So we were given a full view of the new set, are you ready to “Planeswalk” to the new world, Kaladesh?
In this story, lots of planeswalkers will be showing their skills throughout the new world, but what we are interested in is their abilities.
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There are 4 planeswalker’s in this set. The main heroin from this world of Kaladesh, 《Chandra, Torch of Defiance》. 《Nissa, Vital Force》 who planeswalked running after Chandra. The most superior inventor of Kaladesh 《Saheeli Rai》 . And 《Dovin Baan》who is the one that called Chandra back to this world of Kaladesh.
This time we asked how these planeswalkers are to the Japanese members of Hareruya Pros, Yuta Takahashi, Yoshihiko Ikawa, and Kenta Harane!
Alright, please enjoy!
◆ 《Chandra, Torch of Defiance》
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Takahashi: I think she is a card strong enough so next standard will move around her. Her first +1 ability has two parts, one is to cast a spell, and the other as a 2 point burn. It is like she has 5 abilities to choose from. The key is the 2nd +1 which creates 2 red mana. To abuse this ability, how about 《Oath of Chandra》after casting her. If you have an extra land, 《Kozilek's Return》can be casted. If she was casted on the 4th turn, next turn if you can drop another land in play, casting 《World Breaker》might be strong. -3 ability can burn 4 points so it might change the card value of having 5 toughness. To rap this up, this is a card that a lot of people would think of using. So you will probably see this card everywhere in the beginning of the format. The key to win the metagame is maybe to beat this card.
Ikawa: Ikawa: It is like the best card for Ramp decks came to real. Thigs that ramp decks have in problem is that when you cast《Explosive Vegetation》to ramp your mana, you usually tap out and you sit there wide open like a sandbag. But this 《Chandra, Torch of Defiance》
can sit there and blast some points. One of the best moves are on the 2nd drop, place a mana creature, third drop, cast Chandra, forth drop cast 《World Breaker》. What we need to think is about the other planeswalker that interact with her. Against 《Gideon, Ally of Zendikar》, she has no way to guard herself, and the new 《Nissa, Vital Force》
is also a threat to. At first, I was hyped that an awesome card just has been announced but as time went by, thinking of how this card is strong, I calmed down. It is a powerful card though, just want to be cautious to determine her strength. Also I feel she has potential for modern and legacy. I want to try it out in Jund decks!
Harane: Abilities to add loyalty aren’t stable, and this planeswalker can’t defend itself very well this is two factors that lower my personal opinion of this card. You can’t completely rely on the first ability, and her second ability is a type you must build around. On the other hand, I understand that this card can show you all sorts of dreams and may be powerful. It may be because a lot of people just think something like, it looks good in ramp and they don’t have specific reasons why this card is what they think it is.
◆ 《Nissa, Vital Force》
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Takahashi: If you look at this card you would probably think this is one card that can beat 《Chandra, Torch of Defiance》 easily. If you +1 her loyalty, here comes a 5/5with haste, and can kill Chandra in an instant. Not like other man lands, this land stays a creature till next turn, which is great when you want blockers to help Nissa. -3 ability can retrieve even herself so it is a lot easier to use her ultimate, -6 to gain an emblem. Also if you have a《Tireless Tracker》 on the board, dropping a land can eventually give you 2 draws.
Ikawa: In standard, it looks like it might be a powerful card than 《Chandra, Torch of Defiance》. Mainly you would be using the +1 or the -6 ability. Just 5 mana, and 5 points of damage, no wait, if one goes through, more likely another attack will go through, so 10 points of damage might come through. If you are on the play, and cast her first on your fifth turn, she will be very powerful. Using the creature for a blocker is nice too. When I talked about the new Chandra and to determine her strength needs caution is because of this new Nissa. You might hear stories often that they played Chandra on turn 4 but got killed by Nissa on the next turn. To put this card in constructed, my thoughts are to put this card as the top of your mana curve.
Harane: Harane: This card looks very strong. Her +1 is quite stable, and the land stays a creature throughout your opponents turn. Planeswalker are in there greatest danger when they were casted. 《Gideon, Ally of Zendikar》, 《Nissa, Voice of Zendikar》can make tokens to guard, 《Liliana, the Last Hope》can -2/-1 their opposing creature. These planeswalker can guard themselves without losing loyalty and that gives these planeswalker a thumbs up!
◆ 《Saheeli Rai》
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Takahashi: Right now, this card is very hard to evaluate. This cards main strategy will probably be using her -2 ability to copy something you casted on your second turn. Or use her later in the game and copy the gearhulk’s. Oh wait, we have 《Fleetwheel Cruiser》 also as an option. Now this ability may act as a 10 point clocker. Using this ability on an ETB ability creatures might be the first thought on her. Eldrazi creatures like《Drowner of Hope》might be a strong move but it is not a card with an automatic win.
Ikawa: On turn 3 you +1, her and on turn 4 cast 《Fleetwheel Cruiser》and -2 equals 10 points! This was something that came in mind first. Copying 《Lathnu Hellion》 and having an agro beat down plan might be a strong plan too. The key for this card to spark is depending on its partner to target the -2 ability. The gearhulk’s are a bit heavy on the mana, so maybe a good creature around four mana would be something I will be looking for.
Harane: This card can’t do its work on the field by itself so this is a difficult card to evaluate. If she finds a home for herself to have her abilities work together, her cost of three mana is very cheap and she will be a very good card in my opinion. Casting her on turn 3 and copying something on turn 4 is her expected move. Her abilities are more of a combo assisting ability, so maybe there might be a deck called Saheeli XX combo in the near future.
◆ 《Dovin Baan》
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Takahashi: The first thing that came in mind was using his +1 ability to stop 《Selfless Spirit》. It can be used as a bluff looking like you are going to cast 《Planar Outburst》too. To break through his +1 ability, your opponent will be forced to have few creatures in play, so when they start to spread on the board, casting 《Planar Outburst》is a good plan. About his -1 ability, to gain a decent advantage, you would have to use this ability 3 times and gaining 6 points and 3 draws. But using his ability that many times would be a little slow in this game. In color, we are able to use 《Reflector Mage》, 《Spell Queller》 so creatures aren’t going to be a problem. But in the four mana slot, there is an big rival《Gideon, Ally of Zendikar》, and in the five mana slot is《Archangel Avacyn》. Standard now is a meta where on the fourth turn, you make a winning impact on the board, and on the fifth turn your opponent turns the game around with a big spell. Therefore I think this is a little too slow.
Ikawa: My first look at his +1 ability made me think that he can stop mana creatures from activating. But his ultimate -7 is a little far to use. Wanting to use his ultimate and just randomly adding loyalty with his +1 ability might not be strong. His color requirement is also something to keep in mind. This card will shine in a U/W control deck. If this heavy type of deck can be played in this format, he might have a chance. But, we can’t forget about the presence of 《Gideon, Ally of Zendikar》. It might be a little too early to talk about the future rotation but when Gideon rotates out, we might be seeing him more often, remember 《Jace, Architect of Thought》 wasn’t seen at first when he came out.
Harane: When casting 《Planar Outburst》, targeting 《Selfless Spirit》is a big part this card can hold when planning a strategy to win. Sorcery based control decks had a tough match ups when 《Collected Company》casts creatures in instant speed. But this CoCo is gone after rotation and things might change. The thing about this card is that it won’t do more than it looks and impacts on the board will be small. Maybe the meta turns out that it needs a U/W control deck, but there are enough rivals in the four mana slot, so finding a job that this card can only do is the key for this card to spark.
So what did you think about the thoughts the pros had? Did you find out something interesting about the new planeswalkers?
What the Hareruya Pros have in mind was that they all agreed the 《Chandra, Torch of Defiance》 is a powerful card and all 3 pros were looking into how this card will turn out. Takahashi talked about how to beat Chandra using the new 《Nissa, Vital Force》
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Speaking of, when i asked Takahashi about something fun to search for with the 《Saheeli Rai》 -7 Ultimate regardless of format. What he came up with was the 《Rings of Brighthearth》 《Basalt Monolith》 《Goblin Cannon》 infinite mana and damage combo. The combo possibilities are nearly endless!
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