Hi my name is Max Moed-Nelson (IGN: mrhibachi) and today I am going to be doing another planeswalker power ranking for Standard except this time I will be doing it before the next set is released instead of after. I’ve decided to try the new approach this time because I realized this information might be useful to players who are unsure about how the next set will affect the overall state of the Standard metagame. It’s true that this set of rankings will be based more so on my predictions rather than actual fact/evidence. However, I am fairly confident that most of what I go over today will hold up after all of the new content has been released.
My first impression of Ravnica Allegiance is that the overall power level of the set is not as high as Guilds of Ravnica but it’s still pretty good. The five dual color combinations which did not receive special attention in the last set will be getting that attention in this set, thus making them more viable. Speaking of the five featured color combinations, here are my initial thoughts on each of their new mechanics and cards:
Simic (Green/Blue): If my understanding is correct that each adapt creature only gets the gems once, I think the mechanic is not particularly good. With that being said, Simic was already a ridiculously strong color combination and I think the other cards in the new set make it even better.
Gruul (Green/Red): Riot is probably the worst mechanic of the five especially because the cards that use it aren’t very good even with its effect. Gruul as a whole seems to be getting the weakest card pool but at least there are a few good cards in the mix (ie. Borborygmos and Sunder Shaman).
Azorius (Blue/White): The addendum mechanic feels like a solid mechanic but not particularly strong. The cards that use it are decent though and Azorius seems to be lots of viable overall cards in the new set.
Rakdos (Red/Black): I need to get clarification as to whether or not spectacle triggers each time an opponent is damaged or if it is only once per turn (like the raid mechanic). In either case I feel that spectacle is the strongest of the new mechanics even though not all of the cards that use it are good. I also think that Rakdos is receiving the most powerful cards in the set thanks in some part to the various new demon creatures being released.
Orzhov (White/Black): Afterlife is comparable in power level to riot because the effect can’t be trigged unless the creature is killed somehow. With that being said, the mechanic still serves a pretty useful niche. There are quite a few white planeswalkers who become completely useless without creatures on the board, and this new mechanic solves that problem really well. Outside of the new mechanic, Orzhov seems to be getting some really nice cards in general such as Consume and Final Payment.
As far as other things going on in this set, I will probably start building more gate-based decks down the line. The synergy has turned out to be underrated so far in Guilds of Ravnica and is going to get even better with the new cards such as Gate Colossus and Plaza of Harmony. Although some colors have better land/gate support than others, I feel like any planeswalker with a high enough support maximum (I recommend at least 6 but it can probably work with 5) can use the strategy effectively.
Unlike my previous editions of the power rankings (the last one can be found here), I will not be discussing on every single planeswalker in depth since there haven’t been any new direct buffs/nerfs to them and there are too many to talk about at this point. Although there is a change being made to the game to limit how long turns take, this will have a minimal impact on Standard since there are not that many ways to create a consistently long loop. Instead I will discuss only the newest planeswalker (Sarkhan 3), the upcoming planeswalkers (three of them in the new set), as well as the planeswalkers I feel are most directly impacted by the new set. I will still use the full planeswalker names with nicknames in parentheses but this time I will also add colors next to those who I discuss more in detail.
Note: Planeswalkers in each tier are listed in alphabetical order and are not being directly compared with each other (… usually). The goal of this ranking is not determine which broken planeswalker is more ‘Broken’ for example but rather to explain why they should be considered ‘Broken’ in the first place. For these rankings I am evaluating each planeswalker with their level 60 stats and abilities and treating the deckbuilding options solely based off non-masterpiece cards (they are still not very accessible despite recent changes to the elite pack system and it’s difficult to guarantee access to any one particular card).
And now on to the rankings predictions!
Tiers:
Broken: If a planeswalker is listed as ‘Broken’, it means it’s power level is unhealthy for the game and deserves to be nerfed because it crowds out other planeswalkers with the same/similar color(s).
Strong: If a planeswalker is listed as ‘Strong’, it means it is generally stronger than the average planeswalker but not to the extent that it makes other planeswalkers become obsolete.
Solid: Planeswalkers that are listed as ‘Solid’ are good enough to be used to win games but not good enough to be considered the best option for any given game.
Weak: If a planeswalker is listed as ‘Weak’, it either means they have enough weaknesses to make them difficult to win with or there are a number of other planeswalkers who outclass them in their role.
Bad: If a planeswalker is listed as ‘Bad’, it should never be used to try to win games because no amount of deckbuilding can make it good.
BROKENKiora, Master of the Depths (Kiora)
Koth of the Hammer (Koth)
Nicol Bolas, God-Pharoah (Bolas 1)
Ral, Izzet Viceroy (Ral)
Sarkhan Unbroken (Sarkhan 3)
Noteworthy in this tier
Kiora, Master of the Depths(Kiora) (Green/Blue): I debated moving Kiora down a tier with the addition of Sarkhan 3 but I feel her abilities are slightly better than his and the new Simic cards in Ravnica Allegiance are likely going to be very good with her.
Ral, Izzet Viceroy(Ral) (Blue/Red): It didn’t take me long after leveling him up to realize that my initial assertion was wrong. Ral is borderline broken. Each of his abilities are extremely good on their own and he is (in my opinion) the best planeswalker for Beacon Bolt decks. Although Sarkhan 3 has access to one more color than him, Ral fills a unique niche thanks to his greater focus on casting as many spells as possible. It should be noted that the Ravnica Allegiance set has some pretty powerful spells in it for Ral to abuse such as Mass Manipulation and Goblin Gathering. When the Ixalan block eventually rotates out of Standard, Ral will not be impacted much since he’ll only be losing access to a few really good spells (all of which are fairly replaceable). It is for these reasons that I am placing Ral in the ‘Broken’ tier for now.
Sarkhan Unbroken(Sarkhan 3) (Green/Blue/Red): The only major change that has taken place in the game since my last set of rankings is the release of Sarkhan 3. He is the third planeswalker released that utilizes three colors and is the only planeswalker who can utilize Temur (Green/Blue/Red) in every event. My opinion of Sarkhan 3 is that his particular color combination is ridiculously broken. He also has good HP (118) and spell/support maximums (7 and 6 respectively). With that being said, his mana bonuses are the same as Bolas 1 (which aren’t great) and only his 3rd ability is broken whereas the other abilities don’t feel like they are particularly strong.
STRONGAngrath, the Flame-Chained (Angrath)
Elspeth, Sun’s Champion (Elspeth)
Garruk Wildspeaker (Garruk)
Huatli, Radiant Champion (Huatli 2)
Jace, Unraveler of Secrets (Jace 2)
Jaya Ballard (Jaya)
Liliana, Death’s Majesty (Liliana 3)
Nahiri, the Harbinger (Nahiri)
Nicol Bolas, the Ravager (Bolas 2)
Nissa, Worldwaker (Nissa 4)
Ob Nixilis, Reignited (Ob Nixilis)
Saheeli Rai (Saheeli)
Samut, the Tested (Samut)
Sorin, Grim Nemesis (Sorin)
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria (Teferi)
Tezzeret the Schemer (Tezz 2)
Tezzeret, Artifice Master (Tezz 3)
Vraska, Relic Seeker (Vraska 1)
Vraska, Golgari Queen (Vraska 2)
Noteworthy in this tier
Angrath, the Flame-Chained(Angrath) (Red/Black): I had good feeling that I would move Angrath up a tier once the Rakdos cards in Ravnica Allegiance were added to the game. His first ability pairs extremely well with the ‘Spectacle’ mechanic and he has the potential to make very good use of the other Rakdos cards in the set.
Garruk Wildspeaker(Garruk) (Green): The two new green mechanics in Ravnica Allegiance (Adapt and Riot) are not very good and don’t synergize with Garruk. Despite that being the case, there are two reasons I am moving him up to the ‘Strong’ tier in this set of rankings. The first is that I see some really good green control-based cards in the set such as Incubation/Incongruity and Thrash/Threat along with a decent number of cards that synergize with creature reinforcements (perfect for Garruk). The second reason is that I think he will be one of the better users of gate-based decks thanks to his 6 support maximum and the fact that he doesn’t need to have creatures in a deck to make that work (although Gate Colossus would be recommended in the deck but that’s besides the point). This allows him to 6 gates and 4 spells (or perhaps 3 spells and Gate Colossus) to form a potentially explosive control deck. I don’t think he will ever supplant Nissa 4 as the best mono green planeswalker in the game but I do feel that the upcoming set will make him better than every planeswalker in the lower tiers.
Huatli, Radiant Champion(Huatli 2) (Green/White): Huatli 2 is one of the only planeswalkers I will discuss today that is not changing tiers. I do think, however, that she is going to get noticeably stronger (not ‘Broken’ level) because of the addition of creatures with the ‘Afterlife’ mechanic. The fact that these creatures are difficult to remove means that one of her biggest weakness is going to be significantly minimized. It should also be noted that the creature tokens created by the aforementioned mechanic pair really well with her first ability because the bonus it gives is based on creature reinforcement counts.
Nahiri, the Harbinger(Nahiri) (Red/White): See: Huatli 2. In addition to what I discussed above, Nahiri’s third ability also pairs well with the ‘reinforcement losing’ effects that are being added in the next set.
Ob Nixilis, Reignited(Ob Nixilis) (Black): In my opinion, the next set is going to be one of the best things to have happened to Ob Nixilis in quite some time. Part of it is because the gate-based decks that were already good with him are getting even better, (having alot of gates on the board makes it hard for support removal effects such as Vraska’s first ability to destroy his third ability’s support). The other part of it is that black is receiving a lot of strong cards that provide lifegain which is fantastic news for a planeswalker that does a decent amount of self-inflicted damage with abilities.
Sorin, Grim Nemesis(Sorin) (White/Black): See: Huatli 2. One area where Sorin differs from other creature-based white planeswalkers is that he gets access to all of the ‘Afterlife’ creatures since he is both white and black. There are also a decent number of cards in the new set that cause self-inflicted damage which should pair nicely with both of Sorin’s life gaining abilities.
Vraska, Golgari Queen(Vraska 2) (Green/Black): Although Golgari (Green/Black) is not receiving any new cards in Ravnica Allegiance, the Rakdos synergies (Spectacle, reinforcement losing, etc) all pair really well with her abilities. I’m still not going to say that she is going to be as good as Vraska 1, but the difference in power level will definitely be much smaller partially
because Vraska 1 isn’t actually receiving any noteworthy synergies in Ravnica Allegiance.
SOLIDAjani, Adversary of Tyrants (Ajani 3)
Ajani Unyielding (Ajani 2)
Ajani Vengeant (Ajani 1)
Chandra, Roaring Flame (Chandra 1)
Dovin Baan (Dovin 1)
Dovin, Grand Arbiter (Dovin 2)
Gideon of the Trials (Gideon 3)
Jace, Cunning Castaway (Jace 3)
Jace, Telepath Unbound (Jace 1)
Karn, Scion of Urza (Karn)
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper (Kaya)
Liliana, Defiant Necromancer (Liliana 1)
Liliana, Untouched by Death (Liliana 4)
Sarkhan the Mad (Sarkhan 1)
Sarkhan, Fireblood (Sarkhan 2)
Tezzeret, the Seeker (Tezz 1)
Vivien Reid (Vivien)
Noteworthy in this tier
Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants(Ajani 3) (White): The main reasons that Ajani 3 is moving up a tier is because his 8 support maximum is great for gate-based decks (not that he has any noteworthy synergies with gate-based decks) and because Hero of Precinct One is a fantastic card to pair with him. These cards gives him two additional deckbuilding options which should both be viable in the Standard format. I will eventually build a deck after Ravnica Allegiance comes out using Hero of Precinct One as my only creature along with a bunch of white spells and supports because I think that has the potential to be really good.
Chandra, Roaring Flame(Chandra 1) (Red): I think there are a bunch of solid red cards in the new set which might make Chandra 1 viable again. The fact that she can instantly trigger the ‘Spectacle’ mechanic with her 1st ability should not be overlooked and I also think it’s plausible for her to utilize a gate-based deck with some card draw in it to win the game by using all of her abilities as frequently as possible.
Dovin, Grand Arbiter(Dovin 2) (Blue/White): The first upcoming planeswalker I will be discussing today is Dovin 2. Unlike the other two Azorius planeswalkers, Dovin 2 is a much more creature-oriented planeswalker. And unlike other creature-oriented white planeswalkers, he doesn’t get completely shut down by having no creatures on the board. Personally I think he is better than Dovin 1 since his mana bonus is superior as is his spell maximum. The fact that he has a spell maximum of 9 is a pretty big deal since gives him access to a whole host of deckbuilding options including the Beacon Bolt strategy that has been prevalent in Guilds of Ravnica. With all of that being said, I don’t think his abilities are as good as Teferi’s so I will be leaving him in the ‘Solid’ tier for now and will consider moving him up a tier after I get a chance to play a sufficient amount of games with him.
Jace, Telepath Unbound(Jace 1) (Blue): Jace 1 is another one of the original five planeswalkers who I feel will be getting a little bit better with the release of the next set. This is because the Ravnica Allegiance contains quite a few good cheap spells which pair well with the second ability of Jace 1. I’m not going to guarantee that Jace 1 will remain in this tier for long, but I do think cards such as Deploy/Depose, Incubation/Incongruity, and Lawmage’s Binding give him an increased amount of overall versatility.
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper(Kaya) (White/Black): Kaya is the second of the three upcoming planeswalkers that I will be discussing in this article. Unlike Sorin who is heavily creature-reliant, Kaya is the more control-oriented Orzhov planeswalker given that all of her abilities require her to exile her opponent’s cards to be used. Personally I think it’s great that there’s finally a control-oriented planeswalker option for Orzhov (Sorin is a poor choice due to his abilities and his 5/5 spell/support maximum) since there are so many great control cards in the color. This strength is going to be augmented even more by the various control-oriented cards released in Ravnica Allegiance. The problem with Kaya is that her abilities are not super powerful in the first place and aren’t the easiest to use without deckbuilding help and without the opponent’s deck playing to her strengths to some degree. Additionally, although her second ability can deal with creatures with hexproof (which is great news), it only targets creatures with converted mana cost 13 or less which means she can’t deal with the strongest hexproof creatures in the game (Gaea’s Revenge anyone?). I do think Kaya has the potential to be really good but I need to see more evidence of that first before I move her up a tier.
Liliana, Untouched by Death(Liliana 4) (Black): Out of all of the evaluations I made in the last set of rankings, I feel that the one I did for Liliana 4 was probably the most inaccurate. Although it’s true that the zombie creatures in the Standard format are mediocre, her first ability allows her to utilize graveyard-based strategies to great effect (Blood Operative and Creeping Chill are particularly fantastic with her). Although Ravnica Allegiance is adding two really good zombie cards (Awaken the Erstwhile and Captive Audience), neither of them are creatures so they don’t do anything with her first or third ability. Luckily for Liliana 4 though, the new ‘spectacle’ mechanic only requires at least one point of damage to be dealt to trigger (shoutout to Theater of Horrors which does not have the mechanic but will also be easy to use for the same reason). So as long as there are a few zombies in the deck, Liliana will make great use of these new Rakdos cards. I still think Liliana 3 and Ob Nixilis are superior as far as mono-black planeswalkers go. But just like last time, there is always the chance I am wrong again about the power level of Liliana 4, at which point I will be forced to move her up a tier yet again.
Vivien Reid(Vivien) (Green): Vivien is definitely going to be better in the next set because her first ability means makes her arguably one of the better users of gate-based decks and because her second ability is likely goign to see a lot more usage especially against decks with creatures that have the ‘Afterlife’ mechanic. I still don’t think she is as good as Nissa 4 or Garruk, but I do think there is the potential for Vivien to move up another tier if flying creatures dominate the Standard format.
WEAKDomri, Chaos Bringer (Domri)
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (Gideon 2)
Huatli, Warrior Poet (Huatli 1)
Nissa, Sage Animist (Nissa 1)
Nissa, Steward of Elements (Nissa 3)
Nissa, Vital Force (Nissa 2)
The Eldrazi Devastation (TED)
Noteworthy in this tier
Domri, Chaos Bringer(Domri) (Green/Red): It is my belief that Domri is the weakest of the new planeswalkers being released in the upcoming set for two main reasons. The first reason is that her abilities all seem to be weak. The second reason is that as a Gruul planeswalker she has to compete with both Samut and Sarkhan 3 for viability, both of which are superior planeswalker options in pretty much every deckbuilding scenario imaginable. I am not putting Domri in the bad tier because she has a higher net mana bonus than both Samut and Sarkhan 3 (+8 to their +7 each) and her 7 spell maximum is pretty good. With that being said, I wouldn’t consider her to have a noteworthy deckbuilding niche that makes her viable either.
Huatli, Warrior Poet(Huatli 1) (Red/White): There are no new dinosaurs being released in the upcoming set (not a surprise) and there aren’t really any noteworthy synergies that Huatli 1 will be able to take advantage of. On top of that, Nahiri getting stronger and more viable means Huatli 1 becomes weaker and less viable since they are both predominantly creature-oriented Boros (Red/White) planeswalkers.
BADArlinn Kord (Arlinn)
Chandra, Torch of Defiance (Chandra 2)
Gideon, Battle Forged (Gideon 1)
Liliana, the Last Hope (Liliana 2)
Noteworthy in this tier
Nothing
Well anyway this concludes the end of my first set of power rankings with this new format. If you have any comments regarding the new format or about the contents of the post itself, feel free to leave comments about it below. As always, thank you for taking the time to read this.