Ranking the New Magic: The Gathering/Street Fighter Legends

 This week I'm going to do something a little different. Hey card gaming is still gaming, right?

I know I've talked before about my love of Magic: The Gathering and I've always wanted to write a little more about it, but I've never really had a reason to here. I debated doing something last year when they announced their whole "realms beyond" thing, where they decided to bring a bunch of crossover IPs into the MTG universe. Honestly, I wasn't a fan. As someone who has played since 1996, I don't even like that they have a "multiverse" with "planes" other than Dominara. So when I first saw the "Walking Dead" Secret Lair, I was a bit thrown. "I will never buy one of those crossover things" I thought to myself. I mean, there was talk of mixing in IPs that at least made some sense, like Dungeons and Dragons or Lord of the Rings, but a show about zombies? Stranger Things? Wasn't a fan. Well, then MTGs longtime publisher Wizards of the Coast had to make me eat my words (thoughts?), because they soon announced one of their crossovers would be with Street Fighter, and, suddenly, I had a change of heart. You mean to tell me I can have classic SFII characters in the command zone? Sign me up.

It's been a while since the announcement, but it looks like all eight cards from the upcoming Secret Lair drop have leaked. So, I'm going to rank them. My completely scientific, totally just not though up off the top of my head categories for this ranking will include Power Level (how strong is the card) Thematic Accuracy (how on theme they are for the characters they represent) and artwork (how good the art is). Also, I'm going to be talking about these in a strict Commander/EDH sense, I don't really play any of the other formats at this moment and honestly I'm not sure where exactly these will be legal besides EDH. Maybe Legacy or Vintage? I can tell you right now, none of these would be played in vintage and I can see one that maybe could sneak into some fringe legacy builds, so I guess it's a moot point anyway. As a matter of personal preference, I will be referring to these cards as their color identities white/blue, green/black/red, etc. I am very much aware of the Guild/Shard/Wedge names, but I dislike using those for reasons I won't get into here. Now that we're set up, it's on to the rankings.

8. E-Honda, Sumo Champion

4WW

Legendary Creature-Human Warrior

Sumo Spirit - As long as it's your turn, each creature assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power.

Hundred Hand Slap - Whenever E.Honda, Sumo Champion attacks, up to one hundred creatures each get +0/+x until end of turn, where x is the number of cards in your hand.

0/7

Power: 3/10

Thematic Accuracy: 3/10

Artwork: 4/10

Sorry big guy, but you're stuck on the bottom. Honda is the worst of these eight cards and I'm not sure it's even close. Being mono-white is the first strike against him, but it doesn't stop there. The damage from toughness effect only happening on your turn is problematic and will make it very difficult for your creatures to win in combat when you are under attack. Not to mention, you can't really rely on the cheap high toughness defender creatures, since Honda doesn't allow them to attack. The hundred hand slap ability is cute, but it doesn't really do enough and the whole "100 creatures" thing will basically never be relevant and the fact that he has to attack to activate it is an issue. I also think it's a little over-costed at 6, especially in mono-white. Flavor wise it's okay, it references his iconic attack and Honda is a fairly defensive character, but it's just blah. The same is true of the artwork, it's not bad by any means but it's disappointing. I can't see anyone other than the super large group of dyed in the wool Honda mains who also play MTG running this as their commander. Even in the 99 it's pretty limited outside of its dedicated archetype, I don't play Doran, The Siege Tower or Arcades, The Strategist or any of those other toughness matters commanders but I could see him slotting there just for redundancy.

7. Ryu, World Warrior

2W

Legendary Creature-Human Warrior

Training

Hadoken - 4R, Untap, Discard a Card - Ryu, World Warrior deals combat damage equal to his power to any target. If excess damage was dealt to a creature this way, draw a card.

2/4

Power: 5/10

Thematic accuracy: 8/10

Artwork: 7/10

This one hurts. As a lifelong Ryu main, I was disappointed when I saw this card spoiled. Red/White is a better color identity than mono-white, but not really by much. A 2/4 for 2W is an okay rate, but it's not world beating by any means and having low power with an ability that relies almost entirely on power is an issue. At least Ryu has training, which will allow him to permanently increase said power, but activating that requires combat and that's never ideal. At least his ability allows him to untap, but are we seriously paying 5 mana to MAYBE rummage? There are common cards that do that for free! By the time you have enough mana to activate this, most of the major threats on the board will be out of its damage range, even if you manage to increase Ryu's power once or twice. Even then, you are probably taking a turn off casting a spell. I will say though, that untappers always have a major potential to be broken. Trust me, the gears are already turning in my head. He will also probably get used in the 99 of a lot of R/W decks simply because he has the words "draw a card" on him. Have to love the theme though, training is super appropriate for Ryu's character. Remember, this is a guy that ditches the World Warrior Tournament award ceremony because "Titles mean nothing to him, the fight is everything." Having the untap symbol in the activation cost for hadoken is amazing, it looks like a quarter circle motion which is so cool. The art is really good, it looks a bit less detailed than the others but it's still an awesome picture with some really unique colors. I also like that it references Ryu's stage.

6. Guile, Sonic Soldier

1URW

Legendary Creature-Human Soldier

Whenever Guile, Sonic Soldier, enters the battlefield or attacks, put a charge counter on him or remove one from him. Whenever you remove a counter this way, choose one -

Sonic Boom - Guile, Sonic Soldier deals 4 damage to any target

Flash Kick - Guile, Sonic Soldier gains lifelink and indestructible until end of turn

4/4

Power: 6/10

Thematic Accuracy: 10/10  

Artwork: 4/10

Guile certainly has the best color combination of any of the new legends, with WRU in contention for the strongest color identity of all the three-color options. He has some good stats as a 4/4 for 4, though he does require at least one of each of his colors. Both abilities are solid, 4 is a lot of damage and lifelink and indestructible are both very strong keywords. Either way, the issue is getting the charge counters on Guile. He can only either add or remove one each combat, so basically you only get one of his solid but unspectacular abilities every other combat step. He also has to attack, which, as we've discussed, is a problem. That said, it's easy to build around this in these colors, as proliferate effects are plentiful in blue. I could see him being effective in the 99 of decks that use that effect. The artwork isn't great, Guile looks a little goofy, but thematically this is a home run. Of course Guile is red, white and blue, being the All-American soldier he is. The charge counters for the series' most iconic charge character are perfect and even the choice between the two is spot on. Anyone familiar with SFII's mechanics will know that holding down/back on the d-pad/joystick will allow Guile to charge both his sonic boom and flash kick, making his opponents play a guessing game. Trust me, a Guile player ducking on the edge of the screen is an experienced SF player's worst nightmare.

5. Blanka, Ferocious Friend

3RG

Legendary Creature-Human Beast Warrior

Haste

Rolling Attack - Blanka, Ferocious Friend has trample as long as you've cast three or more spells this turn

Electric Thunder - Whenever Blanka becomes the target of a spell, he gets +2/+2 until end of turn and deals 2 damage to each opponent.

5/5

Power: 7/10

Thematic Accuracy: 7/10

Artwork: 9/10

Zada, Hedron Grinder, eat your heart out. Blanka might take the cake as everyone's new favorite glass cannon, pseudo-storm commander. Sure he's more of an all in as opposed to a go wide, but Blanka may very well be better than the goblin matriarch of the archetype, largely because he has green in his color identity. A 5/5 for 5 with haste is excellent, and in green you are easily going to be able to get there way earlier than turn 5.  And then, the real fun begins as you start pumping him up by targeting him with cantrips, pump spells and other cheap effects, all the while pinging the whole table for two. Throw in trample and you have the complete package. Blanka is going to very easily be able to one or two shot people with commander damage, or maybe even without it. He's very powerful, BUT, there is one major problem. One instant speed removal spell and you are screwed. Blanka pretty much requires you to put all your eggs in one basket in a color combination where it's very easy to run out of gas. If you dump your hand to pump him up and he gets removed, you are going to be very behind and possibly even out of the game. When this strategy works, it really works. But when it doesn't it's miserable, take that from an experienced Zada player. There's also an issue of card quality, a lot of the stuff you have to run in these decks do nothing without your commander. Thematically Blanka is pretty good. Red/green is the perfect color combination and the second ability is a cool callback to his iconic in-game attack, but he just doesn't quite hit the spot like some of the others. I guess this is more an SF: The Movie thing but Blanka should be a soldier instead of a warrior. His artwork is great though, it's super detailed and the purple notes really make the electricity pop. Seeing the skeleton of the guy getting shocked is also a great SFII reference.

4. Zangief, the Red Cyclone

2BRG

Legendary Creature-Human Warrior

Zangief, the Red Cyclone must be blocked if able

Iron Muscle - As long as it's your turn, Zangief has indestructible.

Spinning Piledriver - Whenever Zangief deals damage to a creature, if that creature was dealt excess damage this turn, that creature's controller sacrifices a noncreature, nonland permanent.

Power: 7/10

Thematic Accuracy: 6/10

Artwork: 10,000/10 (Okay, I guess I have to top it out at 10/10)

7/4

Everyone's favorite former Soviet grappler has a pretty solid color combination with Black/Red/Green. Of note, he's the only character in the set that has black in his color identity. Having green is also key, as you can ramp the big brute out early and meet his color intensive requirements with ease. Then, you can start two-for-one-ing (sort of) your opponents left and right. With 7 power, Zangief's second ability is going to be triggering more often than not. He's indestructible on your turn, so there's no issue sending him into combat and because he has to be blocked, you are going to create difficult, undesirable situations for your opponent. His toughness is a bit lower than his power, so he will be vulnerable when it's not your turn. I know I ranked him higher, but he's kind of tied with Blanka. Blanka's ceiling may be higher, but his floor is much, much lower. Also like Blanka, his theming is just okay. It definitely fits Zangief, but it just doesn't jump out like it does for some of the other characters. That art though...it's Zangief wrestling a bear. 'Nuff said.

3. Ken, Burning Brawler

1RR

Legendary Creature-Human Warrior

Prowess

R/W: Ken, Burning Brawler gains first strike until end of turn.

Shoryuken - Whenever Ken deals combat damage, you may cast a sorcery spell from your hand with mana value less than or equal to that damage without paying its mana cost.

4/2

Power: 8/10

Thematic Accuracy: 7/10

Artwork: 8/10

It bugs me that Ken is better than Ryu. It really does. Honestly, if Ken wasn't Red/White he would have a shot at being the strongest card in this set. Any time you can cast spells for free, you have to take notice. Sending a creature with 2 toughness into combat would normally be a non-starter, but being able to give Ken first strike makes it a much safer proposition. Having prowess is just icing on the cake and allows Ken to trade even further up than most 4 power creatures for 3 mana, which is saying something. Because the ability triggers on damage, opponents are going to have to be extremely careful in their blocks or even attacks because of the danger of getting blown out badly by a Ken activation. It does lose some points for only hitting sorceries, but that still leaves a bevy of powerful red and white spells. I like Ken thematically, he has the same color combination and power/toughness ratio as Ryu, just swapped. He has the more aggressive abilities, which is appropriate for his character, and his activated ability is an ode to the "gotcha" nature of a well timed shoryuken. His art is cool, more so because of it's reference to his iconic stage than its depiction of Ken himself. Overall, I like him a lot, both as a commander and in the 99 of any spellslinger deck that can run him.

2. Dhalsim, Pliable Pacifist

2GW

Legendary Creature, Human Monk

Reach

Teleport - Dhalsim, Pliable Pacifist has hexproof unless he's attacking. Whenever a creature you control with reach attacks, untap it and it can't be blocked by creatures with greater power this combat.

Fierece Punch - Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, draw a card.

Power: 8/10

Thematic Accuracy: 10/10

Artwork: 9/10

Any commander with the words "draw a card" on it is going to draw some attention. Green/White is a solid color combination and Dhalsim is good at both extenuating its positives and covering its weaknesses. A 1/3 for 4 isn't a great rate, but being in green helps in that regard. Dhalsim is difficult to target, can play offense and defense and gives all your reach creatures pseudo vigilance. That's nice, as most reach creatures are low power/high toughness, allowing them to get aggressive without risking their lives, while also holding back flyers. But the card draw is what puts it over the top. Sure, it tops out at three cards per attack step, but anything that allows you to draw cards for basically zero investment is going to be good in MTG, it just is. Mix in similar effects like Toski, Bearer of Secrets and you will feel like you are playing a blue deck in no time! He may not do anything out of this world, but Dhalsim is all upside and he makes every creature on your board better. Thematically, he's just about perfect. If he didn't have reach, there were going to be problems. The hexproof ability fits well with his teleport and "pliable pacifist" might be the coolest name ever on a Magic Card. The artwork is excellent too, showing off Dhalsim's super stretchy limbs. If it misses on one thing, it would have been nice to include red as a reference to his fire abilities, but that might have made him a bit too strong. Without the red, and even without any reach creatures, Dhalsim is going to fit nicely into the 99 of most G/W decks.

1. Chun-Li, Countless Kicks

1WU

Legendary Creature-Human Warriror

Multikicker W/U

When Chun-Li enters the battlefield, exile up to X target instant cards from your graveyard, where X is the number of times Chun-Li was kicked. Put a kick counter on each of them.

Lightning Kick - Whenever Chun-Li attacks, copy each exiled card you own with a kick counter on it. You may cast those copies.

3/3

Power: 10/10

Thematic Accuracy: 10/10

Artwork: 9/10

Chun-Li is the strongest legend in the set and I believe decidedly so. She functionally costs at least 4, but even 4 for a 3/3 with upside is an okay rate. And what upside it is. The ability to repeatedly copy instants from your graveyard is incredible, even if it is combat triggered. It's a shame it doesn't hit sorceries...actually, it's not because then Chun-Li would be able to basically infinitely loop extra turn spells with little effort, making her completely broken. Even without that, she's still incredibly strong. Being able to reuse a spell or cast a powerful spell out of the graveyard is a strong ability, but the kicker (pun intended) here is that it's based on counters. That means even if Chun-Li dies, or gets bounced, you still have access to those spells you already exiled. It's not like something like, say, Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge, where each instance of the card doesn't "see" what the previous iteration exiled. So you could, in theory, exile a bounce spell on your first cast, bounce Chun to your hand and keep exiling one spell at a time until each attack is backbreaking.  Or you could just exile Mystical Tutor and have whatever instant you want every turn. To me, this a fringe cEDH commander, probably in a stax build where you are using the ability to break parity, casting cheap spells for repeatedly and clearing boards while your opponents are trying to figure out just what the hell to do about Winter Orb. If anything keeps her off that status, it's that she only has blue/white and thus has no access to Demonic Consultation/Tainted Pact/Ad Nauseum/etc. Still I would put her in the 99 of a similar deck that could play her, though she is a little costly for top level cEDH, and she's definitely powerful in a casual game of commander. Thematically, she's great, she has multikicker and that's all you need to know. The artwork is pretty cool as well. All of this make Chun-Li the complete package and likely the strongest card in this Secret Lair. Ya-Ta!