So, I bought some of these Magic The Gathering figures. I know next to nothing about the game, only that it’s played with cards and has something to do with wizards. I honestly didn’t even know it had characters to make figures out of. So why the hell did I buy these? Well, there are four reasons. 1) I have a problem. 2) I wanted to see how Funko’s Legacy line is improving for when they get around to doing Firefly figures. 3) They were really cheap. 4) I have a problem. I got nothing else to preference this little ditty with, so let’s just dig right in. We’re starting with Ms. Chandra Nalaar!

There’s the box. It’s very similar to the packages we’ve been seeing for Funko’s Game of Thrones, Hasbro’s 6-inch Star Wars Black, and NECA’s Classic Planet of the Apes, just to name a few. I was a little apprehensive about buying these online, mainly because the paint and QC with Funko’s Legacy line has been pretty spotty, but they were cheap enough that I was willing to roll the dice, or in this case throw down my card. There’s nothing on the package to really tell me anything about this character so I went right to the source, Wizards of the Coast, to learn something about her. She’s a pyromancer and described as strong-willed and independent. Good enough, I can work with that.

From what I’ve seen, this line strikes me as a fairly traditional fantasy line, but Chandra here is a bit of an exception, as she looks a little more steampunkish to me. That’s cool. As much as the concept gets played out, I still like a little steampunk in my fantasy. Chandra’s outfit is a sort of stylish mish-mash of chainmail reinforced with plates, some leather, and some strategically placed hoses. The detail on her outfit is exceptionally well done. From the texture of the chainmail to the rivets in the plate armor, even the wrappings of her sleeves and boots, and the fingerless gloves… it’s all top notch work.

As wonderful as the figure is from the neck down, the portrait doesn’t disappoint either. Chandra sports a clean and pretty face sculpt with a magnifcent sprout of flame hair twisting off the top and a pair of goggles worn up right about on her hairline. The plastic used for her skin is a tad waxy, but I’m not going to complain about it because everything else about the portrait, including the eerie firey orange paint in her eyes is without fault. Stack this head and body sculpt up against most anything DC Collectibles has done recently and you’d have some pretty good competition.

So the sculpt is fantastic, but does it have the paint to back it up? Oh yes it does! The armor has a nice tarnished gray finish and the leather is painted with a few different shades of supple brown. There are even subtle patterns painted on the edges of the sash wrapped around her waist. From the dark brown of her boots to the brilliant orange fire of her hair, the paintwork on this figure is something to be admired. Everything is crisp and spot-on beautiful.

Articulation is one of the areas where Funko has been having the most problems with this line. It isn’t so much with the degree or design of articulation, but rather problems with frozen and snapping joints. I’m happy to say that nearly all of Chandra’s points of articulation were limber and serviceable right out of the package. The only point of contention is what appears to be a ball joint under her chest. There’s very little give to it and I’m not comfortable trying to force it for fear that I’ll snap the figure in half. Yes, I’d like that joint to work, maybe I’ll try a boil and pop, but it’s not a dealbreaker for me. As for the rest of the points… The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, swivels in the biceps, and hinges in the elbows. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, double hinged at the knees, have swivels in the upper thighs, and rotating hinges in the ankles. The neck is ball jointed. It’s worth noting that the armor plates on her shoulders and left arm are all made of flexible plastic and glued on so as to not interfere with the articulation. It’s a great way to go, unlike the hinged shoulder armor DC Collectibles used for that QC-disaster of a Starfire figure.

If there’s anything I can nitpick Chandra for it’s that she’s light in the accessories. She comes with a ball of fire that she can sort of hold in her hand. Seeing as I know nothing about the character, I’ll assume she’s not big on anything but throwing fireballs. I certainly can’t point to anything missing, so I’ll just move on.

While I started out this feature by kidding around about why I bought her, the real reason is that I just dig fantasy style figures and all of these character designs appealed to me. If you’ve read my Masters of the Universe Classics features then you should know I don’t need character or backstory to enjoy a good action figure. Nope, it’s all about design and coloring and craftsmanship and Chandra here hits all those points beautifully. I’m so pleasantly surprised at how well this figure came out and it’s instilled a lot more confidence in the belief that Funko is moving in the right direction with the Legacy line. You’ll note I pulled a lot of comparisons between Chandra and DC Collectibles’ products and that’s because I feel that’s the market that Funko is going for and if Chandra is any example of what they’re capable of, they have it in them to surpass the competition in sculpt and paint quality. So far, I’ve only picked up the three ladies of this line, so I’ll swing back next week and check out another. If all three ladies impress me as much as Chandra, I’ll definitely be picking up the dudes as well.