I have been waiting to see this card previewed since the artwork by Magali Villeneuve was released as part of the Kaladesh programme last Friday.

Before we even get to the card itself the art is simply gorgeous and Magali has produced a stunning piece of work of presenting Chandra on her home world, whilst at the same time softening the anger often portrayed in the work Chandra graces.  I love the colours and style in the cityscape behind her that calls me back to some of my favourite mountains by John Avon across the worlds of Kamigawa, Ravnica and Zendikar. This will certainly be the first piece I will be adding to my collection from artists at Grand Prix London.

When Kaldesh was announced it seemed certain we were going to be treated to a new Chandra, with it being her world, and I have to say the card does not disappoint. Having enjoyed the glorious art let us see her in the card frame:

Yes, that’s right she has four activated abilities.

So let us break her down piece by piece. Casting cost of 2RR seems fair, double red will make it hard for her to be an early drop or cast on curve in decks with greedy mana bases, but we don’t know the full extent of the lands and mana fixing that will be available. In a mono red or two colour red deck she should be a good fit. She enters the battlefield on four loyalty a good solid point to seek to activate her from and defend her to ideally allow multiple turns of use.

+1: Exile the top card of your library. You may cast that card. If you don’t, Chandra, Torch of Defiance deals 2 damage to each opponent.

Here we see an improved form of card draw witnessed on previous iterations of Chandra. First of all it gains loyalty, historically that has been a zero loyalty ability. Add to that if you are unable to or unwilling to cast the card exiled in this way, you can turn that card into a free shock to your opponent. This is going to be good in aggressive and midrange decks alike.

+1: Add RR to your mana pool.

Chandra now ramps. A quick review of Gatherer will show of the five previous Chandra’s we have be given by Wizards she has never accelerated mana before. This is possibly the most exciting aspect on the card for deck builders. It means a turn four Chandra helps speed out a seven drop on turn five or even allows you to play her, a land and a three drop to protect her on turn five. All of this while increasing her loyalty. This is going to give all forms of decks from aggro to midrange to control access to additional resources that will help them execute their game plan. Not to mention this could be used to cast cards that generate the new Energy resource giving you even more options.

-3: Chandra, Torch of Defiance deals four damage to target creature.

The most critical question most players ask when looking at a new Planeswalker is; can they defend themselves? Four damage for three loyalty seems the going rate, mirroring that of Sarkahn the Dragonspeaker we found in Khans of Takir. Simply put she defends herself well, early in the game there should be few creatures with a toughness beyond her ability to kill allowing you to sculpt your future turns accordingly.

-7: You get an emblem with “Whenever you cast a spell, this emblem deals five damage to target creature or player.”

Whilst this is not the first time a Chandra planeswalker has created an emblem, the effect is far more powerful that the one created by the Origins iteration.  It will  almost always threaten to end the game very swiftly once created. Most emblems when generated leave the opponent with a sinking feeling and an effect that can be hard to play around but with this on the board any spell drawn threatens to close the game even if it would normally have little to no impact on the game. Sadly Exquisite Firecraft will rotate out at Kaladesh release, but winning the game by inflict nine damage on my opponent for 1RR seems fun as well as flavourful.

In conclusion I think she is a powerful and versatile Planeswalker that will see play in a variety of strategies and have an impact on the Standard format on the release of Kaladesh. From a game mechanics, flavour and story perspective I think the card is a success on all the metrics and represents Chandra maturing and beginning to master her Pyromancer abilities and channel them in new improved ways.I for one cannot wait to cast and resolve her for the first time. 

The joy of preview season is all the possibilities that cards conjure and ideas they spark in the brewer that sits inside many players. As more cards from the set are previewed I am sure people will come up with clearer ideas of decks they want to try her in. Personally I am looking forward to brewing with her myself and hope that I can craft a Naya midrange deck that showcases her utility alongside the likes of a Jund control deck and a red aggressive deck. Not to mention replacing Chandra, Pyromaster in my current pet Modern deck with this new version.

Let me know what you think of her and what post rotation decks you are brewing in the comments below.