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Trivia[ | ]

Highest number of individual planeswalker cards per character[ | ]

Some characters are favored more than others, usually resulting in a higher amount of unique cards representing them.

Planeswalkers that have more than three planeswalker cards as of Magic: The Gathering Foundations:

Abilities[ | ]

Loyalty counters[ | ]

  • Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh, Nicol Bolas, the Arisen, Urza, Planeswalker, and Nissa, Ascended Animist have the most loyalty counters (seven) when they enter the battlefield, not counting 'diminishing' planeswalkers (those who can't gain or restore counters) or the event exclusive Garruk the Slayer (who was meant to be played by itself, without a deck). This was likely done to highlight the fact that Ugin and Nicol Bolas are exceptionally powerful, even by planeswalker standards, and Urza is a pre-Mending planeswalker at the height of his power. Nissa is a mechanical choice as the only double Phyrexian mana planeswalker, and so requires a loyalty that makes sense for both the full cost and a cost two mana fewer.
  • Sarkhan the Mad, Arlinn, Voice of the Pack, Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner, Kaya, Bane of the Dead, and Huatli, the Sun's Heart also start with seven loyalty, but they have no way to regain loyalty counters. All of these have different design impetuses for having high loyalty:
    • Sarkhan is primarily a draw engine, with situational negative activated abilities. As designed, Sarkhan plays as an aggro curve-topper: the second ability turns up to three obsolete creatures into Dragons, and the third represents 5 damage of reach over two turns if forced to use the second to power it.
    • Kaya has the most powerful activated ability with the worst passive, so to balance proliferate in the format she requires two proliferates for another activation.
    • Kiora and Huatli are designed in reverse, with draft-around passives, so their high loyalty is to give them longevity, with activated abilities as minor upsides.
    • Arlinn sits in the middle, with the activated ability, passive ability, and high mana value going towards a strong uncommon proliferate payoff, balanced by the fact that she requires three turns to maximize loyalty value, with the first activation giving a rather weak 3/3 on turn 6. In exchange, proliferating after the third activation gives three 4/4s and one 2/2 for six mana.
  • Nissa Revane, Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded, Kiora, the Crashing Wave, Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer, Kasmina, Enigma Sage, Rowan, Scholar of Sparks and Tamiyo, Seasoned Scholar have the lowest starting loyalty counters at two.
  • Nissa, Steward of Elements has a variable loyalty X from its mana cost. Jeska, Thrice Reborn enters with a number of loyalty counters equal to the number of times you've cast your commander from the command zone. Dakkon, Shadow Slayer enters with loyalty equal to the number of lands. Ob Nixilis, the Adversary can create a planeswalker copy with X loyalty by sacrificing a creature with power X. All can enter with loyalty from zero to over seven.
  • Karn Liberated has the highest loyalty addition of abilities at Loyalty symbol up+4. Gideon, Champion of Justice has the largest loyalty cost at Loyalty symbol down-15, barring the unbound Loyalty symbol down-X cost that multiple planeswalkers have.

References[ | ]

  1. Mark Rosewater (January 27, 2022). "Now that the wanderers identity is known was...". Blogatog. Tumblr.
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