Garruk RelentlessGarruk Relentless | Art by Eric Deschamps

Planeswalkers almost always stick with one color. Gideon's always white, Dovin's always Azorius, and Nicol Bolas is always Grixis. So it's quite the visual jolt when Nissa is suddenly blue for a set, or Ajani goes from a wise mentor to a red-tinged warrior. Often, there's an interesting lore tidbit behind the change, not to mention some unique mechanics for these planeswalkers. So I'm super excited that Reality Fracture, the newest Magic set, is full of these color-shifted walkers. I want to know all about why Chandra is suddenly blue, Ral is suddenly black, and of course, I want to know if these new planeswalkers are any good!

To find the unique walkers, I checked each planeswalker's color identity against the most common color identity for planeswalkers of the same type. If a planeswalker has a color that 75% of the others don't, it's on this list. For instance, of the four Ob Nixilis planeswalkers, three of them are mono black, while Ob Nixilis, the AdversaryOb Nixilis, the Adversary has a unique red pip. Therefore he fits our qualifications. But on the flipside, 33% of Wrenn planeswalkers have a red pip, meaning Wrenn and SixWrenn and Six doesn't fit here. Now with those qualifications, let's see who we have to talk about!

Ajani, Nacatl Pariah

Ajani's red side has actually been depicted three whole times, but since there are a total of 17 Ajanis, they all make this list. Besides, I couldn't possibly exclude them because their contrast with the green and white Ajanis is exactly what I'm looking for. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah//Ajani, Nacatl AvengerAjani, Nacatl Pariah//Ajani, Nacatl Avenger represents Ajani before he processed the grief of losing his brother. His card reflects the anger, dealing damage and causing mass devastation to opponents' boards. It's a strong card for sure, a two-drop that later transforms into a powerful planeswalker—and it's banned in multiple Arena formats, so you know it packs a punch. Plus the flavor is spot-on, so I'm gonna give our first card a high ranking.

Tier: A

Ajani Unrelenting

Now we've got the Reality Fracture Ajani, the version of him that never truly recovered from his brother's loss. This one's fully red, and very angry, not to mention very strong. We get a 2/2 every time we activate any loyalty ability? That's crazy in any planeswalker deck. Too bad the most popular planeswalker commander, Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice, has every color but red. But he's awesome in Commodore GuffCommodore Guff! Honestly, this Ajani rocks in a lot of token decks, and can contribute a hefty amount to the board. He's got card draw, token generation, and a one-sided boardwipe. What more can we ask for?

Tier: S

Ajani Vengeant

The art on this Ajani is so tough, but the card itself leaves a lot to be desired. The +1 doesn't even tap the creature, the -2 does basically nothing, and if we miraculously get to the -7, it's just pure evil. Unfortunately there's basically no reason to play this Ajani, unless we're feeling extremely vengeful and want to work way too hard for our revenge.

Tier: C

Chandra, Chill of Compliance

I'm not usually a Vorthos, but Reality Fracture and this article have been getting me into a lot of lore. For instance, now I know that Baral, Chief of ComplianceBaral, Chief of Compliance was Chandra's rival on Kaladesh, and this version of Chandra is Baral's mirror. Maybe that's basic knowledge, but I think it's awesome knowing the stories behind the characters I'm playing.

Anyways, this icy Chandra gives us a lot of options, all of them simple but strong for a three-mana planeswalker. A bit of conditional card draw, some non-creature ramp, and temporary removal makes Chandra an excellent multitool, and if we get that emblem then it's game over.

Tier: A

Nissa of Shadowed Boughs

Nissa of Shadowed BoughsNissa of Shadowed Boughs was quite the eye-catching card when she came out. A planeswalker that gets a loyalty counter for every land we play? Awesome! Even today, this Nissa is pretty cool, as a planeswalker that easily gains three loyalty a turn, if not more. Then, she ramps, churns out beaters and cheats monsters into play. It's a ton of work from a four drop. I wouldn't say she's a perfect inclusion in every land deck, as she really wants an aggro game plan as well, but she really holds her own and can be a massive threat with the right setup.

Tier: S

Nissa, Steward of Elements

Nissa, Steward of Elements was really the card that inspired this article, because I was so perplexed the first time I saw her. Why in the world was Nissa blue? Turns out it was because on Amonkhet, Nissa beat the trial of Kefnet, and gained an affinity for that style of magic. Her card's design is awesome, a sort of planeswalker Hydra that gets X loyalty counters for X mana spent. And if we spend enough, that 0 ability gets really powerful! She's still very unique, even nine years later, and a personal favorite of mine.

Tier: A

Ob Nixilis, the Adversary

Honestly red doesn't seem too out of place for Ob Nixilis's character, but this iteration of him fits our rules to a T. Interestingly, it's the only permanent that inherently has casualty. Ashad, the Lone CybermanAshad, the Lone Cyberman gives other artifacts casualty, but the only other instances of it are on instants or sorceries, so Ob Nixilis, the AdversaryOb Nixilis, the Adversary is quite the standout. From what I know, the best strategy is to downtick the bigger Ob Nixilis while upticking the other. For just three mana we divert our opponent's attackers and get a ton of value. Ok, well, it's a decent amount of value. We get like one token, and our opponents discard, maybe more than once. Yes, this Ob Nixilis was definitely made for 60-card formats, but it's still sick, and has at least a few good decks in Commander. And if we do sacrifice a seven-power creature to casualty, then that instant ult is spectacular!

Tier: A

Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer

The lore isn't too deep here, it seems. Apparently this is just the version of Ral where he's a selfish jerk. I guess that's a testament to his normal character though! I really love how this card reverses the mechanics of a bunch of other Rals, with a surveil instead of a scry, forced discard instead of draw, and recursion instead of damage. It's that last ability that's truly evil though. The original Ral ZarekRal Zarek had us flip five coins, and we got an extra turn for each heads. This Ral skips an opponent's turn each time instead. I don't know who could possibly deserve that, and it's certainly always better to just not ult Ral, but it's certainly game-ending (and friendship-ending) if we do use it.

Tier: A

Sarkhan the Mad

Fun fact: Sarkhan the MadSarkhan the Mad was the first planeswalker without any plus abilities, and I think it fits his madness really well. Sarkhan can only follow a downward spiral, his loyalty to Nicol BolasNicol Bolas declining with his health. The first ability drawing cards in exchange for random damage to Sarkhan is neat, risky but rewarding, especially in a Dragon deck. That -2 is pretty helpful too, getting around indestructible, though that 5/5 Dragon is another big tradeoff. Then, the -4 can possibly win the game if we have a big enough board. He's far from the strongest planeswalker ever, but the art and theming are so cool that I want to build a Dragon deck specifically for him.

Tier: B

Sarkhan Unbroken

On the flip side, we have sane Sarkhan, who's also a lot stronger! The +1 is definitely the most worthwhile ability, making Sarkhan UnbrokenSarkhan Unbroken into a Phyrexian ArenaPhyrexian Arena and a mana dork at the same time. Then, if we somehow get eight loyalty counters, we just win the game. Heck, with a Terror of the PeaksTerror of the Peaks in our deck, we won't even have to attack. This Sarkhan is a lot stronger, relatively speaking, but not quite as cool or unique as Sarkhan the MadSarkhan the Mad, so they get the same score.

Tier: B

Space Beleren

Ha! This card makes me laugh, but it also makes some really cool gameplay. Dividing the board into three sectors is so interesting, and I love the way that Jace—sorry, Space, interacts with them. The problem is that the sectors are so annoying to track. Do we divide each player's board into three sections? Then the whole battlefield is 12 tiny sections that are still difficult to see. I'm imagining myself with ten tokens, represented by one d12, and suddenly Jace forces me to split it into three different groups that barely fit on a packed board. In theory the evasion, politics, and manipulative tactics mean the gameplay is awesome, but I think the reality is just that blocking gets confusing and complicated. The sectors are a really creative concept, but unless we've got a three-tiered game table, they've gotta be so frustrating to stay aware of. And don't even mention this with Pramikon, Sky RampartPramikon, Sky Rampart!

Tier: D

Tamiyo, Field Researcher

Once again I don't think this planeswalker is too out of place, but Tamiyo, Field ResearcherTamiyo, Field Researcher is the only white Tamiyo, so here she is. She's been around for a while and has never been too powerful, mostly acting as a bad Coastal PiracyCoastal Piracy, but that OmniscienceOmniscience ultimate is extremely alluring, and hey, she's got the cool factor. Can't blame people for wanting to play neat looking cards.

Tier: B

Bonus: The Black and Green Garruks

Of the 10 Garruk planeswalkers, four of them are black and that excludes any of them by my criteria. But I had to make an exception, because Garruk's flavor makes him the perfect example of a color-shifted planeswalker. At first he was a mono-green hunter, but when he got into an altercation with Liliana he found himself cursed by The Chain VeilThe Chain Veil, slowly growing mad with the desire to hunt other planeswalkers. I always thought Garruk was the coolest character ever, especially Garruk Relentless, who transforms when he fights a creature. His story and designs have always been spectacular, and now with Reality Fracture we get to see Garruk, Veiled Butcher, the alternate reality where he was never cured. His story arc is mostly resolved now, but I'm glad Reality Fracture gave us one last look.

Tier: S (In terms of lore)

Bonus 2: Liliana the Faultless

Here's another card that felt wrong to not include, the color-shifted version of desparked Liliana. Liliana the FaultlessLiliana the Faultless isn't a planeswalker, but man, it's so strange to see that name on a white card. I mean, Liliana is an icon, the black planeswalker. Her character in white seems so wrong, but wow, it's really good. A Soul WardenSoul Warden and a Mother of RunesMother of Runes at the same time? The protection ability is a bit watered down, but one mana and discarding a card in exchange for hexproof is still pretty great. I expect this card to show up in a boatload of decks.

Tier: A

That's every color-shifted planeswalker that's been printed, but I'm excited to see even more! Reality Fracture has been full of awesome surprises, and it's shaping up to be my favorite set this year. Who is your favorite color shifted character?