Exclusive Magic: The Gathering card reveal – Chandra brings fiery friends to battle

Magic: The Gathering's powerful pyromancer is making a comeback in M:TG's next release. Wizards of the Coast have sent over four card previews that give us some insight into Chandra's volatile new form, which sees her take to the battlefield with three new pets.

'Pets' isn't quite the right way to describe them, actually. They are elemental embodiments of red mana that can fry foes with direct damage or, in the case of Chandra's Pyreling, passively grow in strength as your deck does damage.

But first lets focus on the Planeswalker herself. Chandra, Heart of Fire rewards decks built around direct damage instants with a big late-game nuke. The free mana and ability to pick "any number" of instant or sorcery cards out of your deck has the potential to obliterate an opponent in one huge conflagration.

Next up, a cheap (but adorable) minion that can do consistent chip damage at a summoning cost of just two mana.

The Pyreling is cheap too, but if you can get him out early and protect him, your deck's ongoing damage threatens to make him extremely powerful during a turn when you're able to put out a lot of noncombat damage. Three health points at least give it a chance to survive long enough to grow fat and destructive, if you're careful. 

Of course, instants count as noncombat damage, and creature abilities count as noncombat damage, so your direct damage instants and the Magmutt's 'tap to deal one damage' ability will buff the Pyreling.

The Incinerator is the coup de grace of this group of cards. You have to pay for it, but that ability to mirror noncombat damage coming out of your spells and creatures is delicious when paired with the rest of these cards, and a stock of good instant damage spells. Trample ensures that additional damage can cut through your opponent's creatures and do serious direct harm to your opponent's health pool. With the right combination in play, this is potentially a game-winning creature.