Planeswalker Tier List

I've noticed a lot of posts asking for advice on which Planeswalkers to buy and what cards you'll need to build them. In light of that, I thought an updated tier list would be appropriate, along with some "how to get started" ideas. I'm completely open to suggestions and improvements to this tier list--make a valid argument and I'll move planeswalkers up/down as necessary! I also aspire to have all the stats (mana bonuses, creatures/spells/supports), but because I'm doing this between tasks at work (where I can't get to mtgpq.info) I'm limited to the planeswalkers I actually have at 60.

Monocolor

Tier 1

Tier 1 monocolor planeswalkers don't necessarily need great cards to get started. They have great mana bonuses and embody the mechanics of their element. Their abilities don't rely heavily on a certain block, nor do they rely on particular cards to get started.

- Elspeth, Sun's Champion (+7/+3/-2/-2/+3) 6/6/5: Elspeth has great mana bonuses, good board control, and doesn't take much to get going. Getting Started: To capitalize on her mechanics, you want cards that have Activate abilities, or can trigger them (destroying gems, converting gems, etc.).

- Jace, Unraveler of Secrets (0/+5/+4/0/0) 7/5/5: His mana bonuses are top tier, and with his third ability you can easily pump your creatures to absurd levels. Getting Started: You want cards that help you draw more cards. Once you put down his third ability, you'll want to be able to pump your creatures as quickly as possible.

- Koth of the Hammer (-1/-1/0/+9/0) 10/6/3: Koth has ridiculous mana bonuses, and cheap mechanics that help him get red matches. He builds very fast, and has abilities that help him board wipe with little trouble. Getting Started: Put creatures in your deck. Profit.

- Nissa, Worldwaker (+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. Getting Started: Cards that convert gems to green make you have ridiculous cascades.

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Tier 2

Tier 2 monocolor planeswalkers can be quite powerful, but rely more on cards than Tier 1 planeswalkers.

- 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. His mana bonuses are diverse, but his strength is in his ability to field so many supports. Getting Started: Look for particularly nasty white supports that help control the board like Seal Away, Suppression Bonds, Sphinx's Decree, and Ixalan's Binding.

- Gideon of the Trials (+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. His reliance on getting good cards, though, is what keeps him from Tier 1. Getting Started: He'll need some strong white creatures.

- Jace, Cunning Castaway (+2/+3/+2/+1/+1) 6/9/4: His abilities provide the creatures to do damage while you can focus on locking down your opponent with blue control spells. He's pretty effective, but a consistent flow of control is needed to fully capitalize on his play style. 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.).

- Jaya Ballard (0/+4/0/+5/0) 5/8/6: She is one of the few planeswalkers that is set up to go creatureless. Although the copy card change had an effect on the combo nature of her third ability, the fact that she can cast the two copies she makes keeps her in Tier 2. Getting Started: Look for powerful direct damage spells, supports that help you draw/enhance damage.

- Liliana, Death's Majesty (-2/+4/+5/+3/-1) 5/5/5: The only thing keeping Liliana from Tier 1 is that to truly capitalize on her abilities, you'll need to find creatures that have good "when this creature enters the battlefield" or "when this creature is destroyed" mechanics. Getting Started: Find black creatures that have ETB (enter the battlefield) or destroy effects.

- Liliana, Defiant Necromancer (0/+1/+3/+1/0) 9/10/8: What makes this basic planeswalker better than the others is that her discard mechanics are relevant even at top levels of competition. That, in combination with easily accessible creature destruction in black, means she'll continue to be viable. Getting Started: Look for cards that force your opponent to discard.

- Liliana, Untouched by Death (-2/+3/+7/+3/-2) 8/6/5: In most situations, she'd probably be at the lower end of Tier 2/high end of Tier 3. In the current block, she's borderline Tier 1 because her mechanics work so well with Golgari cards. Getting Started: Zombies. Get lots of zombies.

- Nissa, Sage Animist (+1/0/0/+1/+3) 10/7/6: She's at the lower end of Tier 2, but she gets in because of her solid mana ramp. Getting Started: Look for solid green creatures.

- Ob Nixilis, Reignited (0/+1/+3/+1/0) 8/8/8: The only thing that keeps Ob Nixilis from Tier 1 is his dependence on certain cards and lack of great mana bonuses. Getting Started: Look for loyalty generating cards, cards that destroy creatures, and cards that make you or your opponent draw cards.

- Vivien Reid (+2/+2/0/0/+5) 8/5/6: With the right creature cards, Vivien is unstoppable. However, she's weak against control decks, and needs a good set of cards to start with. Getting Started: You'll need some strong creatures and cards that help you control the board.

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Tier 3

Tier 3 are good planeswalkers, but rely heavily on the right deck setup.

- Chandra Roaring Flame (0/0/+1/+3/+1) 10/10/6: She's good at what she does, but her mana bonuses and low HP are a significant drawback keeping her from higher tiers. Getting Started: She benefits significantly from cards that destroy sections of the board, direct damage spells, and little creatures.

- Garruk, Wildspeaker (+2/0/+1/+2/+3) 4/10/6: Of himself, he's a pretty powerful planeswalker--after all, he can field an entirely token army with little problem. The downside to this, though, is that green does creatures best. By incorporating one of the strongest points of green into your deck, you're counteracting the strongest points of Garruk, and vice-versa. Getting Started: Look for cards that enhance your creatures.

- Gideon, Battle Forged (+3/+1/0/0/+1) 9/6/7: He has a solid set of abilities; however, his mana bonuses and his absolute reliance on creatures hold him back from being a Tier 2 planeswalker. Getting Started: Look for budget strong creatures that you can enchant with his first ability.

- Liliana, the Last Hope (0/+4/+5/0/0) 8/5/3: As far as Zombies go, this version of Liliana is quite powerful. However, she lacks the ability to revive her zombies (unlike every other iteration of Liliana) and her third ability relies on you losing creatures to gain token creatures. Getting Started: Get zombies.

- 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. Getting Started: Look for dragons and cards that combo with dragons.

- Tezzeret, the Seeker (+2/+3/+2/0/0) 5/8/9: He's a great support-centric planeswalker. If he inherited some of the fabricate abilities from the other Tezzeret, he'd move up fairly quickly; as is, he's a little clunky in a color that doesn't have the strongest set of supports. Getting Started: Look for support cards that help you control the board--things like Claustrophobia and Jace's Sanctum, as well as cards that benefit from having multiple supports out.

- Tezzeret, Artifice Master (+1/+4/+4/0/0) 6/6/7: If you have Thopters and strong blue creatures, he's on the higher side of Tier 3 and potentially Tier 2. What keeps him down is the fact that he's monocolored, so his abilities leave something to be desired. Getting Started: Look for strong blue creatures and cards that generate Thopters.

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Tier 4

Tier 4 planeswalkers have significant drawbacks. Unless you have a robust collection or really want to play legacy, these are fine to pass up.

- Chandra, Torch of Defiance (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. Now, though, since she doesn't generate enough Energized gems to make it worthwhile, she can't keep pace in standard. Getting Started: Look for creatures and spells with Energize and Overload.

- 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. Getting Started: Look for Ally creatures from the Zendikar block.

- Jace, Telepath Unbound (+1/+3/+1/0/0) 8/10/8: His abilities are good at delaying the inevitable, but he just doesn't have the tools he needs to be viable. Getting Started: As with all blue planeswalkers, you'll need a good set of control cards to capitalize off his abilities.

- Nissa, Vital Force (+3/0/0/+2/+4) 7/4/5: She relies far too much on Energize to be viable of her own accord. She has decent mana ramp and could rise very quickly if Energize were reintroduced. Getting Started: Find cards that Energize the board.

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Duocolor

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Tier 1

Extremely powerful planeswalkers. Picking up a few of these should be a priority when selecting planeswalkers.

- Hautli, Radiant Champion (+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. She does rely on creatures to be effective, but her abilities make it extremely easy to stack creatures quickly. Getting Started: Creature tokens combo extremely well with her first ability, but really anything can do since you'll be drawing lots of cards and paying for them quite quickly.

- Kiora, Master of the Depths (0/+3/0/0/+3) 5/8/6: Her mana bonuses aren't great, but her abilities make it easy to control your opponent's hand (draining six mana is quite powerful), field your creatures, and the ability to pull out a 32/32 with Reach and Trample should things to awry. Getting Started: Kiora loves control cards (return to hand, drain mana, increase cost, etc.) and big creatures.

- Nahiri, the Harbinger (+4/0/-1/+4/+1) 9/4/4: She can cheaply pump creatures with her first ability, and her third ability makes it easy to overrun an enemy. Getting Started: Throw creatures into your deck.

- Ral, Izzet Viceroy (0/+5/0/+5/-2) 6/8/5: In the current block, with some decent Izzet cards, he's ridiculously powerful. He's the strongest creatureless solution out there, with plenty of control options to keep the enemy's side clear. Getting Started: Basic control cards and direct damage spells. You don't actually need the direct damage spells (thank you third ability), it just makes matches end quicker.

- 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). Getting Started: Throw creatures into your deck.

- Teferi, Hero of Dominaria (+3/+4/-2/+1/+2) 6/7/6: Great mana bonuses, and so so so much control. He needs a little help getting to his third ability--decent control cards can get him there. After that, you're home free. Getting Started: Throw in control cards (return to hand, drain mana, increase cost, exile creatures/supports, disable creatures) and some decent creatures.

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Tier 2

If you have the cards, these planeswalkers can bring the firepower.

- Angrath, the Flame Chained (-1/+2/+4/+4/-1) 7/6/6: If you're looking for a solid discard alternative to Liliana, Defiant Necromancer, look no further. In addition to a powerful discard ability, he has built in creature removal and makes the enemy planeswalker suffer for it. Getting Started: Look for cards that force your opponent to discard, and cards that can be used to kill enemy creatures quickly.

- Saheeli Rai (+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. Her mana bonuses are great, and she pairs very well with Thopter decks. Her third ability is overpowered in Legacy, but can still be ridiculous in Standard if used correctly. Getting Started: Thopter token generating cards and vehicles.

- Sorin, Grim Nemesis (+4/0/+4/0/0) 10/5/5: The only thing that keeps Sorin from a Tier 1 position is his low HP and that he needs both his second and third ability to turn any deck into an overpowering force. Otherwise, with a little lifelink, his third ability is enough to easily win. Getting Started: Lifelink. Lots of lifelink. Also, cards that heal you.

- Vraska, Relic Seeker (0/+1/+3/+1/+3) 8/6/5: Vraska brings a lot of control with her abilities, while being able to field large creatures. Her first ability alone--support destruction--makes her extremely powerful in a color that has notoriously annoying supports (Lich's Mastery, anyone?). Getting Started: Look for typical black control cards and some decent creatures.

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Tier 3

These planeswalkers have decent mechanics, but rely heavily on card choices and specific strategies.

- Ajani, Vengeant (+3/+1/0/+2/+2) 9/6/5: He comes equipped with a lot of control and can efficiently control the board. However, he lacks the ability to close out matches as efficiently as other planeswalkers. Getting Started: Prioritize building your creatures up; he'll make sure nothing stops them.

- Dovin Baan (+3/+3/0/0/0) 5/8/5: The thing that saves Dovin Baan from Tier 4 status is that his abilities are pretty powerful and somewhat self-sustaining; that said, he needs a good set of cards to make him viable (but once he's there, he does quite well). Getting Started: For Legacy, Energize cards. Outside of Legacy, cards that convert mana along with control cards.

- Hautli, Warrior Poet (+4/-1/-1/+4/+2) 9/5/5: She can be strong with the right setup, but give it a few blocks and her reliance on dinosaurs will really hamper her style. If you have a strong Ixalan/Rivals of Ixalan collection (especially with Enrage) she's more of a Tier 2 planeswalker currently. Getting Started: Dinosaurs, especially with the Enrage mechanic.

- 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: Find lots of dragons.

- Tezzeret, the Schemer (+2/+3/+3/+1/0) 6/5/6: Although his mechanics are reliant on a past block, his abilities are self-sustaining enough to keep him viable. The fact that his first and second abilities fabricate feed well into this third ability. With a card like Storm the Vault, he becomes ridiculously powerful. Getting Started: Control cards and supports. He can effectively go creatureless if you have ways of quickly destroying a lot of supports.

- Vraska, Golgari Queen: 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. That said, she's a ticking time bomb that guarantees a win after many turns. Getting Started: Cards that do damage to your opponent are best, along with some control and the ability to make the match run long.

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Tier 4

These planeswalkers rely on mechanics that no longer are used.

- Ajani, Unyielding (+4/0/0/0/+2) 8/5/4: On paper, he's powerful. Outside of blocks that use Energize, he's not that great. Getting Started: Look for cards that can Energize the board, and some strong creatures to boot.

- Arlinn Kord (0/0/0/+3/+3) 7/5/5: In the time of werewolves, she was ridiculous. In this time without flip werewolves, she leaves a lot to be desired. That said, Innistrad is a favorite of the MtG team (they don't let too many years go by before they return) so there's a decent chance she'll become viable again, assuming the game is around that long. Getting Started: Werewolves with flip abilities.

- Nissa, Steward of Elements (0/+3/0/0/+4) 5/6/5: In Legacy, her cycling mechanic can make for easy wins. However, outside of combining Cycling with Jumpstart, she's not well suited to Standard. Getting Started: Get Drake Haven and cards with cycling.

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Tricolor and Multicolor

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).

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Top Tier

Nicol-Bolas, God-Pharaoh (-1/+3/+3/+3/-1) 5/8/5: He can effectively go creatureless, and comes with a lot of control. He's also quite easily to use as is. Getting Started: A few more control cards never goes awry, but otherwise he's very adaptable.

Sarkhan Unbroken (-1/+3/-1/+3/+3) 6/6/7: With a built in Deploy the Gatewatch, the ability to increase his mana bonuses, and overpowering token creatures, this iteration of Sarkhan is exceptionally powerful. Getting Started: Big creatures. With his third ability, you won’t have to worry much about their cost.

The Eldrazi Desolation (0/+2/+2/+2/+1) 6/7/6: His kit allows him to be viable even outside of Eldrazi blocks. The fact that he can field every card in the game helps a bit too. The designation as Top Tier is mostly because he's a bit easier to get going than Karn or Nicol Bolas 2 (and can get an easier "quick win"); if the game runs long, though, the other two easily surpass his benefits. Getting Started: Throw in cards that work together.

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Basically Top Tier

Karn, Scion of Urza (+1/+1/+1/+1/+1) 5/5/6;He needs some good supports. It doesn't matter the color, and colorless is gravy. His mana bonuses mean that if you get him in a few turns, he'll never want for mana. Getting Started: Supports. Colorless cards. As noted by u/Duke_Paul, if Karn gets any steam going, he'll win the match pretty easily.

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager (0/+2/+3/+2/0) 7/6/6: He needs a decent set of cards to last him until he transforms. After that, with only minimal effort, he'll easily win. Getting Started: Grab a few control cards.

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Overall Ranking:

Generally, to mix the classifications together, you'd end up with an overall tier list like this:

- Duocolored Tier 1 and Top Tier Tricolor/Colorless

- Basically Top Tier Tricolor/Colorless

- Monocolored Tier 1

- Duocolored Tier 2

- Monocolored Tier 2

- Duocolored Tier 3

- Monocolored Tier 3

- Duocolored Tier 4 and Monocolored Tier 4

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Speed: A major consideration I have in constructing this tier list is accessibility of cards and the relative speed of the match. Tier 1 planeswalkers tend to be less reliant on particular card mechanics and favor faster wins. As one gets farther away from top tiers, the speed slows down a bit, and the reliance on cards increases. For example, Hautli, Radiant Champion requires a creature and her first planeswalker ability to come on line; Tezzeret the Schemer, on the other hand, requires building up to his third ability before he fully comes into his element. In a match that goes longer, the tiers would adjust somewhat. Typically, a longer game implies more control is being utilized. 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.).

Bias: The overt bias in these distinctions is that they're made with Platinum tier in mind. 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). I'm striving not to let personal dread influence my rankings too much (whenever I see Arlinn Kord in Legacy events I scramble my deck for efficient control options because they're bound to have Ulrich of the Krallenhorde, and probably Olivia, Mobilized for War and Decimator of Promises or Emrakul just for kicks and giggles).

A final note: I'm certain that many reading this list will probably find a few classifications they don't agree with. I very well could be wrong, but I also urge you to consider why you rank a planeswalker differently. Could it be that you have an exceptionally strong collection in their colors, or perhaps your collection is lacking in their strengths? I'm open to reclassification for a well presented case. Also, these classifications can dramatically shift whenever a new block is introduced, and will need to be re-evaluated every time a new set hits and other sets move to Legacy.

Most recent update: 1/20/2019, to include Sarkhan Unbroken.