This thread is for people unfamiliar with Magic the Gathering and for those with in depth knowledge. If you are unfamiliar with planeswalkers hopefully this thread will give you a general idea of who planeswalkers are and what to expect from them when you see them on the battle boards.
Planeswalkers are very cool characters and combatants and deserving of more respect and recognition. But while observing lots of different power and skill sets among planeswalkers patterns began to emerge. In this thread I will be discussing the strength and weaknesses of planeswalkers in general, then discuss the different "classes" that emerge among planeswalkers, and list each planeswalker that adheres to that class. On one final note, I will be discussing POST-MENDING Planeswalkers only.
What is a Planeswalker?
The universe of Magic the Gathering is actually a multiverse. There are infinite planes in the multiverse, each completely unique and separated by a space of non-existence called the Blind Eternities. The Blind Eternities is a treacherous place and the source from which all mana is spawned. Normal beings cannot reach the Blind Eternities, and if they could they would be ripped apart by the infinite power of the Blind Eternities.
Planeswalkers are beings possessing a planeswalker spark. Once activated the planeswalker spark allows the planeswalker to reach the Blind Eternities and travel through it. Using this ability the planeswalker can "walk" between different planes of existence. Hence the name Planes-walker.
The planeswalker spark protects the planeswalker from the Blind Eternities for a short amount of time, but the Blind Eternities can still be dangerous even for a being possessing the spark. If they stay for too long of a duration they could still die. And inexperienced planeswalkers who travels too quickly can get lost, loose control of their walk, and end up falling through the Blind Eternities.
So how does someone become a planeswalker? Someone could go their entire lives possessing a spark and never transcend to becoming a planeswalker. The spark is only activated through the character going through a traumatic, life altering, or often near-death experience, and in that moment their spark is activated, they dissolve from their world, and travels through the Blind Eternities for the first time. After the first planeswalk they are often confused and have trouble figuring out how to do it again. After the first couple of times they are more or less a certified planeswalker, no longer bound by any single plane but travelers between worlds.
Where does their power come from? In the multiverse of Magic the Gathering mages draw their power from land. In the Blind Eternities mana is colorless, but when a plane manifests that mana gains a color based on the type of land. Islands, and water usually generates Blue mana. Mountains, rocks, and hot places usually generate Red mana. Plains and places with lots of sunlight usually generate White mana. Swamps and shadowy lands generate Black mana. Forests, and plant life usually generate Green mana. Mages tap into the mana from the land and use that mana to power the different types of spells that they want to cast.
What makes planeswalkers generally be more powerful than plane bound mages (in general but their are exceptions) is that they can form connections with land on multiple planes of existence. So while a red mage on Ravnica could only draw mana from Ravnica, Chandra Nalaar could draw red mana from three different sources of mana on different planes of existence. This means that planeswalkers aren't as reliant on the land around them to fuel their spells as other plane bound mages. Low level planeswalkers might still run into trouble with running out of mana on strange lands, but for most planeswalkers this is a non-issue.
Usually a planeswalker only needs some time to focus in order to form a connection with the new land that they have traveled too and then they are capable of drawing on the land of that plane to power their spells, even throughout the multiverse.
One last problem is that land only has a finite amount of mana in it, so after great expenditure the land can be drained completely or "tapped out" of mana. If the land will slowly regenerate its mana is unknown to me. However, this usually is a non-issue because planeswalkers have multiple sources of mana to call on and land holds so much mana that tapping it out can only be achieved by absolute power houses. The only instance of land being tapped out I can think of in the post mending era was done by Nicol Bolas aka the most powerful post-mending planeswalker, and he has so many sources of mana that tapping one out is nothing to him.
Strengths of Planeswalkers
In general these are the areas in which planeswalkers excel as combatants.
Overall Mid-Tier Characters: For the most part planeswalkers have lots of raw magical power that places them in the mid-tier range of characters. Some of the better ones are mountain, city, and army busters in magical power. It is possible to find examples of planeswalkers who are below mid-tier level of power, but that is usually due to a lack of showings. If you show me a planeswalker that has a decent amount of showings under their belt and isn't at least a low end mid-tier I will be surprised.
Summons: While not all planeswalkers posses summons it is extremely common among planeswalkers to have summons. While plane bound mages can only summon creatures to fight by their side from their own plane, planeswalkers can move creatures between planes, giving them a wider array of creatures to call upon to fight for them. A summon for a planeswalker can be anything from sentient foot soldiers, angels, and vampires, to non-sentient wild beasts and creatures. But summons are not limited to creatures that appear in nature, they can be magical elementals, ghosts, spirits, and any other mystical entity.
Control over the Elements: While less common than summons nearly half of the post mending planeswalkers have some form of control over one or more of the elements. Water, earth, plant life, fire, electricity, and metal are the most common elements that any given planeswalker might be able to manipulate through magic.
Good against Magic Wielders: It shouldn't be a surprise that a universe of mages produces some characters that have good abilities and showings against magic wielders. In the blue and black schools of magic counter-magic, the ability to dissipate the opponents spells out of existence, is prevalent. Magical shields to provide a barrier against physical and magical attacks are also very common. But beyond that planeswalkers are getting hit with spells all the time, and therefore from a debating perspective it is easy to prove their resistance to magical attacks.
Powerful Magical Weapons and Artifacts: The Stem Sword, the Bident of Thassa, the Parasite Blade, the Godsend, the Chain Veil, Tezzeret's Etherium Body and inventions. A lot of these planeswalkers come with powerful magical weapons and artifacts that would make most mages blush. The Bident of Thassa gives complete control over the seas, the Parasite Blade can turn someone to ash with a single cut, the Godsend can cut through dimensions, and oh boy the Chain Veil. It can give Liliana enough power to go toe to toe with and Eldrazi Titan! Planeswalkers have some very interesting weapons and artifacts.
Hax: I will say that this is most prevalent in black, and blue mages but planeswalkers can often have hax. Decaying flesh, destroying souls, amping and summoning souls, illusions, petrification, mind destruction, invulnerability, and many other spells are abilities that you will see among planeswalkers.
Weaknesses of Planeswalkers
These are the area in which planes walkers generally fall short.
Slow: Planeswalkers tend to be very slow for their tiers. While some of them are city, mountain, sea level beings, the average speed for a planeswalker is at a staggeringly low blur speed. Some of these mid tier characters are merely peak human in speed which breaks my heart. There are some decently fast planeswalkers like Sorin Markov (sonic) and Elspeth Tirel (dozens of cuts faster than perception), but most planeswalkers can only move at speeds faster than human perception to blur speeds in combat. This can usually be made up for with a "speed equalized" clause in a debate.
Hard to Prove Martial Skill: While Gideon Jura can be proven to be decently skilled, dedicated swordsmen like Elspeth Tirel, and Sorin Markov are hard to prove as skilled. They don't have statements or showings of them beating anyone observably skilled so while they should logically be skilled, it can be hard to prove that they are.
The Three Classes of Planeswalkers
Let me be clear and say that this is just a generalization. Each planeswalker has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. It could be argued that any planeswalker could be in a different class than the one I put them in, and not all planeswalkers fit perfectly within the class description. This is not to say that they are all the same, merely that there are three general ways of approaching magical combat that planeswalkers as a whole tend to adhere to. All planeswalkers are different, unique, and cool but there are some patterns that i've noticed in planeswalkers as a whole.
The Summoner
These are planeswalkers who place a special emphasis on summoning creatures. For a summoner it is usually their main, or one of their main forms of combat. Summoners tend to have a very large amount of high quality summons and summon in nearly all of their encounters. Summoners tend to supplement their summons with ranged magical abilities.
Planeswalkers:
- Liliana Vess
- Garruk Wildspeaker
- Kiora
- Nissa Revane
- Sifa Grent
- Vronos
- Baltrice
- Saheeli Rai
- Huatli
- Ugin
The Warrior
Warriors tend to put a special emphasis on close ranged combat. They are the type to get in close and fight themselves with their weapons. The usually supplement their skill with some form of magic to give them an advantage in close ranged combat. Not always, but they do tend to stay away from using summons.
Planeswalkers:
- Sorin Markov
- Gideon Jura
- Elspeth Tirel
- Ob Nixilis
- Ajani Goldmane
- Sarkhan Vol
- Arlinn Kord
- Kaya
- Samut
- Narset
The Caster
The caster type planeswalker uses ranged spells of overwhelming power to defeat their enemies. They don't tend to be skilled in close quarters combat, instead choosing to fight almost exclusively at a range. They tend to have summons but use them to supplement their over whelming ranged power and not the other way around.
Planeswalkers:
- Jace Beleren
- Chandra Nalaar
- Dack Fayden
- Tezzeret
- Koth of the Hammer
- Venser
- Vraska
- Tamiyo
- Ral Zarek
- Ashiok
- Xenagos
- Karn
- Nicol Bolas
Conclusion
I would love to hear your feedback on this thread. Did you learn something new about planeswalkers? Do you agree or disagree with my classes and placement of characters in them. Discussion. Lets hear discussion! :)
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