Has there Been Too Much Focus on Planeswalker, Recently?

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Posted on March 26, 2019, 9:31 p.m. by DemonDragonJ

Planeswalkers have always been a central aspect of this game, but they were never directly depicted on cards until recently (the reason for that being that they were too powerful to depict, but WotC has clearly changed their mind about that). Even after they became a card type, WotC originally planned to use them sparingly, but their popularity made WotC decide to have them in nearly every set, a decision that I feel was a major mistake.

I have no problem with planeswalkers being a card type, but I feel that they have been given simply too much attention and emphasis since they were introduced to the game, because some of them are very powerful and can warp formats (or at least drastically affect the course of game, because some of them are so powerful that, if they are not immediately dealt with, they can provide a major advantage to their controller). As a side note, I also feel that they are overshadowing legendary creatures, which upsets me, because legendary creatures are my favorite cards in the game. I am not certain if WotC realizes this, but I hope that they do, and the fact that there have been many more planeswalker-specific destruction and removal spells in recent years is a good indication of that. However, the fact that War of the Spark shall contain thirty-six planeswalker cards makes me doubt that WotC is fully aware of the impact that such cards have had upon this game, unless that set shall contain numerous ways to destroy planeswalkers or otherwise balance their power. I personally sincerely hope that, after War of the Spark, WotC returns to their original model of having planeswalkers appear only on occasion, since I think that WotS may cause players to feel “planeswalker fatigue.”

What does everyone else here have to say about this subject? Do you feel that WotC has been placing too much emphasis on planeswalkers in recent years?

redbird97 says... #2

Agree. It will only get worse.

March 26, 2019 9:41 p.m.

skoobysnackz says... #3

With 36 planeswalkers in the set there is absolutely no way we don't get more and better planeswalker removal.

I also definitely don't expect each planeswalker in War of the Spark to be powerhouses like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria . I think they were likely testing out utility planeswalkers with Dovin, Grand Arbiter , and Kaya, Orzhov Usurper in the last set and many of the new ones will be similar. Of course it's safe to assume some of the planeswalkers will be quite powerful, like Nicy, Ugin, and probably Karn, but tbh I don't think that they will or should cut back on planeswalkers in the future (I'm talking about the usual 2-3 per set).

Sure some players don't like them and think they're too powerful, but in general the amount of removal for planeswalkers has increased and they're not as difficult to remove as they were when JTMS was first released. Also it's not like there's really a dominant planeswalker deck in any format, so clearly it's not the card type in itself that is busted, just the design of a few of them.

March 26, 2019 9:56 p.m. Edited.

I think there has been too much focus on planeswalkers since about, oh, Lorwyn.

March 26, 2019 11:12 p.m.

dbpunk says... #5

I think it's kinda a difficult answer for this one, because there's a few different ways that you could state this:

The first of which is that they absolutely are totally over focused on in both terms of story and marketing. We can't really get characters being a focus of a story without them being Planeswalkers anymore or about to be Planeswalkers in the case of some characters, and that's kind of annoying. In addition, almost every box or pack is plastered with the current Planeswalker du jur. That's kind of obnoxious. Its like having a superhero story where every character is either already Superman or Clark Kent, mid ripping off his clothes.

In terms of game play, I disagree. Planeswalkers entering as only mythic cards make them be plentiful at gaming tables, but there's not much that interacts with them (hence the reason why they're as devastating as they are). They haven't been integrated as much as other card types, and this kinda ends up being a lack of focus. Its also why cards like Teferi are so devastating, since so little interaction is possible. With the upcoming set, I feel like that's going to change big time.

As for overshadowing legendaries, I don't think that's as much of an issue since WOTC realizes (at least by now) that commander is perhaps one of the most popular formats out there, and if they don't create good legendaries, they won't sell as much.

March 27, 2019 1:20 a.m.

Caerwyn says... #6

I share the concerns others have regarding the Gatewatch being incredibly stale. I also find them to be the most boring card type, both to play and play against, but I'm also a bit of a Luddite and still have not gotten over their addition to the game.

However, for those who are bored of the Gatewatch, I wanted to offer a ray of potential hope: There's a possibility the story will have sets focusing on a group different than the Gatewatch.

Dominaria's set up a (mostly) new Weatherlight crew, with some very interesting non-planeswalker characters. Among others, it currently has an artificer angel whose primary purpose was destroyed; a knight-turned-vampire struggling with his identity; a mage descendant from one of Magic's greatest heroes; and Jhoira herself.

My hope is that Magic is going to have a few sets following the Weatherlight and its new crew--a throwback to the stories of Magic past. One of the big problems with the Gatewatch was not that they were boring at their core (a lot of their dullness as characters stems from the poor writing, not because the character does not have potential), but rather they were overdone for too long, so I and others got bored of seeing them.

Having a separate team will help some. We can hop between the Weatherlight and the Gatewatch, ensuring neither becomes stale.

March 27, 2019 10:28 a.m.

PlatinumOne says... #7

i love planeswalkers, and hope wotc keeps making more. i think they're easily one of the most fun card types.

March 27, 2019 9:24 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #8

PlatinumOne, are you familiar with the "plot tumor" and "creator's pet" tropes? I am fond of planeswalkers, as well, but I do not wish for them to become examples of either of those tropes.

March 27, 2019 10:40 p.m.

PlatinumOne says... #9

i say let'em if it means we get more interesting planeswalkers.

March 28, 2019 1:16 a.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #10

PlatinumOne, I agree, but only if there are more planeswalkers akin to Tamiyo, Field Researcher or Ajani Unyielding and fewer akin to Jace, the Mind Sculptor or Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker .

March 28, 2019 8:19 p.m.

PlatinumOne says... #11

i'm a modern player and not even worried about Jace, the Mind Sculptor . Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker would only ever see play in commander, and i don't think he's too op there.

March 28, 2019 8:57 p.m.

skoobysnackz says... #12

Honestly the only planeswalkers that are a problem to me are Karn Liberated and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon because of tron, Liliana of the Veil , and maybe Teferi, Hero of Dominaria for standard.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor is neat, but he was only so busted before because there was almost no removal for planeswalkers. Without all that much miracles support in modern, Teferi is just better in many ways. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is way too hard to cast to be a real promblem.

Still, I would definitely like to see much more diversity in the Planeswalker designs. I like the ones where you can ult immediately, but it's not really a busted ability, like Karn, Scion of Urza or Liliana, Untouched By Death . More planeswalkers like Nissa, Steward of Elements with X in their cost would be nice too.

March 29, 2019 12:24 a.m.

PlatinumOne says... #13

skoobysnackz: play aggro and tron basically crumbles lol

March 29, 2019 12:30 a.m.

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