The 18 Best Transforming/DFC/Flip Planeswalkers

Last updated on April 9, 2026

Liliana, Defiant Necromancer | Illustration by Karla Ortiz

Newer Magic players can go through a whole lot of feelings the first time they see a planeswalker. Their design layout is different from the typical Magic card, and they often have a whole lot of text. What did you first feel? Wonder? Confusion? Intimidation?

Let’s up the ante and add two sides to the card. That’s two whole card faces full of abilities to keep in mind. But do two card faces mean twice the value, twice the power?

I’ve got your quick guide to all the dual-faced planeswalker cards in Magic!

What Are Dual-Faced Planeswalkers in Magic?

Nissa, Vastwood Seer | Illustration by Wesley Burt

Dual-faced planeswalker cards are Magic cards that have a planeswalker on at least one of their faces. Some are transforming dual-faced cards that are cast on one side and transform into another, while others are modal double-faced cards, which can be played from your hand on either side.

I’m considering these cards’ utility in the Commander format. While some of these cards can be commanders, it’s only part of their assessment.

Honorable Mention: Magic: The Baseballing Secret Lair Planeswalkers

I’m taking a detour to talk about a Secret Lair printing. Completionist, baseball fan, if you know me, you know the drill by now.

The Magic: The Baseballing Secret Lair reprinted Ajani Goldmane, Chandra Nalaar, Garruk Wildspeaker, Jace Beleren, and Liliana Vess in the style of baseball cards. I’d normally ask why Jace, a pitcher, is batting in his card photo, but I’ve had cards of Mike Morgan baserunning and Bryn Smith in the batter’s box thanks to how the National League didn’t have a designated hitter back in the day, and…. Okay, I’m getting in the weeds.

These Secret Lair printings are DFCs, in the strict sense. The card’s name and mana value are on the front, while the card’s back face has its mana value (again), type line, and abilities. There’s also other stats like the character’s height, plane of origin, and first planeswalk, plus some odd trivia. I’m salivating.

#18. Garruk Relentless / Garruk, the Veil-Cursed

By my count, Innistrad’s Garruk Relentless is the first dual-faced planeswalker we ever got… and my, does it show. Garruk needs two or fewer loyalty counters to transform, which it does with a first loyalty ability that lets it fight creatures. No, really.

Both sides of this planeswalker can give you Wolf tokens, though Garruk, the Veil-Cursed gives you smaller, black Wolf tokens with deathtouch. The last two abilities clue you in that this Garruk card wants to be played in a graveyard or reanimator deck. It takes some work to get to the flip side, and there are newer planeswalkers that synergize with graveyards much more cleanly.

#17. Oko, Lorwyn Liege / Oko, Shadowmoor Scion

Oko, remains a notorious name among Magic cards. So much so that WotC overcorrects a bit with Oko, Lorwyn Liege/Oko, Shadowmoor Scion. The transforming theme is on point even if it costs a colored mana any turn you want to turn it over. The plus abilities do add up decently fast but have very little board significance. The green side is where it gets decent, but it's also a likely scenario that you pay a total of for two 3/3 elks and absorb a couple attacks. The -6 ability is worth striving toward as long as you can rely on enough of one creature type. Depending on your type though, you might do better with an anthem or lord that grants abilities faster like Lord of the Unreal, Drogskol Captain.

#16. Invasion of New Phyrexia / Teferi Akosa of Zhalfir

March of the Machine brought with it the battle card type, including one battle that transforms into a planeswalker when defeated. Invasion of New Phyrexia is an X spell that’ll give you a bunch of Knight tokens when it enters the battlefield, while Teferi Akosa of Zhalfir can give you an emblem that gives your knights a small power buff.

A knight commander such as Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir can make good use of this dual-faced planeswalker. Teferi’s third ability wants plenty of creatures to tap to shuffle a threat into your opponent’s library, but I think a convoke deck might be a clunky fit.

#15. Kytheon, Hero of Akros / Gideon, Battle-Forged

Huh. A character starts off with one name, goes on a journey, and comes out with a new one. Wouldn’t be me.

I really like the flavor of the dual-faced planeswalkers from Modern Horizons 3 and from Magic Origins in general. It’s neat to see the story of our favorite planeswalkers gaining their spark as told in card form, a before-and-after of some of the characters we’ve been following the longest.

Kytheon, Hero of Akros seems like it would fit with a soldier deck, at least on the surface. Its transform condition is that you attack with it and at least two other creatures, which all kinds of decks featuring white can do.

My issue is with Gideon, Battle-Forged. The trio of abilities on this face don’t give you a path to victory, but rather a path to staying alive. You can bait your opponents into attacking your Gideon, you can turn it into a creature, or you can make one of your creatures indestructible for a full turn cycle. It doesn’t have any way to spend its loyalty, but that’s probably so that it can tank some hits. This Gideon card won’t raise your deck’s ceiling, but it’ll raise the floor.

#14. Gruul Arlinn Cards

Let’s be honest: These two Arlinn planeswalkers are fairly even. You’re likely running them in the exact same decks, so why not tackle them together? Both Arlinn Kord and Arlinn, the Pack's Hope are Gruul planeswalkers () that fit in with werewolves. In Commander, that usually means Tovolar, Dire Overlord as your werewolf commander, but there’s a case to be made for Voja, Jaws of the Conclave since these can both give you tokens of the wolf kind.

The main difference between the two is whether you want an ultimate ability that’s a haste and bite enabler from Arlinn, Embraced by the Moon, or a flash enabler with Arlinn, the Pack's Hope?

#13. Mila, Crafty Companion / Lukka, Wayward Bonder

I’ve read a lot of my colleagues’ work here on the Draftsim blog, and I think I finally get all the Lukka hate. If I’m honest, I’d probably almost never play the planeswalker side of this dual-faced card because Lukka, Wayward Bonder just doesn’t excite me for its mana value. I wouldn’t want to use the second loyalty ability until I’ve hit the emblem on the ultimate. It’ll take a few turns to get the emblem, longer if I want to keep Lukka. And in a singleton format, I can’t sleeve up another copy to benefit from Mila, Crafty Companion’s abilities. You know. The ones that give your planeswalkers loyalty counters when they’re attacked and draw you cards when your opponents commit crimes against your permanents? Gimme the fox any day of the week.

#12. Rowan, Scholar of Sparks / Will, Scholar of Frost

I’ve always found it neat how the designers have decided to show the link between Rowan and Will Kenrith in their cards. They;re twins that share a spark, so sometimes they’re “partner with” commanders (Rowan Kenrith/Will Kenrith), sometimes they’re on the same card face (The Royal Scions), and sometimes, they’re a modal double-faced card. Sadly, you can’t have two copies in a Commander deck and pinky-promise to only cast them on one side each (although it could make an interesting Rule 0 conversation).

Both sides give you cost reduction for your spellslinging purposes. Rowan, Scholar of Sparks plays into the red part of the color pie by dealing direct damage and helping you to storm with its emblem, while Will, Scholar of Frost plays into blue with some card draw and some transfiguration. I’m not sold on the ultimate, though, just because giving an opponent a 4/4 isn’t all that optimal…. Maybe I’m using it to convert my Treasures or Clues into a small army?

#11. Grist, Voracious Larva / Grist, the Plague Swarm

My first thought when seeing Grist, Voracious Larva and its flip side, Grist, the Plague Swarm, was Zask, Skittering Swarmlord. By having an insect on the front and giving you Insect tokens and insect copies of your dead creatures on the back, this Grist card has an immediate home in Commander. And that’s without considering how useful what essentially becomes a 2-mana planeswalker is to other reanimator decks, Grist, the Hunger Tide decks, or dredge decks.

All in all, the five flipwalkers among Modern Horizons 3 cards are pretty strong.

#10. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy / Jace, Telepath Unbound

The Magic Origins dual-faced planeswalkers are all options to use as commanders for their respective planeswalker types, and Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is no exception. It’s certainly a blue deck, built to churn through your library by drawing a bunch of cards, and churn through your opponent’s library with a little bit of mill on the back.

You’ll uptick Jace, Telepath Unbound with proliferation effects and by lowering a creature’s power, which disrupts your opponent’s blocking ability. That eventually buys you the milling emblem, sure, but it also allows you to essentially flashback instants and sorceries from your graveyard when you activate the -3 ability. Overall, a solid Jace card.

#9. Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student / Tamiyo, Seasoned Scholar

And for Tamiyo, that’s third-card-draw payoffs. I don’t have much to say about Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student or Tamiyo, Seasoned Scholar that you don’t see yourself: The front side can give you Clues, which can help you draw enough to transform it. The backside takes a while to uptick, but what do you expect from a 1-mana card that’ll eventually draw half your library? We can’t have things too easy.

Considering some of the other dual-faced planeswalkers in MH3, I’m a little surprised that Tamiyo’s second loyalty ability isn’t much of a finisher. I mean, have you seen Ajani and Sorin? On the other hand, Tamiyo is close to bomb in MH3 Limited formats.

#8. Sorin of House Markov / Sorin, Ravenous Neonate

This is where I’m supposed to make some Twilight reference or something. Xavier Samuel fans, I see you.

Sorin of House Markov has interesting timing restrictions, in that you can only transform it during your post-combat main phase. It makes sense when you consider that it has lifelink and extort, so it’s made to play with other lifelinkers. (Vampires, I mean vampires.)

Sorin, Ravenous Neonate revolves around life, too. It also has extort, and it upticks to give you Food tokens. That second loyalty ability is probably best timed as the last thing you do on your turn, and I love anything that lets me play with other peoples’ cards.

#7. Nissa, Vastwood Seer / Nissa, Sage Animist

Land ho! Wait, this isn’t a pirate commander… But Nissa, Vastwood Seer could be your landfall commander, or more likely a support piece for one. Land decks tend to gain real estate fast, so I’d expect that you can probably transform Nissa, Vastwood Seer a lot more quickly that its 3-MV telegraphs. You’ve got all of green’s ramp spells, after all.

Nissa, Sage Animist is where things get interesting. Uptick for some more ramp and landfall triggers. The second ability gives you a legendary token, which means you can’t have more than one of it at a time. And the ultimate gives you some mass land animation. You know things are serious when the flipping trees join the fight.

#6. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah / Ajani, Nacatl Avenger

I was convinced of Ajani, Nacatl Pariah’s potential when I was putting together a Commander deck for Caesar, Legion's Emperor. I personally see this Ajani more as a support piece than as a Boros commander, especially in a deck that goes wide with tokens. Caesar, sure, but you could also do Jetmir, Nexus of Revels. All you need is for somebody to kill a kitten to allow Ajani to transform, and that 0-loyalty ability can be devastating the higher your creature count is (a smart opponent might gamble that you don’t have other cats or Cat tokens in your deck and exile the one Ajani brings in on ETB). Ajani, Nacatl Avenger’s ultimate ability can also be a soft-reset, forcing each opponent to sacrifice down to four nonland permanents, tops.

#5. Ral, Monsoon Mage / Ral, Leyline Prodigy

My eyes lit up when I read the words “flip a coin” on Ral, Monsoon Mage. My silly little brain likes variety, and I like the randomness that comes with coin flips and dice rolls. The gremlin in me also wants to find ways to break those times when you “lose” the coin flip, like a Yusri, Fortune's Flame deck. Oops, I lost a coin flip. And now you lost the game! Golly gee, what a fun game we play.

As for Ral, Leyline Prodigy, the fact that it enters the battlefield with loyalty counters that essentially reflect your storm count is a really neat idea. Such Izzet (), much spellsling. You uptick this Ral by essentially giving yourself the front face’s cost reduction, so yay symmetry. The ultimate also plays in a stormy space, while the second loyalty ability gives you some damage to distribute and the opportunity to draw a card.

#4. Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh / Chandra, Roaring Flame

Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh is such a good card that it can literally be a Chandra typal commander (Chandra also being a planeswalker type). And it’s even somewhat viable! There’s no shortage of cheap red spells to help you untap this Chandra, but there are also damage doublers and friends to help you transform it more quickly.

All of Chandra, Roaring Flame’s abilities play into damaging your opponents and their creatures, which is pretty much what you want out of a red planeswalker anyway.

#3. Liliana, Heretical Healer / Liliana, Defiant Necromancer

Lilana almost always makes for good planeswalker cards, and Liliana, Defiant Necromancer is no exception. Transforming to that side from Liliana, Heretical Healer isn’t too tough, whether you’re using it as a support piece or as your black commander. Transforming it also gives you a token, which is a neat bonus considering you transform Liliana when one of your nontoken creatures dies.

Liliana, Defiant Necromancer’s abilities all tie into the graveyard. Either you’re discarding to send stuff there, you’re reanimating, or you’re making all your creatures extremely persistent. If this sounds like a zombie-focused planeswalker, you are correct! And zombies are never leaving Magic, so if you run this Liliana as your zombie commander, you’ll always have new cards to playtest in this deck.

#2. Valki, God of Lies / Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor

Cards that pay you off for casting things from exile seem to be one of the current trends in Magic, with support for “new” mechanics like plot and discover. Oh, and Prosper, Tome-Bound is still around. Valki, God of Lies and Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor each do different things in that space. Valki doesn’t cast anything from exile, but it reveals everyone else’s hands and lets you pick things to exile and potentially copy.

Tibalt is where things get hectic. “Exile” is the first word of each of its loyalty abilities, and you get its emblem as it enters, not with its ultimate. Yikes. And the way those loyalty abilities are balanced…. You uptick when you exile the card you don’t see. You pay a little to exile something you do see. You pay a lot to get some mass graveyard hate. Including your own, but you’ve got Tibalt’s emblem anyway. Disgusting.

#1. Nicol Bolas, the Ravager / Nicol Bolas, the Arisen

As to be expected, Nicol Bolas reigns supreme. A 4/4 flying elder dragon for 4 like Nicol Bolas, the Ravager is fairly solid, but it’s what this 4/4 turns into that piques our interest. Nicol Bolas, the Arisen has four loyalty abilities, including some planeswalker removal and some planeswalker reanimation. You can even reanimate your opponents’ ‘walkers! Grixis () decks like drawing cards two-by-two, especially now that we’re getting second- and third-draw payoffs. And as for the ultimate, you’re putting an opponent on a very quick clock. Pair that with an effect that says, “Target player draws two cards” rather than simply “draw” and you’ve got a win condition, albeit only in a 1v1.

Best Dual-Faced Planeswalker Payoffs

The best payoffs for dual-faced planeswalkers tend to be the same as the best general planeswalker payoffs: cards that care about or protect your planeswalker, proliferate effects that help you to uptick them, cards that let you use their abilities more than once per turn (Oath of Teferi and The Chain Veil), and abilities that let you cheat them into play. Spark Double plays a special role in that it can clone the planeswalker side of the card.

How Do Flicker Effects Work with Dual Faced Planeswalkers?

Flicker effects exile the card then return it to play with the front card face up. It resets with no counters or fresh counters like when it originally entered the battlefield. If you manage to flip it that same turn you can get a second loyalty ability activation in.

What Happens When You Turn a Planeswalker Face Up?

Since the planeswalker is not exiled, it turns face up with 0 loyalty. Even if you end up with a manifested planeswalker, it would need to be exiled and returned transformed to gain loyalty counters and be useful.

Do Transforming Planeswalkers Keep Their Counters?

Transforming planeswalkers usually do not keep their counters because they most get exiled and return with reset counters. Oko, Lorwyn Liege/Oko, Shadowmoor Scion is a special case that transforms without leaving the battlefield, so it keeps any counters on it as it flips from green to blue.

Are the Flipwalkers Good Commanders?

Yes some dual face planeswalkers are good commanders. Sorin of House Markov opens you up to Orzhov cards and ensures you have access to extort early and often.

Wrap Up

Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

And that’s our walkaround of dual-faced planeswalkers! I find the design premise can be flavorful, and Wizards has so far been fairly picky about when they put a planeswalker on a dual-faced card. It’s happened more often over the last few years, but let’s hope they keep it as a spice in their cabinet. If you can't get enough dual face cards, check out the modal dual face lands.

What do you think of dual-faced planeswalkers? Which ones are your favorites or most used? Which other planeswalkers would you like to see get the dual-faced treatment? Let me know in the comments, or come join us on the plane we call our Discord.

Until next time, don’t lose your spark!