How do Planeswalkers work in MTG and can they be removed?

Wondering how do Planeswalkers work? Planeswalkers are a part of almost every Magic: The Gathering set since their introduction in Lorwyn all the way back in 2007. They are one of the primary permanent types available in the game and come in all colours. 

There are many interactions that can happen with planeswalkers, and at first glance, they can be hard to wrap your head around. Luckily, we are here to help you understand everything you need to know about how do planeswalkers work. 

How To Use Planeswalkers in Magic the Gathering

Every planeswalker in Magic is legendary, and unless otherwise stated on the card itself they cannot be used as your commander in the Commander format (but can be played in the 99). 

Planeswalkers are permanent spells that enter the battlefield with loyalty counters. Each planeswalker enters with a specific amount of loyalty, determined by the number on the bottom right of the card. Since these are counters, effects that cause permanents to enter the battlefield with extra counters will cause planeswalkers to come in with more loyalty than what is printed. Similarly, proliferate effects apply to these as well as another way to gain loyalty. 

What are Planeswalker’s Loyal Abilities in MTG?

Every planeswalker has loyalty abilities, which are the black shapes with numbers in them inside the text box of the card. If it has a plus, it will gain loyalty counters when you activate that effect (whatever the number lists). If it is a minus sign, it will lose that much loyalty when you activate the effect. A planeswalker’s stronger effect is usually a minus effect while a plus effect is still strong but much less impactful. Some planeswalkers have a passive ability, meaning as long as they are on the battlefield that effect is active (not too unlike an enchantment). 

A loyalty ability that costs more loyalty than it hits the battlefield with is referred to as an “ultimate.” These are effects that are very strong and oftentimes are game-winning. 

Unless otherwise stated, a planeswalker can only activate a loyalty ability once per turn. This is only for individual planeswalkers, so if you have three different planeswalkers on the battlefield each can use one of their loyalty abilities that turn. However, you can only use one of the abilities, so if you use one of them you cannot use a different loyalty ability on the card until you start your next turn. These abilities can only be used at sorcery speed, so they can not be used in response to anything being added to the stack unless an effect allows them to. 

How To Remove Planeswalkers

Planeswalkers’ loyalty is the equivalent to their health. If a planeswalker ever has no counters on it, the card will go to the graveyard and it will be removed. It is possible for the controller of a planeswalker to sacrifice them by removing the last counter(s) in order to active an effect (or to get rid of it to replace it with another copy). 

Like players, you can choose to attack a planeswalker when you declare attacks. A planeswalker will lose loyalty counters equal to the amount of damage it takes. So if Jace, The Mind Sculptor is at three loyalty, a creature with three power will destroy it and a creature with two power will remove two loyalty counters, leaving only one behind. 

Planeswalkers can also be subjected to removal spells. There are cards that can specifically destroy planeswalkers or any permanent on the battlefield, something all planeswalkers are. Any damage dealt to a planeswalker will remove that many loyalty counters, so burn spells like Lightning Bolt can damage and potentially destroy planeswalkers. 

How Good Are Planeswalkers?

Now that you know the gist of how planeswalkers work, how good are they? The power of a planeswalker comes from its abilities. The best ones are planeswalkers with powerful effects that you can keep re-using every turn to push your advantage further. Since you want them to make an impact quickly, the strongest planeswalkers are the ones that have a low casting cost so you can cast them reasonably early in the game. 

What are the disadvantages of Planeswalkers?

The downside of planeswalkers is that with no defenses, there is nothing you can do to stop your opponent from attacking into them and they can get removed quickly. This is why low-casting cost is important as they can impact on the game before your opponent has too many creatures that can just destroy the planeswalker when their turn starts.

✓ Johnny’s Tip

Weakness In Multiplayer

In multiplayer formats like Commander, planeswalkers get a large nerf. Unless you have a way to defend it, the odds of you being able to activate a planeswalker ability more than once is low since there are three different players who can attack it to destroy it.

However, this can also be an upside. Planeswalkers with powerful effects that need to be taken care of require your opponent to dump resources into removing them. This buys you time to set up your own side of the battlefield to close out the game while your opponent is dealing with a planeswalker. 

The decks that use planeswalkers the best tend to be control decks. Since these are largely about resource denial, you will be able to keep the battlefield clear of creatures so that your planeswalkers aren’t at risk. The other popular use for planeswalkers is in combo decks where they are a centerpiece of the deck. Most times, aggro decks avoid planeswalkers in favor of more active creatures and spells. For a planeswalker to see widespread play, their effects need to make noticeable effects on the gamestate rather than ones that only draw a card or tap a creature. 

That is everything you need to know about planeswalkers in MTG. There is a new one released in every set, all of them unique and fitting for a variety of playstyles. Every colour combination has access to planeswalkers, and they can all take advantage of their strengths. Planeswalkers are a staple of the game at every level in every format, and are always going to be prevalent across all of Magic. For more Magic the Gathering guides, take a look at our best equipment commanders and how to build a deck in MTG.