Hello everyone. Planeswalkers are an important part of Magic. From a story perspective, they drive the plot of our story line along. From a game play standpoint, they are powerful cards to put onto the battlefield and can often help turn the tide of a game to your favor. Whether you love them or hate them, planeswalkers often play a significant role in Standard. This week, I have a few decks for you that feature some of these powerful planeswalkers from decks that won six or more matches in a row during Ranked play by players at Platinum or Mythic ranking on Magic Arena. Let's get started.

Esper Fliers

The first deck I have for you features Kaya the Inexorable alongside a fleet of flying creatures. Let's take a look at the deck.

Esper Fliers | STX Standard | Random Platinum/Mythic Ranked Player

• Creatures (15)
• 1 Alela, Artful Provocateur
• 1 Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate
• 1 Reidane, God of the Worthy // Valkmira, Protector's Shield
• 1 Shadrix Silverquill
• 1 Taborax, Hope's Demise
• 2 Shaile, Dean of Radiance // Embrose, Dean of Shadow
• 4 Skycat Sovereign
• 4 Watcher of the Spheres

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Kaya the Inexorable

• Sorceries (14)
• 2 Basri's Solidarity
• 2 Closing Statement
• 2 Mystic Reflection
• 4 Vanishing Verse
• 4 Blot Out the Sky

• Enchantments (5)
• 1 Dramatic Finale
• 2 The Raven's Warning
• 2 Valor of the Worthy

• Lands (25)
• 5 Swamp
• 6 Island
• 6 Plains
• 1 Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway
• 1 Temple of Deceit
• 2 Hengegate Pathway // Mistgate Pathway
• 4 Fabled Passage

• Sideboard (7)
• 1 Archon of Sun's Grace
• 1 Brazen Borrower
• 1 Anticipate
• 1 Erebos's Intervention
• 1 Ondu Inversion
• 1 Banishing Light
• 1 Dogged Pursuit

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If you want to play a deck with a lot of evasion, you should give this deck a try. Watcher of the Spheres offers a mana discount for other fliers you cast. Use that discount to build up a large force of flying creatures on your battlefield. That allows Skycat Sovereign to become a huge threat, since it gets a +1/+1 bonus for each other creature you control with flying. Skycat Sovereign can also create its own army with its activated ability that allows you to create 1/1 Cat Bird creature tokens with flying.

Kaya the Inexorable offers this deck offers a safety net for your creatures with her +1 loyalty ability. This ability allows you to return a target nontoken creature to your hand if it gets destroyed or exiled, plus you create a 1/1 Spirit creature token to boot. She manages to save one of your fliers while also creating an additional flier in its place.

Sultai Elves

Next, I have a deck for you that features Tyvar Kell battling alongside a bunch of Elves. Let's take a look at it.

Sultai Elves | STX Standard | Random Platinum/Mythic Ranked Player

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Canopy Tactician
• 1 Harald, King of Skemfar
• 2 Elvish Warmaster
• 2 Oakhame Adversary
• 2 Thassa's Oracle
• 2 Yorion, Sky Nomad
• 3 Jaspera Sentinel
• 3 Llanowar Visionary
• 3 Thornmantle Striker
• 4 Moritte of the Frost

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Tyvar Kell

• Instants (4)
• 4 Witherbloom Command

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary
• 1 Omen of the Dead
• 4 Harald Unites the Elves

• Lands (25)
• 1 Swamp
• 2 Island
• 3 Forest
• 1 Castle Vantress
• 1 Field of Ruin
• 1 Indatha Triome
• 3 Fabled Passage
• 3 Necroblossom Snarl
• 3 Port of Karfell
• 3 Vineglimmer Snarl
• 4 Zagoth Triome

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Masked Vandal
• 1 Thrashing Brontodon
• 1 Eliminate
• 1 Tangletrap
• 2 Disdainful Stroke
• 2 Mystical Dispute
• 2 Soul Shatter
• 2 Duress
• 3 Crippling Fear

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This deck has a couple of routes to victory. The first will be the typical route most people choose when playing Magic - attacking with creatures. Tyvar Kell allows each Elf you have in play the ability to tap for a Black mana. That can help the Elves in this deck that can't create mana on their own ramp you into bigger spells more easily. Tyvar can also create an Elf creature token with his 0 loyalty ability. By building up a large army of Elves, you can often attack for a lot of damage thanks to the activated ability of Elvish Warmaster.

The other way to win with this deck takes a little more work to set up. It revolves around Thassa's Oracle. When Thassa's Oracle enters the battlefield, you will look at a number of cards from your library equal to your devotion to Blue. If the number of cards you're able to look at is greater than or equal to the number of cards left in your library, you win the game. In order to win with this ability, you'll want to ensure that you have Moritte of the Frost on the battlefield, if possible, and that you've milled yourself as much as possible with Port of Karfell. Even if you're not able to win the game this way, Thassa's Oracle is a great way to filter your deck for a card you need.

Azorius Midrange

Next, I have a deck for you featuring two planeswalkers, Niko Aris and Basri Ket. Let's check it out.

Azorius Midrange | STX Standard | Random Platinum/Mythic Ranked Player

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Sigrid, God-Favored
• 2 Baneslayer Angel
• 2 Realm-Cloaked Giant
• 3 Brazen Borrower
• 3 Hypnotic Sprite
• 4 Righteous Valkyrie
• 4 Skyclave Cleric
• 4 Speaker of the Heavens

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 1 Basri Ket
• 1 Niko Aris

• Instants (11)
• 1 Test of Talents
• 3 Light of Hope
• 3 Revitalize
• 4 Saw It Coming

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Doomskar

• Enchantments (3)
• 3 Omen of the Sea

• Lands (19)
• 4 Snow-Covered Island
• 6 Snow-Covered Plains
• 1 Castle Ardenvale
• 4 Hengegate Pathway // Mistgate Pathway
• 4 Tranquil Cove

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This deck is another deck centered on flying creatures. Use your fliers to attack for victory. Along the way, you have spells to control your opponent's options, such as Test of Talents and Saw It Coming, as well as spells to control your opponent's threats on the battlefield, such as Doomskar and the Adventure side of Realm-Cloaked Giant. While this deck is capable of winning without planeswalker help, it's much better with the assistance from Niko Aris and Basri Ket.

Niko Aris creates Shard tokens when they enter the battlefield. These Shard tokens allow you to scry and draw a card. That enables you to find the cards you need from your deck quickly. Niko also offers you a way of dealing unblockable damage to your opponent with their +1 loyalty ability. With Basri Ket, you'll be able to use his +1 loyalty ability to create a powerful indestructible creature that your opponent may have trouble blocking. Basri also can create a large force of 1/1 Soldier tokens with his -2 loyalty ability. This can allow you to overwhelm your opponent's blocking forces with your sheer numbers.

Sanctum of Superfriends

The final deck I have for you features a dozen different planeswalkers! Let's take a look at it.

Sanctum of Superfriends | STX Standard | Random Platinum/Mythic Ranked Player

• Creatures (5)
• 1 Mila, Crafty Companion
• 4 Ilysian Caryatid

• Planeswalkers (12)
• 1 Ashiok, Nightmare Muse
• 1 Ashiok, Sculptor of Fears
• 1 Basri Ket
• 1 Chandra, Heart of Fire
• 1 Kasmina, Enigma Sage
• 1 Narset of the Ancient Way
• 1 Nissa of Shadowed Boughs
• 1 Oko, the Trickster
• 1 Teferi, Master of Time
• 1 The Royal Scions
• 1 Tyvar Kell
• 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

• Sorceries (3)
• 3 Cultivate

• Enchantments (17)
• 1 Bound in Gold
• 1 Outlaws' Merriment
• 1 Pacifism
• 1 Rune of Sustenance
• 1 Whirlwind of Thought
• 2 Sanctum of All
• 2 Sanctum of Calm Waters
• 2 Sanctum of Fruitful Harvest
• 2 Sanctum of Shattered Heights
• 2 Sanctum of Stone Fangs
• 2 Sanctum of Tranquil Light

• Lands (23)
• 3 Forest
• 3 Island
• 3 Mountain
• 3 Plains
• 3 Swamp
• 4 Fabled Passage
• 4 The World Tree

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Have you ever asked yourself what a deck would look like if you combined all of the Shrines from Magic 2021 with a whole bunch of planeswalkers from across all of the sets currently legal in Standard? No? Well, I hadn't either, but apparently someone did, and they did rather well with it in ranked play. Much of this deck is built around ramping your mana, which will then allow you the ability to play any and every planeswalker you draw. Cultivate and Ilysian Caryatid make it easier to play the various Shrine cards, which each offer additional benefits.

There are multiple ways to win games with this deck. One of my favorites involves getting Outlaws' Merriment into play. This enchantment will create a random Human creature token at the beginning of your upkeep. If you get a few of these creature tokens onto the battlefield (or any of the other creature tokens that you're able to create with your planeswalker loyalty abilities), you can make them all into massive threats with the help of Oko, the Trickster. Oko's -7 loyalty ability will provide each creature you control 10 power and 10 toughness in addition to trample. This should allow you the ability to attack for the win.

Wrapping Up

I started playing Magic during Llorwyn, so I've never known a time without planeswalker cards. For me, planeswalkers offer a ton of choices and abilities that I can use for the cost of a single card. I'm firmly in the camp of players that love planeswalkers and I can't imagine the game being nearly as fun without them. What about you? Do you love planeswalkers or hate them? Let me know in the comments below.

What do you think of these decks? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below. Also, feel free to share this article with your friends anywhere on social media. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in Standard. I'll see you then!

-Mike Likes