In Magic: The Gathering, players are the Planeswalkers. They also use Planeswalkers in their battles. Many enjoy collecting them as well. Confused? Don’t be – you’ll soon know everything about them!
Main Characters
In Magic: The Gathering, the multiverse is layered in different planes of existence. Every plane is its distinct world, with different geography, creatures, and even laws of nature. The only common ground between this diverse cosmos is the flow of mana – always in the same five colors.
In MTG, Planeswalkers are beings that have the rare ability to travel between the different planes of existence and influence their history. The concept has been in the game almost since the beginning and there are many books detailing the lives of powerful Planeswalkers. One such example is Urza in the Artifacts Cycle book series by Lynn Abbey.
Powerful Mages
In terms of Magic: The Gathering gameplay, the players themselves assume the roles of Planeswalkers. They roam the multiverse and gather spells, creatures in artifacts that they can summon in their fights. This concept is represented by the cards that the players collect in the real world. The players then use these cards to build decks (Libraries) in order to play the game.
The players can also call other Planeswalkers to aid them in battle. This concept is represented with the card type by the same name. The idea here is that a player summons a fellow Plansewlaker for a short time. That’s why these cards don’t have Toughness like creatures, but a stat called Loyalty. If a Planeswalker runs out of Loyalty, they disappear – they’ve aided a friend with a small favor and now are on their way to a different plane.
An example to the other extreme would be Liliana Vess. She uses her powers only for personal gain, seeking eternal youth and ever-increasing power.
The latest villain introduced to the game is the enigmatic and charming elf by the name of Oko. He has a troubled past of rejection, imprisonment, and torment and now views liberty as the most valuable trait one can have. However, he takes the concept of personal freedom to extremes and is willing to do anything for it – even hurt innocent people and then just planeswalk away.
In his worldview, the best part about being a Planeswalker is the ability to simply disappear in times of trouble, so you can never bear the consequences of your actions. Of course, he’s in for a disappointment, because the noble hunter Garruk is searching the planes for Oko with a big axe in hand.
The Spark
Beings in Magic: The Gathering are not born Planeswalkers. They become such when their Spark ignites. This sounds charming and all, but actually one’s Spark can only ignite in times of great stress and life-threatening trauma. Every Planeswalker’s first visit to a new world is an involuntary, and highly confusing occurrence caused by a self-preservation instinct in times of grave peril. Later, the Planeswalkers learn to control and use their powers and can planeswalk at will across all the Multiverse.
Living in Secret
In true superhero fashion, the peoples of the Multiverse and even its gods (please link Theros Gods article here) are oblivious to the concept of Planeswalkers. It is accepted that this secret should be kept from non-planeswalkers. However, the events of the War of the Spark put a serious dent in this pact of secrecy. What happened was an unprecedented number of those super-beings clashing in a devastating conflict in front of the eyes of all of Ravnica. Not very subtle.
Planeswalkers can sense each other and many of them form powerful relationships – some driven by rivalry, some by camaraderie and some by love. There’s even a group of Planeswalkers named The Gatewatch – Magic: The Gathering’s version of Marvel’s Avengers.
In-game
In the actual Magic: The Gathering game, Planeswalkers are some of the most powerful and rare cards. With the exception of War of the Spark and the recent M20 set, all Planeswalkers come at the Mythic rarity and are rarely seen in Limited play. Many decks revolve around their powers and every time they hit the battlefield, it’s a special event. Planeswalkers normally come with two or three powerful abilities that the player can utilize multiple times, and a final ultimate ability that more often than not will win the game on its own.
Now that you know all about the Planeswalkers, it’s time for your own Spark to ignite! Luckily, you don’t have to put your life on the line. Just download Magic: The Gathering Arena and enter the fray!
