Chaos Channeler MTG Card


Chaos Channeler - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Human Shaman
Released2021-07-23
Set symbol
Set nameAdventures in the Forgotten Realms
Set codeAFR
Power 4
Toughness 3
Number136
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byDavid Palumbo

Key Takeaways

  1. Chaos Channeler provides consistent card filtering through its attack-triggered ability.
  2. Synergy with instant-speed spells allows for efficient mana and resource utilization.
  3. Demands attacking and double red mana, which may limit deck-building flexibility.

Text of card

Wild Magic Surge — Whenever Chaos Channeler attacks, roll a d20. 1—9 | Exile the top card of your library. You may play it this turn. 10—19 | Exile the top two cards of your library. You may play them this turn. 20 | Exile the top three cards of your library. You may play them this turn.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Chaos Channeler ensures a steady stream of card filtering, which is essential for finding the right answers or threats at the right time. By attacking and potentially exiling the top card of your library, you might play that card this turn, creating opportunities to outpace the opponent in resource management.

Resource Acceleration: With its dynamic ability to potentially exile lands from the top of the library, Chaos Channeler can indirectly accelerate your resource development by allowing you to play additional lands, thus ramping up your mana availability for casting more impactful spells quicker.

Instant Speed: Although Chaos Channeler itself is not an instant, it synergizes well with spells you can cast for no mana cost if they’re exiled with its ability, including instants. This interaction gives you the flexibility to utilize instant-speed spells without spending mana, thus preserving resources while potentially impacting the board at critical moments.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Chaos Channeler demands a certain game state to fully utilize its ability, requiring the player to attack with it to trigger its impulse draw effect. This requirement could be challenging if the player is forced into a defensive position or is dealing with a cluttered battlefield.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that includes double red mana, Chaos Channeler fits primarily in mono-red or red-heavy decks, limiting its versatility across various deck archetypes that do not support such a specific mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a four-mana value for a 3/3 creature, there are competitors in the cost range that may offer immediate value upon entering the battlefield or present lower risk options, making the Channeler’s cost a point of contention when deck building.


Reasons to Include Chaos Channeler in Your Collection

Versatility: Chaos Channeler offers a dynamic element to any red-oriented deck. With its ability to turn attacks into card advantage, it effortlessly slips into various archetypes from aggressive to midrange builds.

Combo Potential: At its core, Chaos Channeler acts as a card advantage engine. When it’s on the battlefield, every attack opens up the potential to unearth combos or key pieces, accelerating your game plan.

Meta-Relevance: In a game that’s constantly evolving, having a card that adapts to the shifting metagame is vital. Chaos Channeler thrives in environments where obtaining an advantage can tilt the scales, making it a timely addition to any repertoire.


How to beat Chaos Channeler

Chaos Channeler stands out as a red elemental wielding an unpredictable ability to delve into your library. With every attack, the potential to flood your hand with more cards grows, making it a formidable adversary. Notably, its unruly nature puts emphasis on direct damage, creature removal, or counterspells in your strategic approach to subdue it.

Deploying removal spells that can target creatures before they grow out of control is key. Lightning Bolt, a staple in red’s arsenal, poses a direct threat to Chaos Channeler. For blue mages, a well-timed Essence Scatter can ensure this creature never touches the battlefield. In larger formats, spells like Path to Exile or Fatal Push become invaluable assets in keeping such threats at bay.

Ensuring board control and keeping a watchful eye on when Chaos Channeler hits the field is quintessential. The key is to act swiftly, as letting the channeler unleash its ability multiple times can shift the tide irreversibly. A delicate balance between aggression and defense, as well as understanding when to trade resources, often dictates success. By interrupting the channeler’s chaos, you maintain the upper hand and sustain your game plan toward victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

Embarking on the MTG journey with Chaos Channeler can add a thrilling layer to your gameplay, magnifying the excitement with each attack you make. This card aces in transforming aggressive moves into strategic card filtering, a critical edge in outmanoeuvring your opponents. Consider integrating Chaos Channeler into your collection to broaden your command over the game, ensuring that each turn can potentially pivot into a significant advantage. Harness its synergies and build around its unique strength to ramp up your resource game. Visit BurnMana for in-depth strategies, card analysis, and expert advice to refine your deck and optimize Chaos Channeler’s fiery potential.


Cards like Chaos Channeler

Chaos Channeler is a distinctive card that carves its niche in Magic: The Gathering’s pantheon of red creature spells. It shares similarities with renowned creatures such as Bloodbraid Elf, which also offers cascade, thereby granting you an additional spell cast. Chaos Channeler stands out with its unique Wild Channel ability that triggers under the condition of attacking and having a 20 or more card library. This ability notably allows you to exile the top card of your library and play it that turn, offering a potential surge in card advantage.

Likewise, the red creature Robber of the Rich is a candidate for comparison. While it also provides card advantage by exiling cards from your opponent’s library, it differs from Chaos Channeler in that it relies on attacking with a smaller number of cards in hand. Furthermore, Robber of the Rich’s capacity to cast the exiled card is based on continued aggression and requiring other rogues to keep this effect relevant.

Nevertheless, Chaos Channeler furthers gameplay by giving red decks a robust creature that can repeatedly churn out advantages if left unchecked on the battlefield. It holds its own against other red creatures in the same vein through its balance between risk and reward, providing a fascinating choice for deck builders in Magic: The Gathering.

Bloodbraid Elf - MTG Card versions
Robber of the Rich - MTG Card versions
Bloodbraid Elf - MTG Card versions
Robber of the Rich - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Chaos Channeler MTG card by a specific set like Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Chaos Channeler and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Chaos Channeler has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Chaos Channeler card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2021-07-23 An ability that tells you to roll a die will also specify what to do with the result of that roll. Most often, this is in the form of a “results table” in the card text.
2021-07-23 An effect that says “choose a target, then roll a d20” or similar still uses the normal process of putting an ability on the stack and resolving it. Choosing targets is part of putting the ability on the stack and rolling the d20 happens later, as the ability resolves.
2021-07-23 Dice are identified by the number of faces each one has. For example, a d20 is a twenty-sided die.
2021-07-23 Dice used must have equally likely outcomes and the roll must be fair. Although physical dice are recommended, digital substitutes are allowed, provided they have the same number of equally likely outcomes as specified in the original roll instruction.
2021-07-23 If you do not play the exiled cards on the turn that they are exiled, they remain exiled indefinitely.
2021-07-23 Normal costs and timing permissions apply to cards played this way. Unless an effect says you can play additional lands during your turn, you cannot play a land exiled this way if you have already played one this turn.
2021-07-23 Some abilities, like that of Pixie Guide and Barbarian Class, replace rolling a die with rolling extra dice and ignoring the lowest roll. The ignored rolls are not considered for the effect that instructed you to roll a die, and do not cause abilities to trigger. For all intents and purposes, once you determine which dice count, any extra dice were never rolled.
2021-07-23 Some effects instruct you to roll again. This uses the same number and type of dice as the original roll, and that roll will use the same set of possible outcomes.
2021-07-23 Some effects may modify the result of a die roll. This may be part of the instruction to roll a die or it may come from other cards. Anything that references the “result” of a die roll is looking for the result after these modifications. Anything that is looking for the “natural result” is looking for the number shown on the face of the die before these modifications.
2021-07-23 The cards are exiled face up.
2021-07-23 The instruction to roll a die and the effect that occurs because of the result are all part of the same ability. Players do not get the chance to respond to the ability after knowing the result of the roll.
2021-07-23 Tournament events have more specific rules regarding dice and die-rolling. For more information, please see the most recent version of the Magic Tournament Rules at https://wpn.wizards.com/en/document/magic-gathering-tournament-rules.
2021-07-23 While playing Planechase, rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result will ignore the rolling of the planar die.

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