Back in 2022, Wizards released a group of MTG Street Fighter legends, each with their own unique abilities. Like most mechanically unique Universes Beyond cards, especially in the early days, these creatures were controversial. Despite this, as usual, these cards offer extremely flavorful renditions of the character, paying homage to their franchise. For Street Fighter, Chun-Li, Countless Kicks definitely stands out due to its neat range of abilities.
MTG Chun-Li, Countless Kicks
While Chun-Li is a three-mana legend at face value, she’ll often ask for more with her Multikicker ability. The more mana you invest, the more instants you can exile from your graveyard with kick counters to copy later. This payoff is absolutely incredible, with Kick spells being recurrable even if your Commander dies, but it does require some setup.
Unsurprisingly, your first step to making Chun-Li as threatening as possible is to incorporate a high density of cheap instants. Basic cantrips like Consider and Thought Scour fill this role nicely, fueling your graveyard early in the game. Frantic Search accomplishes a similar task, while being a perfect card to copy turn after turn with Chun-Li later in the game.
Even if you manage to exile a ton of spells with Chun-Li, you still need to get in an attack. Thanks to this, efficient protection spells like Loran’s Escape, Flawless Maneuver, and Swiftfoot Boots are crucial to this deck’s game plan. From there, sources of evasion like Shadow Rift and Leap make it more likely Chun-Li will get through combat unscathed.
Notably, because the spells you re-cast with Chun-Li aren’t free, mana reducers can do a lot of work. Baral, Chief of Compliance, Lyse Hext, and Sage of Beyond can all pay dividends at every stage of the game. All the while, Talrand, Sky Summoner, Archmage of Runes, and other Spellslinger payoffs will pull you further ahead on resources. Chun-Li truly is an elite value engine, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Infinite Turns, Mana, and Spells Combos
In a particularly flavorful move, Chun-Li’s Lightning Kicks, when set up, can just end the game on the spot. Taking infinite turns, for instance, is pretty easy to do with this legend. To get things started, you just need a copy of Said/Done in exile with a kick counter on it and Chun-Li on the battlefield.
Once this criteria is met, you’ll want to cast Time Warp or any similar extra turn spell. Then, during your extra turn, attacking with Chun-Li enables you to cast Said from exile to return Time Warp to your hand. So long as you have five more mana to work with, you’re free to cast Time Warp again and repeat this process over and over.
Digging deeper, if you manage to exile Dramatic Reversal with a kick counter, you may be able to set yourself up to make infinite mana and cast infinite copies of all of your exiled instants. In order to pull this off, you’ll also need access to your Commander, Lithoform Engine, and nonland permanents that can tap for at least five mana, like Chromatic Orrery.
With things assembled, float five mana, then attack with Chun-Li. While holding priority, copy the Lightning Kick trigger with Lithoform Engine’s first ability. Once the copied ability resolve, you’re able to cast Dramatic Reversal with one mana still floating, untapping all nonland permanents. Since Chun-Li’s original attack trigger should still be on the stack, Lithoform Engine can copy it again. Doing this a bunch of times will net you infinite mana, which you can sink into your other exiled spells.
Fun, Powerful, and Underrated
As a whole, when set up, Chun-Li, Countless Kicks makes for a strong and exciting Commander option. If you can consistently get there, casting multiple spells every turn is quite powerful. Despite its high ceiling, though, Chun-Li remains pretty underrated as a Commander. Appearing as the Commander in only 6,317 decks according to EDHREC, this Human Soldier is deserving of more recognition.
Unfortunately, even with the lack of demand, Chun-Li’s Secret Lair’s exclusivity has helped it maintain a $17 price tag. The good news, at least, is that the functionally identical Universes Within version can be purchased for just over $2, which is much more affordable. So, if you enjoy taking over games by casting a boatload of spells but don’t want to break the bank, there’s still a reasonable alternative.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew, and our brand new MTG Rocks Podcast!