worse than flamecaller to me at first blush. Only a little bit worse, but clearly worse.
Ablaze stacks up damage faster with her plus, and it's nice that her minus is flexible. Of course, this Chandra has a lot more loyalty left after -3ing, and in a board stall her plus is better. Having a spot removal option is nice too, but I think having the card advantage mode on Ablaze makes her more flexible as a whole.
I can be convinced otherwise, but as of now I like Ablaze more.
She seems worse than flamecaller to me at first blush. Only a little bit worse, but clearly worse.
Ablaze stacks up damage faster with her plus, and it's nice that her minus is flexible. Of course, this Chandra has a lot more loyalty left after -3ing, and in a board stall her plus is better. Having a spot removal option is nice too, but I think having the card advantage mode on Ablaze makes her more flexible as a whole.
I can be convinced otherwise, but as of now I like Ablaze more.
I really like this Chandra as a control finisher, especially against other control decks. That said, Flamecaller has the big red walker slot on lock and I don’t think Awakened Inferno will unseat her. Flamecaller is just more flexible.
Isn't this Chandra more flexible? Flamecaller can only remove a board of small creatures, and this new one can do the same, but also the option to take down a larger threat.
No, Flamecaller can be played in more decks. Flamecaller can be a curve-topper for token shells and sacrifice decks, and can also be used as a card advantage engine and discard outlet for bigger combo decks. This new Chandra is sometimes better in decks that don't care which Chandra they get access to, but it would make the final 40 in less overall decks. It has its pros and cons in comparison to Flamecaller as a generic red midrange/control card, but the fact that those are the only decks that want to play her is a deal-breaker for me. None of the good 6cc planeswalkers that see play in the cube are limited to just random midrange/control decks; they all also contribute to specific archetypes. This Chandra doesn't, so she's a big miss for me.
No, Flamecaller can be played in more decks. Flamecaller can be a curve-topper for token shells and sacrifice decks, and can also be used as a card advantage engine and discard outlet for bigger combo decks. This new Chandra is sometimes better in decks that don't care which Chandra they get access to, but it would make the final 40 in less overall decks. It has its pros and cons in comparison to Flamecaller as a generic red midrange/control card, but the fact that those are the only decks that want to play her is a deal-breaker for me. None of the good 6cc planeswalkers that see play in the cube are limited to just random midrange/control decks; they all also contribute to specific archetypes. This Chandra doesn't, so she's a big miss for me.
I agree that Flamecaller is playable in more decks, but in the decks that Flamecaller is playable in, that Awakened Inferno isn't, Flamecaller is more of a desperation playable than a legit playable.
She's not embarrassing... but if she hits your main deck, something probably went wrong in the draft.
If Chandra, Awakended Inferno is better as a ramp/control target, I'd argue that's all that's really important when deciding it's inclusion. However, if they are very close in power, being "playable" in more archetypes is a great kicker when deciding between the two.
If Chandra, Awakended Inferno is better as a ramp/control target, I'd argue that's all that's really important when deciding it's inclusion.
I disagree with that completely. IF this is better, which I doubt, in a smaller percentage of decks, that is far from "all that's really important". I play Flamecaller is a wide range of decks that this Chandra is unplayable in, and that's a dagger strike to her chances of making it into my cube. Especially since her upsides over Flamecaller are marginal and situational at best. Even in a head-to-head comparison in the same deck, the scaleable nature of the sweeper effect, the speed of the clock and her ability to generate CA on demand puts Flamecaller ahead of this Chandra anyways, IMHO. Outside of specifically the ramp vs control matchup, I'd rather have Flamecaller anyways. I'm not going to remove a card that's playable in a bunch of different decks for a card that gives me a very minor upgrade in one matchup that loses both value and playability everywhere else.
If Chandra, Awakended Inferno is better as a ramp/control target, I'd argue that's all that's really important when deciding it's inclusion.
I play Flamecaller is a wide range of decks that this Chandra is unplayable in, and that's a dagger strike to her chances of making it into my cube.
Fair enough.. In my cube the only way flamecaller makes the main deck of a deck that's not ramp or control, is if a draft trainwrecked to some degree...
From my experiences, trying to play a 6 mana card if you aren't ramping or stalling the game is a bad strategy.
In those decks, she will be substantially better than the new chandra.
It sounds like old chandra is more than fringe support for decks outside of ramp/control for you, so what I said doesn't apply.
With Red being so stacked at 4-6 CMC's I'm tempted on testing some red rituals to support a big red strategy going forward (probably bad, but im tempted!)
I guess I just don't consider my Purphoros/AoI/Flamecaller midrange Boros tokens decks to be "trainwrecks". *shrug*
Of course you're right that it's mostly hyperbole since nobody is calling the NTSB after the draft but odds are it's at least lego crash disaster level severity.
This card is pretty nuts, and it’s fairly undervalued by the Cube community. Even though it kills slowly the “kill mode” charging up the board control options is a fantastic synergy. The uncounterability is also great, as counters are the best way to answer a 6cc Walker. A+!
This card is pretty nuts, and it’s fairly undervalued by the Cube community. Even though it kills slowly the “kill mode” charging up the board control options is a fantastic synergy. The uncounterability is also great, as counters are the best way to answer a 6cc Walker. A+!
Yeah , after a lot of testing I’m near 100% certain it’s the best 6 mana Chandra for ramp and control decks.
Perhaps that’s not true in a cube light in Counterspells, but the cannot be countered clause has come up so many times for me, and the difference if it resolving vs not resolving is game warping.
In comparison to flamecaller, Id say they are almost identical in power when they resolve but the cannot be countered text is a non negligible kicker that separates the two.
I think the flexibility/inevitability of this card is worth noting. Flamecaller has some really nice synergies but I don't think its a stretch to consider this one as well. Two removal effects WITH the plus effect putting it at 8 counters on the turn it comes out is nothing to scoff at. I think it is a different style of finisher.
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From the mind of Raymond Swanland: Valla, a plane made entirely out of brownish spikes.
This card is probably better than it looks at first glance, but being an extremely slow win condition makes her unattractive compared to Inferno Titan / Chandra, Flamecaller / Emissary of Grudges, and she isn't an archetype enabler like Wildfire / Burning of Xinye. These days I always say 6-cmc planeswalkers are either in the Elspeth / Chandra or Vraska territory, and this is probably in the Vraska camp for me alongside Liliana, Dreadhorde General and Ugin, the Ineffable.
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Not saying this is going to be a staple or anything, but it deserves some testing at the least. This card can give red control decks a very versatile card. it is an answer to aggro decks as a sweeper, midrange decks by taking out there biggest threat. (for example there are only 9 creatures that she can't come into play and immediately shoot down. all 9 of these creatures cost more mana than Chandra). Against control decks, being un-counterable and having inevitability means your opponents have to take an active role once she comes down.
The overall power level of the card is only decent, but the flexibility on this card is really high and might allow her to make a cut into mid to larger cubes though.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
Ignore small creatures, Mass removal for swarms, direct damage for big ones.
The clock is very slow but I think may need testing if it can take control of the
Board
She deals with such a high % of board states when behind, can tick up to absurd loyalty at parity..
She gets around a major weakness a lot of sorcery speed ramp tap out decks have with cannot be countered.
Unlike other chandra she can sweep away weenies AND deal with a follow up threat if need be, given her high loyalty.
The +2 stacks such that a couple activations should kill any opponent content on grinding. (thankfully she's in the color that is good at doing damage, such that even a single +2 activation can put some pressure over time).
The situation where she suffers relative to 6 mana elspeth/6 mana chandra flamecaller , is if you are ahead, but you need to kill your opponent asap before they do something absurdly broken (sneak attack -> emrakul etc). Her damage clock is not even close to as good. Elspeth has an additional advantage of being proactive AND defensive with her +1, something neither chandra can do.
But I think her cannot be countered , absurd loyalty and her ability to deal with so many board states makes up for that disadvantage.
Conclusion: She's competitive with the best 6 mana walkers in cube and I think theres a >50% chance she's the best 6 mana chandra.
Last Updated 02/07/24
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Flamecaller stacks up damage faster with her plus, and it's nice that her minus is flexible. Of course, this Chandra has a lot more loyalty left after -3ing, and in a board stall her plus is better. Having a spot removal option is nice too, but I think having the card advantage mode on Ablaze makes her more flexible as a whole.
I can be convinced otherwise, but as of now I like Flamecaller more.
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Just curious, are you mistaking Chandra Ablaze for Chandra, Flamecaller?
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Yeah, I called her flamecaller first then started saying ablaze. I meant flamecaller. Ablaze it awful.
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I agree that Flamecaller is playable in more decks, but in the decks that Flamecaller is playable in, that Awakened Inferno isn't, Flamecaller is more of a desperation playable than a legit playable.
She's not embarrassing... but if she hits your main deck, something probably went wrong in the draft.
If Chandra, Awakended Inferno is better as a ramp/control target, I'd argue that's all that's really important when deciding it's inclusion. However, if they are very close in power, being "playable" in more archetypes is a great kicker when deciding between the two.
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I disagree with that completely. IF this is better, which I doubt, in a smaller percentage of decks, that is far from "all that's really important". I play Flamecaller is a wide range of decks that this Chandra is unplayable in, and that's a dagger strike to her chances of making it into my cube. Especially since her upsides over Flamecaller are marginal and situational at best. Even in a head-to-head comparison in the same deck, the scaleable nature of the sweeper effect, the speed of the clock and her ability to generate CA on demand puts Flamecaller ahead of this Chandra anyways, IMHO. Outside of specifically the ramp vs control matchup, I'd rather have Flamecaller anyways. I'm not going to remove a card that's playable in a bunch of different decks for a card that gives me a very minor upgrade in one matchup that loses both value and playability everywhere else.
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Fair enough.. In my cube the only way flamecaller makes the main deck of a deck that's not ramp or control, is if a draft trainwrecked to some degree...
From my experiences, trying to play a 6 mana card if you aren't ramping or stalling the game is a bad strategy.
In those decks, she will be substantially better than the new chandra.
It sounds like old chandra is more than fringe support for decks outside of ramp/control for you, so what I said doesn't apply.
With Red being so stacked at 4-6 CMC's I'm tempted on testing some red rituals to support a big red strategy going forward (probably bad, but im tempted!)
Last Updated 02/07/24
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Of course you're right that it's mostly hyperbole since nobody is calling the NTSB after the draft but odds are it's at least lego crash disaster level severity.
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Yeah , after a lot of testing I’m near 100% certain it’s the best 6 mana Chandra for ramp and control decks.
Perhaps that’s not true in a cube light in Counterspells, but the cannot be countered clause has come up so many times for me, and the difference if it resolving vs not resolving is game warping.
In comparison to flamecaller, Id say they are almost identical in power when they resolve but the cannot be countered text is a non negligible kicker that separates the two.
Last Updated 02/07/24
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