Decoding Planeswalker Loyalty: A Comprehensive Guide
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Planeswalker loyalty abilities are the heart and soul of these powerful permanents in Magic: The Gathering (MTG). In essence, planeswalker loyalty abilities are activated abilities that you, as the player, can use to generate various effects during your turn. Each planeswalker card features a set of these abilities, each marked with a loyalty cost (indicated by a plus or minus number). You may activate one loyalty ability per Planeswalker per turn any time you could cast a sorcery, including during the turn you resolve a Planeswalker card. Activating a ‘+’ ability increases the planeswalker’s loyalty, while a ‘-‘ ability decreases it. These abilities can range from creating tokens and dealing damage to drawing cards and controlling the battlefield. A planeswalker enters the battlefield with a starting number of loyalty counters, and using these abilities shifts that number, directly affecting the planeswalker’s survivability. Once loyalty reaches zero, the planeswalker is sent to the graveyard.
Understanding the Nuances of Loyalty
The key to mastering planeswalkers lies in understanding the specifics of how loyalty abilities function. Each planeswalker has a starting loyalty value printed on the card. This is the number of loyalty counters it enters the battlefield with. The loyalty abilities themselves are activated abilities, meaning they can be used during your main phase when the stack is empty and you have priority, much like casting a sorcery.
However, there are important restrictions. You can only activate one loyalty ability per planeswalker per turn. This limitation forces you to strategize and choose the most impactful ability for the current situation. Furthermore, loyalty abilities cannot be activated in response to other spells or abilities, further emphasizing the strategic timing needed for optimal play.
Strategic Use of Loyalty Abilities
Choosing the right loyalty ability at the right time is critical. ‘+’ abilities are generally used to protect your planeswalker and ensure its longevity, while ‘-‘ abilities offer more immediate, powerful effects at the cost of weakening its defenses.
Consider these factors when deciding which ability to activate:
- Board State: What creatures or spells are threatening your planeswalker? Can you eliminate those threats with a loyalty ability?
- Opponent’s Strategy: Are they playing an aggressive deck that will quickly overwhelm your planeswalker? Or are they playing a control deck, in which case you can afford to build up loyalty over time?
- Future Turns: What is your long-term plan for the planeswalker? Do you need to use a powerful ultimate ability soon, or can you focus on incremental advantage?
- Mana Availability: Even if you can activate an ability, do you need your mana for something more important?
FAQs: Planeswalker Loyalty Demystified
Here are some frequently asked questions to further clarify the intricacies of planeswalker loyalty:
1. Do planeswalker loyalty abilities use the stack?
Yes and No. The activation of the loyalty ability itself does not use the stack. You simply announce that you are activating the ability and pay the loyalty cost (adding or removing counters). However, the effects generated by the ability do go on the stack and can be responded to.
2. What happens when a planeswalker has 0 loyalty?
When a planeswalker’s loyalty reaches 0, it is immediately put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action. This happens automatically and doesn’t use the stack. Think of it like a creature dying from having zero toughness.
3. Can you use two planeswalker abilities at once?
No. You may activate one loyalty ability per Planeswalker per turn. If you have multiple planeswalkers in play, you can activate one ability on each of them, but only one per planeswalker.
4. Do planeswalkers enter with double loyalty with Doubling Season?
Yes. Doubling Season affects permanents that enter the battlefield with counters. Planeswalkers will enter the battlefield with double the normal number of loyalty counters. However, if you activate an ability whose cost has you put loyalty counters on a planeswalker, the number you put on isn’t doubled.
5. Can an indestructible planeswalker lose loyalty?
Yes. Indestructible only prevents destruction, but it does not prevent damage. Planeswalkers with indestructible will still have loyalty counters removed from them as they are dealt damage. If a planeswalker with indestructible has no loyalty counters, it will still be put into its owner’s graveyard, as the rule that does this doesn’t destroy the planeswalker.
6. Does Deathtouch work on planeswalkers?
Generally, no. Deathtouch is a static ability that causes 1 point of damage of the source with deathtouch to kill any creature it deals damage to (unless that creature is indestructible). This does not apply to Planeswalkers, because they are not creatures. You’ll need an additional ability like that of Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence which states “Whenever a creature you control with deathtouch deals damage to a planeswalker, destroy that planeswalker.”
7. What is the legend rule for planeswalkers?
All planeswalkers have supertype “legendary” and are subject to the “legend rule”. Planeswalkers with the same subtypes can exist under your control as long as they are not of the same name. So, you can have Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Jace Beleren in play at the same time, but not two of Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
8. Can you have two planeswalkers in one deck?
Yes. There’s no limit to the number of planeswalker permanents you can have in a deck (within the constraints of the format, of course). The only restriction is that you can’t have two copies of the exact same planeswalker card in play simultaneously.
9. Does blinking a planeswalker reset loyalty?
Yes, blinking a planeswalker, such as with the spell Momentary Blink, effectively resets it. The planeswalker is exiled, removing all counters, and then re-enters the battlefield as a new permanent with its starting loyalty counters.
10. Do planeswalkers loyalty count as counters?
Yes, loyalty is represented by loyalty counters. These counters are placed on the planeswalker when it enters the battlefield, added or removed when loyalty abilities are activated, and determine when the planeswalker is sent to the graveyard.
11. Can you bring planeswalker to 0?
While you can activate an ability that reduces a planeswalker’s loyalty to 0 as part of the cost, the planeswalker is immediately put into the graveyard as a state based action. 306.9. If a planeswalker’s loyalty is 0, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard.
12. Can you have two planeswalkers out with the same name?
No, you are prohibited from having two planeswalkers with the exact same name. You can have a Garruk, Unleashed, and a Garruk, Cursed Huntsman out at the same time. It used to be the case that you could only have out one of a “type”, like one Garruk, but they changed it a little while ago.
13. Can you put plus one counters on planeswalkers?
[[Gideon Blackblade]] or any other planeswalker card that becomes a creature can easily have -1/-1 or +1/+1 counters put on them. Then, they maintain those counters for as long as they’re on the battlefield. Of course, those counters only affect power/toughness.
14. Can you cast two planeswalkers?
You can cast as many planeswalkers as your hand, deck, and mana allow, as long as the Legend Rule isn’t broken (i.e., no two planeswalkers with the exact same name on the battlefield at the same time under your control). You can freely have two planeswalkers of the same type on the battlefield at once. As of the current rules they function precisely the same as all other legendary permanents.
15. Can proliferate add loyalty counters to planeswalkers?
Yes! Proliferate allows you to choose any number of permanents and/or players with counters on them, and then give each another counter of each kind that’s already there. Because planeswalker loyalty is tracked using loyalty counters, proliferate can absolutely add more counters to your planeswalkers, potentially making them even harder for your opponent to deal with.
Planeswalkers: More Than Just Cards
Planeswalkers are more than just powerful cards; they’re strategic tools that can swing the momentum of a game. Mastering their loyalty abilities requires a deep understanding of the game, a keen eye for opportunity, and a willingness to take calculated risks. Explore more about the strategies and underlying frameworks of games at the Games Learning Society on GamesLearningSociety.org. By honing your skills and understanding the nuances of planeswalker loyalty, you can unlock their full potential and dominate the battlefield.