Splinterlands team released most Chaos Legion cards details. I paid special attention to the six new Summoners and tried to rank them. If you hate spoilers, better to close this article now!

Methodology

I used cards details released on official Splinterlands channels and checked the following criteria for each Summoner:

• Strength: is the card able to make a difference on its own? How easy is it to counter it? Is it relevant with most rulesets
• Unicity: are there better alternatives among previous Summoners?
• Originality: is the Summoner filling a gap on its faction?

Caveat: cards stats are not final and I didn't find all of them. Moreover, at least six new Summoners will be airdropped after the set release. The exercise is speculative and I will happily do a follow-up when the meta is stabilised!

VI. Obsidian

Stats: 4 mana, +1 magic attack, Earth
Ranking: Poor

Obsidian isn't particularly great. His bonus is directly cancelled or weakened by two rulesets (weak magic, lost magic) and countered by three Summoners (Bortus, Thaddius Brood and Owster). Earth has however cheap magic attackers, and Obsidian could be a more expensive Alric during fights with high mana cap.

V. General Sloan

Stats: 4 mana, +1 ranged attack, Life
Ranking: Poor

Sloan shares most Obsidian downsides: the card is cancelled by one ruleset (broken arrows) and three Summoners (Contessa, Mimosa, The Peakrider). Worse, a more versatile and cheaper alternative exists: Selenia. The General is however the first Life Summoner with an offensive skillset and it's great to see the faction becoming more aggressive.

IV. Kelya Frendul

Stats: 4 mana, +2 armor, Water
Ranking: Fair

Water has great offensive and defensive Summoners but Kelya is an interesting case. If you played Life, you already know that stacking armor is a proven strategy. Adding two armor points can quickly go out of control if you throw in the Wavesmith, a Crustacean King or the armored up ruleset. The card can however be cancelled by one modifier (unprotected) and the Wizard of Eastwood. Kelya is comparatively weaker than the next Summoners and will weaken the current Water Magic meta.

III. Tarsa

Stats: 4 mana, +1 melee attack, +1 speed, Fire
Ranking: Good

Tarsa is one of the first Summoner with two bonuses for 4 mana. She's basically a fusion of Pyre and Malric Inferno. Fire melee was a viable archetype since Splinterlands early days and will probably stay relevant for a while. Sure, Tarsa is a liability during fights with reverse speed and keep your distance rulesets. But she will add a lot of value on most fire setups.

II. Quix The Devious

Stats: 4 mana, -1 ranged attack, -1 speed, Dragon
Ranking: Good

The first legendary Summoner of the set! Quix is a powerful debuffer, useful in most cases. The speed debuff can stake easily and it's interesting to see a new defensive dragon. Like Tarsa, there are fights making Quix useless or dangerous but I bet it will find its place.

I. Thaddius Brood

Stats: 4 mana, -1 magic attack, -1 life, Death
Ranking: Excellent

Based on Summoners stats alone, Thaddius is my favourite addition so far. Death has several options to counter magic teams but Thaddius has the particularity to be relevant during all fights thanks to its life debuff. I see him as a cheaper Crypt Mancer, maybe better than him (Crypt Mancer speed debuff is risky during reverse speed fights and 5 mana isn't that easy to spend). A single card isn't enough to define a meta and we will have surprises, but I will definitely max a Thaddius ASAP.

I hope you liked that tier list and feel free to comment with your own ranking! And follow the Wax Street community for more content!