All 27 Black Planeswalkers in Magic Ranked

Last updated on November 7, 2025

Professor Onyx | Illustration by Kieran Yanner.jpg

Planeswalkers used to be the face of Magic, and one of the most exciting card types to open in booster packs, often shaping up Constructed formats. With a bigger focus on Commander and legendary creatures, planeswalkers took a step back – but that doesn’t mean they're suddenly weak or unplayable.

Today I take a look at all the black planeswalkers MTG has to offer, and how you should use them in different formats. There are even some good ones at uncommon rarity. Let’s dive in!

What are Black Planeswalkers in MTG?

Lolth, Spider Queen | Illustration by Tyler Jacobson

Black planeswalkers are planeswalker cards that have a black color identity for Commander purposes. That means strictly planeswalkers, leaving out hybrid or gold cards that include black as one of their colors.

Black planeswalkers usually deal with lifegain and life drain, necromancy, reanimation, and discard. Some recurrent black planeswalker characters are the necromancer Liliana Vess, the elder vampire Sorin Markov, and the demon Ob Nixilis.

I have reserved the top rankings for planeswalkers that are playable and good across 60-card formats, so keep that in mind when adjusting to EDH.

Honorable Mention: Valki, God of Lies / Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor

I’m mentioning this card here because it’s a black creature but has a Rakdos color identity. The best you can do with this Rakdos card is to cheat Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor into play with cards like Jace Reawakened. Once in play, Tibalt is very powerful and you can get card advantage by exiling spells from all players. Valki, God of Lies is a solid 2-drop if you need it, too.

Honorable Mention: Sorin of House Markov / Sorin, Ravenous Neonate

Like Valki, I’m mentioning another flipwalker: Modern Horizons 3‘s Sorin, Ravenous Neonate is technically an Orzhov planeswalker.

Sorin of House Markov is already pushed as a 1/4 with extort for just 2 mana, and if you manage to extort once in EDH or sacrifice an artifact food token, you’ll get the planeswalker side which can make food, remove a threat, or steal a creature. The package is very solid overall and it fits a lifegain deck perfectly.

#27. Davriel, Soul Broker

Starting things off with Davriel, Soul Broker just because it’s a digital-only card from MTG Arena. It’s a solid black planeswalker overall, forcing your opponent to discard or sacrifice a creature on the +1 ability. The -2 ability will give you a benefit and a downside, which is random and can spice up games, probably more than the average MTG player likes. Perpetually giving a creature -3/-3 is not the worst, as it shuts down some reanimation shenanigans, or turns a 4/4 into a useless 1/1 for good.

#26. Liliana, Death Wielder

This Planeswalker Deck Liliana is bad, and even if you’re specifically rewarded for playing 7-mana Lilianas you shouldn’t. Let’s think here: I’m paying 7 mana to get a -1/-1 counter on a single creature? I’d consider it if it was on all of them. And the turn after I can kill it on a -3? Sorry Liliana, Death Wielder, you’re probably not making it into any decks.

It might not even be worth playing even if you get it for free with your Liliana's Influence.

#25. Liliana, Death Mage

A weak ‘walker from a Planeswalker precon deck, Liliana, Death Mage is hardly ever worth your time, especially costing 6 mana. There’s plenty of 4- and 5-mana walkers that surpass it, although maybe you care about it in a weird Liliana-themed deck. 

This one also has a tutor card, Liliana's Scorn, but that's just an over-costed removal spell.

#24. Vraska, Scheming Gorgon

Vraska, Scheming Gorgon is also bad. Look, how many creatures do you need to have on the battlefield to make the +1/+0 to everybody be relevant? Sorin, Solemn Visitor already does this, with lifelink, and it’s a 4-mana planeswalker. You can still win with the ultimate, but even that is conditional.

The tie-in Planeswalker Deck card here is Vraska's Scorn, which is pretty objectively terrible too.

#23. Liliana, the Necromancer

At least this M19 Liliana costs 5 mana, but the lack of flexibility here is noticeable. Liliana, the Necromancer hits a player for 2 life, so this can at least be ok in aggressive strategies, and the ultimate is strong, but that’s 5 mana and some turns doing essentially nothing. 

#22. Sorin, Vampire Lord

The last of the black planeswalkers from a precon deck, Sorin, Vampire Lord at least has a good ability in the -2, making a “Flametongue Kavu” impression while gaining you some life to stabilize. The +2/+0 ability gets better if you have lifelink or deathtouch creatures by your side.

Sorin's Guide might be the laziest of the Planeswalker Deck tutor cards.

#21. Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted

If you care about the Nekusar, the Mindrazer passive, then play Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted as an additional instance of this effect. You can also sac a creature to draw two cards, or hit your opponents with additional card draw and damage.

#20. Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator

Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator usually goes like this: You’ll create two tokens, and next turn you’ll get a card and buff those tokens. This way you get some protection and card advantage. It gets a lot better if you’re constantly paying life for effects with cards like Yawgmoth, Thran Physician or Bolas's Citadel.

#19. Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage

Getting two or three uses of targeted discard is usually on the weak side, so the best aspect of Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage is that you get a passive effect that punishes opponents for not having cards. It fits discard strategies nicely, and Davriel can come out of the sideboard in slower 60-card matchups.

#18. Liliana, Waker of the Dead

Like Davriel, Liliana, Waker of the Dead is a discard outlet and a way to punish players if they don’t have cards in hand. I don’t like this Liliana that much because the -3 will do nothing good for you unless you already milled many cards or have a self-mill engine going. It’s also unlikely that it’ll survive long enough to use the ultimate in a 4-player Commander pod.

#17. Ob Nixilis Reignited

Ob Nixilis Reignited is a solid black planeswalker from Battle for Zendikar template. It’s a role player, getting you cards, removing a threat, and having a game-winning ultimate in the long term. Nothing special, though you can still run it in some black decks.

#16. Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath

Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath doesn't make for the best black commander. I’d rather play this black card in a Commander deck that wants to trigger lifegain every turn consistently, and draining them for 1 to gain 3 life on the plus isn't the worst. It takes only three turns to get the emblem, and sometimes you’ll be able to do it. You can also make demons on demand, so it fits if you have demon synergies.

#15. Liliana of the Dark Realms

If this was a green planeswalker that fetches a land every turn, it would be a reasonable card. But you get this effect on a black planeswalker with Liliana of the Dark Realms. Design-wise, it’s the most isolated Liliana you can imagine, as no other Liliana cares about swamps. Gameplay-wise, you’ll consistently hit your land drops, or snipe a powerful creature from the battlefield.

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

With Liliana, Heretical Healer you get a 2/3 lifelink human cleric with upside on the front. When you lose or sacrifice another creature, you’ll get to flip it into Liliana, Defiant Necromancer plus a 2/2 zombie. I like that you have some urgency or control in this action, and the planeswalker side is a mix of the symmetrical discard ability from Liliana of the Veil and a Reanimate, so you can bring back what you’ve discarded before.

#13. Liliana, Untouched by Death

The defining characteristic of Liliana, Untouched by Death is zombie-typal, and all their abilities have something to do with zombies. Mill something, drain them if you mill a zombie, then you get a removal effect based on the number of zombies you control. It also lacks a traditional ultimate, but the -3 can produce infinite combos with Rooftop Storm.

#12. Liliana, Death’s Majesty

Liliana, Death's Majesty is a solid roleplayer that allows you to constantly create tokens and keep a reanimation effect when able. The ultimate is powerful and easily attainable in a zombie-themed deck.

#11. Liliana Vess

Liliana Vess is the ‘walker that started it all: the first black planeswalker, and it’s still a solid card. The +1 to make someone discard, -2 to Vampiric Tutor, and a lot of starting loyalty. Not a Game Changer, but still a good base rate for a black planeswalker.

#10. Lolth, Spider Queen

Lolth, Spider Queen is a nice mix of flexibility and power. You can get a card each turn, but you’re not progressing loyalty. You can get two 2/1 spider tokens with reach and menace that stabilize your board, but you risk losing your ‘walker. The card has a nice spot in aristocrat decks, like Liliana, Dreadhorde General, as well as spider typal decks that don’t mind the extra “soldiers.”

#9. Sorin Markov

The best part about Sorin Markov for Commander is the ability to snipe someone off with the -3 ability. Think about the times when you can realistically deal 10 or more damage to someone that has, say, 70+ or infinite life. How many times would Sorin win you the game or kill a player? You can add Sorin Markov to life-drain engines, so decks already running Exsanguinate or heavy on extort could further benefit from this black planeswalker. The third ability is scary close after two +2s or one positive and a proliferate, and the power to control an opponent on a late turn usually wrecks them.

#8. Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools

Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools is all about creating sacrifice fodder and sacrificing them for value. It's also a partner commander, so you can sacrifice your other commander to draw cards, which means you’ll probably want to partner it with a low mana value commander like Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh or Thrasios, Triton Hero. Spamming thrull tokens to quickly ultimate and then Mind Controling all commanders for yourself is also a valid strategy.

#7. Professor Onyx

The best aspect of Professor Onyx is its magecraft passive that leads to many combo situations. Casting spells lets you drain each opponent, and if you storm off, they might as well be dead. You can see that Onyx was designed with Commander in mind, as the abilities affect all players.

#6. Sorin the Mirthless

Sorin the Mirthless is a solid 4-mana black planeswalker for 1v1 games. Getting to ultimate and dealing 13 usually seals the deal, but that’s not nearly good enough for EDH. Sorin will get you a steady stream of card advantage, or a good 2/3 lifelinker to attack and block with.

#5. Liliana, the Last Hope

Liliana, the Last Hope allows you to defend yourself while sniping a little creature, or getting card advantage from your graveyard. It’s clearly stronger in 1v1 than in Commander, as you can keep wrecking your aggro opponent’s small creatures while threatening to ultimate, or getting more cards against control. The ultimate is still relevant in EDH because it will give you an endless zombie supply.

#4. Liliana, Dreadhorde General

You’re playing Liliana, Dreadhorde General if you can sacrifice creatures regularly. Cards like Viscera Seer can be your friend here, as netting cards on demand is good. Mechanics like exploit or the decayed tokens are also extra strong with this planeswalker around. In 1v1 games, getting a token with death insurance, or edicting everyone's creatures is worth the investment, but in EDH, these abilities are situational at best, as you’re not happy to pay 6 mana for a card that makes a single 2/2.  

#3. Vraska, Betrayal’s Sting

Vraska, Betrayal's Sting got a lot better after the printing of Innkeeper's Talent in Bloomburrow, because the class enchantment can cosplay as Doubling Season and have Vraska enter with enough counters to ultimate on the spot.

Vraska, Betrayal's Sting has been a solid midrange threat, though, proliferating and helping its fellow planeswalkers, or having removal on the -2. The Phyrexian mana makes it very flexible, so you can start proliferating and drawing cards much earlier.   

#2. Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord

Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord gets better every time a new and powerful vampire gets printed, like Vein Ripper – so powerful, in fact, that Sorin's got banned from Pioneer!

Being able to cheat these into play on turn 3, or turn 2 with a mana accelerant, is a big deal. And giving bonuses to a smaller vampire or turning them into Lightning Helixes is also worth it. Due to this strong vampire typal component, the card sees play in popular EDH vampire decks like Edgar Markov.

#1. Liliana of the Veil

I was almost tempted to put Sorin before Liliana of the Veil as the very best black planeswalker, but then I realized Liliana is also a huge roleplayer in Standard.

There are whole discard decks built around this and Bandit's Talent, and Liliana of the Veil has a huge story in many Constructed formats from Pioneer to Legacy. It has a lower impact in formats like Commander, but if you care about discarding cards constantly in decks like Tegrid, God of Fright, it’s still an interesting black planeswalker to have around.

Best Black Planeswalker Payoffs

Now that you’re playing black planeswalkers, here’s how to make the best use of them.

First, there are a few cards that have general utility, but improve in effectiveness when you can grab a planeswalker with Kaya's Ghostform, the channel land, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, or Breach the Multiverse.

Discard payoffs like Megrim, Tergrid, God of Fright (which also goes well with sacrifice), and Waste Not are good ways to benefit from everybody around you discarding cards.

Black proliferate cards will help you boost your fellow ‘walkers. Look out for cards like Grim Affliction, Spread the Sickness or Yawgmoth, Thran Physician.

The Elderspell gives you a way to buff one planeswalker by destroying others, even your own weaker ones. You can ultimate a planeswalker for the win with this black sorcery.

Different versions of Liliana go well with self-mill, while Sorin planeswalkers usually care about vampires and lifegain/life drain synergies.

Zombie typal is strong with some versions of Liliana. Many Lilianas make zombies or have ultimates based on zombies.

Archghoul of Thraben, Cemetery Reaper, and Champion of the Perished give you a reason to play zombies.

Black devotion and black-mana-matters are also good ways to take advantage of black planeswalkers. They will add devotion naturally by being in play, and black sweepers like Mutilate or cards like Cabal Coffers already work well in black-intensive decks. Old Gray Merchant of Asphodel or Erebos, God of the Dead also fit here.

Finally, sacrifice/aristocrats cards go very well with many black planeswalkers, such as the ones that create tokens, sacrifice creatures, or care about creatures dying. So, cards like Blood Artist, Viscera Seer, and Falkenrath Noble can complement black planeswalkers.

Wrap Up

Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools | Illustration by Livia Prima

I play a lot of black planeswalkers in Constructed, especially in 1v1 games. They usually complement a midrange/controlling black strategy well, in which you slowly get card advantage turn after turn, or gravedigger something back to your hand to cast again.

Commander is another matter entirely, because your black planeswalkers can be attacked by different players, and it’s harder to defend them. In this case, you want to ultimate them as fast as you can to get a long-term advantage.

No matter what black deck you’re playing, there’s at least a Sorin or a Liliana you can put to good use. What are your favorite black planeswalkers? Let me know in the comments or on the Draftsim Discord!

Until next time, stay safe out there, and have a good night!