As of now, every color pair has at least two planeswalkers, and an enormous number of them are cubeable. Due to density issues, many people like to limit how many planeswalkers they have per pairing, but this often leaves us ignoring cube-worthy cards. So then, how would you rank available planeswalkers within their colors (considering factors like fun, and potential synergy)?
The initial debate that lead to this is that my cube is missing a planeswalker in Boros. My sister (who co-manages my cube) wants to acquire Ajani Vengeant, whereas I would much rather get Nahiri, the Harbinger because it feels more potentially synergistic. Ajani is quite a bit cheaper, so he'll probably win the debate, but it's a debate that could be had across the colors.
Cheaper has nothing to do with it. Ajani Vengeant is WAY better than Nahiri. One of the best multicolor cards in the cube, and easily the best Boros card.
UW
Venser, the Sojourner > Narset Transcendent = Dovin Baan, because blink is more fun than generic value.
UB
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas >> Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, because the artifact deck is worth supporting, and Ashiok has no synergies.
BR
Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast >>> Sarkhan the Mad, because the artifact and pox decks love Daretti, plus it's cheaper.
RG
Xenagos, the Reveler = Sarkhan Vol > Arlin Kord, because it depends on how you want your RG to go, but Arlin is just not great.
GW
None of these Ajanis seem close to playable. WotC: give us a 3-4 cmc GW hatebearish walker.
WB
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad >> Kaya, Ghost Assassin > Sorin, Solemn Visitor >>> Sorin, Grim Nemesis, because OG Sorin is nuts, Kaya is interesting, and the others are pretty generic.
BG
Neither of these cards seem playable. Vraska is probably better than Apex Predator, but they both suck.
GU
Nissa, Steward of Elements >> the Kioras, because Nissa is great and the Kioras are merely good, generic, and replaceable.
UR
Dack Fayden >> Ral Zarek > Saheeli Rai, because Dack is the best multicolor planeswalker, Ral is generically very good, and Saheeli is narrow and underwhelming.
RW
Ajani Vengeant >>>> Nahiri, the Harbinger, because Vengeant is brutally brutal.
I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
How do you rate Dimir? Obviously, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas is the best, but what of the other (much less budget intensive) options?
What of Gruul? There are a lot of options, and they seem kind of close in power level.
Personally, I'm not interested in just playing the most powerful card because it's the most powerful, but rankings are helpful. I haven't had the opportunity to test most of these cards, since they're expensive, and I don't own them.
PW rankings by color / guild, IMO (not including flipwalkers)
WHITE
- Elspeth, Knight-Errant
- Gideon Jura
- Elspeth, Sun's Champion
- Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
- Gideon of the Trials
- Ajani Goldmane
- Elspeth Tirel
A lot of room for debate here. A lot of people will argue Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is #1-#3, and i wouldn't necessarily disagree with them. I rank them this way based on role / curve
BLUE
- Jace, the Mind Sculptor
- Tezzeret the Seeker (if you support the artifact deck)
- Jace Beleren
- Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
- Jace, Architect of Thought
- Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
- Jace, Memory Adept
The top 3 is pretty solid, the bottom 3 can probably go either way.
BLACK
- Liliana of the Veil
- Liliana, the Last Hope
- Liliana, Death's Majesty
- Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath
- Ob Nixilis Reignited
A lot of people will argue between Death's Majesty and the Obs, but I'm pretty solid on my stance.
RED
- Chandra, Torch of Defiance
- Daretti, Scrap Savant (if you support the artifact deck)
- Chandra, Flamecaller
- Koth of the Hammer
- Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
- Chandra, Pyromaster
I think most people would agree with this. Koth fell a lot when Torch of Defiance came out and isn't as much of a priority anymore.
GREEN
- Garruk Wildspeaker
- Garruk Relentless
- Nissa, Worldwaker
- Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
- Nissa, Vital Force
- Garruk, Primal Hunter
Top 2 are pretty solid in their spots. I like Nissa at #3 if you support big ramp strategies, but Vital Force is a better generic midrange card. Voice of Zendikar has a decent niche in tokens. Primal Hunter is playable, I can see people arguing him being higher.
Venser can be #1 depending on how hard you want to push blink. I think Dovin is a better generic planeswalker than Narset.
ORZHOV
- Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
- Sorin, Grim Nemesis
- Sorin, Solemn Visitor
- Kaya, Ghost Assassin
Lord of Innistrad > Solemn Visitor in my book, plus Solemn Visitor also gets edged out by Elspeth / Gideon. I like Grim Nemesis at #2 since it fills a hole in 6-cmc slot of black and white. Kaya can be higher if you want to support blink shenanigans.
DIMIR
- Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas (if you support the artifact deck)
- Tezzeret, the Schemer (if you support the artifact deck)
- Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
A lot of people will argue for Ashiok at #1, and it's definitely true if you don't support the artifact deck.
IZZET
- Dack Fayden
- Ral Zarek
- Saheeli Rai
Not much to say here...
RAKDOS
- Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
- Sarkhan the Mad
Not much to say here either.... Daretti is solid even if you don't support the artifact deck.
GOLGARI
- Vraska the Unseen
- Garruk, Apex Predator
Not a fan of either in this day and age. I wouldn't be surprised if Garruk > Vraska.
GRUUL
- Xenagos the Reveler
- Sarkhan Vol
- Arlinn Kord
- Domri Rade
A lot of argument here. I like Xenagos the most since he's a token generator and ramp enabler, but Sarkhan does a lot of unique things with a Threaten / Fires effect. Both are fairly even in my eyes, but Xenagos has more archetype appeal. Arlinn is a decent value walker, Domri Rade is poo poo, IMO.
BOROS
- Ajani Vengeant
- Nahiri, the Harbinger
I'm not a fan of Nahiri since my cheaty face decks tend to not play white. Also, Ajani is just a beast.
Ehh, not a fan of either of these. Ajani Unyielding at least draws multiple cards and can plow things.
SIMIC
- Nissa, Steward of Elements
- Kiora, Master of the Depths
- Kiora, the Crashing Wave
Nissa is probably the #1 or #2 Simic card, period. Both Kioras are very comparable, I prefer Master of the Depths since she ramps, draws cards, and fuels the graveyard.
I just recently bit the bullet on Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. Waited around and snagged one for $12, which wasn't awful. I love playing artifact decks and it's nuts there. Ashiok is a standalone card, like Jace, Memory Adept, and neither seem fun to me since they attack your opponent on a different, more boring axis. The other UB Tezzerets I have no experience with, except trading them away for good cards.
I think it's accepted that RG walkers are all close in power level. I play Xenagos because I like playing big mana, but Sarkhan is equally as good and probably a hair more interesting. Arlinn Kord seems a little narrower, but still nearby in terms of power level.
I haven't tested many of these, but having played most of my first picks in cube, seeing how others stack up isn't hard in many cases.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I like Ugin more since he can protect himself against go-wide strategies and just spam bolt ftw, but Karn can slot into less ramp-heavy decks. Both are stellar cards, but I'd cut Karn before Ugin.
Has anyone tested Tezzeret the Schemer or Tezzeret, Master of Metal? The meatalhead does seem like he could fun to draft around (considering that my cube is comparatively weak). I'm lukewarm on Ashiok, but Agent of Bolas isn't getting any cheaper, and if I were getting a twenty dollar Magic card, that wouldn't be it.
FWIW, we've ran Garruk, Apex Predator since just after M15 was released and we've been pretty pleased with him. He's not a staple by any means, but he does slot into ramp decks pretty well and he's a favorite in the five color walker decks when they show up. If you're looking to run one 'walker in every combo, I'd definitely pick him over Vraska for my Golgari slot. Though, I don't think you should force a planeswalker in just for the sake of having it.
Forgive me Mergatroid_Jones, my first response yesterday was curt and unhelpful. Didn't intend for it to come off that way now that I read it again the next day.
Even if budget weren't a consideration, I'd recommend Ajani Vengeant over Nahiri in this format. While I agree that she can be a role-player for certain decks, those roles don't really play into her color identity very well. Few white decks play from the 'yard, and even fewer are cheating giant monsters into play. As a utility card used to leverage advantages, build up to a threatening ultimate and controlling the board, I think Vengeant just does a much better job.
Nahiri strikes me as a card that may grow in usefulness years down the line, depending on if white gets cards that do that. Five years ago, who'd have thought a card like Feldon would be printed in red?
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Probably the most arguable section is Gruul, since Xenagos, Sarkhan and Arlinn are all pretty good. My favourite is Sarkhan for the three useful and relevant abilities, particularly the rare Threaten effect, but they are all playable. I never tested Arlinn and I just picked up a foil really cheap, so I wouldn't mind to give that a go as another Fires effect with other good stuff attached. I'm not a big Domri fan.
On the Planeswalker subject, I'm pleased we will get getting more PW characters from now on with fewer reiterations of the main five characters.
I think those three 4cc 'walkers in Gruul are somewhat easily interchangeable depending on group preference. They're all powerful in their own right. Sarkhan is my favorite as well, though we ran Xenagos for a long time because the rest of my group liked him more. We've been running Arlinn since SOI was released and she's been fine. We tried Domri for a while as well, and I thought he was pretty lackluster in cube.
The initial debate that lead to this is that my cube is missing a planeswalker in Boros. My sister (who co-manages my cube) wants to acquire Ajani Vengeant, whereas I would much rather get Nahiri, the Harbinger because it feels more potentially synergistic. Ajani is quite a bit cheaper, so he'll probably win the debate, but it's a debate that could be had across the colors.
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Venser, the Sojourner > Narset Transcendent = Dovin Baan, because blink is more fun than generic value.
UB
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas >> Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, because the artifact deck is worth supporting, and Ashiok has no synergies.
BR
Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast >>> Sarkhan the Mad, because the artifact and pox decks love Daretti, plus it's cheaper.
RG
Xenagos, the Reveler = Sarkhan Vol > Arlin Kord, because it depends on how you want your RG to go, but Arlin is just not great.
GW
None of these Ajanis seem close to playable. WotC: give us a 3-4 cmc GW hatebearish walker.
WB
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad >> Kaya, Ghost Assassin > Sorin, Solemn Visitor >>> Sorin, Grim Nemesis, because OG Sorin is nuts, Kaya is interesting, and the others are pretty generic.
BG
Neither of these cards seem playable. Vraska is probably better than Apex Predator, but they both suck.
GU
Nissa, Steward of Elements >> the Kioras, because Nissa is great and the Kioras are merely good, generic, and replaceable.
UR
Dack Fayden >> Ral Zarek > Saheeli Rai, because Dack is the best multicolor planeswalker, Ral is generically very good, and Saheeli is narrow and underwhelming.
RW
Ajani Vengeant >>>> Nahiri, the Harbinger, because Vengeant is brutally brutal.
This is a rough stab in the breeze.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
How do you rate Dimir? Obviously, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas is the best, but what of the other (much less budget intensive) options?
What of Gruul? There are a lot of options, and they seem kind of close in power level.
Personally, I'm not interested in just playing the most powerful card because it's the most powerful, but rankings are helpful. I haven't had the opportunity to test most of these cards, since they're expensive, and I don't own them.
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
- Elspeth, Knight-Errant
- Gideon Jura
- Elspeth, Sun's Champion
- Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
- Gideon of the Trials
- Ajani Goldmane
- Elspeth Tirel
A lot of room for debate here. A lot of people will argue Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is #1-#3, and i wouldn't necessarily disagree with them. I rank them this way based on role / curve
- Jace, the Mind Sculptor
- Tezzeret the Seeker (if you support the artifact deck)
- Jace Beleren
- Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
- Jace, Architect of Thought
- Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
- Jace, Memory Adept
The top 3 is pretty solid, the bottom 3 can probably go either way.
- Liliana of the Veil
- Liliana, the Last Hope
- Liliana, Death's Majesty
- Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath
- Ob Nixilis Reignited
A lot of people will argue between Death's Majesty and the Obs, but I'm pretty solid on my stance.
- Chandra, Torch of Defiance
- Daretti, Scrap Savant (if you support the artifact deck)
- Chandra, Flamecaller
- Koth of the Hammer
- Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
- Chandra, Pyromaster
I think most people would agree with this. Koth fell a lot when Torch of Defiance came out and isn't as much of a priority anymore.
- Garruk Wildspeaker
- Garruk Relentless
- Nissa, Worldwaker
- Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
- Nissa, Vital Force
- Garruk, Primal Hunter
Top 2 are pretty solid in their spots. I like Nissa at #3 if you support big ramp strategies, but Vital Force is a better generic midrange card. Voice of Zendikar has a decent niche in tokens. Primal Hunter is playable, I can see people arguing him being higher.
- Dovin Baan
- Venser, the Sojourner
- Narset Transcendent
Venser can be #1 depending on how hard you want to push blink. I think Dovin is a better generic planeswalker than Narset.
- Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
- Sorin, Grim Nemesis
- Sorin, Solemn Visitor
- Kaya, Ghost Assassin
Lord of Innistrad > Solemn Visitor in my book, plus Solemn Visitor also gets edged out by Elspeth / Gideon. I like Grim Nemesis at #2 since it fills a hole in 6-cmc slot of black and white. Kaya can be higher if you want to support blink shenanigans.
- Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas (if you support the artifact deck)
- Tezzeret, the Schemer (if you support the artifact deck)
- Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
A lot of people will argue for Ashiok at #1, and it's definitely true if you don't support the artifact deck.
- Dack Fayden
- Ral Zarek
- Saheeli Rai
Not much to say here...
- Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
- Sarkhan the Mad
Not much to say here either.... Daretti is solid even if you don't support the artifact deck.
- Vraska the Unseen
- Garruk, Apex Predator
Not a fan of either in this day and age. I wouldn't be surprised if Garruk > Vraska.
- Xenagos the Reveler
- Sarkhan Vol
- Arlinn Kord
- Domri Rade
A lot of argument here. I like Xenagos the most since he's a token generator and ramp enabler, but Sarkhan does a lot of unique things with a Threaten / Fires effect. Both are fairly even in my eyes, but Xenagos has more archetype appeal. Arlinn is a decent value walker, Domri Rade is poo poo, IMO.
- Ajani Vengeant
- Nahiri, the Harbinger
I'm not a fan of Nahiri since my cheaty face decks tend to not play white. Also, Ajani is just a beast.
- Ajani Unyielding
- Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
- Ajani, Valiant Protector
Ehh, not a fan of either of these. Ajani Unyielding at least draws multiple cards and can plow things.
- Nissa, Steward of Elements
- Kiora, Master of the Depths
- Kiora, the Crashing Wave
Nissa is probably the #1 or #2 Simic card, period. Both Kioras are very comparable, I prefer Master of the Depths since she ramps, draws cards, and fuels the graveyard.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
I think it's accepted that RG walkers are all close in power level. I play Xenagos because I like playing big mana, but Sarkhan is equally as good and probably a hair more interesting. Arlinn Kord seems a little narrower, but still nearby in terms of power level.
I haven't tested many of these, but having played most of my first picks in cube, seeing how others stack up isn't hard in many cases.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
(I think Karn is clearly better, but I thought I'd ask for rhetorical reasons.)
I'm a little afraid Ajani Vengeant will be too oppressive in my cube, but sometimes I can be overly conservative about that sort of thing.
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.
Even if budget weren't a consideration, I'd recommend Ajani Vengeant over Nahiri in this format. While I agree that she can be a role-player for certain decks, those roles don't really play into her color identity very well. Few white decks play from the 'yard, and even fewer are cheating giant monsters into play. As a utility card used to leverage advantages, build up to a threatening ultimate and controlling the board, I think Vengeant just does a much better job.
All the best.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
On the Planeswalker subject, I'm pleased we will get getting more PW characters from now on with fewer reiterations of the main five characters.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
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