Planeswalker

In some works of fantasy, notably the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, planeswalker is a person with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.

Magic: The Gathering

In the fictional multiverse of the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game, a planeswalker is a powerful mage, able to travel across the planes of existence. All players are planeswalkers; non-player planeswalkers are described in Magic’s back-story (which is represented in novels, starter-deck inserts, online articles and card flavor text); and with Lorwyn the first Planeswalker cards were introduced. Planeswalkers have a near-monopoly on travel between and knowledge of the various planes, though other powers capable of opening portals between worlds do exist.

Only those with a rare and innate ability called the "planeswalker spark" can become planeswalkers. (The spark can be transferred from one being to another, but the process is highly dangerous and potentially fatal.) Only one individual in a million is given the spark. Even then, they must "ascend", which usually occurs spontaneously during a time of great stress (most common being a form of horrendous death, e.g., the sylex blast or its aftereffects). This ascension, as well as the extraordinary amount of power at their fingertips, drives almost all planeswalkers insane over time. In an attempt to prevent this, most planeswalkers are tutored by older ones. Wilders, or planeswalkers that decide to travel the multiverse untutored, exist (Ravidel) but are often extremely dangerous and sometimes utterly insane.

A planeswalker has complete control over his or her physical appearance, and does not physically need to eat, drink, sleep, or even breathe (although some, such as Urza, do these things to help preserve their sanity). Planeswalkers are very difficult to kill and can't die of natural causes, (such as being stabbed, or even dismembered). This is due to that fact that the Planeswalker's spark that is present within his or her brain is the source of the Planeswalker power. While the brain still exists, a Planeswalker still has the ability to traverse the many planes, can regenerate and shapeshift at will, and can stay alive for millennia upon millennia—and, of course, perform magical activity.

Due to their near-immortality which radically alters their perspectives and personalities, Planeswalkers rarely have relationships with non-Planeswalkers. They know, as soon as they meet someone, that they will outlive them, and that they will have to live with the loss. However, some Planeswalkers, such as Urza, may associate with mortals if he or she finds an advantage in doing so. Urza made two exceptions, one for Xantcha (an artificial Phyrexian human loyal to him), and Barrin the master wizard, who had learned to magically reverse and control his aging. Both Xantcha and Barrin eventually died, though not of old age.

During the Time Spiral cycle of novels (which includes Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, and Future Sight), a series of rifts in the actual fabric of multiverse has begun to cause havoc and apocalyptic destruction in many planes. Specifically in the plane of Dominaria, Planeswalkers have begun to seal those rifts to repair the rents in time and space, whether according to their will or not, by giving up their Planeswalker sparks (though it usually demotes them to the status of mortals or kills them outright)—called "mending." Though it seems that the worlds of the multiverse have begun to heal because of this mending, it is revealed that all the tears in the multiverse result from entropy due to world-scarring events such as the Dominarian Apocalypse, but also because of the Planeswalks of powerful Planeswalkers—which have gradually accumulated over time.

Thus, the creation of Planeswalker sparks has been irreversibly altered by the powers that govern the multiverse. The result is a new breed of Planeswalkers, sometimes called "neowalkers," "planescrawlers," or "jumpers" by fans because of their exponentially decreased powers. These new Planeswalkers can Planeswalk between the multiverse's many planes but do not have the other advantages of the old Planeswalkers. Though they have a small boost in power, the new Planeswalkers are no longer immortal and must rely on their own wizarding abilities, rather than gain the magical might and potential that was immediately gained by their older counterparts.

By the end of the novel Future Sight, in Dominaria, several of the prominent Planeswalkers have been destroyed and some new looking Planeswalkers have appeared, such as Venser, an artificer living in fear on the island of Urborg and Radha, a Keldon elf.

Famous planeswalkers from the Magic mythos include:

The Nine Titans

In a last-ditch attempt to stymie the Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria, nine planeswalkers entered the plane of Phyrexia, in gigantic titan engines of Urza's design, to set off bombs to destroy the plane.

• Bo Levar
• Commodore Guff
• Daria
• Freyalise
• Kristina of the Woods
• Lord Windgrace of Urborg
• Taysir
• Tevesh Szat
• Urza

Mistaken for planeswalkers

Though they are often confused for planeswalkers, Yawgmoth, Mishra, Memnarch, Lim-Dûl and Marit Lage are, in fact, not. Jodah gained the power of a planeswalker though chose to stay in his world and not planeswalk, but to take care of his world and be a better planeswalker because of the damage that can be done accidentally with so much power.

"Gods"

Some planeswalkers are considered to be gods by the inhabitants of the planes. On the other hand it is uncertain if some of the known gods are really planeswalkers. Examples of these are:

• Gabriel Angelfire
• Gaea
• The Ebon Hand
• The Hand of Justice
• Kaldra
• Leitbur
• Svyelun
• Tal
• Torahn
• Tourach

Some characters are considered Gods, but certainly aren't Planeswalkers:

• Yawgmoth, neither God nor Planeswalker, but ruler of Phyrexia and embodiment of its black mana.
• Ramos
• Marit Lage, a being with the power to planeswalk, though not in the same way as planeswalkers.
• the primeval dragons Rith, Treva, Darigaaz, Dromar and Crosis
• The Myojin, extremely powerful spirits from Kamigawa. The Myojin of Night's Reach demonstrated the power to transport across planes, but is not a planeswalker.

Cards

In the 2007 expansion set Lorwyn, planeswalkers were introduced as a new card type, distinct from artifacts, creatures, enchantments, instants, sorceries and lands. These cards represent the reduced-power planeswalkers that exist post-Time Spiral, previous generations of 'walkers having been too powerful to represent on a card. A planeswalker comes into play with a number of loyalty counters (indicated in the bottom right of the card) representing their alliance to the player and can use one of three abilities each turn. Each ability costs or generates loyalty. Planeswalkers cannot attack or block. The original cycle of Planewalkers printed in Lorwyn were as follows:

• White - Ajani Goldmane
• Blue - Jace Beleren
• Black - Liliana Vess
• Red - Chandra Nalaar
• Green - Garruk Wildspeaker

New planeswalkers were introduced with the Shards of Alara expansion pack. The red/green aligned Sarkhan Vol, blue aligned Tezzeret the Seeker, white aligned Elspeth Tirel, and an alternate version of Ajani Goldmane referred to as "Ajani Vengeant" which represented Ajani after he had mysteriously ended up in Jund and Sarkhan Vol taught him to unleash all his fury.

• Red/Green - Sarkhan Vol
• White/Red - Ajani Vengeant
• Blue - Tezzeret the Seeker
• White- Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Another Planeswalker was introduced to the expansion of Shards of Alara named Conflux. "Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker" is his full card name. (Referring to the all powerful dragon in previous story lines, who gained the spark and the ability to planeswalk in the novels.)

• Red/Black/Blue - Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker

In the upcoming Zendikar set, there have been announcements of two new Planeswalkers - Nissa Revane and Sorin Markov. There will also be an updated version of Chandra Nalaar referred to as "Chandra Ablaze" after the events of The Purifying Fire.

• Red - Chandra Ablaze
• Black- Sorin Markov
• ??? - Nissa Revane

Rules for playing with Planeswalkers

Planeswalkers in Fiction

In addition to Magic the Gathering's numerous novels, Wizards of the Coast have released several webcomics telling short stories about the planeswalkers. The comics come in trilogies:

• Three based on Chandra and Jace
• Six based on Garruk and Liliana
• Three based on Ajani and Sarkan Vol
• Three based on Tezzeret and Nicol Bolas.
• Three based on Elspeth Tirel.