Flickering Planeswalkers: A Planeswalker’s Best Friend (and Sometimes Worst Enemy)
Yes, you absolutely can flicker a planeswalker and use its ability again in the same turn, assuming you haven’t already activated a loyalty ability of that planeswalker before the flicker effect resolves! This is a powerful and sometimes confusing interaction in Magic: The Gathering, and understanding it can open up a wide range of strategic possibilities. Think of it like giving your planeswalker a second wind – a chance to come back refreshed and ready to serve you again.
The Mechanics of Flickering
“Flickering,” more accurately called “blinking” in Magic terminology, is the act of exiling a permanent and then immediately returning it to the battlefield. When a permanent is exiled, it’s treated as a completely new object upon its return. It forgets its previous existence, its counters are removed (including loyalty counters), and any continuous effects that were affecting it are no longer in play.
For planeswalkers, this means a few key things:
- Reset Loyalty: A planeswalker enters the battlefield with the number of loyalty counters printed on the card. Flickering resets the planeswalker to this starting loyalty.
- New Planeswalker, New Ability: Crucially, since the planeswalker is considered a new object, you haven’t activated a loyalty ability of that planeswalker this turn. Meaning, assuming you haven’t already used the planeswalker’s loyalty ability prior to flickering it, you are able to use one of its loyalty abilities after it returns to the battlefield.
- Bypassing Restrictions: Some planeswalker abilities have restrictions beyond just loyalty costs. Flickering can sometimes bypass these, although this is highly dependent on the specific ability.
However, note the timing. You can only activate one loyalty ability per planeswalker per turn. If you used the ability before flickering, you cannot use another ability after it returns to the battlefield.
Synergies and Strategies
Flickering planeswalkers can be a strong strategy for several reasons:
- Recharge Loyalty: If a planeswalker is close to dying because of depleted loyalty, flickering can bring it back to full power.
- Value Engines: Some planeswalkers generate significant value each turn. Flickering allows you to trigger those abilities more often, accelerating your game plan.
- Abuse Enter-the-Battlefield Effects: Many creatures and enchantments have “enter-the-battlefield” abilities that synergize well with flickering effects. Planeswalkers that have an enter-the-battlefield ability can have that ability abused with flickering.
- Dodging Removal: If an opponent targets your planeswalker with a removal spell, flickering it in response can save it. The removal spell will fizzle because its target is no longer on the battlefield.
Important Considerations
- Timing is Crucial: The timing of your flicker spells is critical. You need to activate the flicker spell at the appropriate moment to maximize its impact.
- Not All Flicker Spells Work: Many flicker spells target only creatures. You need to use a flicker spell that can target planeswalkers directly, or one that targets “any permanent”.
- The Chain Veil: If you’re aiming to use more than one ability per planeswalker each turn, the card The Chain Veil is necessary, as it allows you to activate multiple abilities per planeswalker per turn.
- Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule: Remember that you can’t have two planeswalkers with the exact same name on the battlefield at the same time. If you flicker a planeswalker and then play another copy from your hand, the “legend rule” for planeswalkers will force you to choose one to keep and send the other to the graveyard.
Understanding these mechanics and synergies can significantly improve your gameplay and create powerful combos in your decks.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding planeswalkers and their interactions:
1. Can you activate a planeswalker ability twice in one turn?
No, generally you can only activate one loyalty ability per planeswalker per turn. However, cards like The Chain Veil can allow you to activate additional loyalty abilities.
2. Does flickering a planeswalker remove all counters?
Yes, flickering a planeswalker removes all counters, including loyalty counters, +1/+1 counters (if it becomes a creature), and any -1/-1 counters.
3. Can I proliferate loyalty counters?
Yes, you can proliferate loyalty counters on planeswalkers, increasing their loyalty. Proliferate adds one counter of each type already present on the target.
4. Can you have multiple emblems from the same planeswalker?
Yes, you can have multiple emblems from the same planeswalker, granted that you can activate the ability that provides the emblem multiple times.
5. Do planeswalkers have summoning sickness?
No, planeswalkers do not have summoning sickness because they are not creatures. This means they can immediately have their loyalty abilities activated once they enter the battlefield, provided you haven’t already activated a loyalty ability for that planeswalker this turn.
6. Can you target a planeswalker with Lightning Bolt?
Yes, you can target planeswalkers with Lightning Bolt (or any spell that can target “any target”). Dealing damage to planeswalkers used to be handled by a redirection rule, but that rule has been removed.
7. Can a planeswalker be your commander?
Some planeswalkers have the text “[CARDNAME] can be your commander,” which allows them to be used as commanders in the Commander format. Otherwise, only legendary creatures can be commanders.
8. What happens if a planeswalker has 0 loyalty?
A planeswalker with 0 loyalty is put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action.
9. Does Doubling Season double planeswalker abilities?
Doubling Season doubles the number of loyalty counters a planeswalker enters the battlefield with. However, it does not double the effect of a planeswalker ability that adds loyalty counters as part of its effect.
10. Can you use planeswalker abilities at instant speed?
No, you can only activate loyalty abilities any time you could cast a sorcery, which means during your main phase when the stack is empty.
11. Can you control two planeswalkers with the same name?
No, you cannot control two planeswalkers with the exact same name. The “planeswalker uniqueness rule” (similar to the legend rule) dictates that if you control two planeswalkers with the same name, you must choose one to keep and send the other to the graveyard. However, you can control planeswalkers with similar names like “Garruk, Unleashed” and “Garruk, Cursed Huntsman.”
12. Can +1/+1 counters be put on Planeswalkers?
Normally a +1/+1 counter can’t be put on a planeswalker but when a planeswalker is turned into a creature, like with the card Gideon Blackblade, then +1/+1 counters can affect the planeswalker.
13. Are Planeswalkers being phased out?
Due to the events of the Phyrexian invasion, many Planeswalkers lost their spark, resulting in some being demoted to legendary creatures. While the landscape of Planeswalkers in the game has shifted, they are not being entirely phased out.
14. Can you Mutate onto a planeswalker?
Yes. If the planeswalker is on top, it will no longer be a creature, but will still have the abilities of the creatures below. If the planeswalker is below, it will be a creature with loyalty abilities.
15. If you are interested in learning more about games and learning, where would you go to find out more information?
If you are interested in learning more about games and learning, you can visit the Games Learning Society website at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/ or GamesLearningSociety.org.
Hopefully, this comprehensive guide has clarified the intricacies of flickering planeswalkers and answered your burning questions! Understanding these advanced mechanics will elevate your gameplay and give you a significant edge in your next Magic: The Gathering match.