Magic: The Gathering has been constantly experimenting with itself and exploring new ideas since its debut in August 1993, and that includes the introduction of an all-new card type in 2007, planeswalker. Lore-wise, planeswalkers have always been a part of MTG, but the card type is fairly new making its debut in the Lorwyn set with the original five, one of each color.
By now, planeswalkers are practically obligatory for each set, such as expansion sets and draft-only sets like Modern Horizons II. They vary more than ever in their colors, abilities, flavor, and strategic relevance. It's not easy to determine which ten are the overall best planeswalker cards, but MTG players can make estimations based on each card's performance in various formats and the inherent power of their abilities.
10 Gideon, Ally Of Zendikar Is Ready For Battle
Some planeswalker cards made a name for themselves in the Standard meta of the time, and certain ones downright broke those metas. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar didn't quite break its Standard, but it was definitely powerful and showed up in a lot of decks all the same.
Like most versions of the character, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar can become an indestructible creature to fight in person, and it can use its 0 ability to make a 2/2 Knight Ally without losing loyalty. Its cheap ult, meanwhile, can be used right away, which is unusual for planeswalkers. In some cases, Gideon might be ulted right away to get that token-friendly emblem.
9 Narset, Parter Of Veils Hurts Legacy Decks
On its own, Narset, Parter of Veils is fairly weak as an uncommon planeswalker from 2019's War of the Spark, but in the right context, this mono-blue planeswalker is devastating. MTG players make good use of Narset in Legacy and Vintage, where its passive ability can totally ruin key cards in those formats.
Cards such as Brainstorm are nullified in the face of Narset, and some decks might struggle to destroy this planeswalker and get rid of that effect. In fact, some decks might simply fold if they cannot draw more than one card per turn.
8 Karn, The Great Creator Loves Artifacts
Some planeswalkers are heavily skewed toward one strategy or another, with the artifact-loving Karn, the Great Creator being a recent and notorious example. This War of the Spark rare planeswalker has a one-sided Stony Silence built into it, highly relevant against Affinity and Tron decks.
This Karn can use its +1 to turn an artifact into a creature to attack or block, and best of all, it can use that -2 ability to grab a relevant artifact, usually from the sideboard, and put it to use. This makes Karn an effective "toolbox" card in artifact-heavy decks.
7 Teferi, Time Raveler Can Cause Headaches
Teferi, Time Raveler is a white-blue version of the heroic blue planeswalker who loves to bend time to his will. The recent planeswalker card Teferi, Time Raveler is notorious for slowing down the opponent with its tricky effects, such as forcing each opponent to play their spells at sorcery speed.
That effect makes the opponent's counterspells unusable, and the opponent simply can't cast spells on other players' turns, either. That will clog up the opponent's strategy in a hurry, and Teferi's other abilities are quite effective, too. They can generate some solid value on most board states, at least.
6 Wrenn And Six Dominates The Modern Format
Wrenn is a green-based character with some red elements, and this character is all about lands, graveyards, and damage, which makes this card ideal for Jund decks in particular. Wrenn and Six's +1 is highly effective with fetchlands, and in some formats, Wasteland as well.
Wrenn and Six's -1 ability can take out a variety of X/1 creatures or pair up with Lightning Bolt to destroy an X/4 creature, and repeated "pinging" is always a source of great value. Then, Wrenn and Six's -7 ult can generate endless value, especially with follow-up +1s to get land to fuel that retrace ability.
5 Ugin, The Spirit Dragon Favors Colorless Decks
In the Khans of Tarkir block, the heroic dragon Ugin made his debut as a colorless planeswalker who is much stronger in colorless decks. This costly but powerful planeswalker can use its +2 to bolt something, which is an excellent form of removal and reach. And that's just the start.
That -X can devastate most opponents by wiping out their colored cards, which is likely to be most of them. Then, Ugin can take things to the next level with that -10 ultimate ability to gain life, draw cards and put permanents onto the battlefield. Once Ugin reaches that stage, it's gg for sure.
4 Oko, Thief Of Crowns Is Widely Hated For His Elk Shenanigans
The Throne of Eldraine meta was warped when the obnoxious Oko, Thief of Crowns showed up, a three-drop Simic-colored planeswalker that is up to no good. This planeswalker can +2 to get a Food token, but that isn't the worst part. Oko's +1 ability can turn any artifact or creature into a 3/3 green Elk.
Such an effect can get wildly out of control, and the -5 ability is more trouble, swapping control of permanents without costing all that much. It's no wonder this meta-bending, overpowered planeswalker got banned almost everywhere in the weeks and months following its release.
3 Karn Liberated Is The Star Of Tron
Just like Ugin, the mighty Karn Liberated is a colorless planeswalker that is usually found in the Tron deck in the Modern format, where getting seven mana on turn three is rather easy. Karn can use its +4 to gain a ton of loyalty while also chipping away at the opponent's hand, and that's just for starters.
Karn Liberated can also use its -3 to exile any permanent, even lands. The +4 and -3 abilities together are enough to win games, but in emergencies, the player can use that incredible -14 to restart the game, but with some extra cards on hand. If Karn reaches that point, victory is practically guaranteed.
2 Liliana Of The Veil Is Vicious In Any Deck
The character Liliana Vess made her debut as a black-aligned villain, though in recent years, she has become an antihero instead. But no matter her alignment, Liliana has some incredible cards to her name, including her powerhouse card from 2011's Innistrad set.
Liliana of the Veil can enable graveyard shenanigans and weaken the opponent's hand with that +1 ability to start things off. It can also take out enemy creatures that have hexproof, indestructible or protection with that sacrifice-based -2 ability, and the ult can shatter any opponent's board state beyond repair. All this at just 1BB.
1 Jace, The Mind Sculptor Made History
2010's small set Worldwake had a number of notable cards such as Abyssal Persecutor and Stoneforge Mystic, but none of them can compare to the king of Planeswalkers -- Jace, the Mind Sculptor. This awesome blue hero planeswalker broke new ground by having not three, but four abilities, including the first ability to cost 0 loyalty.
This Jace is blue to the bone. It can use a Brainstorm effect, scry and bounce permanents, and if the player uses that legendary -12 ult, the opponent is sure to lose in just a few turns at most. This card was once banned in Modern, but got itself unbanned, and has been a dominant player in Modern ever since, among other formats.