Some Planeswalker advice please.

TheDragonHermit

So I have been saving up crystals for Nahiri, I currently have 925. I have one of each dual color combinations asside from red/white and black/green currently with most at level 50, and all the original gatewatch, at 48. Should I start going for some of the mono Walkers, and if so which would be good to go for? Or should I just save crystals for packs at this point?

wereotter

Who you get will depend a lot on the cards you have and your preferred style, however some are straight up better than others.

Jace, Unraveler of Secrets is a solid mono-blue
Nissa, Vital Force can be superior to her Origins counterpart
Liliana, the Last Hope is great for zombies
Koth is definitely the strongest mono-red
and Elspeth had been pretty popular in general and strong for mono-white

As far as what to avoid, mono-blue Tezzeret isn't great unless you have the right cards and even then he's slow and can be tough to win with.

Chandra, Torch of Defiance is too dependent on energized gems to work, and is another who requires you to have a lot of specific cards to play well, and these won't work once Kaladesh rotates from standard.

Gideon Ally of Zendikar has good mana, but his connection to ally creatures makes him already largely obsolete as allies are a creature type specific to Zendikar. 

TheDragonHermit

So Lilliana over Ob for mono black?

wereotter

Ob Nixilis requires a different set up wants a different set up though he's pretty solid both in non-zombie builds as well as his standard "80% kill spells" build though that also needs you to get him to level 60 to becany good and will lose some power when Lost Legacy cycles out.

However, since there aren't zombies, as far as we can tell, on Ixalan, he may offer a little more than Liliana once that set launches. That's a case where I would say your collection makes a difference, but it might be that he's more flexible than she is. 

Ohboy

Ob beats all other mono black walkers hands down.

His three skills all solve problems you'll encounter almost every game

1) card advantage
2) emergency creature removal 
3) alternative win condition (unavoidable damage) 

TheDragonHermit

Well I have until he cycles out to decide I guess, and I should have enough for one mono and Nahiri by then.

wereotter

Ohboy said:

Ob beats all other mono black walkers hands down.

His three skills all solve problems you'll encounter almost every game

1) card advantage
2) emergency creature removal 
3) alternative win condition (unavoidable damage) 

You're probably right. I tend to go to Liliana, the Last Hope for her mana gains and she's more fun to play but as far as power and flexibility, Ob Nixilis is probably better. However, getting +5 on black matches instead of +3 and +4 on blue instead of +1, I think, makes up for the lacking +1 on red and can make other skills less important.

But again it's all about what you're trying to do. Liliana will cast bigger spells easier than Nixilis can, and does have clutch mana gain with her first ability at the cost of a card in hand. 

Steeme

Ob Nixlis' unique win condition makes him a priority.  Very handy for matches where you avoid playing/spawning creatures.  I don't use him in PvP though.

Ohboy

Steeme said:

Ob Nixlis' unique win condition makes him a priority.  Very handy for matches where you avoid playing/spawning creatures.  I don't use him in PvP though.

The place he really shines is controlling hp. 

TheDragonHermit

So, think I should get Ob and Koth while they are in the vault? I am at 945 crystals and I am fairly certain I can get the 295 for Nahiri before she cycle out. 

julianus

A bit late, but another strong vote for Ob Nix. He's strong, good for typical black event objectives, has a different ability set than other PW, and has very good synergy with Cycling, which will be around for quite a while.

TheDragonHermit

Pulled the trigger on Ob Nixilis, still wondering if I should go for Koth.

julianus

I don't have Koth, but if you're planning to get Nahiri as well I don't know if you'll get much additional value from buying Koth, unless you're planning to use Nahiri on white nodes.

Mainloop25

If you're already solid in the red department, koth won't bring much of anything new to your life. Edit: save up for Nahiri instead. You'll find her much more versatile than koth. 

TheDragonHermit

Thanks guys

Igemon

wereotter said:

Gideon Ally of Zendikar has good mana, but his connection to ally creatures makes him already largely obsolete as allies are a creature type specific to Zendikar. 

G2 needs only one card actually, 'Anointed Procession'.
This gives him 16/16 every time he uses his 2nd ability, and usually that's enough

morgue427

jace 2 is a solid blue mono with decent if limited mana gains, which have plenty of gem changers to help  work the board for you, his abilites are pretty block proof since supports atent going any where soon. the last ability with cycling also can be absolutely nuts granted limited on spells you can have but there are creature cycling cards and supports too

Stormcrow

wereotter said:

Tezzeret isn't great unless you have the right cards and even then he's slow and can be tough to win with.

Admittedly, this is kind of a specific edge-case scenario, and more of a comment on the power of one specific card, rather than general-purpose advice, but: if you ever happen to find yourself in possession of Omniscience, Tezzeret 1 instantly goes from being one of the worst Planeswalkers to being hilariously strong and really fun to play.

wereotter

Stormcrow said:

wereotter said:

Tezzeret isn't great unless you have the right cards and even then he's slow and can be tough to win with.

Admittedly, this is kind of a specific edge-case scenario, and more of a comment on the power of one specific card, rather than general-purpose advice, but: if you ever happen to find yourself in possession of Omniscience, Tezzeret 1 instantly goes from being one of the worst Planeswalkers to being hilariously strong and really fun to play.

I meant more that he needs everything possible to slow down your opponent, so Claistrophobia, Jace's Sanctum, Oath of Jace, Sphinx's Tutelage etc. then topping that all off with Thopter Spy Network and Thopter Pie Network

You can use him without all that, it's just harder.

Brigby

Hi @TheDragonHermit
I'm glad to hear that you've gotten some helpful advice from players on which Planeswalker you should get. 

If you're looking for more information, you should also consider posting in the Deck Strategy & Planeswalker Discussion section!

TheZorch

Igemon said:

wereotter said:

Gideon Ally of Zendikar has good mana, but his connection to ally creatures makes him already largely obsolete as allies are a creature type specific to Zendikar. 

G2 needs only one card actually, 'Anointed Procession'.
This gives him 16/16 every time he uses his 2nd ability, and usually that's enough

Yes, But AP is a mythic, so most players don't have it, and very few newer players will.