Changes to Chandra, Roaring Flame - 05/19/2016

[BassMuffinFIve]

@HelloWorld

@Rootbreaker

Yeah, even matching random colors, Kiora generates more mana than Origins planeswalkers.

Not really.

Origin walkers use a +0/+0/+1/+1/+3 arrangement for an average of 4 mana per match. Kiora uses +0/+0/+0/+3/+3 for an average of +4.2 but in all actual practice her cascades just are not as great as others since three of the five colors offer no additional bonuses. The newer Gideon uses +0/+0/+2/+2/+2 for an average of 4.2 as well with better cascading from the spread. Tezzert has +0/+0/+2/+2/+3 for 4.4 and Garruk is the highest with his +0/+1/+2/+2/+3 for 4.6 and a bonus to almost every color.

Now Kiora’s 1st ability also gives +6 mana which is nice. But remember Nissa gives +3 mana & +3 green gems which can match for another +6 or even set up an extra match for even more. Chandra used to cascade all the time making multiple patches per turn before the nerf thanks to destroying huge chunks of the field which also helps wipe your opponent’s supports on top of the extra damage, through the nerf will help reduce some of that. Until you cap Kiora’s 2nd ability, fetch & +16 mana, she really doesn’t have anything to bring about in the mana department. And afterwards, well she will undoubtedly be a higher shard costing walker just like the Gideon & Ob. Like Ob Nixilis costs twenty five times more shards than Liliana and it’d be unfair to the demanded cost if they weren’t any better than the origin walkers.

What makes Kiora seem mana crazy to probably the the green element. Animist’s Awakening is a very useful card that doesn’t show up in D3’s card spoiler. It should only be cast when you already have eight green gems on the board (the AI always tries to prioritize it), so if you’re using Kiora you should probably stick to matching blue when you can. Nissa in my experience is devastating with it, not just because of the gem match, but Nissa’s 1st ability when spammed always ensures you have enough green gems after a support or two and the bonus card draw along side it means your hand it stocked full of cards waiting for repeated mass mana dumps.

What makes Kiora seem mana crazy is the fact that she is mana crazy. Nissa gets 3 mana and 3 green gems for 9 loyalty. Kiora gets 6 mana for 6 loyalty. Do the math. And drains 6 from your opponent for free.

This game has become Pay2Win until Gideon and Kiora are balanced. Otherwise, the only strategy in this game is opening your wallet.

[EDUSAN]

@BassMuffinFIve

What makes Kiora seem mana crazy is the fact that she is mana crazy. Nissa gets 3 mana and 3 green gems for 9 loyalty. Kiora gets 6 mana for 6 loyalty. Do the math. And drains 6 from your opponent for free.

havent seen any kiora deck (im barely playing nowadays) but you are forgetting 2 things

1. nissa also gain health with her ability now (yeah, doesnt matter, but there should be a cost to that)
2. as nissa you get 3 guaranteed mana and a chance of more which could be 5 (which surpasses kiora gain) but also could be 6, or a cascade for even more)

that being said nissa’s skill was overnerfed, she shouldnt gain health and it should cost 7 or something like that

[Alicrast]

kiora is definitly the top plainswalker right now, but they cant nerf anything without data. So when you can earn her for free and trends start to show they’ll nerf her. No point in complaining till then lol. Gidian and nissa are still very good. Jace can still contend, but you have to run thopter spy network and tezzert is definitly a better version of jace right now. I also want to say ive been first 3 times and top 8 more than 10 times and i havent spent a dime this game is definitly not pay to win…

[bob8880]

i just finshed a 24 win run with Chandra (level 30). The only reason i lost was because of a disconnect.

Are these kind of streaks normal? The nerf didnt really affect my deck since i mainly use Chandra’s second ability for board control.

This is my deck

Creatures
Scab-Clan Berserker
Ghirapur Gearcrafter (Fiery Conclusion fodder)
Enthralling Victor

Spells
Chandra’s Fury
Lightning Javelin
Smash to Smithereens
Fiery Conclusion

Supports
Molten Vortex
Looming Spires
Ghirapur Aether Grid

I’m pretty sure this deck can be improved as well

[PapiLouis4]

@Alicrast

kiora is definitly the top plainswalker right now, but they cant nerf anything without data. So when you can earn her for free and trends start to show they’ll nerf her. No point in complaining till then lol. Gidian and nissa are still very good. Jace can still contend, but you have to run thopter spy network and tezzert is definitly a better version of jace right now. I also want to say ive been first 3 times and top 8 more than 10 times and i havent spent a dime this game is definitly not pay to win…

no you just have to grind, alot…also you probably benefited from drop rates and rune packs when the game first released, maybe not. but as it is now, new players will have a much more difficult time reaching the top

[Alicrast]

You get a ton of free crystals from doing the story line. It’s definitly a big grind though no doubt there…

[EDHdad]

i just finshed a 24 win run with Chandra (level 30). The only reason i lost was because of a disconnect.

Are these kind of streaks normal?

Yes. You can rack up 100+ wins in a row if that’s your goal.

The trade-off is that your deck will be slower, and you’ll have to play more deliberately, so you’ll win fewer ribbons per hour in PvP mode and win smaller prizes.

Please note that in PvP mode, you’re not playing against another human. You’re playing against a computer who is piloting another human’s deck. That’s what they mean when they say “real opponents ahead”.

So, you have significant advantages. The computer player doesn’t sequence cards well, never discards, doesn’t use much strategy, often chooses sub-optimal targets, often uses the wrong loyalty ability, etc.

All this is probably fine, since most people would probably rage-quit the game if the computer player always made optimal choices.