The 50 Best Planeswalkers in Magic

Last updated on March 28, 2024

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon | Illustration by Raymond Swanland

Magic was founded on the premise that you and your opponent are powerful dueling planeswalkers, engaged in glorious magical combat, slinging spells and summoning creatures to aid in your struggle. The continuity got a little muddled when planeswalkers were introduced as a new card type in 2007. Like… wasn’t I supposed to be the planeswalker? Why’s this cat-man-thing here?

Then the planeswalker card type peaked in War of the Spark (WAR), which featured 36 total ‘walkers, each with the new “static ability” technology we’d see on pretty much every planeswalker moving forward. Because they weren’t complex enough. There are almost 300 of these sparked-up teleporting super troopers, so let’s do what Nicol Bolas did to Dack and Domri and thin the ranks a bit.

Too soon?

What Are Planeswalkers in MTG?

Teferi, Time Raveler | Illustration by Chris Rallis

Planeswalker is a permanent card type in Magic, similar to a creature, artifact, battle (whatever that is), etc. I won’t get into the rules minutia here, so just know that planeswalkers are manifestations of popular Magic characters in card form, meant to aid you in your quest to do whatever it is you’re doing in-game. Killing your opponents, presumably.

Planeswalkers either saved Magic or ruined the game, depending on who you talk to, but it’s clear that they’ve been a pivotal card type in the development of Magic since their release in Lorwyn. They almost always occupy chase mythic slots in new sets, though we’re only seeing one new planeswalker per Standard set release for the foreseeable future. That’s fine, since they’ve been a driving force in Magic throughout the entirety of the 2010’s.

I normally stick to Commander for my lists, but even the best planeswalkers in Magic are still kind of mediocre in Commander, where you have three players beating up on them instead of just one. I’ll still weave in Commander-oriented ‘walkers, but I’m evaluating them more abstractly across all formats (except Tiny Leaders).

Finally, I’m judging these cards based on how they perform today, not how they performed at the height of their playability. Sorry Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Karn Liberated, y’all aren’t the top dogs around here no more.

#50. Chandra, Awakened Inferno

Chandra must be the character with the most planeswalker cards in Magic. There are 17 unique Chandra cards, all of which do the same thing: fiery stuff. Chandra, Awakened Inferno is in the lower half of the upper few, mostly because it’s an uncounterable mini-board wipe, and the emblem effect provides uninteractable inevitability.

#49. Gideon of the Trials

Gideons don’t excite me that much, but we’ve gotta pour one out for the ones we’ve lost. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar was big news for a while but has mostly fallen into obscurity, whereas Gideon of the Trials is the most unique version of the character, with entire Gideon-themed decks built around the emblem ability.

#48. Ashiok, Nightmare Muse

Following the release of Ob Nixilis Reignited, there was a design slump of nonstop 5-mana planeswalkers with the same basic design: +1 for card advantage, -3 for disruption, and a game-winning ultimate. Ashiok, Nightmare Muse follows this template, but the blueprint works, with Ashiok being one of the better ones due the +1 ability adding material to the board rather than simply drawing a card.

#47. Sorin Markov

Back in the day we used Sorin Markov to punish anyone foolish enough to gain infinite life or set up an unbreakable pillow fort defense. And by “back in the day” I mean last Friday. That’s right, I still play Sorin in Commander and I’m not ashamed. Take that, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic players from 2014.

#46. Aminatou, the Fateshifter

About 95% of Aminatou, the Fateshifter’s appeal is tied up in its second ability, which immediately blinks another permanent. There are also “topdeck matters” strategies that put the first ability to good use, and the ultimate’s good fun when it happens.

#45. Daretti, Scrap Savant

Daretti, Scrap Savant is a bit narrow, but the Goblin Welder ability lets you pull off some strong artifact plays, and the reverse Faithless Looting as a +2 helps shape up your hand. It’s a shame we haven’t seen more of this scrappy character.

#44. Liliana, Dreadhorde General

No doubt Liliana, Dreadhorde General is powerful, but 6 mana is 6 mana, and I wouldn’t expect your opponents to be happy about this sitting on board. The trick is to line up the Barter in Blood mode such that there’s nothing left to oppose Lili afterwards. I honestly want to move this higher because it reminds me of that incredible War of the Spark trailer.

#43. Sarkhan the Masterless

Sarkhan the Masterless supports superfriends and dragons, and little else. It’s a little more than what you’d expect from this completely one-note character, but Sarkhan knows what he wants to be.

#42. Estrid, the Masked

Is that Tilda Swinton from Doctor Strange? Estrid, the Masked felt very popular for the first few years after its release, but I suppose enchantress has myriad other commanders on tap. Making Mask tokens is pretty cool, Estrid pairs well with land enchantments like Overgrowth, and the ultimate is sufficiently powerful without immediately ending the game.

#41. Liliana of the Veil

Maybe 5-10 years ago Liliana of the Veil would’ve taken a top spot, but times have changed and the veil has been lifted. Never particularly good in Commander, past its prime in most Constructed formats, and only reasonable at best in current Standard, it’s clear that the most iconic Lili’s pedigree hasn’t kept up.

#40. Elspeth Resplendent

Every rendition of Elspeth has been… fine. They see their time in Standard then move on to become niche playables in Commander/Cube. The character’s great though, so we’ve got to shout out at least one Elspeth card. Elspeth Resplendent is probably the most versatile of them all, though Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Elspeth, Sun's Champion certainly had their time in the spotlight.

#39. Garruk, Cursed Huntsman

Garruk is another character who hasn’t contributed much to the pantheon of Magic’s best cards, though Garruk, Cursed Huntsman is a perfectly respectable planeswalker. Two bodies on entry is always great, and this Garruk ultimates immediately with the help of Carth the Lion.

#38. Nissa, Vastwood Seer + Nissa, Sage Animist

I originally planned to include only one of each named planeswalker as the best of that character, but have you seen all the different versions of Nissa? Nissa, Vastwood Seer is my personal fave, a Civic Wayfinder that transforms into a sweet card advantage engine with admittedly lackluster minus abilities. The +1 on Nissa, Sage Animist is literally the text on Coiling Oracle, so I don’t need much more here.

#37. Chandra, Hope’s Beacon

Another day, another Chandra. The passive ability is the real draw on March of the Machine planeswalker, Chandra, Hope's Beacon, allowing you to copy spells while the loyalty abilities play board control. It’s still a 6-mana planeswalker that essentially does what you could be using Double Vision to do instead, but you can’t disregard the extra abilities here.

#36. Elminster

Cost reduction is usually a tell-tale sign of a powerful card, and you can certainly build around Elminster to maximize its passive ability. It’s not the flashiest planeswalker out there, but it’s playing around in scry territory, which still feels like fairly underexplored design space.

#35. Quintorius Kand

There sure are some weird memes going around about Quintorius Kand right now, but I guess they’re just not meant for me. Anyway, here’s that 5-mana +1/-3/ultimate configuration I mentioned, except this time with a static ability. That’s the appealing part, sending little Lightning Helixes at your opponents when you cast spells from exile, which has become exceedingly easy to do.

#34. Tezzeret the Seeker

Tezzeret the Seeker’s not as ubiquitous as it once was, but don’t count it out. The -5 was never all that important, and the other abilities still hold up, whether you’re using them to combo with The Chain Veil or tutoring up a mid-cost utility artifact.

#33. Jace, Wielder of Mysteries

Jace, Wielder of Mysteries would score higher if the passive ability were unique to this card, but Laboratory Maniac beat it to the chase, and Thassa's Oracle has a stranglehold on self-mill-as-a-wincon strategies. Still, a backup never hurts.

#32. Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner

Underappreciated Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner is half ramp, half Garruk's Uprising, and it starts off with high loyalty. It’s one of many WAR planeswalkers that can’t tick up, but you’ll get plenty from Kiora before the card returns to the depths from whence it came.

#31. Dihada, Binder of Wills

Dihada, Binder of Wills plays the “legendary-matters” role perfectly, digging for legendaries to play and buffing the ones you already control. You almost always see Dihada lists using Luxior, Giada's Gift to turn Dihada into a creature that can start targeting itself and can’t be attacked by other creatures.

#30. Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh

I’ll concede that Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh isn’t all that amazing at 7 mana, but boy is it sweet. This is the type of ‘walker you’re trying to cheat in with The Prismatic Bridge or Academy Rector. It’s almost always correct to chew through your opponents’ hands with the +1, but the allure of the +2 is just too tempting.

#29. Professor Onyx

Liliana… I mean, uh, Professor Onyx turns all your spells into Tendrils of Agony… sort of. You run it mostly for that passive ability, though you’ll happily use the other abilities as you see fit.

#28. Tasha, the Witch Queen

There’s a staggering divide between how popular and how good Tasha, the Witch Queen is. It’s extremely clunky as a self-contained engine, but you can maximize the static ability by surrounding Tasha with other theft and Gonti, Lord of Luxury effects. It’s certainly fun enough to earn a slot here.

#27. Xenagos, the Reveler

Sometimes it feels like the world has forgotten about Xenagos, the Reveler, then someone casts it and immediately makes 10-15 mana. You could completely ignore the other abilities and still be content running Xenagos as a powerful ritual-type effect in creature-heavy decks.

#26. Lolth, Spider Queen

Lolth, Spider Queen does… spider stuff. The Spider tokens play defense well with reach, while also being good attackers with menace. They die, Lolth gets more counters and spits some more out. The only thing lacking here is an ultimate worth caring too much about. Get it? 8 life? ‘Cuz spiders?

#25. The Eternal Wanderer

Board wipe? Check. Token-generator? Check. Difficult to attack and remove? Check. On-demand flicker effect? Check. 6 mana dragging The Eternal Wanderer ever-so-slightly down? Unfortunately, check.

#24. Vraska, Betrayal’s Sting

A planeswalker with a proliferate ability is a dangerous proposition. That essentially makes the 0 ability on Vraska, Betrayal's Sting a +1 while bolstering poison counters, loyalty counters, and anything else worth proliferating. The only downside is a rather limited removal mode with the -2.

#23. Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge

You could take any Tezzeret card, replace all the instance of “artifact” with “dragon” and come up with a completely functional Sarkhan card instead. I’m not dissing: Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge is a potent artifact payoff, but I just wish it were more accessible and that Tezzeret would find a new hobby.

#22. Lord Windgrace

Lord Windgrace was the lands commander for quite some time, and it never really dropped off in power so much as other lands commanders sprung up in later sets. At the very least this still pops up in the 99 of other + land decks. Soul of Windgrace, perhaps?

#21. Saheeli, Sublime Artificer

Young Pyromancer, except as a planeswalker. Saheeli, Sublime Artificer is a great way to turn spells into board presence, and the -2, while rarely used, can sometimes do unexpectedly powerful things.

#20. Chandra, Torch of Defiance

The other 16 versions of Chandra have something to aspire to with Chandra, Torch of Defiance. It’s not exceptional anywhere outside the occasional Constructed red Prison decks, but the overall design is top-notch. Bonus points for being a Cube all-star as well.

#19. Ral, Storm Conduit

Ral, Storm Conduit is a turbo combo machine, turning copy spells into infinite loops that kill your opponent via Ral’s static. It’s trivially easy to set up, though the card’s quite underwhelming if you’re

#18. Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor

Another 7-mana planeswalker, but Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor’s worth every mana. It either destroys a key card right away or draws up to four cards every turn it sits in play. You could technically lean on Valki, God of Lies in a pinch, but you normally ignore Valki altogether.

#17. Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools

It’s the word “partner” that makes Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools so appealing. That, and a super cool ultimate that snatches commanders away from their owners. It’s also just generally handy as a token generator and sac outlet mixed into one card.

#16. Ashiok, Dream Render

Ashiok, Dream Render showcases one of the absolutely spiteful static abilities on planeswalkers from WAR. It puts a Stranglehold on your opponents and eliminates their graveyards. Might as well toss in mill for something else people love playing against.

#15. Dack Fayden

If artifacts are essential to your format, Dack Fayden is sure to be there. You can find the Greatest Thief in the Multiverse purloining artifacts in Legacy and Cube or snatching Sol Rings in Commander.

#14. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Colorless permanents rejoice! Ugin, the Spirit Dragon’s been nuking boards since 2015. Just wait until Painter's Servant shows up and turns everyone’s lands into blue permanents.

#13. Grist, the Hunger Tide

Every ‘walker up until now was merely good. Grist, the Hunger Tide kicks off the rest of the truly excellent planeswalkers. Grist boasts a clever design that works with reanimation effects and creature tutors, and it provides a steady stream of advantage on board. The static ability quirk even qualifies it to be your commander if you so desire.

#12. Nissa, Who Shakes the World

The world certainly was shook to find out just how powerful Nissa, Who Shakes the World was. Ignore the -8; this Nissa’s more of a Mirari's Wake that produces attackers and blockers, and it ramps even further by untapping other lands.

#11. Karn, the Great Creator

A one-sided Null Rod that accesses your best sideboard cards in every match and combos with anything from Mycosynth Lattice to Liquimetal Coating. Restricted in Vintage should tell you something, and Karn, the Great Creator even recently hit the Pioneer/Explorer ban lists.

#10. Nissa, Ascended Animist

Nissa, Ascended Animist pretty much does everything, with the compleated ability for added flexibility. The recipe is one part Naturalize, two parts giant-creature-token-generator, topped off with a generous helping of Craterhoof Behemoth.

#9. Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Jace, the Mind Sculptor was the epitome of planeswalker design on release, and it remained so for quite some time. However, better threats lower on the curve, more efficient answers to planeswalkers, and a generally faster approach to Magic gameplay has diminished the former king’s reputation, making it more of a testament to an era of Magic since gone. Still good, sometimes great, no longer dominant.

#8. Comet, Stellar Pup

Yeah, this stupid Unfinity die-rolling dog is better than Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Oh, the tough pills that Magic makes us swallow. What can Comet, Stellar Pup do? Apparently whatever the luck of the RNG gods says it does.

#7. The Wandering Emperor

The Wandering Emperor has one of the coolest card designs, period. It’s at the upper echelon of powerful without overstepping into broken territory, and it has made the common Magic player fear the prospects of 4 open mana in white. Is it Settle the Wreckage? Restoration Angel? The Wandering Emperor? Attack and find out.

#6. Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

5 mana. +1 draw a card. -3 remove something. -8 ultimate and win the game. Where have we seen this before? Teferi, Hero of Dominaria isn’t getting points for ingenuity, but it’s been such a pivotal multi-format control finisher. Teferi’s functionally a 3-mana walker, since it refunds 2 of your mana if you’re able to resolve it and +1 right away.

#5. Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes

Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes is pushed because multiplayer formats can handle cards at this power level, but a card like this takes on new meaning when it’s in 1v1 settings. It’s an immediate threat, but killing Boo doesn’t accomplish anything since it’ll just spawn another Boo next turn. The “balanced” Alchemy version on MTG Arena version costs 5 mana and is still horrifically broken.

#4. Narset, Parter of Veils

Have I mentioned hateful WAR planeswalkers yet? I’m sure I have somewhere. Narset, Parter of Veils is like a Dig Through Time split across two turns, but it also just randomly, completely hoses your opponents’ access to extra card draw. It’s bad enough that this shuts off natural card draw spells, but it combines with wheel effects to leave your opponents holding air.

#3. Wrenn and Six

It’s always funny to see a card banned in Legacy that’s not banned in Modern, like Wrenn and Six. Magic’s only real 2-mana planeswalker (sorry, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy), W6 looks unassuming but fields out X/1s in whatever format it’s in, while being a steady card advantage tool alongside fetch lands and Horizon lands. The retrace emblem pops up sometimes, which usually gives you complete control over a game with a stocked graveyard.

#2. Teferi, Time Raveler

Have I mentioned hateful WAR planeswalkers yet? Surely I have, right? Geez is Teferi, Time Raveler a disaster of card. The loyalty abilities are all fine and dandy, but what’s with the tacked on Grand Abolisher text? Spotting that on this card basically for free just invalidates certain strategies altogether, making counterspells moot and cutting off an opponent’s access to interaction during your turn. Not cool, Tef.

#1. Oko, Thief of Crowns

Was it ever going to be anyone else? Oko, Thief of Crowns broke Standard so bad people still haven’t gotten over it. Then it was banned in Modern. And Pioneer/Explorer and Legacy. And Historic, apparently? You could tell me Oko was banned in Wizard’s Tower and Rainbow Stairwell and I’d believe you (I didn’t make those formats up).

Best Planeswalker Payoffs

Planeswalkers have plenty of explicit payoffs with cards like The Chain Veil or Gatewatch Beacon, but let’s keep it high-level instead of listing out 100 cards that reference Planeswalkers.

Planeswalkers are typically value engines. You get more of an advantage every turn they sit in play, which means you’re incentivized to keep them around as long as possible. Whether you’re running a full superfriends deck or your strategy revolves around just one or two sparky bois, board wipes and pillow fort effects are great ways to fend off attackers. There are more direct ways to remove planeswalkers in modern Magic, but attacking is the primary way to get them off board.

Proliferate is exceptional with any kind of counter-based permanent, loyalty counters included. A single proliferation effect might be all you need to reach a game-winning ultimate.

Extra turns give you extra activations of your ‘walkers with all the other bells and whistles that come with taking extra turns. Not that you need a planeswalker in play to make Time Walk a broken card.

Semester's End and Ripples of Potential work favorably with planeswalkers, keeping them out of harm’s way while sometimes bolstering their loyalty in the process.

The “Gatewatch Oaths” all have effects that directly interact with planeswalkers, some of the best being Oath of Teferi, Oath of Liliana, and Oath of Kaya.

Bear in mind that all planeswalkers are legendary permanents, so they work with anything that references historic spells, or legends-matter cards like Captain Sisay and Honor-Worn Shaku. 

Also remember that loyalty abilities are activated abilities, which can be targeted by and copied with effects like Strionic Resonator or Rings of Brighthearth.

Wrap Up

Liliana of the Veil | Illustration by Steve Argyle

There we go, the best planeswalkers in Magic. Half of which came from WAR and ruined different formats in one way or another. Then again, that’s every planeswalker depending on who you ask….

Of course, as always, this list represents my own personal opinions, and I likely left off a few planeswalkers that people might expect to see here. Planeswalkers are almost all inherently powerful by design, but I made an intentional effort to hone in on ones that still see regular play across different formats. If you think I didn’t do justice to a specific planeswalker card, I want to hear about it! Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord.

Thank you for making Draftsim your #1 stop for all things Magic!