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In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage 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 laws 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 compared to other mages, 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.

Mistaken for planeswalkers

Though they are often confused for planeswalkers, Yawgmoth, Mishra, Memnarch, Lim-Dûl and Marit Lage are, in fact, not. Jodah is often thought to be a planeswalker due to his longevity, but is in fact a mortal wizard who has, on numerous occasions, scolded and advised planeswalkers.

"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:

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

  • Gaea
  • 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.
  • Oona of Lorwyn
  • The Eldrazi Titans- Emrakul, Kozilek and Ulamog.

Cards

In the 2007 expansion set Lorwyn, planeswalkers were introduced as a new card type, distinct from artifacts, creatures, enchantments, instants, lands, sorceries, and tribal. These cards represent the reduced-power planeswalkers that exist post-Time Spiral since previous generations of planeswalkers were too powerful to represent on a card. A planeswalker comes into play with a number of loyalty counters (indicated on the bottom right of the card) representing their alliance to the player and can only activate one of their 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:

New planeswalkers were introduced with the Shards of Alara set. 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 represents Ajani after he had mysteriously ended up in Jund and Sarkhan Vol taught him to unleash all his fury.

A fifth planeswalker, Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker, was introduced in the Conflux set.

In Zendikar, there were two new planeswalkers — Nissa Revane and Sorin Markov — introduced with an updated version of Chandra Nalaar referred to as "Chandra Ablaze" after the events of The Purifying Fire.

A fourth planeswalker was added to the Zendikar environment in Worldwake. Jace returned as "Jace, the Mind Sculptor". This has been considered the most powerful planeswalker card ever printed.[1]

A new planeswalker, Gideon Jura, had been added to Zendikar in Rise of the Eldrazi after being introduced in the novel The Purifying Fire. Also, Sarkhan Vol returned as "Sarkhan the Mad".

In the core set 2011:

  • Green - Garruk Wildspeaker
  • Red - Chandra Nalaar

In the 2010 expansion set Scars of Mirrodin, players were introduced to two new planewalkers - Venser, an artificer from Urborg, and Koth, a Vulshok Mirran. Also, Elspeth returned in the set as "Elspeth Tirel".

In the 2011 expansion set, Mirrodin Besieged, Tezzeret, returned as "Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas"

In, New Phyrexia, Karn returns to Mirrodin.

In the core set Magic 2012, Jace, Garruk, and Chandra return as different cards.

  • White - Gideon Jura
  • Blue - Jace, Memory Adept
  • Red - Chandra, The Firebrand
  • Green - Garruk, Primal Hunter
  • Black - Sorin Markov

In the set Innistrad, Garruk and Liliana return with new names and abilities.

  • Green - Garruk Relentless (transformation ability)
  • Black - Liliana of the Veil

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:

  • The Hunter and the Veil (Garruk Wildspeaker and Liliana Vess)
  • Flight of the White Cat (Ajani Goldmane)
  • Fuel for the Fire (Chandra Nalaar and Jace Beleren)
  • The Seeker's Fall (Tezzeret)
  • Honor Bound (Elspeth Tirel)
  • The Veil's Curse (Garruk Wildspeaker, Liliana Vess, and Jace Beleren)
  • Journey to the Eye (Chandra Nalaar and Sarkhan Vol)
  • The Wild Son (Garruk Wildspeaker)
  • Awakenings (Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, and Sarkhan Vol)
  • Enter the Eldrazi (Jace Beleren, Sarkhan Vol, and Nicol Bolas)
  • The Raven's Eye (Liliana Vess)
  • Gathering Forces (Ajani Goldmane, Elspeth Tirel, Koth of the Hammer, and Venser)
  • Scarred (Elspeth Tirel, Koth of the Hammer, and Venser)
  • Dark Discoveries (Tezzeret, Nicol Bolas, Venser, Elspeth Tirel, and Koth of the Hammer)

References

  1. ^ "Daily MTG - Latest Developments Column: About Jace". Friday, April 15, 2011
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