Planeswalker

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See also Planeswalker (book).

Planeswalker symbol ^[1]

Planeswalkers are among the most powerful beings in the multiverse, and are the thematic identities of the players of the game. Planeswalkers can be born at random in any sapient species, with no outward signs of their latent power. However, there is an incredibly remote chance that any given sentient, natural being will be born with a planeswalker's spark. When that being is put through a period of extreme stress—in many cases death—the spark can trigger, causing the individual to ascend and become a planeswalker. Within the game, each player is supposed to be a planeswalker, which is a point emphasized in the current marketing strategy (for example the intro packs' description refers to your opponents as such). This concept originated from the Alpha rule book.^[2]

Card type

Planeswalker card types were introduced in Lorwyn.^[3]^[4]^[5] Like the player him or herself, a planeswalker card represents a powerful being that is able to move from plane to plane.^[6]^[7]

Planeswalkers enter the battlefield with a set number of loyalty counters, printed in the lower right of the card. A planeswalker can be attacked, like a player, or be dealt damage by an opponent redirecting the damage one of his or her spells would deal to the player controlling the planeswalker. Damage dealt to a planeswalker removes that many loyalty counters and a Planeswalker with no loyalty counters is put into the graveyard.

Planeswalkers usually have three abilities: one ability that adds loyalty counters as a cost for a small benefit, one that removes a small amount of counters as a cost for a larger effect, and one that removes a large number of loyalty counters for a big effect. The last effect is commonly referred to as the Planeswalker's Ultimate ability and usually leaves the opponent in a devastated state. The starting loyalty of a Planeswalker is commonly significantly lower than the cost of the Ultimate and a player has to build up the loyalty to access the Ultimate.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 12, 2024—Outlaws of Thunder Junction)

306. Planeswalkers
- 306.1. A player who has priority may cast a planeswalker card from their hand during a main phase of their turn when the stack is empty. Casting a planeswalker as a spell uses the stack. (See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”)
- 306.2. When a planeswalker spell resolves, its controller puts it onto the battlefield under their control.
- 306.3. Planeswalker subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: “Planeswalker — Jace.” Each word after the dash is a separate subtype. Planeswalker subtypes are also called planeswalker types. Planeswalkers may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3j for the complete list of planeswalker types.
- 306.4. Previously, planeswalkers were subject to a “planeswalker uniqueness rule” that stopped a player from controlling two planeswalkers of the same planeswalker type. This rule has been removed and planeswalker cards printed before this change have received errata in the Oracle card reference to have the legendary supertype. Like other legendary permanents, they are subject to the “legend rule” (see rule 704.5j).
- 306.5. Loyalty is a characteristic only planeswalkers have.
  - 306.5a The loyalty of a planeswalker card not on the battlefield is equal to the number printed in its lower right corner.
  - 306.5b A planeswalker has the intrinsic ability “This permanent enters the battlefield with a number of loyalty counters on it equal to its printed loyalty number.” This ability creates a replacement effect (see rule 614.1c).
  - 306.5c The loyalty of a planeswalker on the battlefield is equal to the number of loyalty counters on it.
  - 306.5d Each planeswalker has a number of loyalty abilities, which are activated abilities with loyalty symbols in their costs. Loyalty abilities follow special rules: A player may activate a loyalty ability of a permanent they control any time they have priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of their turn, but only if none of that permanent’s loyalty abilities have been activated that turn. See rule 606, “Loyalty Abilities.”
- 306.6. Planeswalkers can be attacked. (See rule 508, “Declare Attackers Step.”)
- 306.7. Previously, planeswalkers were subject to a redirection effect that allowed a player to have noncombat damage that would be dealt to an opponent be dealt to a planeswalker under that opponent’s control instead. This rule has been removed and certain cards have received errata in the Oracle card reference to deal damage directly to planeswalkers.
- 306.8. Damage dealt to a planeswalker results in that many loyalty counters being removed from it.
- 306.9. If a planeswalker’s loyalty is 0, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)

Rulings

Planeswalkers are permanents. You can cast one at the time you could cast a sorcery. When your planeswalker spell resolves, it enters the battlefield under your control.
Planeswalkers are not creatures. Spells and abilities that affect creatures won't affect them.
If two or more planeswalkers controlled by a player share a subtype (such as "Jace"), the controller chooses one among of them, and puts the rest into their owners' graveyards as a state-based action.
- Prior to Magic 2014, when two or more planeswalkers that share a subtype are on the battlefield, they're all put into their owners' graveyards. (The similar "Legend rule" was also changed in Magic 2014)
- Although the two rules are similar, the "legend rule" and the "Planeswalker uniqueness rule" affect different kinds of permanents. You can control Liliana, Heretical Healer and Liliana, Defiant Necromancer at the same time. However, if Liliana, Heretical Healer is exiled and enters the battlefield transformed, you'll then control two planeswalkers with the same subtype. One will be put into the graveyard. ^[8]
Planeswalkers have loyalty. A planeswalker enters the battlefield with a number of loyalty counters on it equal to the number printed in its lower right corner. Activating one of its abilities may cause it to gain or lose loyalty counters. Damage dealt to a planeswalker causes that many loyalty counters to be removed from it. If it has no loyalty, it's put into its owner's graveyard as a state-based action.
Planeswalkers each have a number of activated abilities called "loyalty abilities." You can activate a loyalty ability of a planeswalker you control only at the time you could cast a sorcery and only if you haven't activated one of that planeswalker's loyalty abilities yet that turn.
The cost to activate a planeswalker's loyalty ability is represented by an arrow with a number inside. Up-arrows contain positive numbers, such as "+1"; this means "Put one loyalty counter on this planeswalker." Down-arrows contain negative numbers, such as "-7"; this means "Remove seven loyalty counters from this planeswalker." You can't activate a planeswalker's ability with a negative loyalty cost unless the planeswalker has at least that many loyalty counters on it.
Planeswalkers can't attack (unless an effect such as the one from Gideon Jura's third ability turns the planeswalker into a creature). However, they can be attacked. Each of your attacking creatures can attack your opponent or a planeswalker that player controls. You say which as you declare attackers.
If your planeswalkers are being attacked, you can block the attackers as normal.
If a creature that's attacking a planeswalker isn't blocked, it'll deal its combat damage to that planeswalker. Damage dealt to a planeswalker causes that many loyalty counters to be removed from it.
If a source you control would deal noncombat damage to an opponent, you may have that source deal that damage to a planeswalker that opponent controls instead. For example, although you can't target a planeswalker with Shock, you can target your opponent with Shock, and then as Shock resolves, choose to have Shock deal its 2 damage to one of your opponent's planeswalkers. (You can't split up that damage between different players and/or planeswalkers.) If you have Shock deal its damage to a planeswalker, two loyalty counters are removed from it.

Trivia

File:Planeswalker.png

Unused planeswalker symbol meant for future-shifted cards

There are 24 multicolored planeswalkers.
There are 2 colorless planeswalkers.
There has been at least one printed planeswalker for each of the two colored pairs.
Only two planeswalkers have been printed with a color identity of three colors: Sarkhan and Nicol Bolas. In aditionn Ajani has been associated with three colors but not at the same time and Sarkhan has an association with four colors across all his cards.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Garruk, Apex Predator are the only planeswalkers with 4 loyalty abilities. All others have 3, with the exceptions of Garruk Relentless, who has a total of five loyalty abilities or six abilities of any kind, counting the back side Garruk the Veil-Cursed, and Arlinn Kord, who has a total of 5; two on her human side and 3 on her transformed side.
Planeswalker was featured as rules cards 1-3 of 5 in the Lorwyn set and 1 of 9 in the Magic 2011 set.
All Planeswalkers are in the Mythic Rare rarity, except for Ajani Goldmane, Jace Beleren, Liliana Vess, Chandra Nalaar, and Garruk Wildspeaker, due to their debut in the Lorwyn block, while the Mythic Rare rarity was not introduced until the following set, Shards of Alara.
Karn, Narset, Nicol Bolas, Ob Nixilis, Teferi, Venser, and Xenagos have all been printed as both planeswalker cards and legendary creature cards, and Gideon, Jace, Liliana, Chandra, and Nissa have all been printed as double-faced cards that are legendary creatures on one side and planeswalkers on the other.

Most unique planeswalker cards

Some characters are favored more than other usually resulting in an higher amount of unique cards of them.

7 cards: Jace
6 cards: Chandra
5 cards: Ajani and Garruk (Garruk Relentless notably is a double faced card with both sides being planeswalker faces in this case it is still considered one card.)
4 cards: Gideon, Liliana, Nissa, Sorin, and Sarkhan
3 cards: Elspeth

Loyalty counters

Sarkhan the Mad and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon have the most loyalty counters (7) when they come onto the battlefield.
Nissa Revane, Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded and Kiora, the Crashing Wave have the fewest loyalty counters (2) when they come onto the battlefield.

Storyline

For a list of planeswalkers, see List of planeswalkers.

The defining trait of planeswalkers is the ability to travel between separate universes with ease, while the vast majority of people throughout the multiverse are not even aware that other worlds beside their own exist. Planeswalking is a form of magic. With enough time and mana, or with specialized spell knowledge, or with access to enormous power, it's possible for a planeswalker to transfer clothing, artifacts and/or creatures with him as he planeswalks. ^[9]

A planeswalker is specifically a being who possesses a planeswalker's spark. The planeswalker spark is more or less a one-in-a-million thing in sentient beings, and having it ignite is even rarer. ^[10] There are other beings who, through various means, are able to travel between planes, but those are not technically considered planeswalkers (Marit Lage, the Eldrazi and the Myojin of Night's Reach are the best-known examples). Many prerevisionist characters were referred to as planeswalkers but may not technically have been; without any further information, they remain subject to debate.

Traditional planeswalkers

Planeswalkers had incredible magical capabilities, surpassing all but the most powerful mortal wizards. Their lives could last indefinitely, and their physical forms were matters of will as they were energy projections of a center of consciousness. Through intense effort, planeswalkers could create their own artificial planes. Because of planeswalkers' prolonged life spans and immense power, some are worshipped as gods; many end up insane, or, at the very least, they come to regard the lives of mortals in low-esteem, if even at all.

Current planeswalkers

The new breed of planeswalkers no longer display the near-omnipotence of their predecessors. While they are usually powerful mages, they are still physical beings that in general age normally, can be harmed, and need the same sustenance as other mortals. This is in stark contrast to the earlier planeswalkers. Some of them have managed to suppress or avoid some of these limitation by magical means; however, these are specific to each planeswalker.

The new breed manifested itself for the first time in Venser of Urborg, a Dominarian artificer who participated in the solution of the Dominarian temporal crisis. Teferi's first theory was that the rifts mutated Venser's spark, which affected his ascension.

The new breed was born during the Mending, when Jeska sacrificed her life and her spark to mend all temporal rifts in the Multiverse (doing so in such a great scale was probably enabled by her former existence as Karona, the embodiment of Dominarian magic, and the fact that Dominaria is the Nexus of the Multiverse). The Mending caused a change in the very rules of Multiverse and a change in the nature of the planeswalker sparks.

Reasons for change

Pivotal for the Mending was the creative team's long-standing wish to make planeswalkers more identifiable.^[6] Toning them down provided a solution that also cleared the ways for the new Planeswalker card type.^[11] This in turn allowed planeswalkers to be not only the focus of the storyline but also of brand identity.

Reception

As with most changes, the reactions were mixed. Some deemed it unnecessary to kill off existing characters, arguing that they could have been altered to fit the new approach. Others felt that diminishing their powers made the characters less interesting. Additional criticism was directed at the way the Mending was handled in the Time Spiral Cycle. An open letter was written to Brady Dommermuth that summarizes these viewpoints on Phyrexia.com.^[12]

Discussions on differences between the old and new planeswalkers spawned many (sometimes malicious) names for the latter type, generally to make them easier to refer to, but also to show how much they differ from the original ones. Among the most popular are "neowalkers", from Greek neos ("new"), and "Bradywalkers", named after Brady Dommermuth, creative director.

Subtypes