The 23 Most Important Characters in Magic: the Gathering Ranked

Ignacio (Iñaki) January 29, 2025 MTG Story

Last updated on January 9, 2026

Call the Gatewatch | Illustration by Yefim Kligerman

Magic’s story spans over 30 real-life years, though it’s closer to 10,000 years in-universe (if you start from the very first sets and novels). What I’m trying to say is that it’s really long. No massive storyline that spans multiple worlds is complete without a plethora of important characters.

A quick estimate of named characters who have their own cards or some relevant role in the story adds up to over a thousand. That’s without considering secondary and minor characters that get name-dropped throughout the short stories, novels, flavor text, etc. Getting a good idea of who did what in the story can be a daunting task amid all their cool cards.

Before I go over some of the most important characters in Magic, I want to clarify two important things. The first one should be obvious: Spoilers ahead for both old and new storylines. The second one is that I’ve gathered multiple characters together in quite a few of the entries. Lots of Magic’s major events involve group efforts, and it wouldn’t make sense to mention each character alone when the entire group is what’s relevant.

But that's enough intro. Let's get to Magic's most important characters!

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#23. The Guildmasters of Ravnica

Azor, the Lawbringer | Illustration by Ryan Pancoast

Ravnica’s 10 guilds are ruled by their corresponding guild masters. Some of them, like the Rakdos Cult () and the Izzet League (), have kept the same ruler (Rakdos and Niv-Mizzet respectively) for most of their existence, while others tend to change them more often.

Some notorious guild leaders include:

Azor I, creator of the Azorius Senate (). He used to be a planeswalker and was both the creator of The Immortal Sun and the writer of the Guildpact.
Aurelia, current Boros () Guildmaster. She’s one of the main military powers in Ravnica and was one of the generals in the fight against Nicol Bolas.
Lazav, current Dimir () Guildmaster. While mostly a minor figure in the story, Lazav started manipulating and conspiring his way into trying to control the other Guilds of Ravnica after the War of the Spark. After the New Phyrexian Invasion, he was thought dead. However, he showed up again in Thunder Junction.
Vraska, former Golgari () Guildmaster and former planeswalker. Vraska was a Golgari assassin turned planeswalker. Although she helped Nicol Bolas before the invasion, she finally turned against him during the War of the Spark. She was compleated during the raid on New Phyrexia. After the invasion, she was healed by Jace’s mother, and she has now joined him in his quest.
Domri Rade, former Gruul () Guildmaster. He was a young planeswalker who quickly rose to power within the clans. He turned in favor of Bolas during the invasion and was promptly killed by The Elderspell.
Ral Zarek, current Izzet Guildmaster. Ral was an Izzet prodigy tasked with creating the Interplanar Beacon meant to bring planeswalkers to fight Nicol Bolas. He previously worked for Bolas, but he opposed him by the time of the War. He’s married to Tomik, acting guildmaster of the Orzhov (). Since the opening of the Omenpaths, Ral has been working alongside Niv-Mizzet in a massive project to essentially gain control over the portals between realms.
Niv-Mizzet, creator of the Izzet League and Living Guildpact. The dracogenius was killed before the War of the Spark but had prepared for that beforehand. He stored his soul in a device that revived him, with the help of the other Guildmasters, as the new Living Guildpact. Niv-Mizzet now oversees Ravnica, but his plans extend far beyond his plane. The opening of the Omenpaths has led the dracogenius into trying to understand and control the interplanar portals.
Teysa Karlov, current Karlov Matriarch. Teysa is a mastermind and power figure within Ravnica’s politics. She was assassinated for allegedly conspiring with the New Phyrexians during the invasion. Of course, a little death has never stopped a true Orzhov leader, as she has returned as a ghost to (indefinitely) oversee her guild.
Rakdos, creator and leader of the Rakdos Cult. He was actually granted a guild by the other original Guildmasters to give him a reason to behave less chaotically. He originally stayed out of the efforts during War of the Spark but eventually joined in by helping Gideon. After Judith, an important Rakdos performer, tried to frame Rakdos for a series of murders, the demon was reawakened. However, instead of unleashing chaos on Ravnica, he chose to head for Thunder Junction, where he joined a gang of outlaws.
Trostani, Guildmaster of the Selesnya Conclave (). Trostani is actually three sisters fused to the Mat’Selesnya world tree that connects members of the Selesnya conclave. The three sisters disagreed at the start of the War, but Kaya eventually convinced them to join. Trostani were arguably the ones who most suffered the effects of the New Phyrexian Invasion, feeling the world’s pain as their own. This led Oba, one of the three sisters, to systematically assassinate important guild figures that she (mistakenly) considered to have either helped the Phyrexians or further endangered the plane. The three sisters are now in a meditation state, with the other two trying to bring Oba back into a desire for harmony.
Vannifar, the Simic Combine () Guildmaster. Vannifar prepared the Simic for strife long before Bolas’s arrival, so the guild was ready to face him when his forces entered the plane. During the invasion, Vannifar collaborated with her long-time rival, Zegana, in an attempt to find a way to cure Phyresis. This led to Oba believing them to be traitors, assassinating Zegana, and plotting to assassinate Vannifar.

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#22. Kellan

Kellan, the Kid | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

Kellan is a half-fae from Eldraine, the son of the human Alyse and the faerie planeswalker Oko. Kellan was sent on a quest to end the Wicked Slumber by Talion, the Kindly Lord. After succeeding, Kellan found an open Omenpath as he looked for more information about his father. He then embarked on a quest through several planes.

On Ixalan, Kellan joined the vampires searching for the bat god Aclazotz, but he opted to help the natives defeat the god. He later travelled to Ravnica, where he worked for the Ravnican Agency of Magicological Investigations to catch the person murdering several guild leaders and representatives.

Kellan’s journey ended on Thunder Junction, where he finally met Oko. Much to his disappointment, Kellan learned the hard way that Oko was a manipulative trickster that cared for no one but himself, leading to a final confrontation between them. He now lives on Thunder Junction with Amalia and a settler named Annie.

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#21. Sarkhan Vol

Sarkhan the Masterless | Illustration by Kieran Yanner

Sarkhan is a red-centered ex-planeswalker from the plane of Tarkir. He was interested (to the point of obsession) in his plane’s long-dead dragons. This led him on a quest to find a worthy dragon whom he could serve, which ended in Sarkhan working for Nicol Bolas. The dragon used him to instigate war in Alara and to release the Eldrazi in Zendikar.

Sarkhan’s mind was damaged by serving the dragon and he eventually went back to Tarkir. There he heard Ugin’s voice in his mind, which led him to travel to the past and save the Spirit Dragon. He joined Ugin against Bolas during the War of the Spark to get revenge on the dragon. After the New Phyrexian invasion, Sarkhan lost his spark in what’s known as the Great Desparking. He now resides in Tarkir.

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#20. Elspeth Tirel

Elspeth Resplendent | Illustration by Anna Steinbauer

Elspeth is a white-aligned planeswalker from Capenna focused on community and freedom. She spent most of her childhood enslaved under the Phyrexians and has a deep hatred for them. She joined Koth and Venser in their quest for Karn and the subsequent fight against New Phyrexia.

After the defeat on New Phyrexia she traveled to Theros, where she befriended Ajani. She killed the planeswalker-turned-god Xenagos after he manipulated her into killing Daxos, her beloved. Elspeth offered her life to Erebos in exchange for Daxos’s but tried to escape after performing the deal. Before she was free, Heliod betrayed and killed her, fearing her power. She managed to escape the underworld and defeat Heliod.

She joined the Gatewatch’s efforts against Phyrexia and went back to Capenna to learn ways to fight the machines. During the fight against New Phyrexia, Elspeth took the Sylex, which was about to destroy several planes that had already been connected to Realmbreaker, and planeswalked away into the Blind Eternities. In that vacuum, she heard Serra’s voice and turned into an archangel. She was finally instrumental in defeating New Phyrexia.

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#19. Toshiro Umezawa & Tetsuo Umezawa

Umezawa's Charm | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

Toshiro Umezawa was a ronin and wizard from Kamigawa during the age of the Kami War. He was cunning and selfish, but he was a key part to ending the war. He stole That Which Was Stolen and brought it to Konda’s daughter. He also misused the Myojin of Night's Reach’s powers, which caused him to be exiled to Dominaria. His absurd adaptability allowed him to settle there.

Tetsuo Umezawa was Toshiro’s descendant and the champion of the Empire of Madara. He was skilled in weapons and magic and was the one to finally kill Nicol Bolas and release the empire from his tyrannical grip.

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#18. Freyalise

Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Illustration by Adam Paquette

Freyalise was a green-aligned half-elf planeswalker from the Skyshroud forest. She helped the Dominarian elves survive the Ice Age and was regarded as a goddess. She was responsible for casting The World Spell and starting Dominaria’s slow recovery from the Ice Age.

She was a member of Urza’s Nine Titans during the original Phyrexian Invasion while also making huge efforts to protect both Skyshroud Forest and Llanowar. After the defeat of Yawgmoth, she used isolationist and xenophobic measures to protect the elves and their forests, though she was inevitably forced to reconsider her stance.

Freyalise eventually sacrificed herself along with Skyshroud to seal the Time Rift above it and help stop the Time Crisis.

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#17. Jaya Ballard

Jaya, Venerated Firemage | Illustration by Yongjae Choi

Jaya was a red-aligned planeswalker who started her adventures and career as a thief and task mage. She made a name for herself as one of Dominaria’s most important planeswalkers. She was a close friend to the immortal mage Jodah since the Ice Age, and she was the one to give him the amulet that prevents him from going insane from being immortal.

Jaya later established herself in Regatha as the matriarch of Keral Keep under the name of Mother Luti. It was here that she had Chandra study under her and improve her pyromancy.

She later helped the Gatewatch both in their attempts to stop Belzenlok in Dominaria and Bolas during the War of the Spark. She was instrumental to the Dominarian resistance during Phyrexia’s second invasion but was eventually slain by the compleated Ajani.

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#16. Nahiri

Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients | Illustration by Anna Steinbauer

Nahiri is a kor planeswalker from Zendikar that specializes in stone-forging. She was one of the three planeswalkers that locked the Eldrazi in Zendikar. She went looking for Sorin when the prison of the Titans started to fail. When he explained that her call for help was likely absorbed by his own plane’s protections, she became mad at him and started a fight. Sorin locked her in the Helvault to protect his plane. She stayed there until the vault was broken.

Nahiri went back to Zendikar and found it ravaged by the Eldrazi. She blamed Sorin for this and drew Emrakul to Innistrad to destroy it, then trapped Sorin within his own manor’s walls.

They agreed to a truce during the War of the Spark. Nahiri then went to Zendikar and tried to restore it to how it was before the Eldrazi, but the plane’s inhabitants had already adapted to their new world and Nissa herself opposed Nahiri’s plans.

During the assault on New Phyrexia, Nahiri was corrupted by the glistening oil. In her compleated state, she launched an assault on her own plane of Zendikar. She regained her consciousness after New Phyrexia was defeated, but she was deeply scarred both physically and mentally. She was also desparked in the Great Desparking.

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#15. Sorin Markov

Sorin's Thirst | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

Sorin is a black-aligned vampire planeswalker from Innistrad. He’s one of Magic’s oldest planeswalkers. Sorin was one of the three planeswalkers that faced the Eldrazi in Zendikar and locked them there to protect the multiverse.

Back in Innistrad Sorin created both Avacyn, the guardian angel of the plane, and the Helvault, a prison to trap demons. He also ended up imprisoning Nahiri in it when she attacked him in a blind rage after seeking him for help with the Eldrazi.

The vampire helped Sarkhan Vol revive Ugin back in Tarkir so that he’d help fight off the Eldrazi in Zendikar, but Ugin insisted he’d have to return with Nahiri to help. Not long after that Sorin was forced to fight Emrakul in his own home plane as Nahiri had led her there to get revenge on Sorin. Nahiri then trapped him in the walls of his own house.

During the War of the Spark, he and Nahiri fought each other but decided on a truce. Back in Innistrad he infiltrated Olivia Voldaren’s wedding to stop the coming of the Eternal Night.

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#14. Ugin

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon | Illustration by Raymond Swanland

Ugin is Nicol Bolas’s twin brother. He’s an Elder Dragon of unmatched intellect that managed to master all five colors of mana to the point of transcending them and centering around colorless mana. He confronted Nicol Bolas repeatedly in their youth and had his own spark ignite long before his brother’s.

He was one of the three planeswalkers responsible for trapping the Eldrazi in Zendikar. Not long after that, he was killed by Nicol Bolas in the plane of Tarkir. His spirit lingered there until Sarkhan Vol travelled back in time to revive him.

Ugin was instrumental in Nicol Bolas’s demise during the War of the Spark. He orchestrated a plan to defeat him by taking advantage of his twin’s greed for power. After Bolas was hurt by Sarkhan and Bontu, Ugin took him to the meditation realm and stripped all his powers away along with his names so he couldn’t be summoned. He also had Jace cast an illusion so that everyone would believe the dragon to be dead instead of trapped.

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#13. Mishra

Mishra, Eminent One | Illustration by Randy Vargas

Mishra was Urza’s younger brother and a brilliant artificer. The brothers discovered a device that was powered by a powerstone during an exploration of an ancient Thran ruin. It exploded while they were investigating it and each brother was left with half of the powerstone.

They grew hostile towards each other after the explosion, and Mishra started having weird dreams. Mishra escaped into the desert where he was captured by, and eventually gained control of, a group of Fallaji. The conflict between the two brothers escalated into a full out war.

Mishra’s side was infiltrated by the Priests of Gix, who manipulated him and eventually kidnapped and took him to Gix himself. During his last battle with Urza, Mishra was revealed to be part Phyrexian. He was finally destroyed after Urza unleashed the Sylex Blast.

Decades later, Urza found Mishra deep in the pits of Phyrexia. Whether this was the real Mishra, a creation by Yawgmoth, or a product of Urza’s unstable psyche is unknown.

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#12. The Eldrazi Titans

Rise of the Eldrazi | Illustration by Eli Minaya

The Eldrazi are a monstrous race from the Blind Eternities that travel through planes consuming their mana and drying them up. There are three main titans named Emrakul, Kozilek, and Ulamog. They were trapped within Zendikar by Sorin, Nahiri, and Ugin. They eventually were freed due to Bolas’s machinations and ran rampant across the plane.

Ulamog and Kozilek were killed by the Gatewatch, but Emrakul traveled to Innistrad and started morphing and corrupting it. She eventually allowed herself to be trapped within the plane’s moon.

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#11. Tezzeret

Tezzeret's Touch | Illustration by Chris Rallis

Tezzeret is a human planeswalker from the Esper () shard on Alara. He’s an artificer and has replaced most of his body with metal. He’s also a renown henchman to most of Magic’s post-mending villains.

He most notably served Nicol Bolas in his attempt to control the entire multiverse. He was also Jace’s mentor during a time when Tezzeret had betrayed Bolas, but the mind mage eventually left him behind. Nicol Bolas brought him back into his service and sent him on a series of quests to slowly build up his masterplan. He also tasked him with allying with (and spying on) the New Phyrexians.

Nicol Bolas’s eventual demise led Tezzeret to join the New Phyrexians, and he was instrumental in Tamiyo’s capture and compleation. He helped Elesh Norn’s schemes in exchange for a new darksteel body. However, he had been plotting with Urabrask to cause an uprising and prevent the invasion. He survived Norn’s and Jin-Gitaxias’s attempts to corrupt him and spent the entirety of the invasion jumping between planes to escape his pursuers.

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#10. Teferi Akosa

Oath of Teferi | Illustration by Wesley Burt

Teferi is a former blue-centered planeswalker from Dominaria. He mostly has domain over time magic. He was a student in Urza’s Tolarian Academy where he befriended Jhoira and Karn. He then moved on to become royal mage of Zhalfir where his planeswalker spark ignited.

Teferi mostly stayed out of the fight during the Phyrexian Invasion, but he did phase out Zhalfir and a big part of Shiv.

During the Time Crisis he returned Shiv back to where it was but was unable to restore his home of Zhalfir. He also gave up his planeswalker spark while sealing a Time Rift, which led to him settling down and forming a family in Dominaria.

Teferi later joined the new Weatherlight Crew in hopes of finding ways to restore Zhalfir. During that time Jhoira gave him a necklace that contained his planeswalker spark and restored his power. The time mage joined the Gatewatch and fought in the War of the Spark. He later helped in Innistrad against Tovolar and Olivia Voldaren to stop the coming of the Eternal Night.

During Phyrexia’s second invasion of Dominaria, Teferi acted as general for the coalition. After Karn was kidnapped he used the latent powers at Urza's Tower to travel back in time to the Brothers’ War to find ways to stop the Phyrexians.

The machine that Teferi used to travel back in time malfunctioned, trapping him on the long-lost plane of Zhalfir, which had been stuck in the cracks of time since Teferi phased it out during the first invasion of Dominaria. After Wrenn swapped Zhalfir and New Phyrexia’s places in the Blind Eternities, Teferi led the Zhalfirins in an assault against the remaining Phyrexians. He also helped in the ritual performed to uncompleat Ajani and Nissa. Teferi eventually lost his spark during the Great Desparking.

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#9. Ajani Goldmane & Tamiyo

Ajani

Oath of Ajani | Illustration by Wesley Burt

Ajani Goldmane is a mostly-white-aligned leonin planeswalker from the Naya () shard of Alara. He was a close friend of Elspeth both before and after her death and eventual resurrection in Theros. He was also a member of the Gatewatch, although he joined after the defeat of the Eldrazi in Zendikar while the group was in Kaladesh.

He was known for being a particularly upright planeswalker, and loyal to his companions. Ajani was compleated by the New Phyrexians and joined their ranks. He unknowingly served as a sleeper agent for the machines and eventually killed Jaya, destroyed the Golgothian Sylex, and captured Karn to bring him to New Phyrexia.

He served as one of Elesh Norn’s generals during the invasion, being the one to execute Sheoldred for treason as well as leading the assault against Theros. During the assault, he managed to compleat at least three gods, including Heliod. After the defeat of New Phyrexia, Ajani was uncompleated through a powerful ritual and seeks to atone for the deeds he did while compleated.

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Tamiyo

Tamiyo's Safekeeping | Illustration by Aurore Folny

Tamiyo is a moonfolk planeswalker from Kamigawa, and she’s mainly blue-green aligned. She used to travel the planes collecting stories, folk tales, and general knowledge, and she painted the landscapes of each. She was instrumental in finally locking Emrakul away in Innistrad’s moon. While she never officially joined the Gatewatch, she helped them repeatedly.

Tamiyo was captured in Kamigawa by Tezzeret and Jin-Gitaxias and was the first ever planeswalker to be compleated. She served New Phyrexia as a general in the invasion of Kamigawa. During the fight, she was slain by The Wanderer. For a brief time, her memories lived on in the form of a spell scroll, but this was finally destroyed in Duskmourn.

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#8. The Weatherlight Crew

Board the Weatherlight | Illustration by Tyler Jacobson

The Skyship’s original crew played a super important part in Dominaria and Magic’s histories. They were the ones to gather the pieces of the Legacy Weapon while also visiting other planes and influencing their stories. Its members were:

Sisay, the ship’s captain.
Hanna, the navigator, a great artificer, Barrin’s daughter, and eventually Gerrard’s lover. Her death was the trigger for Barrin’s last cataclysmic spell and Gerrard’s corruption.
Tahngarth, the first mate.
Orim, the healer.
Ertai, the ship’s wizard and later turned Phyrexian monster.
Karn, engineer.
Mirri, deckhand and duelist.
Crovax, deckhand and soldier who eventually betrayed them and became Evincar of Rath.
Rofellos, soldier and just an all-around nice guy.
Starke il-Vec, a Mercadian guide who betrayed the Stronghold.
Squee, cabin boy and best boy. He was turned immortal by Yawgmoth so Crovax and Ertai could torture him forever, but it ended up being an advantage for Squee who’s still alive in Dominaria.
Multani, Yavimaya’s Maro-Sorcerer who gave a seed to create the hull of the ship and joined the crew for a time.
Gerrard Capashen, Commander, and result of Urza’s Bloodline Project. He was one of the pieces of the Legacy Weapon and gave his life to kill Yawgmoth when he invaded Dominaria as a Death Cloud. Before that, he actually turned to Yawgmoth’s side because the dark god promised to bring Hanna back from the dead. Gerrard was forced to fight Urza and won, but when Hanna was presented to him, he immediately saw through the tricks and realized she was a fake.

The Weatherlight and its crew have arguably one of the longest stories in Magic, and they’d need an entire article to properly go through it. The ship itself came back during the Gatewatch’s trip to Dominaria and had a new and interesting crew.

This actually came to an end during the second Phyrexian Invasion when the ship itself fell to Phyrexian corruption, and it’s now part of the machine’s armies. The new crew itself survived and kept fighting the monsters.

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#7. The Resistance Against New Phyrexia

Storm the Seedcore | Illustration by Jason-Rainville

While not technically an officially formed group, the plethora of armies, factions, and characters that made a stand against the forces of New Phyrexia could be considered as a single resistance force. Many of them are minor or even unnamed characters, but there are also several characters who gained some prominence during the conflict:

Melira. Originally an outcast from the Sylvok elves of Mirrodin for having been born without any metal on her body, Melira was immune to Phyresis. She served as a healer in the resistance and was instrumental in the un-compleation of Ajani and Nissa. Several wounds, plus the effort from her final spell, finally claimed her life.
Kaito Shizuki. A cyber-ninja planeswalker from Kamigawa, Kaito grew up alongside The Emperor, and he spent years searching for her after her disappearance. After the death of Tamiyo, he took responsibility over her son, Nashi. He was last seen helping Nashi and others escape from Duskmourn.
The Wanderer. A former planeswalker from Kamigawa, the Wanderer is also The Emperor of Kamigawa. Her spark suffered from a serious malfunction due to an attack by Tezzeret when she was younger, causing her to planeswalk at random. The Great Desparking took her spark away, and that was a relief for her as she could finally remain in one place at will. During the invasion, the Wanderer had to face and kill a phyrexianized Tamiyo, and the Wanderer and Kaito took responsibility over Tamiyo’s son Nashi.
Tyvar Kell. Former planeswalker and prince of the elves from Kaldheim, Tyvar was part of the attack team against New Phyrexia. During the assault, he faced and killed a phyrexianized Tibalt. He later fought alongside his brother Harald back on Kaldheim against the invaders. Tyvar later befriended Zimone during their incursion on Duskmourn and decided to accompany her back to Strixhaven.
Koth of the Hammer. A Vulshok former planeswalker from Mirrodin, Koth remained at the forefront of the resistance against the Phyrexians since their very first appearance on the plane. He led the fight on their home turf and helped as many Mirrans as possible escape into Zhalfir.
Quintorius Kand. A student of Strixhaven’s Lorehold College, and now a planeswalker, Quintorius worked with his friends from the university towards casting an ancient spell to ward off the invaders. When the spell failed and he nearly died from the effort, his spark ignited. He was last seen unearthing ancient civilizations on Ixalan.
Saheeli Rai. A former planeswalker and brilliant inventor from Kaladesh (Avishkar, as of Aetherdrift), Saheeli led the defenses against the invasion alongside her girlfriend Huatli. She was also the engineer for Teferi’s time travel machine.
Huatli. She’s a former planeswalker and warrior-poet from Ixalan. She led the defense of Ixalan against the Phyrexians alongside her partner Saheeli. She later ventured into her world’s core, helping the Oltec fight off the vampire invaders searching for Aclazotz.

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#6. New Phyrexia’s Praetors

Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider | Illustration by Daarken

The rise of New Phyrexia on Mirrodin had one big difference from Yawgmoth’s vision of Phyrexia. The original was based entirely on black mana, but this new version embraced all five colors and their ideals. This iteration was led by five praetors each corresponding to a color. These five praetors are:

Elesh Norn (white mana)
Jin-Gitaxias (blue mana)
Sheoldred (black mana)
Urabrask (red mana)
Vorinclex (green mana)

Internal conflicts arose between the praetors, but Elesh Norn imposed herself as the leading figure. The New Phyrexians launched a full-fledged invasion into several planes, using the Realmbreaker, a corrupted version of Kaldheim’s World Tree. Although most of the incursions themselves were successful, managing to corrupt large parts of several planes and break through the defending forces, the invasion was finally thwarted by an assembled group of planeswalkers, the remnants of the Mirran resistance, and the forces of Zhalfir.

The five praetors met their demise in various ways:

Elesh Norn was weakened by Elspeth’s newly gained archangel powers, the Mirran resistance forces, Jin-Gitaxias’s rebelling forces, and the Zhalfirin warriors. She was finally undone by her own maker, Karn, who broke his vow of pacifism to use his magic and unmake Norn’s mechanical parts, reducing her to little more than a fleshy red smear on the ground.
Tired of Norn’s megalomaniacal leadership and faced with inevitable defeat, Jin-Gitaxias mutinied against Norn. This allowed the Zhalfirin forces to assail him, making him stumble and fall into a vat of his own newts, who promptly devoured him.
Elesh Norn’s long-standing rival, Sheoldred, joined Urabrask’s rebellion against the mother of machines, so Norn labeled her as an apostate and traitor. Sheoldred was the first praetor to be killed, as Ajani captured her, brought her before Norn, and finally executed her by decapitation.
Urabrask, who had previously let the Mirran Resistance survive inside his Great Furnace as a show of respect for their passion and tenacity, led a rebellion against Elesh Norn. He was eventually defeated, and Norn ordered for him to be quartered. Once rendered to a limbless torso, he overheard Norn ordering to let him be. It’s technically unknown whether Urabrask survived his quartering, but given that he was on New Phyrexia when the plane phased out of existence, it’s safe to consider him gone.
Vorinclex was allegedly killed by Shella, a Zhalfirin knight who managed to decapitate him during battle. Since Vorinclex had previously recovered from highly fatal wounds (like essentially losing and then regrowing all of his flesh in his travel through the Planar Bridge), it’s possible that decapitation wasn’t enough to end the praetor. However, like with Urabrask, he was still on New Phyrexia as it phased out of existence.

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#5. Karn

Karn Liberated | Illustration by Jason Chan

Karn is a silver golem and former planeswalker who can use all five colors of mana. He was created as a test subject for Barrin and Urza’s time-traveling experiments and was also a part of the Legacy Weapon. During his creation, Urza gave him Xantcha’s Heartstone to make him capable of thought and feelings.

Karn was instrumental in fending off the Phyrexians during the Invasion. He was also the creator of the Mirari and the artificial plane of Argentum. Argentum was eventually turned into Mirrodin by Memnarch, a golem Karn had left in charge that went crazy.

Karn had to sacrifice his spark to seal the Time Rifts in Dominaria. This meant that the Phyrexian oil in his Heartstone started corrupting him from the inside. He escaped to Mirrodin to keep his friends out of danger. This caused the corruption of the plane itself and the rise of New Phyrexia. Karn was eventually rescued by his old friend Venser, who sacrificed himself to give Karn his own spark and cleanse him of corruption.

Karn was close to understanding the Golgothian Sylex and how to use it to blow up Phyrexian, but Sheoldred and a compleat Ajani destroyed the Sylex and kidnapped Karn to take him to Elesh Norn.

On New Phyrexia, Karn's body was disassembled and forced to watch as the New Phyrexians unleashed their assault on the Multiverse. He was eventually rescued by his fellow planeswalkers. Using his magic, he rebuilt himself, then broke his vows of pacifism to magically tear away Elesh Norn’s mechanical body parts, completely destroying her and ending her control over the Phyrexian forces. After the invasion was over, Karn gave up his planeswalker spark to help Melira uncompleat Ajani and Nissa, purifying them.

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#4. Yawgmoth

Yawgmoth, Thran Physician | Illustration by Mark Winters

Yawgmoth was a ruthless physician and eugenicist from the Thran Empire and (most notably) Phyrexia’s God of Machines. He manipulated Thran politics until he was locked away in Phyrexia.

In his new plane, Yawgmoth kept augmenting the Thran he had taken with him while invading other planes and using their inhabitants as test subjects. Once Urza and Mishra took the powerstones out of the locked portal, he sent Gix to feed the flames of war and make a possible invasion easier until he finally unleashed his troops on Dominaria.

Gerrard and Urza both managed to enter Phyrexia during the war, but Yawgmoth manipulated them into betraying their cause, then forced them into a deathmatch. Gerrard was the winner but finally managed to see through the Dark God’s lies and escaped.

This led Yawgmoth to invade Dominaria as a giant dark cloud that killed any living beings and raised the dead to serve him. He was back in Dominaria after 9,000 years of exile. He ran rampant across the plane until the Legacy Weapon was activated, finally destroying him for good.

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#3. Urza

Urza, Lord High Artificer | Illustration by Grzegorz Rutkowski

Urza was an artificer and planeswalker from Dominaria and the main foil to Yawgmoth and Phyrexia’s plans. He was caught in a war against his brother over the two pieces of a Thran powerstone that culminated with Urza discovering Mishra’s corruption by the Phyrexians and with the detonation of the Golgothian Sylex. The blast devastated Dominaria, sending it into an Ice Age, and it ignited Urza’s planeswalker spark.

Urza started a quest to destroy Phyrexia during which he befriended Xantcha. After her death, Urza created the Tolarian Academy along with the Weatherlight and the Bloodline Project as part of his Legacy Weapon.

He assembled the Nine Titans to go into Phyrexia and combat the enemy on their own ground, but the descent into the plane didn’t go as expected because Urza was enthralled by its magnificence and artifice. He succumbed to Yawgmoth’s power and was forced to fight Gerrard in the Phyrexian Arena. Gerrard (also under Yawgmoth’s control) defeated and decapitated Urza.

Gerrard escaped with Urza’s head, with The Mightstone and Weakstone in his eyes keeping him alive and making him an integral part of the Legacy Weapon. Gerrard, Karn, and Urza were all aboard the Weatherlight as the Legacy Weapon was activated and killed Yawgmoth, aptly leading Urza to die along with his life-long enemy.

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#2. Nicol Bolas

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager MTG card art by Svetlin Velinov

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov

Nicol Bolas was a Grixis () dragon planeswalker. He was one of the Elder Dragons from Dominaria and, along with his twin brother Ugin, was one of the weakest at first. He became ruthless and cunning to make up for his own weaknesses, and he eventually ignited his planeswalker spark.

He was one of Magic’s most important antagonists and could be considered the cause behind the rise of other villains. He was god-emperor of the Madara Empire in Dominaria, helped seal the Time Rifts thereby sacrificing the planeswalker Leshrac, conquered and molded Amonkhet to serve his schemes, was the broker for Liliana’s demonic contract, fed Alara’s maelstrom, and enslaved both Sarkhan Vol and Tezzeret.

He also caused the release of the Eldrazi on Zendikar, eventually caused the Hour of Devastation on Amonkhet and destroyed most of the plane, and finally invaded Ravnica and started the War of the Spark to harvest as many planeswalker sparks as possible and restore the strength he’d lost during the Mending.

Nicol Bolas was eventually defeated by a coalition of planeswalkers and his no-longer-dead twin brother Ugin. Ugin and Jace stripped the dragon of all names, memories, spark, and any power he may have had and trapped him within his own Meditation Realm.

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#1. The Gatewatch

Deploy the Gatewatch | Illustration by Wesley Burt

The Gatewatch is a coalition of planeswalkers that originally came together on Zendikar to protect it against the recently awoken Eldrazi. They then moved on to protect the rest of the Multiverse, especially going against Bolas’s plans in several stages like Kaladesh, Amonkhet, and during the War of the Spark.

Each of its members has long and compelling stories of their own, but it’s arguably their work as a group that made them renowned in the Multiverse. The Gatewatch can be considered disbanded since most of its members have either gone their own way or entirely lost their planeswalker spark. Past members of the Gatewatch include:

Gideon Jura. He gave his life to save Liliana during the War of the Spark.
Jace Beleren, former leader of the group. He now travels the Multiverse with Vraska and a baby Fomori named Loot to find a way to restart the entire Multiverse.
Chandra Nalaar. After the Invasion, Chandra joined her romantic partner, Nissa, in travelling the Multiverse through the newly opened Omenpaths.
Nissa Revane. She was compleated during the planeswalker assault on New Phyrexia. She was eventually rescued by her friends and healed by Melira. The healing ritual uncompleated her, but it also unsparked her. She now travels the Multiverse with her girlfriend Chandra.
Liliana Vess. To atone for her various sins, Liliana joined the staff at Strixhaven under the name of Professor Onyx. She was instrumental in the university’s defense against New Phyrexia.
Ajani Goldmane. He was compleated during the New Phyrexian Invasion of Dominaria and later uncompleated and desparked.
Teferi Akosa. He was instrumental in the defeat of New Phyrexia and is currently desparked.
Kaya Cassir. After helping defeat the New Phyrexians, Kaya was summoned back to Ravnica by Teysa, who reprimanded her for not protecting the plane in its time of need. After the assassination of Zegana, Kaya joined the investigation efforts to uncover the murderer. After Trostani was revealed as the murderer, Kaya left for Kaldheim.

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Wrap Up

Ignite the Beacon | Illustration by Slawomir Maniak

This is far from the most comprehensive list of characters in Magic. The Multiverse is packed full of interesting and powerful characters. Each individual plane has its own cast of world-changing personalities and even minor characters that have managed to gain the love of fans with their personalities or deeds.

Who’s your favorite Magic character? Which characters would you like to hear more about? Did I miss anyone that absolutely should have been on this list? Let me know in the comments or join the discussion in the Draftsim Discord.

That’s all from me for now. Have a good one, and I’ll see you next time!

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Ignacio (Iñaki)

Iñaki has loved collecting Magic cards going all the way back to the age of 8. Since 2011, he's been a casual player, focusing mainly on Standard and EDH. He's a clear Vorthos and big fan of the lore of the Magic universe. When he's not writing, he's probably avoiding college homework by playing Arena or trying to come up with some absurd Commander deck idea.

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The 23 Most Important Characters in Magic: the Gathering Ranked

#23. The Guildmasters of Ravnica

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#22. Kellan

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#21. Sarkhan Vol

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#20. Elspeth Tirel

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#19. Toshiro Umezawa & Tetsuo Umezawa

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#18. Freyalise

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#17. Jaya Ballard

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#16. Nahiri

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#15. Sorin Markov

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#14. Ugin

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#13. Mishra

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#12. The Eldrazi Titans

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#11. Tezzeret

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#10. Teferi Akosa

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#9. Ajani Goldmane & Tamiyo

Ajani

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Tamiyo

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#8. The Weatherlight Crew

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#7. The Resistance Against New Phyrexia

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#6. New Phyrexia’s Praetors

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#5. Karn

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#4. Yawgmoth

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#3. Urza

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#2. Nicol Bolas

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#1. The Gatewatch

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Wrap Up

Ignacio (Iñaki)

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