“There is no greater folly than standing against me” - Nicol Bolas

Planeswalkers are among the most iconic cards in the history of Magic. They offer interesting mechanics, attack your opponent on a unique axis, and are intrinsically powerful. Designers and players have long placed a high priority on Planeswalkers.

But I'm not here to talk about that.

Instead, I will articulate a case against including Planeswalkers in your cube list.

Planeswalker Return on Investment

The value provided by casting a Planeswalker is disproportionately higher than the value provided by casting any other card type.

“Martyrs are cheaper than mercenaries, and a far better investment.” - General Varchild

Each of these cards provide immediate card advantage. However, only Jace Beleren provides residual card advantage without an additional investment of external resources. In simpler terms, to squeeze more card advantage from Supreme Will, a Snapcaster Mage needs to be cast. For Cloudkin Seer to have value beyond the 2/1 body, a Flickerwisp needs to be cast. In contrast, Jace Beleren will continue to draw cards until answered, for no additional investment.

Each of these cards puts a large creature into play. Gaining additional value out of Thragtusk requires a Restoration Angel, while flashing back the Beast Attack requires an additional mana investment. Among these cards, only Nissa, Worldwaker can create an army by herself, without additional investment, while also flexing into ramp or threatening her ultimate.

Each of these cards populates the board in the mid-game. While Huntmaster of the Fells and Bloodbraid Elf add more power/toughness added to the board up front, Xenagos, the Reveler is the only of the three able to continue to generate board presence - while also offering flexibility of other modes.

Planeswalkers Lack Interaction

Many of the cards we love to play - from Adanto Vanguard to Zealous Conscripts - are strong cube contenders because they boast an impressive return on investment. So why is return on investment a reason not to play Planeswalkers?

Planeswalkers are more difficult to interact with than creatures, compounding the power disparity created by return on investment.

Hard Removal

At a quick glance, only 12 of the 28 hard removal spells (any card type that says "destroy or exile") in my 360 Unpowered list also remove planeswalkers. That number drops to 10 of 31 hard removal spells in my 450 Pioneer+ list. In other words, only about 2.2% - 3.3% of my cube cards are able to directly remove a Planeswalker.

Wraths

Perhaps most notably, most wraths do not hit Planeswalkers. None of the five wraths in my 360 Unpowered list kill Planeswalkers, while only one of the seven wraths in my 450 Pioneer+ cube do so. In fact, wraths pair quite nicely with Planeswalkers - efficiently removing creatures, which are the biggest threats to a Planeswalker's survival.

Burn

Burn spells are a little bit trickier to assess. Some, like Abrade, do not hit Planeswalkers. Others, like Shock, are unlikely to kill a Planeswalker unless it is running low on loyalty or has been attacked. Many of the higher-power Planeswalkers (notoriously, Oko, Thief of Crowns) also have high starting and post-activation loyalty, pushing burn even further into the category of “conditional removal.”

“My summoning begins your debt”

Planeswalkers themselves are inherently linear and interaction-averse.

While most Planeswalkers have two+ relevant modes, the ability to choose and the ability to interact are not the same.

Interactive cards provide diverse decision trees - how a player utilizes the interactive cards at their disposal has a meaningful impact on the game. One example is Unexpectedly Absent. A highly-interactive card, a player may choose to Unexpectedly Absent for zero their opponent’s large threat, stave off a kill spell by bouncing their own card, hold onto it for later in the game to bury a permanent, or cast it on their own creature to get a new ETB trigger.

Conversely, Planeswalkers have well-established play patterns - the situation dictates which ability to use, not the player. Most Planeswalkers want to come down on- or near-curve, protect themselves with an ability, and gain incremental value over a number of turns by creating creatures, drawing cards, gaining life, or threatening to end the game.

Planeswalkers Warp Game Play

Cube games revolve around drawing, preparing for, resolving, countering, protecting, or removing resources. These resources can either be universally good, like Skullclamp, or situationally good, like Courser of Kruphix against aggro.

“He has the advantage here. We must approach carefully.” - Jace Beleren

When a Planeswalker is resolved, the opponent’s game plan often warps all-in to remove the card, while the caster’s game plan usually warps to all-in protect the card. While this is true of most high-impact permanents, having high return on investment and low interactivity exacerbates this issue in Planeswalkers. The most reliable method for removing Planeswalkers is through combat, warping it around the survival of the card. A player may make several unfavorable attacks to remove a Planeswalker - or unfavorable blocks to preserve it. Not only has the battle for card advantage been affected by one card - so too has the battle for board advantage.

Planeswalkers Impact the Draft

Planeswalkers increase the amount of non-decisions in draft.

With over 200 iterations, Planeswalkers have been printed at nearly every CMC and color combination. A high density of Planeswalkers in each pack of draft can begin to overshadow the solid role-players, powerful creatures, and build-around spells. What otherwise may be a meaningful choice between a mid-game creature and a flexible spell becomes an automatic pick of the universally-good Planeswalker.

Even among a set of powerful options, Planeswalkers offer unmatched value, resilience, and efficiency.

Planeswalkers affect drafts of all power levels. In fact, mid-to-low-power level cubes have an even greater power delta between Planeswalkers and the average card.

“The rules of logic and order have already made the decision for you.” -Isperia

Planeswalker Replacements

Once you’ve made the decision to cut Planeswalkers, you must replace them. There are several alternatives to Planeswalkers for which to consider:

Single-Ability Planeswalkers

Cut Planeswalkers...for Planeswalkers? Yes! These act like spells with rebound (ie Staggershock), having limited use and ability. They are often only a slight resource advantage, are much easier to attack and remove before getting multiple uses in, and don’t suffer from the same game-warping impact.

Sagas

Sagas are a similar card type, incrementally gaining advantage over several turns. However, they are time-limited and easier for opponents to interact with. Several, including The Antiquities War support specific archetypes.

Impact Permanents

With Planeswalkers out of the way, take a shot with some of those more expensive, interactive, and interesting cards that “would never get drafted” over a Liliana or Jace.

Conclusions

Planeswalkers have a disproportionately high return on investment, are difficult to interact with, promote linear play lines, warp gameplay around them, and reduce the number of meaningful decisions during draft. However, they also attack the game on a unique axis, provide an interesting set of mechanics and abilities, and are incredibly powerful.

“Every world is a work in progress, constantly reshaped by time, disasters, and even the powerful magic of Planeswalkers.”

What is your opinion on Planeswalkers? Do you have a Planeswalker cap, or include as many as you can get your hands on? Tell me what you think in the comments!

@thesidestepkids | thesidestepkids#7403 | /u/thesidestepkids

360 Unpowered Cube
450 Pioneer+ Cube