MTG Chandra planeswalker burns with power in March of the Machine

Pro Tour Phyrexia contained a large number of March of the Machine spoilers this weekend, showcasing Chandra, Hope’s Beacon as the first planeswalker previewed for the upcoming Magic: The Gathering set. 

Over 15 planeswalker versions of Chandra Nalaar have been printed in MTG throughout the years. Mashing together her various abilities, the legendary planeswalker returns in the March of the Machine (MOM) set as a six-drop with a passive ability, two “plus” loyalty abilities, and one minus ability that can end games.  

Chandra, Hope’s Beacon

• Mana cost: 4RR
• Type: Legendary Planeswalker—Chandra
• Rarity: Mythic Rare
• Starting Loyalty: Five
• Passive ability: Whenever you cast an Instant or Sorcery spell, copy it. You may choose new targets for the copy. This ability triggers only once each turn.
• Plus-two: Add two mana in any combination of colors
• Plus-one: Exile the top five cards of your library. Until the end of your next turn, you may cast an Instant or Sorcery spell from among those exiled cards.
• Minus-X: Chandra, Hope’s Beacon deals “X” damage to each of up to two targets.

The legendary Mono-Red planeswalker was designed to synergize with spells matter MTG decks that are typically played in the colors Blue and Red. Chandra’s passive copies any Instant or Sorcery played, but only once per turn, which is a slight downside to the six-cost planeswalker.

Copying spells like the Twilight cycle from ONE is extremely powerful. Blue Sun’s Twilight can gain control of two creatures while White Sun’s Twilight can drop up to eight mite tokens without activating the “five or more” clause. 

Chandra, Hope’s Beacon supports casting additional Instant or Sorcery speed spells through her plus-two and plus-one ability, with the ability to gain card advantage until the end of your next turn locking in as the better of the two. 

Most players don’t have an abundance of cards in hand after turn six and don’t want to waste mana casting a spell that draws cards. Chandra takes care of this problem by providing up to five Instant or Sorcery spells that can get cast the turn her loyalty ability is activated or until the end of the next turn. 

Chandra’s minus ability is also quite strong, able to deal a minimum of five damage upon entering the battlefield. The damage can hit up to two targets or go straight to face as potential lethal damage that ends the match. 

Players can test out the power of Chandra, Hope’s Beacon with the digital release of March of the Machine on April. 18.

All images via WotC