Getting Started: Basic control cards and direct damage spells. Getting Started: In the theme of Gruul, you'll want large green creatures. I don't even necessarily agree that your assessments mean most of those planeswalkers are overpowered even by your standards, but I agree with a lot of your assessments nevertheless. - Domri, Chaos Bringer (0/0/0/+4/+4) 8/7/4: With a creature seeking ability, good mana bonuses, the ability to field 7 spells as G/R, and a third ability that makes your first creature grow quite quickly, Domri is a force to be reckoned with. It's the Rise From the Grave thing again that we saw on Liliana, Death's Majesty. Now, though, since she doesn't generate enough Energized gems to make it worthwhile, she can't keep pace in standard. By incorporating one of the strongest points of green into your deck, you're counteracting the strongest points of Garruk, and vice-versa. Fast, Slightly Card Reliant, Fairly Strong Abilities, Creatureless. Karn, Scion of Urza (+1/+1/+1/+1/+1) 5/5/6: He needs some good supports. Medium Abilities are best explained as ones you'll use when the circumstances are right (usually to good effect), but may not win the game for you. Getting Started: Throw creatures into your deck. - Nissa, Worldwaker (G) (+3/+1/-1/+2/+4) 6/7/6: What makes this iteration of Nissa better than the others is her ability to ramp up, and since all three of her abilities produce creatures, she can fund and field a substantial force despite the cards you put in her deck. While the combo can be powerful, it seems underwhelming right now. Nicol-Bolas, God-Pharaoh (U / B / R) (-1/+3/+3/+3/-1) 5/8/5: He can effectively go creatureless, and comes with a lot of control. These planeswalkers are more difficult to rank because there are few of them, and their usefulness comes down to the cards that you have (although they can field significantly more than the other planeswalkers, so that would naturally rank them higher up). Fast, Slightly Card Reliant, Strong Abilities, Creatureless. If you have the cards, these planeswalkers can bring the firepower. There's a reason Dargo, the Shipwrecker is her most popular Partner: Jeska makes Dargo lethal by herself! 3. Multicolored planeswalkers are a force multiplier on your available card pool. Scheduled to release digitally on Sept. 16 and globally on Sept. 24, the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt ( MID) set will contain the planeswalkers Arlinn, the Pack's Hope, Wrenn and Seven, and Teferi . 15. This is the dual color Planeswalker tier list. Spells/supports that generate lots of matches are key--think of spells that convert mana, or destroy gems. Medium, Card Reliant, Medium Abilities, Flexible. Colorless cards. Like, did everyone just decide this card was miserable and not play him? the last set of PW deck 'walkers we're ever gonna get. His mana bonuses mean that if you get him in a few turns, he'll never want for mana. For more information, please see our - Samut, the Tested (-1/-1/-1/+5/+5) 10/4/4: Although her abilities include the Afflict mechanic from her block, she doesn't need Afflict in your deck to do ridiculous damage (although having an Afflict card in a legacy match means she can make a creature "quadrastrike" with little effort). Some Planeswalkers have abilities that benefit their mana bonuses; notably Karn, Scion of Urza, Sarkhan Unbroken, Tamiyo, Field Researcher , and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. Over, Under, or Just Right? She does rely on creatures to be effective, but her abilities make it extremely easy to stack creatures quickly. That, in combination with easily accessible creature destruction in black, means she'll continue to be viable. Outside of blocks that use Energize, he's not that great. You don't actually need the direct damage spells (thank you third ability), it just makes matches end quicker. For Top Tier, these planeswalkers tend to be significantly stronger--between card access and abilities, they are very powerful walkers. It doesn't matter if it costs -2 or -1, 3/3 Beasts don't exactly scale well to Commander. - Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (W) (+3/+2/0/0/+2) 5/10/7: He relies too much on Ally cards to be viable in anything outside of Legacy. Better minus for the bigger creatures in Commander. Fast, Card Reliant, Strong Abilities, Creature Driven. Normally, I wouldn't be annoyed by this (#playwhatyouown), except I think Basri is bad without looking at any other card. A final note: I'm certain that many reading this list will probably find a few classifications they don't agree with. Over, Under, or Just Right? Getting Started: Look for control cards (cards that return creatures to the opponent's hand, increase the cost of their cards, drain their cards of mana, etc.). Rank it Now! Medium, Card Reliant, Medium Abilities, Creature Driven. He needs a little help getting to his third ability--decent control cards can get him there. Over, Under, or Just Right? - Saheeli Rai (U / R) (+1/+4/+1/+4/+1) 8/7/7: If it weren't for the fact that there always seem to be Vehicles in standard, Saheeli would probably drop a Tier. Getting Started: Look for powerful direct damage spells, supports that help you draw/enhance damage. Getting Started: Look for cards that force your opponent to discard, and cards that can be used to kill enemy creatures quickly. Medium, Independent, Fairly Strong Abilities, Flexible. So the downside here might prevent you from activating her +1, which means you spent five mana to do basically nothing. She does one thing, and it's a really great thing, so I'm absolutely on board. You could play almost anything over Basri that said "counter" on it, and it'd probably be better. and big creatures. Getting Started: Look for cards that enhance your creatures. - Ajani, Unyielding (+4/0/0/0/+2) 8/5/4: On paper, he's powerful. Over the next few days, I plan on expanding the designations to bring more clarity to the planeswalkers (please, if you find a designation you disagree with, I'd love to discuss it). Fast, Independent, Strong Abilities, Creature Driven. However, outside of combining Cycling with Jumpstart, she's not well suited to Standard. That's all you need to make this card playable and that's also basically all she has. Slow, Card Reliant, Medium Abilities, Flexible. - Chandra, Torch of Defiance (R) (0/0/+4/+5/0) 5/6/5: Back when Energize was a viable mechanic, this iteration of Chandra was quite powerful--she could get rid of Energized gems and do substantial damage at the same time. Her first ability alone--support destruction--makes her extremely powerful in a color that has notoriously annoying supports (Lich's Mastery, anyone?). Getting Started: Find cards that Energize the board. - Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants (+3/0/0/+3/+3) 6/5/8: His third ability is quite powerful, and his other abilities scale on par with many other white planeswalkers. Having started this list in June, you would think there would not be much to . Honestly, the only thing I'm not into here is the +1, and even that's not awful. If you have a strong Ixalan/Rivals of Ixalan collection (especially with Enrage) she's more of a Tier 2 planeswalker currently. Mana bonuses - Dovin, Grand Arbiter (W / U) (+3/+3/+2/0/0) 5/9/5: Although this is a tentative placement, he has good mana bonuses and his abilities will be quite strong in this more creature-centric meta (after all, part of his third ability is half of Nahiri's third for all your creatures, and stays permanently). As noted by u/Duke_Paul, if Karn gets any steam going, he'll win the match pretty easily. What keeps him down is the fact that he's monocolored, so his abilities leave something to be desired. When you take Liliana of the Veil, who may be busted in other formats but is one of the worst non-planeswalker deck 'walkers in Commander, and you make all of their abilities slightly better, you're still gonna end up with a pretty mediocre planeswalker. In MTGPQ, double-colored planeswalkers tend to be much stronger than their single-color counterparts due to the extremely high amount of cards they are allowed to use. Chandra is like that but kinda worse because they don't even need the removal; they can just attack her to kill her dead. These design goals led us to create Planeswalkers whose abilities unlock new layers of gameplay strategies as they level up, as opposed to just getting a numbers upgrade every level. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 4. Medium planeswalkers might take a little effort to get started, either due to poor mana gains or a reliance on certain abilities to come online (Vraska is a good example of medium, since she might take a few turns to get started with her mana gains, but has access to an effective ability fairly quickly). Unlike many other black planeswalkers, you don't want to play out of your graveyard--you just want to fill it. Fast, Independent, Strong Abilities, Creature Driven. Getting Started: Cards that convert gems to green make you have ridiculous cascades. - Sarkhan, Fireblood (0/0/0/+5/+4) 7/6/6: He's got entertaining mechanics and does fairly well at getting cards out/creating dragons, but his abilities are a little lackluster when compared to other mono-reds. Better get started then! Getting Started: To capitalize on her mechanics, you want cards that have Activate abilities, or can trigger them (destroying gems, converting gems, etc.). Category List. Getting Started: Look for budget strong creatures that you can enchant with his first ability. Getting Started: Grab a few control cards. Medium, Card Reliant, Fairly Strong Abilities, Creature Driven. Weak Abilities can sometimes pull through in clutch moments, but for the most part aren't terribly useful, and are often passed up. Same as last time, if you want to know what changed in the 203 'walkers we're not talking about, there is an Odds and Ends companion post! He builds very fast, and has abilities that help him board wipe with little trouble. MtGPQ Deck Strategy & Planeswalker Discussion. I've been fairly negative these last few 'walkers. Better ult to punish greedy graveyard players. Getting Started: Look for dragons and cards that combo with dragons. Tier 4 planeswalkers have significant drawbacks. - Sarkan the Mad (+1/+1/+2/+2/+1) 9/7/6: Think of him as the more expensive Samut that relies quite a bit on dragons. Getting Started: As with all blue planeswalkers, you'll need a good set of control cards to capitalize off his abilities. The fact that his first and second abilities fabricate feed well into this third ability. - Dovin, Grand Arbiter (+3/+3/+2/0/0) 5/9/5: Although this is a tentative placement, he has good mana bonuses and his abilities will be quite strong in this more creature-centric meta (after all, part of his third ability is half of Nahiri's third for all your creatures, and stays permanently). Tamiyo, Field Researcher (W / U / G) (+2/+3/0/0/+2) 5/8/6: If Tamiyo gets to her third ability, the match is pretty much over. It's way more fragile and it absolutely fails the single activation test: scry 2 one time for three mana is incredibly bad. Getting Started: Big creatures. Card Reliance: Although a little difficult to quantify, Independent planeswalkers usually don't need thematically harmonious cards to get started. Medium, Slightly Card Reliant, Strong Abilities, Flexible. Getting Started: Cards that do damage to your opponent are best, along with some control and the ability to make the match run long. Her mana bonuses are great, and she pairs very well with Thopter decks. Fast, Independent, Strong Abilities, Creature Driven. Medium, Very Card Reliant, Medium Abilities, Flexible. - Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (+3/+2/0/0/+2) 5/10/7: He relies too much on Ally cards to be viable in anything outside of Legacy. Narset, Parter of Veils. Getting Started: Werewolves with flip abilities. Fast, Independent, Strong Abilities, Flexible. Medium, Slightly Card Reliant, Strong Abilities, Flexible. Basri Ket being this high must just be new card syndrome. Getting Started: She thrives off of Amass abilities. Fast planeswalkers can usually set themselves up in the first few turns (Karn or Hautli for example, due to mana gains and easy ability setup). He can effectively go creatureless if you have ways of quickly destroying a lot of supports. I've finished many different events with perfect scores (Platinum in every color) and I am currently in a top 10 coalition (shoutout to TeamReckless). Privacy Policy. - Vraska, Golgari Queen (0/0/+4/0/+4) 8/6/5: I know this is a bit of an unpopular opinion, but despite the fact that her third ability can be effectively abused, her whole kit is based around getting the match to go long, which doesn't hold up well against strong opponents. All mono-color Planeswalkers' mana bonuses add up to nine. Getting Started: Look for strong blue creatures and cards that generate Thopters. All two-color Planeswalkers' mana bonuses add up to eight. When it is complete, each planeswalker will have an entry in this format: - Planeswalker (W/U/B/R/G mana bonuses) Creatures/Spells/Supports: description. Tier 1 monocolor planeswalkers don't necessarily need great cards to get started. Fast, Slightly Card Reliant, Strong Abilities, Creatureless. - Ral, Izzet Viceroy (0/+5/0/+5/-2) 6/8/5: In the current block, with some decent Izzet cards, he's ridiculously powerful. Fast, Card Reliant, Strong Abilities, Creatureless. Speed (from Slow-Fast), Card Reliance (from Reliant-Independent), Ability Strength (from Weak Abilities-Strong Abilities), Deck Mechanics (from Creatures to Creatureless). 2. Getting Started: Look for Ally creatures from the Zendikar block. Her first ability alone--support destruction--makes her extremely powerful in a color that has notoriously annoying supports (Lich's Mastery, anyone?). Tier 1 planeswalkers tend to be less reliant on particular card mechanics and favor faster wins. Getting Started: cheap creature cards mixed with control will thoroughly annoy your opponents. - Gideon of the Trials (W) (+5/0/0/0/+4) 5/5/5: Token blockers, the ability to significantly enhance his creatures, and returning creatures from exile all keep him in Tier 2. Jeska, Thrice Reborn is an odd commander to talk about because she's barely a planeswalker. Getting Started: He'll need some strong white creatures. - Ajani, Unyielding (W / G) (+4/0/0/0/+2) 8/5/4: On paper, he's powerful. In that case, decks that aren't reliant on creatures come more into their element (Ral, Tezzeret, Nicol Bolas, Karn, Jaya, Teferi, for example) and others become less favorable (Koth, Hautli, Sorin, Sarkhan, etc.). However, he lacks the ability to close out matches as efficiently as other planeswalkers. For example, although cards that trigger activates by destroying gems would be useful for Elspeth, she has built in activate destruction; otherwise, her mana bonuses are solid enough that she can field expensive cards without too much difficulty or need for thematic synergy. Click 'Save/Download' and add a title and description. - Hautli, Radiant Champion (W / G) (+5/0/-2/0/+5) 8/6/5: The combination of her first and third abilities keeps your hand full, and pays for it quite efficiently. Fast, Card Reliant, Fairly Strong Abilities, Flexible. The downside to this, though, is that green does creatures best. I'm assuming that you're planning on throwing in thematically complementary cards into their decks (albeit many Tier 1s don't need you to be all that choosy). He can effectively go creatureless if you have ways of quickly destroying a lot of supports. By incorporating one of the strongest points of green into your deck, you're counteracting the strongest points of Garruk, and vice-versa. Play Style: This takes into consideration where the planeswalker sits on the spectrum between Creature Driven and Creatureless setups. Getting Started: Look for loyalty generating cards, cards that destroy creatures, and cards that make you or your opponent draw cards. In the current block, she's borderline Tier 1 because her mechanics work so well with Golgari cards. Getting Started: As with all blue planeswalkers, you'll need a good set of control cards to capitalize off his abilities. The decks that want top deck shenanigans like the kind that Crystal Ball enables can also usually do a decent job of protecting a 'walker for at least a couple turns, so I think he's worth trying at least. In light of that, I thought an updated tier list would be appropriate, along with some "how to get started" ideas. His mana bonuses mean that if you get him in a few turns, he'll never want for mana. There are a few that have changed recently or that haven't come out yet, so my rankings might change upon my d.