I believe the community (read: filthy casuals) has been clamoring for a / artifact themed Legendary creature for EDH purposes.
I will give props to Wizards on that front though. Recently they have given us:
- a commander with CMC3 for Tiny Leaders (is that still a thing?)
- a legendary Werewolf in / for EDH
- a / Werewolf Planeswalker to go in the legendary Werewolf EDH deck.
The only other thing, besides reprinting Damnation, that I've seen a lot of complaining about is the lack of / artifact-matters Commander. And here is the perfect set for one.
Bleh, yeah, you're right. Goes to show you how much I've really been paying attention. But this guy is a 'Walker though, so he can't be it. I guess maybe he won't be UR?
Or perhaps a repeat of SOI? Arlin in Shadows and then the Legendary Werewolf in Moon. I could see it, gotta sell that second set somehow.
"The Ancients teach us that if we can but last, we shall prevail."
—Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order
Unrelated, is there a story reason we haven't gone back to Lorwyn? I'm awful at keeping on top of the story.
So Saheeli Rai is confirmed as a which would seem to mean that Dovin Baan is possibly not even Blue? There's never been a non-Blue Vedalken though, so how many Blue 'Walkers are they planning to print this block?
"The Ancients teach us that if we can but last, we shall prevail."
—Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order
Because based on the cards seen in Origins, Ghirapur's a red (eventually izzet) thing.
Am not sure how reliable the info about Saheeli Rai being an Izzet PW is. Mainly because this picture is apparently taken from a mobile phone game, game which took numerous freedom regarding the port of MtG as PuzzleQuest game. [Nota: it is not a bad game, but paper and digital cards can be really different]
Side note, I'd be really happy to see a proper, good, Legacy-worth UR planeswalker. Ral Zarek got us hyped for nothing (still no Zarek-Stasis out there) & Dak Fayden made us dream a tinsy bit but there's still no deck able to take full advantage of it.
Art looks pretty promising
Although I have no idea why the Protoss are on Kaladesh.
Elves?! Dualcolor lands?!
Ok, enough to doom it not instantly
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You forgot, possibly Dwarves!
Incoming Dwarven Weaponsmith reprint boys, gird your loins!
"The Ancients teach us that if we can but last, we shall prevail."
—Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order
Looking through the art for the set, I had a thought. Would Wizards do another color-centric set like Torment? Could Kaladesh (despite being the homeworld of Chandra) be both an artifact matters set and also more blue tinged? Or is it just because the stuff I've seen so far has been focused on one part of the plane that feels heavily flavored towards blue?
Chandra, Torch of Defiance is the new Chandra, only the art and name are spoiled so far. Should we start taking bets on if she is the worst Chandra yet? I have doubt that she can really be better than Chandra, Flamecaller which is already in Standard.
EDIT: Also, Dwarves are confirmed on Kaladesh in this story.
Last edited by H; 08-31-2016 at 01:20 PM.
"The Ancients teach us that if we can but last, we shall prevail."
—Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order
As far as MtG modern art is concerned, I actually think that will look badass in PW-card form!
If she is any good (which I'm reading as Legacy-playable) will be determined by if they go big (like Flamecaller) or small (like Liliana of the Veil).
For a planeswalker to break in to Legacy, it pretty much has to cost 3 mana, or cost 4 mana and be close in power to Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
If they make her 3 mana and follow this format:
+x> Card advantage
-x> Protect herself
-X> Win the game
...then she'll reach the high bar Legacy sets.
Time will tell, but so far I approve of the art and the card name.
Indeed, the art is great, easily Chandra Ablaze or this could be the best.
One issue with nearly every version of Chandra is the very limited usefulness of the plus ability. On the ones with good plus abilities, it often fails to align well with the CMC to yield something powerful. Consider each:
Chandra Ablaze (+1 isn't terrible, but isn't very good either due to the Red clause. Zero isn't great due to giving you opponent cards. -7 is actually pretty great, but CMC 6 is just a killer)
Chandra Nalaar (+1 is awful. -X is actually pretty decent, since she has starting loyalty, -8 is good, but at CMC 5, this one just isn't amazing by any stretch.)
Chandra, Flamecaller (+1 is great, easily the best plus on any Chandra. Zero is a Wheel plus one, which is actually pretty decent. -X is interesting, but not really game winning. Problem here is CMC 6 of course. This might be the best Chandra overall.)
Chandra, Pyromaster (+1 is not very good, but the "can't block" clause could have value sometimes. Zero is actually very good. -7 is decent, kind of random, but should win you the game most of the time. I think this is the best attempt to make an highly playable Chandra and is probably the most playable outside Standard, with a single Red CMC of 4. The +1 really holds this one back though, if only it said "can't attack or block until your next turn.")
Chandra, Roaring Flame (This one is actually pretty good, +1 could actually win you a game on an empty or stalled board, -2 is a bit steep but still OK, -7 should win you the game. Problem here, of course, is that this is a flip creature. If this was just a regular Planeswalker at CMC 3, it'd be pretty amazing, but that is pretty obvious.)
Chandra, the Firebrand (+1 is terrible, -2 is OK to maybe good, but is really too contingent on having Instants or Sorceries in your hand. -6 is pretty meh and might not even win a game.)
So, I think the biggest problem with Chandra is the disjunction of "powerful" abilities with "low enough" CMCs for playability. Also, ironically enough, most of the "better" Chandras are terrible at protecting themselves, which is pretty funny when you think about the fact that she is a FIRE MAGE.
Saddle up your Dwarven Pony and hide your Goblins of the Flarg!
I am actually curious though if any might be strong enough to get Dwarven Recruiter banned. Unlikely, but maybe eventually.
"The Ancients teach us that if we can but last, we shall prevail."
—Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order
The three upcoming Planeswalkers:
Chandra
Dovin Baan
Saheeli
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