Chandra Ablaze MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Mythic |
| Type | Legendary Planeswalker — Chandra |
| Released | 2009-10-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Zendikar |
| Set code | ZEN |
| Loyalty | 5 |
| Number | 120 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Steve Argyle |
Key Takeaways
- Offers hand refresher by discarding cards, vital for crafting the ideal hand throughout your MTG match.
- Enables mana acceleration, crucial for executing powerful plays in the game’s decisive later stages.
- Allows for instant-speed damage dealing, giving players the edge with surprise tactics during combat.
Text of card
+1: Discard a card. If a red card is discarded this way, Chandra Ablaze deals 4 damage to target creature or player. -2: Each player discards his or her hand, then draws three cards. -7: Cast any number of red instant and/or sorcery cards from your graveyard without paying their mana costs.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Chandra Ablaze excels in allowing you to refresh your hand by discarding and drawing new cards, which could be instrumental in curating the perfect hand for your strategy.
Resource Acceleration: Her ability to discard a red card for mana ensures that you have the resources available when you need them, providing a form of acceleration that can be vital in the late game.
Instant Speed: While not all abilities operate at instant speed, Chandra Ablaze delivers immediate impact with her ability to deal damage, allowing for reactive plays and unexpected shifts in the state of the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Chandra Ablaze’s abilities often require you to discard cards, which could deplete your hand and leave you at a disadvantage if you’re unable to draw more cards or if the discarded cards are essential to your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: This planeswalker requires a heavy red mana investment. With a mana cost that includes three red symbols, Chandra Ablaze demands a deck heavily skewed towards red, potentially limiting its inclusion in multicolored decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a six mana total cost, Chandra Ablaze can be considered slow to come into play. Many games may reach a conclusion before you’re able to utilize her, particularly against fast-paced aggressive decks that can capitalize on her absence in the early to mid-game stages.
Reasons to Include Chandra Ablaze in Your Collection
Versatility: Chandra Ablaze is a dynamic addition to red decks that thrive on discard and draw mechanics. The ability to disrupt your opponents while refueling your hand makes her a powerful tool across multiple playing strategies.
Combo Potential: With her ability to discard and then cast red spells from your graveyard, Chandra Ablaze can be the linchpin in combos that hinge on spell recurrence. Her ultimate can decimate opponents by turning your red spells into direct damage.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where graveyard interaction or wheel effects are prevalent, Chandra Ablaze’s presence on the battlefield can significantly alter the tide of the game, making her relevant in various MTG meta scenarios.
How to Beat Chandra Ablaze
Chandra Ablaze is a formidable planeswalker card that can affect the pace and strategy of any Magic: The Gathering game. As a player facing this card, it requires shifting your game plan to mitigate its impact. Primarily, you want to avoid overloading your board with creatures, as Chandra Ablaze’s ability to deal damage can quickly clear your side. Instead, consider cards that can operate from the graveyard or utilize indestructibility to withstand her abilities.
Direct damage spells or creature abilities that can target planeswalkers are also effective strategies. Utilizing cards like Dreadbore, Hero’s Downfall, or creatures with haste can help you remove Chandra Ablaze before her loyalty counters become insurmountable. Additionally, countering her casting is also a firm strategy. Denying your opponent the opportunity to use such a high-impact card like Chandra Ablaze can significantly tilt the scales in your favor.
Focusing on these approaches will prepare you for the challenge when Chandra Ablaze hits the table. Always remember that dealing with powerful planeswalkers is about timing, precision, and maintaining control of the game state.
Cards like Chandra Ablaze
Chandra Ablaze holds a unique position in the pantheon of planeswalker cards in Magic: The Gathering, with abilities that echo the fiery chaos she brings to the battlefield. Her capability to discard a card to draw three others finds a parallel in the action of Wheel of Fortune, although the latter affects all players and resets hands entirely. Chandra Ablaze, however, offers a more controlled chaos, selectively disrupting only your own hand, paving the way for new strategies.
Another card that shares Chandra’s passion for hand disruption is Reforge the Soul. This card also embraces the wheel effect, offering a fresh hand of seven cards, yet it differs in that its miracle cost can make it a game-changer at a cheaper mana investment. Nonetheless, its effect uniformly impacts all participants, unlike Chandra Ablaze, which skillfully targets individual card advantage.
Drawing a comparison between these mechanics illustrates the finesse Chandra Ablaze brings. Her ability to ignite the board while carefully curating your hand is unmatched, making her an adept choice for players who savor strategic depth and calculated risks in their Magic: The Gathering matches.
Cards similar to Chandra Ablaze by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Chandra Ablaze MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar, 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 Chandra Ablaze and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Chandra Ablaze has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Chandra Ablaze card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2009-10-01 | As the first ability resolves, nothing happens if your hand is empty. But if you have any cards in hand, you must discard one. If you discard a nonred card, Chandra doesn’t deal any damage. |
| 2009-10-01 | If the creature targeted by the first ability is an illegal target by the time it resolves, the entire ability doesn’t resolve. You won’t discard a card. |
| 2009-10-01 | If you activate Chandra Ablaze’s first ability, you don’t discard a card until the ability resolves. You may activate the ability even if your hand is empty. You choose a target as you activate the ability even if you have no red cards in hand at that time. |
| 2009-10-01 | If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t pay any alternative costs. You can pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. |
| 2009-10-01 | You cast red instant cards and red sorcery cards from your graveyard as part of the resolution of Chandra Ablaze’s third ability. You don’t choose which ones to cast until you’re actually doing so as the ability resolves. You cast only the ones you want to, and you may cast them in any order. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type (if it’s a sorcery) are ignored. Other restrictions are not (such as “Cast -his card] only during combat”). Each card you cast this way is put on the stack, then the ability finishes resolving. Those spells will then resolve as normal, one at a time, in the opposite order that they were put on the stack. They’ll go back to the graveyard as they resolve. |
| 2009-10-01 | You may activate Chandra’s second ability even if your hand is empty. As it resolves, a player whose hand is empty simply draws three cards. |
