Who Are The Lorwyn Five in Magic: The Gathering?

The Lorwyn Five Planeswalkers | Illustration by Aleksi Briclot

Planeswalkers have come a long way in Magic: The Gathering. Back in 2007, the Lorwyn set introduced the very first planeswalker cards, and today we explore who they are, what made them special at the time, and more importantly, whether they’re still any good now. Intrigued? Let's dive in!

Who Are the Lorwyn Five?

Diabolic Tutor | Illustration by Mark Winters

The Lorwyn Five are the first five planeswalker cards ever printed, each one aligned with a different color of mana and designed to reflect its core identity.

Ajani Goldmane

This lion-like warrior stands for teamwork and healing. His first appearance as Ajani Goldmane helped players to gain life and make their creatures stronger, which fits perfectly with white mana’s focus on support and protection. In the storyline, Ajani is seen as a wise mentor who helps bring heroes together during major battles.

Jace Beleren

The original Jace Beleren gave players extra cards and could even chip away at an opponent’s deck, which matches blue mana’s focus on knowledge and strategy. Known for his mysterious personality and mental magic, Jace has been one of the most recognizable faces of Magic, and he has even served as the magical leader of Ravnica.

Liliana Vess

Liliana Vess is a powerful necromancer who fits right into black mana’s themes of ambition and control. Her first card can force players to discard and even bring creatures back from the graveyard. In the lore, Liliana has made dark deals with demons, betrayed powerful allies, and played a huge role in taking down one of Magic’s biggest threats.

Chandra Nalaar

With Chandra Nalaar, players could blast creatures or opponents with direct damage, which shows off red mana’s love for burn. As a character, Chandra is impulsive, and one of the most active heroes in the story. She has appeared in many sets, and her fiery magic has made her a favorite among fans.

Garruk Wildspeaker

The green planeswalker Garruk Wildspeaker brought ramp and massive beasts to the table. This card can untap lands, make beast tokens, and give your army a big finishing boost. In the story, Garruk was once cursed by Liliana and went through a darker phase, but he still represents the wild strength and survival instincts that define green mana.

Are the Lorwyn Five All Still Alive?

Triumphant Reckoning | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov

Believe it or not, all five of the original Lorwyn planeswalkers are still alive in the current Magic story. While they’ve been through a lot, they all made it through.

Ajani Goldmane went through one of the roughest chapters in his life during the New Phyrexian Invasion. He was captured and compleated, which means he was turned into a twisted version of himself as Ajani, Sleeper Agent. It was heartbreaking for fans to see such a noble and kindhearted character be used as a weapon. Thankfully, Ajani was saved by the end of the war. He was cured and came back to his senses, spark and all. These days, he’s working to make up for the damage he helped to cause, trying to bring hope and healing back to the multiverse just like he always has.

Jace Beleren’s fate that was uncertain for a while. Like Ajani, he was compleated by the Phyrexians in the form of Jace, the Perfected Mind and then vanished after the final battle. For some time, no one knew if he was alive, dead, or lost somewhere in between. Jace resurfaced on Thunder Junction as Jace Reawakened. He had secretly recovered from his Phyrexian transformation, and now that he’s back, he seems to be quietly planning his next moves, true to his thoughtful and mysterious nature.

Liliana Vess nearly met her end during the War of the Spark, when she turned against Nicol Bolas in a last-minute betrayal that helped to save the multiverse. Bolas tried to destroy her, but she was rescued when Gideon sacrificed himself in her place. To protect herself from further danger, Liliana faked her death and took on a new identity as Professor Onyx at the magical school of Strixhaven. She was a prominent figure in the Lorwyn Eclipsed story (the latest lore at the time of writing), and we may hear about her in 2026 with the release of Secrets of Strixhaven.

Contrary to Liliana, Chandra Nalaar has remained one of the most active planeswalkers in the story. She fought through both the War of the Spark and the New Phyrexian Invasion and came out the other side without being corrupted or broken. That alone makes her one of the lucky ones, though the same can’t be said for her girlfriend, Nissa Revane.

She even broke into a wedding once as Chandra, Dressed to Kill, whose promo version is beautiful to see! After the war, she was last seen helping Nissa to recover emotionally and physically, since they were also turned into a Phyrexian but didn’t recover their spark.

Speaking of green planeswalkers, Garruk Wildspeaker has taken a different path. He wasn’t involved in either of the big wars and seems to have stayed far away from the chaos. The last time we saw him was during the Throne of Eldraine story, when he finally broke free of the dark curse that had haunted him for years (thanks, Liliana). After that, Garruk vanished into the wilds again, and there’s no sign that he’s dead. In fact, people in the story mention he’s still out there somewhere, probably enjoying the peace and solitude.

Are the Lorwyn Five All Still Planeswalkers?

No.  Most of them have retained their sparks despite recent story events; many planeswalkers across the Multiverse lost their sparks in the aftermath of the New Phyrexian Invasion. But Ajani and Chandra were explicitly confirmed to have retained their sparks, and Jace was later revealed to still possess his. Liliana was confirmed to have lost her spark as part of the Lorwyn Eclipsed story; in the third episode, Ajani tells Liliana that he can’t take her with him to Lorwyn to search for her missing students, which implies that Liliana can’t planeswalk there herself. We haven’t checked in with Garruk in a while, so there’s no official confirmation about whether he has lost his spark or not.

The Lorwyn Five, Ranked

Now that we know the status of each of these characters, let’s have some fun and rank the Lorwyn Five from worst to best in terms of how they fit into Magic today.

#5. Chandra Nalaar

Unless you’re running a dedicated Chandra-focused deck or a commander like Torbran, Thane of Red Fell or Solphim, Mayhem Dominus that can really take advantage of its damage pings, Chandra Nalaar tends to sit on the lower end of the Lorwyn Five. It’s fairly narrow in terms of where it shines, and for 5 mana, its abilities aren’t especially impressive by today’s standards. That said, it’s still playable, and it can do solid work in the right shell.

#4. Liliana Vess

While it’s on the pricier side in terms of mana, Liliana Vess remains a powerful planeswalker overall. Its tutoring ability is always valuable, and its ultimate is among the most powerful effects you can achieve, especially in decks built around proliferate or counter-doubling cards like Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider. Given enough time, this planeswalker can completely take over a game.

#3. Garruk Wildspeaker

No matter which green deck you’re running in Commander, and even in formats like Cube, Garruk Wildspeaker is one of the best planeswalkers you can include. It effectively comes with a built-in bodyguard thanks to its token-making ability, and on the following turn, it can ramp you two mana ahead, which is excellent on its own. Its ultimate is a classic finisher that demands respect; Overrun effects never go out of style.

#2. Jace Beleren

Jace Beleren is most commonly seen in group hug decks like Nekusar, the Mindrazer or Kwain, Itinerant Meddler, where a reliable, global card draw engine is extremely effective. That said, it can also find a home in mill strategies thanks to its ultimate. While simple compared to modern designs, its abilities remain relevant in the right environment.

#1. Ajani Goldmane

In terms of raw functionality, Ajani Goldmane is one of the most versatile options among the Lorwyn Five. It most often appears in aggressive or token-centric decks, where its repeatable anthem effect really shines. However, it can also slot neatly into lifegain strategies, pairing well with cards like Heliod, Sun-Crowned or Archangel of Thune to fully leverage its +1 ability.

Are The Lorwyn Five Valuable?

No. None of these five cards are particularly expensive collectibles today.

Ajani Goldmane and Liliana Vess sit near the top price-wise (around $5 and $10), but even then, you’re usually looking at only a few dollars thanks to multiple reprints that have kept supply high. Jace Beleren is one of the cheapest of the group despite the character’s later fame ($2-3), while Garruk Wildspeaker also stays in the low single-digit range ($3-5). Chandra Nalaar is the clear bargain, often costing about as much as a bulk rare ($1).

Wrap Up

Liliana's Indignation | Illustration by Daarken

Without a doubt, planeswalkers changed the way Magic is played, and these five were the ones who started it all.

Personally, Jace Beleren is my favorite of the group, largely because it can come down earlier due its his mana value, but don’t underestimate the others. With the possible exception of Chandra, each of them can be incredibly powerful when included in the right shell.

What do you think? Would you like to see these planeswalkers reunite in a future set? Let us know in the comments or on the Draftsim Discord. Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this content, remember to follow us on social media so you never miss an update.

Take care, and see you next time.