#10

 

Nicol Bolas

          To be quite honest Nicol Bolas fell on and off this list a bunch of times. As much of a sucker as I am for old Magic lore, the various Bolases don't seem distinct enough to rank much higher than this on the list. If I had to, I couldn’t remember the difference between Nicol Bolas, God Pharaoh and Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker  All that said, he was the big bad for several years of story and squeaks in at #10.

 

#9

 

Oko

          Oko is on here for the exact opposite reason to Bolas. It isn’t for his lore impact, which is basically non-existent. It isn’t for his design, hot elf is fine but overdone. It is solely because of his constructed impact. Very few cards in Magic’s history have affected the game in the same way Oko has. So he gets to walk home with #9

#8

Garruk Wildspeaker

           You know what’s cool? Big green dudes. You know who’s a big green dude? Garruk. Garruk Wildspeaker specifically is a very underrated Planeswalker and good enough to go in your commander deck that has lands that tap for more than 1 mana. Got a Gaea’s Cradle? Now you got 2. 

 

#7

Sorin Markov

          Edgelords unite! Everyone’s favorite playboy vampire comes in at #7. His story with Nahiri and Ugin is very interesting and having a black mana character not be a villain, but also not really be a good guy, is a unique take on his character. In constructed formats most of the Sorin’s have gotten some play, and in the case of Sorin, Solemn Visitor he ran his standard alongside Gideon. 

 

#6

Ajani Goldmane

          Cat man? Cat man! Remember how Ajani was kinda everyone in the Gatewatch’s grumpy but loving dad? Well now he’s a murder robot and he stabbed a saucy old lady to death. The second of the original 5 planeswalkers from Lorwyn (and not the last) to make this list, Ajani is everything you want a walker to be. He’s themed well, he’s had big character growth. The only thing holding him this low on the list is that he hasn’t had a major constructed outing in 10+ years.
          Ajani Goldmane and Ajani Vengeant both saw lots of standard and extended play, but other than a brief stint with Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants, he hasn’t seen much constructed since.

 

 

#5

Karn, Silver Golem

          How do Tron players count? 1, 2, 7. With a story that goes back to the earliest days of the Magic lore, The Silver Golem has had huge impacts in both the lore and various competitive formats. One of the few cards to have both a creature and walker he has had multiple Modern defining decks built around both Karn Liberated and Karn, the Great Creator. The robo-pacifist is also a major player in the current Phyrexian story and it’ll be interesting to see if he cuts loose on them a second time. 

 

#4

Liliana Vess

          I promise the rest of this list isn’t going to be The Lorwyn 5. Liliana Vess has been the premier black Planeswalker since walkers were a thing. As the most powerful necromancer in the multiverse, Liliana has had a huge impact on the story, from a cage match with Garruk (that she won) to a knock down, drag out fight with Emrakul (that she lost), she joined the Gatewatch just to get scammed by Nicol Bolas with the worst contract ever written into fiction. On top of the goth GF’s lore implications, she is also one of the most successful constructed Planewalkers, with Liliana of the Veil in the running for the best planeswalker card ever printed.

 

#3

Nissa Revane

          Is it weird that Nissa made it but Chandra didn’t? Maybe. There aren’t a lot of 5+ mana walkers who are format defining, and even fewer tribal walkers. Nissa has been both of those things, with her Nissa Revane being a tribal walker and Nissa, Who Shakes the World being a definitive, format warping card. In the lore Nissa filled the role of the counterpoint to Garruk’s feral, strength centered, green viewpoint. She is the tranquil and slow to anger side of nature, that becomes an unstoppable force when provoked.

#2

 

Teferi Akosa

          By raise of hands, who knew what Teferi’s last name was? Me neither. Teferi, like Karn, goes back to the very earliest days of the game’s lore. With Zhalfir and Jamuura both being settings for the first bits of story we got. The enigmatic time mage was always around but didn’t get his own card until Time Spiral in 2006. Being one of the driving forces in the story for darn near 30 years, Teferi has a lot of great moments. He also has a lot of format defining cards.
          From Teferi, Time Raveler ruining standard and being the only thing holding Rhinos at bay in modern, to Teferi, Hero of Dominaria …well ruining standard and being one of the few 5 mana cards to make a splash in Modern. Teferi has more than earned his spot in second place.

 

Honorable Mentions

For the honorable mentions section of these lists I wanted to get more perspectives from Sam and Davis. So here are their picks that weren’t already on the list.

Sam:

Gideon Jura makes it here as an honorable mention. This brawny mon-white soldier wasn’t just muscle, but the heart of Magic’s story for most of the Gatewatch arc, the glue that kept that disjointed band of misfits together. Whenever he’s had a card in standard, he’s always seen play, but has never really shined in eternal formats. This, coupled with the fact that his death has cut him out of the story, keeps Gideon just off the top 10. 

Davis:

Daretti the trash-loving goblin pope who’s also half wheelchair. If that description didn’t make you want to know more then I can’t help with that. He definitely hasn’t done as much as the Gatewatch; in fact, he hasn’t done much of anything in the lore outside of Conspiracy. Magic’s got a number of planeswalkers that are far cooler than their current roster, and it’s a shame they don’t have more lore/cards for them yet.

#1

Dack Fayden

Ha! You thought number one was gonna be Jace! Well it’s not, it’s the Greatest Thief in the Multiverse! Dack has had…   Ok but for real this time.

 

#1

Jace Beleren

          Who else was it gonna be? Jace has been the face of Magic since Planeswalker cards first became a thing.  
Mr. blue accordion himself has not only had entire books and storylines dedicated to him, but was also the most expensive card in standard not once, not twice, not even three times; but four different cards defined how standard was played. In formats like commander, planeswalkers need to be good for exactly one activation since you’re probably not going to untap with it. There are multiple Jaces that are good enough for that single activation. There really isn’t another option for me for the top spot. Do you disagree? Leave us a comment to let us know who your favorite walker is! We hope you liked this new thing we are trying. If you did, leave us a like and a comment and hopefully we will have lots more content like this going forward.

 

- Adam Godfrey