The original Jumpstart packs featured five Planeswalkers, and if you were lucky enough to open one of these, you had an advantage. Not only did your deck thrum with the potential draw of mythic bomb, but also each 'Walker came with their own rare, such as Garruk's Harbinger. Though these packs are out of balance in their strength compared to the other packs, they brought excitement to the random selection. Risking them being underpowered would've been far worse. We should be happy to see a Planeswalker.

We should also take pleasure in building our own 'Walker packs for Jumpstart, to expand the format with new play experiences and tailor it to our preferences. In the past, I introduced four other packs featuring non-mythic Planeswalkers. Today I'm doing the same thing. The goal is to have a thematic pack that's fun to play. In this case, I'm not trying to gas the power level. No need to throw more fuel on Chandra's fire.

Chandra Bae | Jumpstart | AE Marling

• Creatures (7)
• 1 Chandra's Embercat
• 1 Chandra's Magmutt
• 1 Chandra's Pyreling
• 1 Chandra's Spitfire
• 1 Cinder Pyromancer
• 1 Fire Elemental
• 1 Lavakin Brawler

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 1 Chandra, Acolyte of Flame
• 1 Chandra, Bold Pyromaster
• 1 Chandra, Novice Pyromancer

• Instants (2)
• 1 Chandra's Outrage
• 1 Chandra's Pyrohelix

• Land (8)
• 7 Mountain
• 1 Thriving Bluff

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Yes, on a whim (appropriate to Red's color identity), I did just maximize the number of times I could have "Chandra" written on a card name in a single pack. This one contains nine instances, enough to make Nissa swoon. Though my goal was mainly to be silly, these cards will do work together. Chandra's Magmutt can ignite Chandra's Spitfire and her pet lizard.

Our spunky pyromancer does lover her elementals. She also keeps Chandra's Embercat, whose crackling purr can help you cast the more expensive Chandra, Bold Pyromaster. Even this Planeswalker-deck card is strong in Limited, with its recursive value. The longer you keep Chandra's flame alive, the greater your odds to win.

Winning can be trivial with your average mythic 'Walker. Uncommon Planeswalkers can bring a similar excitement to a game without ending it so soon. Including named Planeswalkers in Magic gives players characters to root for (or despise). If Chandra helps us win games, we grow invested in her and are more likely to follow her story in continuing sets.

We've had less opportunity to play with and root for characters like Samut. Let's remedy that with a Jumpstart pack that includes two copies of her uncommon card, which will allow us to draw her more consistently.

Samut's Strikers | Jumpstart | AE Marling

• Creatures (8)
• 1 Ainok Tracker
• 1 Ancient Hydra
• 1 Markov Blademaster
• 1 Raging Redcap
• 1 Rustrazor Butcher
• 1 Snapping Thragg
• 1 Two-Headed Cerberus
• 1 Viashino Slaughtermaster

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Samut, Tyrant Smasher

• Instants (2)
• 1 Abrade
• 1 Borrowed Hostility

• Land (8)
• 7 Mountain
• 1 Thriving Bluff

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Remember that Jumpstart packs aren't bound by rules of color identity important to formats like Commander. Having a Red pack with hybrid cards like Samut, Tyrant Smasher and off-color abilities like Viashino Slaughtermaster is an upside. If you combine this pack with a Green one you'll have the pleasure of greater ease of casting your Planeswalker, and with the right fixing you can unlock the viashino's secret ability.

There are multiple ways of capitalizing on Samut, Tyrant Smasher's abilities. If your foe doesn't leave any blockers, you can ambush them with a hasty Snapping Thragg. You could include cards that benefit especially from her haste, such as ones with vanishing or fading. Of those I chose Ancient Hydra, as I thought it would lead to the most interesting decision points. It can get in a surprise five points of damage. Then you can spend counters for continued board presence or to ping key creatures.

Samut's inspiring +2/+1 goes further with double strikers. The dream curve is Markov Blademaster into Samut, Tyrant Smasher. Give your vampire 3 power, and you'll put your foe into The Abyss starting turn four.

Though buffing double strike creatures is devastating, giving bonus power to first strikers is also potent. An Ainok Tracker with 5 power will dominate combat, and what Rustrazor Butcher will do with 4 power is simply twisted.

We'll leave Samut to rally her people in the deserts of Amonkhet. Join me on Kaladesh, where the sky thrums with mechanical life, and servos scamper by on their adorable chrome feet.

Saheeli's Science Faire | Jumpstart | AE Marling

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Saheeli, Sublime Artificer

• Instants (3)
• 1 Goblin Wizardry
• 1 Galvanic Blast
• 1 Trumpet Blast

• Sorceries (3)
• 1 Dragon Fodder
• 1 Flurry of Horns
• 1 Goblin War Party

• Artifacts (4)
• 1 Hedron Archive
• 1 Mask of Immolation
• 1 Mizzium Tank
• 1 Pyrite Spellbomb

• Land (8)
• 7 Mountain
• 1 Thriving Bluff

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With a pack themed around Saheeli, Sublime Artificer, you may well imagine I would want to include mostly non-creature spells. What you might not guess is that I would avoid the creature card type entirely. The reason for that is shuffling Jumpstart packs together dilutes their theme. So, we'll still have many creatures in our deck from our other pack, and in order for a theme to work that cares about a specific card type, you have to go hard, as the other pack will dilute your card pool. In the original Jumpstart box, the Spellcasting packs felt the weakest to me, because they included too many creatures that wanted you to cast spells and never enough non-creature spells to satisfy them.

We won't have that problem here, with only non-creature spells. First of all, I love Goblin Wizardry for these decks. A spell that makes creatures that care about spells feels like a perfectly crafted closed circuit. Our rare of Mizzium Tank is similarly effective, though it might seem crude to Saheeli, Sublime Artificer. Not only can she create an army of servos, but she can turn them into copies of Hedron Archive, for you to draw cards, or Pyrite Spellbomb, for you to Shock creatures. She likely doesn't care to speak of it, but you could also equip multiple metallic pets with Mask of Immolation.

Our sorceries all increase our creature count, with Dragon Fodder and Flurry of Horns. You can then buff the team with Goblin War Party or Trumpet Blast. Go ahead and test this "creatureless" pack, and I believe your science experiment will be a complete success.

The Planeswalker easiest to root for may be Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter. He and his good boy are so adorable together. Say, let's make a pack where they can romp among boisterous creatures, spread counter love, and have a glorious time.

Jiang's Good Boys | Jumpstart | AE Marling

• Creatures (8)
• 1 Ainok Artillerist
• 1 Aquastrand Spider
• 1 Baloth Gorger
• 1 Fertilid
• 1 Gnarlid Pack
• 1 Iridescent Hornbeetle
• 1 Kalonian Hydra
• 1 Mowu, Loyal Companion

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter

• Instants (1)
• 1 Dragonscale Boon

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Hunter's Edge

• Land (8)
• 7 Forest
• 1 Thriving Grove

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There's a wealth of +1/+1 counter synergies available, and I hope to revisit this pack theme to include more. One that particularly delights me is Iridescent Hornbeetle. Going tall on a creature with counters will also let you go wide with an opalescent beetle army.

Though much of this pack is self-explanatory, I should address the hydra in the room. Kalonian Hydra is a mega bomb that should win you the game if you attack with it once. I don't necessarily seek out the strongest rares for casual formats, but I did want a hydra. Its +1/+1 counters synergize with the rest of our cards, and since this multi-headed monstrosity in turn strengthens our other counter'd creatures, well, I decided to give in to temptation. You could certainly include a less powerful (and expensive) hydra in this slot.

May our 2021 be just as uproariously triumphant.