| With Chandra, Torch of Defiance being spoiled early this week, I was asking myself, "where does this card rank with the best Planeswalkers of all time?" Well, today I'm going to answer that! I'm rating the Planeswalkers by not only how powerful they are compared to their mana cost but also by how much play they see in different formats. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is probably the most powerful Planeswalker ever printed, but he doesn't make this list because of his extremely restrictive mana cost and how little play he sees. Let's get to the Top 10 Planeswalkers of all time! #10 Dack Fayden 
Our list starts off with the greatest thief in the multiverse! Originally printed in Conspiracy, Dack Fayden sees more play in Vintage than any other format because of the powerful artifacts that are prevalent in that format. And if he's good enough to see play in Magic's most powerful constructed format, he's good enough to be on this list! #9 Nahiri, the Harbinger 
Nahiri, the Harbinger has been a Modern staple since being released. Moving immediately to six loyalty after using her +2 ability makes Nahiri very hard to kill in combat, and she threatens to ultimate quicker than most Planeswalkers. Take into account that her ultimate typically involves a hasty Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn and you have a Modern staple that is even powerful enough to find its way into Legacy. #8 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas 
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas checks in as our third straight multicolored Planeswalker and requires you to build around it by playing a lot of artifacts, but the reward is certainly worth it. Tezzeret's +1 ability is close to an Ancient Stirrings, but can only get an artifact from the top five instead of any colorless card. The -1 ability allows any artifact you control to become a 5/5 creature for the rest of the game, usually making it the largest creature on the battlefield that can both pressure your opponent or protect the Planeswalker. Finally, Tezzeret's ultimate can be activated extremely quickly and depending on how many artifacts you have on the battlefield, can end the game on the spot. #7 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon 
Costing eight generic mana, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is the most expensive Planeswalker on the list. However, the colorless Planeswalker more than makes up for its large casting cost by having the ability to be a Plague Wind when he enters the battlefield. Ugin saw plenty of play as the top end of a multitude of different decks in Standard, and has been a staple of Modern G/R Tron since being printed. Even if your opponent doesn't have anything to exile, Ugin can still end the game quickly with a series of Ghostfires combined with an ultimate that's a mix between a large Sphinx's Revelation and a one-sided Eureka. #6 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar 
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar has certainly made his presence known in Standard, but hasn't shown up much in eternal formats just yet. Having a 0 ability that creates a 2/2 Knight Ally is definitely nice, but Gideon really shines as a 5/5 indestructible attacking creature. Unlike most Planeswalkers, Gideon is acceptable to draw in multiples, as you can immediately cash him in for an emblem that gives your creatures +1/+1 for the rest of the game. Right now, Gideon is played in W/B Tokens and G/W Tokens in Modern, but I expect to see him in more Modern decks over time simply because of his power level. #5 Liliana, the Last Hope 
Liliana, the Last Hope has already proven her power level a couple months after being printed. Three mana Planeswalkers have traditionally been very powerful, and her +1 ability can be used to protect her from an early attacker. This allows her to ultimate fairly reliably, which will give you a never-ending hoard of zombies to end the game with. The Last Hope of Innistrad has been showing up in more and more numbers in Modern, as there are plenty of one toughness creatures running around. Finally, the selection of Liliana's -2 ability is also quite powerful, as you can essentially "draw" any creature from your graveyard. #4 Karn Liberated 
The perfect turn three play in Modern G/R Tron, Karn Liberated has been liberating opponents of their permanents for years. Having a six-loyalty Planeswalker that can immediately +4 is also pretty absurd and allows Karn to ultimate three turns after entering the battlefield. Karn's ultimate ability is actually my favorite ability of any Planeswalker, as I love restarting the game with permanents already on the battlefield! #3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 
All the way at No. 3 is the new kid on the block, Chandra, Torch of Defiance. This rating is quite speculative, as Kaladesh has not been released yet and Chandra has not seen any competitive play, but I'm confident that she will be a cross format all-star that is one of the best Planeswalkers of all time. At first glance, we can see that she costs four mana and has four (arguably five) abilities, which brings back memories of someone who is higher up on this list. The "arguably five" part comes from the first +1, which allows you to cast the top card of your library or shock each opponent. The part about casting the top card is important, as you can't play a land from the top of your library like you could with Chandra, Pyromaster. Her second +1 ability allows you to add two red mana to your mana pool, which could be used to ramp into a large threat, play multiple spells a turn, or even play an Incendiary Flow or Oath of Chandra to help protect her. If you don't have a removal spell but still want to kill a creature on the other side, then Chandra can protect herself with her -3 ability that deals four damage to a creature, the perfect amount to take down a Thought‑Knot Seer. Finally, like most other Planeswalkers, she has an ultimate ability that will end the game quite quickly. Simply put, Chandra, Torch of Defiance is the real deal. #2 Liliana of the Veil 
Liliana of the Veil doesn't have abilities that necessarily scream "this is one of the best Planeswalkers ever," but she has justified this spot with the amount of Modern and Legacy play she sees. Liliana is best in decks that are trying to trade resources one-for-one with the opponent, as her plus ability can strip the last few remaining cards from your opponent's hand. It doesn't matter that your hand is being emptied as well, because Liliana's ultimate will decimate what's left of your opponent's battlefield. Her -2 ability is also quite useful and is commonly used when she enters the battlefield to protect herself and to allow the plus ability to take over the game. Liliana of the Veil surprisingly didn't see as much play in Standard as you would expect, as there weren't many quality cheap interactive spells to pair with her, but she has been a large part of the Modern and Legacy metagame where decks can be built around her. #1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 
Finally, the best Planeswalker of all time! Jace, the Mind Sculptor was so good he was banned from Standard and preemptively banned from Modern at the beginning of the format. At the time he was printed, he was the first Planeswalker with four abilities and I don't think anyone realized just how good that would be. His "default" mode is Brainstorm, the most played card in Legacy! This effect is much better if you have a way to shuffle your library and the fetchlands were legal in Standard at the same time that Jace was. Jace is also quite good at protecting himself because of his Unsummon -1 ability, so attacking the powerful Planeswalker is not an easy task. Finally, when you have drawn enough cards with the Brainstorm ability to grind out your opponent, Jace can win the game on his own by using his +2 ability to Fateseal the top card of your opponent's library and make sure they don't draw another relevant spell for the rest of the game. With four Planeswalkers on this list being legal in Standard, and three out of the top six, it looks like the power level of Planeswalkers has been increasing lately. I don't necessarily hate that, as I've always enjoyed playing with Planeswalkers and I think they are good for the game and the storyline. The most surprising thing to me was realizing there aren't any green Planeswalkers on this list, especially after a few years of green being the best color in Standard. — Todd Stevens, @ToddStevensMTG |
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