Planeswalker Power Rankings (Standard Format)

Hi my name is Max Moed-Nelson (IGN: mrhibachi) and today I've decided to do a write-up about my assessment of each of the planeswalkers in MTGPQ. For those of you who have no clue who I am (should be most of you), I have been playing paper magic for 15+ years and I've been playing MTGPQ since a month after it's release. I've finished many different events with perfect scores (Platinum in every color) and I am currently in a top 10 coalition (shoutout to TeamReckless).
With the release of Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan, many new planeswalkers were released in a short amount of time. On top of that, the new rotation removed alot of cards that some planeswalkers from the Kaladesh/Aether Revolt block relied on to succeed. Because of this, I decided it might be useful to give my overall assessment on the state of the Standard format. I will not be listing every single fact about every single planeswalker since they can be found in other places. Furthermore, I will be keeping this guide standard format only. I will place each planeswalker into one of X different possible tiers and will provide my reasoning for each planeswalker. With all of that said (you guys are probably sick of reading already), let's get on to the rankings!

Note: Planeswalkers in each tier are listed in alphabetical order and are not being compared with each other. The goal of this ranking is not to tell you which broken planeswalker is more broken but rather to explain why they should be considered broken in the first place. Some planeswalkers will have numbers next to their name if they share the same name with another planeswalker

Broken
Elspeth: Truthfully, only the 1st ability is strong while the other two aren't especially great. However, Elspeth lands in the "broken" tier because of her +7 for white matches and +3 for green and blue matches. Additionally, the current Standard rotation gives mono-white access to several strong single-target creature removal options (such as Binding of Ixalan and Legion's Judgement) that it lacked in previous rotations. 

Koth: Ever since Koth was reworked, he has been so broken that I'm amazed he hasn't been nerfed already. Most people might argue this is not the case given that he only has one color which gives him additional mana. But +9 on any color is ridiculous given how hard it can be to deny that color on the board. What makes Koth extremely problematic is the fact that his 1st ability destroys an extremely high number of non-red gems. This usually leads to large cascades (which grant him more loyalty to re-use the ability almost every turn) on top of almost guaranteeing him access to red gems. Additionally, mono-red isn't as strong after Unlicensed Disintegration rotated out, but it still has access to plenty of support removal and aoe creature removal. 

Nicol Bolas: This pick should be no surprise given that it's the only triple-colored planeswalker in the game. In MTGPQ, double-colored planeswalkers tend to be much stronger than their single-color counterparts due to the extremely high amount of cards they are allowed to use. Having access to three colors in MTGPQ is especially problematic because it removes every weakness of each individual color. The access to blue cards in particular allow Nicol Bolas to use infinite combo cycling decks (for those of you not already aware, cycling is THE most broken mechanic in the game, but that's a discussion for another time). He doesn't even have the low spell/support deck maximum that tend to be placed on double-colored planeswalkers (5 supports maximum is on the low side but 8 spells maximum is high) Admittingly, his mana bonuses aren't particularly overpowered given that none of his primary colors has a bonus higher than +3, but the fact that all three primary colors get +3 matches shouldn't be considered weak by any stretch of the imagination. The thing that arguably makes Nicol Bolas the most broken planeswalker in the game, however, is his 1st ability. His 2nd and 3rd abilities are pretty good in their own right but neither of them can be considered broken. The ability to destroy a creature outright for only 9 loyalty and with no additional price is extremely non-interactive and should not be allowed to exist especially on a 1st ability. Also, Nicol Bolas has the highest HP in the game (132) which is pretty insane considering that there are planeswalkers with HP totals in the 80's and 90's.

Overpowered
Angrath: Angrath is "overpowered" because he gets a +4 bonus on red and black matches as well as a +2 bonus on blue matches and each of his abilities are pretty strong on their own. Red/black isn't a particularly strong two color combination, however, in part because it lacks access to strong card draw and strong creatures. If future sets provide cards to fill these deficiencies, perhaps Angrath becomes "broken" tier.

Jace 2: In previous rotations, Jace 2 was arguably one of the most broken planeswalkers in the game thanks to his access to tons of cards that would create alot of supports on the board really quickly. Although Jace 2 is still really strong thanks to his +5 bonus on blue matches and +4 bonus on black matches as well as his overpowered 1st ability (and relatively strong 2nd and 3rd abilities), there aren't as many ways to generate high support counts as there used to be. Whereas Shadows of Innistrad/Eldritch Moon had "Investigate" and Kaladesh/Aether Revolt had "Fabricate", the current Standard rotation only has cards with the "Treasure" mechanic. Most of these cards do not have low mana costs and there can only be four treasures controlled by any one player at any time. Furthermore, although mono-blue has access to extremely powerful removal tools and card draw, it has almost no lifegain and the only support removal it has access to is River's Rebuke, which costs 21 mana after the recent nerfs. I will also note that although having access to blue means having access to infinite cycling, mono-blue cycling decks are easy to shut down with various supports such as Hixus and Sandwurm Convergence.

Kiora: Before her previous, Kiora would have been placed in the "broken" tier. She is still really strong thanks to the power of her 1st and 2nd abilities (her 3rd ability is extremely powerful but costs 24 loyalty and is usually not needed to win games). Although the mana bonus aren't great on Kiora, her 1st ability as well as her access to green cards more than make up for it. It should also be said that green/blue is one of the most powerful two color card combinations in MTGPQ thanks to its access to large amounts of mana ramp and card draw as well as tons of support and creature removal. Also as mentioned before, double-colored planeswalkers with access to blue can run infinite cycling decks.

Liliana 3: In my opinion, Liliana 3 is one of the most underrated planeswalkers in the game. Her mana bonuses are borderline broken and her 1st ability by itself can be used to create very powerful decks. Although she tends to prefer zombie-themed cards, she still works extremely well without them which bodes well for her once Amonket/Hour of Devastation rotate out. Her two main weaknesses are her reliance on having creatures in play/zombies in the graveyard and the fact that mono-black has no access to support removal as well as limited access to card drawing/mana ramp.

Nahiri: Back when quick battle used to exist, Nahiri was one of the best planeswalkers for grinding wins really quickly due to the aggressive playstyle her abilities and her card colors supported. She is still is one of the best aggressive planeswalkers in the game and one of the best overall. Despite being designed to thrive during the Shadows of Innistrad/Eldritch Moon block, her abilities have translated well throughout each meta. Her mana bonuses are really good thanks to +4 on red and white as well as +1 on green and her first ability in particular is extremely strong. Her 2nd ability is solid at best and her 3rd ability tends to only be good when paired with extremely large creatures. What holds Nahiri back from being broken is that she can only use a maximum of 4 spells and 4 supports which is extremely low and basically forces her to rely on creature-based strategies. She also becomes easy to beat as long as all of her creatures are removed from the board.

Nissa 3: There are only three reasons why Nissa 2 is in the "overpowered" tier instead of the "good" tier. She has the same color benefits discussed earlier with Kiora, her +4 bonus on green and +3 bonus on blue are solid, and her abilities synergize extremely well with the aforementioned cycling-based decks. 

Ob Nixilis: I would normally put Ob Nixilis in the "good" tier if he didn't have access to extremely powerful creatureless strategies. With many of the best low cost cards rotating out of Standard recently such as Lightning Runner and Rishkar's Expertise, games tend to go longer which allows Ob Nixilis to stall until he gets his 3rd ability and then stall the rest of the way until it kills the opponent by itself. The other two abilities on Ob Nixilis are also overpowered , but they tend to be ignored thanks to the heavy control-based (usually creatureless) strategies that Ob Nixilis can use without relying on the 1st two abilities.

Samut: Would normally be broken given her high mana bonuses, powerful 1st ability, and capacity to play a hyper-aggressive playstyle. However, Samut shares the same low spell/support maximums as Nahiri and her first two abilities are both useless without creatures on the board.

Saheeli Rai: If Kaladesh/Aether Revolt were still in the Standard format, Saheel Rai would be in the "Broken" tier. She is one of only 3 planeswalkers in the game to get positive mana bonuses on all 5 colors (+4 on blue/red, +1 on all others). On top of that, her spell/support maximums are both 7, which is really good for a double-colored planeswalker. The loss of Kaladesh/Aether Revolt did not hurt Saheeli Rai for energize cards nearly as much as it hurt for the loss of overpowered vehicles such as Aethersphere Harvester and Skysovereign, Consul Flagship. Her 1st ability is still solid without energize synergy and Ixalan/Rivals of Ixalan introduced several new vehicles to at least support the 3rd ability, but her 2nd ability is not particularly good anymore. Also as mentioned before, double-colored planeswalkers with access to blue can run infinite cycling decks. Blue/red in particular is a pretty good two-color combination because both colors address most of the weaknesses of the other color (neither color has alot of good lifegain cards though).

Vraska: Vraska has pretty solid mana bonuses and she's the only planeswalker with the ability to remove supports (arguably a broken ability but not as strong as Nicol Bolas). Additionally, green/black is a very good two color combo thanks to its access to strong creature/support removal, ramp, card draw, and even lifegain. The main reason I don't think she is broken is that her final two abilities good but not particularly overpowered.

Good
Ajani 2: Green/white is a great color combination with its only big weakness being its mediocre single target removal options. Also, although Ajani 2 has great mana bonuses,  the loss of the energize cards caused all three abilities to become subpar.

Ajani 1: Is the most control-based red/white planeswalker and has better spell/support maximums than Nahiri, but the mana gains are weak and his first two abilities aren't particularly strong either.

Dovin Baan: Previously could be considered "overpowered" bordering on "broken", but the aforementioned loss of energize cards lowerered Dovin Baan to "good" tier. His abilities are still relatively solid without energize cards and blue/white is a pretty strong two color combination. Also as mentioned before, double-colored planeswalkers with access to blue can run infinite cycling decks. In almost every other way, however, Dovin Baan is outclassed by Kiora both in  abilities (her 1st ability completely outclasses his 1st and her 2nd is much better than his 2nd), mana bonuses (they each get +3 on their two primary colors but Kiora has access to green mana ramping), and even spell/support maximums (their spell maximums are the same but Kiora can use one more support). 

Garruk: Has pretty good mana bonuses (positive mana bonuses in 4 out of 5 colors and neutral in the 5th color) and each of its abilities create creatures. This means Garruk decks do not require many creatures; some decks even use 0 creatures and just use the abilities if they ever need any. In addition, mono-green has alot of access to everything except for creature removal, and even then Ambuscade tends to work well in most situations. Garruk isn't "overpowered" because each of his abilities each create a different creature, which can make it awkward at times if your deck contains other creatures in it. On top of that, mono-green doesn't lend itself well to control-heavy decks due to the aforementioned low amount of creature removal (most of which require a creature to be on your side of the board to be used).

Gideon 3: Has access to cool strategies based off of the abilities (his 1st ability in particular is pretty useful) but is otherwise outclassed by Elspeth in almost every way.

Huatli 2: Will probably be moved to "Overpowered" tier once players have access to her in the vault as opposed to paying money. Her abilities are pretty good, her +5 on green and white matches are really strong, and she can use her abilities pretty frequently thanks to her 1st ability. As mentioned before with Ajani 2, green/white is a good color combination. I placed her in the "good" tier for now because each of her abilities require her to have creatures on the board and they aren't strong without multiple creatures on the board.

Jace 3: As mentioned before, Jace 3 is one of only three planeswalkers with positivie mana bonuses on all 5 colors (he even gets a +3 in his primary color and +2 on his ally colors). However, although his 1st ability is pretty good, the other two abilities are weak and don't even have good tribal synergies to support them. 

Liliana 2: There is a case that could be made for Liliana 2 being in the "Overpowered" tier since she gets a +5 bonus on black matches and a +4 bonus on blue matches. She even can generate additional mana with her 1st ability which also synergizes well with graveyard-based strategies. The problem is that the rest of her abilities require zombie-based decks and unfortunately for her, most of the zombies in the Standard format are not very strong. Furthermore, she can only use a maximum of 5 spells and 3 supports (that's the lowest for any card type for any planeswalker in the game).

Nissa 1: In my opinion, the original Nissa is currently the strongest of the original planeswalkers thanks in large part to her 1st ability being versatile and her other two abilities being pretty solid. The problem with Nissa 1 that is also true for the rest of the original planeswalkers is that each of them has very weak mana bonuses (+3 in its primary color, +1 in its two ally colors) and their abilities tend not to be very strong.

Sorin: +4 bonuses for black and white matches is pretty strong and white/black is a pretty good two color card combination especially thanks to the vampire strategies released in Ixalan/Rivals of Ixalan. There are three main issues with Sorin that prevent him from being in the "Overpowered" tier. First, he is tied with Chandra 1 for the lowest HP in the game at 82 (quick reminder, Nicol Bolas has the highest HP with 132). Second, his spell/support maximums are each 5, which make it difficult to run heavy control-based strategies. Finally, each of his abilities require creatures on the board and the last two abilities in particular need creatures to survive multiple turns to be effective.

Tezzeret 2: Tezzeret 2 is the only planeswalker with the "Energize" mechanic that isn't hurt too badly by the synergy rotating out since his abilities also synergize with support-based strategies. His mana gains are also relatively good (+3 in the two primary colors, +2 for white matches, and even +1 for red matches). However, none of his abilities are particularly strong on their own and they don't synergize with many of the overpowered cards in the Standard format. Furthermore, although blue/black is a relatively strong two color combination, it has no support removal except for the aforementioned 21 mana River's Rebuke. Also as mentioned before, double-colored planeswalkers with access to blue can run infinite cycling decks.

Weak
Chandra 1: Her 1st and 2nd abilities are solid but not spectacular. On top of that, Chandra 1 is tied with Sorin for the lowest HP in the game with 82.

Chandra 2: +5 on red matches and +4 on black matches would normally justify a higher tier ranking. Unfortunately that is just about the only good thing about Chandra 2. The abilities are all weak especially without access to the energize cards. It should be especially noted that the 1st ability destroys gems at random and doesn't even destroy that many gems to begin with. The spell/support maximums aren't particularly high either unlike most mono-colored planeswalkers.

Huatli 1: The mana bonuses are very similar to Nahiri and her abilities also use strategies that are heavily creature-based. However, each ability is relatively weak. The 1st ability, requires creatures on the board and tends to be more useful for the lifegain than anything else. The 2nd ability creates only 6 power and toughness whereas similar 2nd abilities on other planeswalkers usually create 8 power and toughness (the support it creates also has a low shield count and only works with dinosaurs). The 3rd ability is only good in decks that use the "Enrage" mechanic, but most of those dinosaurs tend to be outshined by the plethora of other dinosaurs that happen to be overpowered.

Jace 1: The last two abilities are ok sometimes but the 1st ability is pretty weak in most cases. Works best with spell-based synergy decks.

Liliana 1: The 1st ability was recently nerfed (can no longer be used without cards in hand) even though it wasn't overpowered to begin with. The 3rd ability is only good when the deck is built to support it and even then the ability doesn't have nearly the same impact as Ob Nixilis' 3rd ability. The 2nd ability requires activate gems to use and isn't particularly strong when the gems are triggered anyway and on top of that it costs the same amount of loyalty as the 3rd ability. 

Nissa 2: Although the loss of energize synergy hurts, her first two abilities work well together to create energize gems which allows the 3rd  ability to still act as a viable win condition. She also has really good mana bonuses (+4 for green matches, +3 for white matches, +2 for red matches) which can really snowball when combined with the 1st ability. I've opted not to place her in the same tier as Nissa 1 because Nissa 1 outclasses her in every way except for the mana gains.

Sarkhan: As mentioned before, Sarkhan is one of only three planeswalkers with positive mana gains on all 5 colors but he only gets +2 in his primary colors. The 1st ability is outclassed by Ob Nixilis. The 2nd ability is only good with creature sacrificing synergies (most of which aren't overpowered).The 3rd ability relies on playing alot of dragons, but currently there are only 4 red/black dragons in the standard format (2 of them are masterpieces and the other 2 are mythic rares). 

Tezzeret 1: The mana bonuses are slightly better than Jace 1 but still not great. The first two abilities allow for interesting and fun strategies, but prior to Ixalan/Rivals of Ixalan most of these decks required mythic rares/masterpieces such as Thopter Spy Network and Omniscience to be any good. With the release of Ixalan/Rivals of Ixalan, Tezzeret 1 gained access to several supports that synergize well with his 1st ability as well as another viable win-condition support in Golden Guardian. With that being said, Tezzeret 1 is the inferior choice when it comes to support-based planeswalkers due to its heavy reliance on using supports to win games.

Bad
Arlinn Kord: The 1st ability is pretty good but every other ability requires wolves/werewolves to be activated. The only 2 wolves in the Standard format are both terrible cards and Arlinn Kord doesn't even have good mana bonuses or high spell/support maximums to compensate.

Gideon 2: Gideon 2 heavily relies on Ally synergy cards to be good, which do not exist in the Standard format. Gideon 2 also has arguably the worst mana bonuses in the game (+2 on white/blue/green and that's it).

Gideon 1: All three abilities require creatures on the board to be activated. The 2nd ability is outclassed by Nahiri's 1st ability and the 3rd ability is pretty weak given the amount of creature removal each color is given access to with each new set release.


And that concludes the list. If you made it this far, I applaud you (sorry it took forever). Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions about it. Also, if enough people want more content like this, I'd be more than happy to start working on a post every now and then.