only better, because it's cheaper and can reduce the damage to 0, which is a big deal in 2.5. I generally don't like the "everything must be measurably weaker than Solar Charms!" school of design, but a TMA Charm really shouldn't be stronger than an already-strong Solar Charm....
This is a problem, because I like Exalted more than I like D&D 3.X's generic Greyhawk knockoff, but I have on the other hand read several of those setting manuals cover-to-cover. If I discover something in Malfeas that I've missed, I'm briefly excited and then promptly forget ...