Magic Spellslingers Chandra Guide and Best Decks

Hello everyone! Today I’m going to go over a collection of decks you can work towards for the Magic Spellslingers starting hero, Chandra! Although she is the starting hero, I believe Chandra is one of the better heroes in the game as she’s very flexible in build and has a really strong hero ability of dealing 4 damage when the game starts! This makes racing opponents much easier compared to most of the other heroes.

There are many builds of Chandra that prioritize different elements of an aggressive game plan, but not only are all of these lists aggressive, but they are also all multicolored. Generally speaking, whenever you can splash, you should as you’re just losing value by not playing the best cards in other colors for whatever strategy you’re working towards. So let’s go over five different builds of Chandra: Boros (Splash White), Gruul (Splash Green), Izzet (Splash Blue), Rakdos (Splash Red), and a Budget version!

Chandra Spellslinger Details

Signature Cards

Abilities

Core Cards

So with all the decks on this list, we still use the same base 18 cards in all of them. For the most part, all these cards are included mostly for curve considerations as we’re looking to be an aggressive deck no matter what direction we take it after that. Let’s break these down quickly.

Azra Pyromancer – Most of the time, this is going to be a glorified Filigree Fox which isn’t too exciting. However, as I said before, curve is really important and the ability does come up a non-negligible amount of times. Heal is cheat after all! However, if you don’t have these yet, Filigree Fox is a fine substitute.

Shock – Probably the most efficient spell in Spellslingers, we’re happy to be killing an early drop or going face with this.

Pouncing Lemur – This one drop hits like a truck and will force a trade every time. Who can afford to take 3 damage?

Raging Goblin – One of the best one drops in general, having two power and Haste is such a big deal as any point of damage you can force through is important.

Fire Elemental – While not the most exciting, guaranteeing two damage on attack is quite good for the same reason Raging Goblin can be good. However, this can be a two for one as you’ll likely force the opponent to trade as well putting you ahead.

Goblin Shortcutter – Blocking is cheating so this allows you to even the playing field.

Blitzing Minotaur – Haste is an extremely powerful ability so having it on a slightly undersized three drop is still quite powerful.

Lightning Catcher – As I said, anything that can force damage through is important. Lightning Catcher nets you two damage and is a great attacker/blocker to make value trades with. It’s quite similar to Fire Elemental in that sense.

Flame Shot – This card is busted good. Generally speaking, your creatures will be smaller than your opponents, but generally not by much. Often the opponent will have a creature or two at one health after blocking and this is really good at mopping them up.

So now that we’re through with the core cards, the deck generally takes one of two directions: being board centric or being burn centric. The board centric version, as it sounds, is trying more so to win on board and grind out the victory. The burn centric version, on the other hand, is trying to get the opponent’s life total low enough that you can finish them with reach.

The biggest differentiators between the two versions is that the board centered versions play Chandra’s Firecrafter and Firespout Elemental while the Burn decks have Lava Axe and Ball Lightning or Storm Seeker. Both strategies have their benefits and pitfalls which is mostly matchup related, but both are very real directions to take Chandra.

Boros (Splash White)

DV1H4sIAAAAAAAAC23MKxKAMBAEUc9pdvaXRWMQSCrI3P8WKEjEuCe6+ji36x5PxyjUR4gTijKmNkLMYGEmIyT+rzlhqBAijVALlI1QFIQGJ4QGYdZsZV/4Aie8MvpXAQAA

The first deck on the list is the White splash for Chandra, Boros Aggro. Like all of these lists, this is going to be a fast deck and the White splash abets that plan nicely. Rather than play towards the board, we’re looking to apply more direct pressure with Skyknight Legionnaire and Lava Axe.

White is a solid splash as it gives you Elite Vanguard for one and Skyknight on three, and Tajic as a powerful four drop (with Steed being a fine two drop, but the least exciting of the bunch.) This deck will look to make more aggressive plays to get their life total lower and burn them with reach rather than overwhelming them with constant pressure.

Gruul (Splash Green)

DV1H4sIAAAAAAAAC23PIRKAMBBDUc9pku122WoMAsmA7P1vgaKtiHviT2ZynNt19/dhT+ZPmAuG7YKcwUIEBCNGYN5GUFywGgQZRdCSgkgIsrogsOzaPE9BWhW01hZ+FkXXBlcBAAA=

In direct contrast to Boros, Gruul is looking to win on board states rather than trying to nickle and dime them with burn. While the core of the decks remain the same, Green gives you excellent options for adding to the board like Pir, the Dreamer, Kalonian Tusker, Giant Growth, and Grudge Match. While not necessarily as board centric as a deck like Domri, having the four points of damage in the beginning of the game gives you a decent advantage to work with.

Izzet (Splash Blue)

DV1H4sIAAAAAAAAC23PMQqAQAxE0d7TZLJJjLWNhVaKlnv/W4iIuCzTveLDMPMyrEe9TtREfoQIoagRho6E+IOGEYwCZSxG6CqEiEKoiY7b/kx4x/cQGNMIoU5YZGp4AzCNjYNXAQAA

Probably the wackiest of all the splashes, Izzet may look strange, but it’s actually quite solid. Yet again, we’re working with an aggro deck that goes Blue for some solid one drops and interaction with Unsummon being a strong tempo spell and Frost Lynx taking out a blocker for a turn. This is the deck that needs the most testing, but having four of your Blue cards doubling as solid interaction is quite strong.

Rakdos (Splash Black)

DV1H4sIAAAAAAAAC23MIRKAMAxEUc9pskm7TTUGgWRA9v63QFEq1j3x5+/Hdl7juTES+REwQfMiSG+C+IOFpGJlCloUQTAEvbggOGmEoGcTNIcgvAqG9XnoK1/0GRbXVwEAAA==

My splash of choice, Rakdos gives you the best early creatures which I think is a pretty important element for Chandra. Silent Prowler is one of the best one drops for aggro as it guarantees two damage, Vengeful Brute is a sizable body that guarantees two damage, and Ragerunner should generally guarantee three damage. With all the ways you have to force through damage, I found that this is the most reliable version of Chandra.

Budget

DV1H4sIAAAAAAAAC23GIQ6AMBBEUc9pZrbtZqsxCCQB2fvfAkWC+E+9/djOaz23V6l9tQVVdKix6tRUQEcWVK1DnQ0aZagzoEpDR1CFdQxozPnrCy0MBgNXAQAA

Out of every Spellslinger, a budget list for Chandra is definitely the most necessary. While we do lose out on some powerful options by being completely budget, the deck still definitely works as intended. The biggest loss in this version is only having six one drops, but that’s not the biggest deal. Beyond that, your first craft should probably be Molten Monastery as that’s really important for Chandra.

No matter which deck you choose, I’m sure Chandra will serve you well against any planeswalker you may face!

Thank you for reading!