How Many Planeswalkers Can You Have in a Magic: The Gathering Deck?

As an avid Magic: The Gathering player and content creator, one of the most common questions I see is "how many planeswalkers can I run in my deck?" With over 100 unique planeswalker cards printed across many sets, deck building with these powerful spells can be a complex puzzle to solve.

In this comprehensive planeswalker deck building guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know:

Deck Construction Rules by Format

The number of planeswalkers you can include depends on which constructed format you are building for:

Standard

• Up to 4 copies of individual planeswalker cards
• No maximum limit on number of different planeswalker cards

Deck (60 cards)
4 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
2 Sarkhan Fireblood 
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Nicol Bolas, the Ravager

Modern

Same as Standard (4-of rule)

Commander

• Only 1 copy of each individual planeswalker allowed
• Otherwise no limits on overall planeswalker numbers

Deck (100 card singleton) 
1 Teferi, Temporal Archmage
1 Narset, Enlightened Master 
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Elspeth, Sun‘s Champion

Legacy / Vintage

• Up to 4 copies of individual planeswalker cards
• No maximum limit on number of different planeswalker cards
• Powerful planeswalkers restricted to 1-of

Most Played Competitive Planeswalkers

According to 2022 tournament data aggregated at MTGGoldfish, these are the most played planeswalkers across formats:

Wrenn and Six dominated across Legacy and Modern, while Teferi time walkers policed Standard. Liliana continues her reign in fair black midrange decks.

These five planeswalkers account for over 60% of all planeswalker deck appearances in competition!

Sample Tournament Winning Planeswalker Decks

Let‘s analyze the planeswalker cores of some real-world championship decks:

Mono White Heliod Company (Standard)

Creatures (25)
4 Soul Warden
4 Soul‘s Attendant 
4 Heliod, Sun-Crowned
4 Walking Ballista
4 Ranger of Eos

Planeswalkers (6)  
4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Elspeth, Sun‘s Champion

This combo deck leveraged 6 planeswalkers to stall the board then assemble the game winning Heliod + Ballista loop. Multiple Gideons created threats while Elspeth provided a resilient wipe and alt win con.

Four Color Snow Control (Modern)

Spells (17)
1 Assassin‘s Trophy
2 Blood Moon    
2 Wrenn and Six
1 Klothys, God of Destiny
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Teferi, Hero

Lands (23)  
4 Prismatic Vista
2 Stomping Ground 
2 Blood Crypt  
...

With 11 cantripping fetch lands, this control deck could run 2 threat light planeswalkers in Wrenn and Teferi. Chandra and Klothys supplemented the late game value plan.

Bant Snow Miracles (Legacy)

Creatures (7)
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Shark Typhoon  

Planeswalkers (6)     
4 Teferi, Time Raveler
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Lands (23)
4 Flooded Strand  
2 Tundra
...

Instants and Sorceries (24)
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Swords to Plowshares 
3 Force of Negation

With cantrips and card selection, this slow control deck supported 6 planeswalkers easily. Jace, Teferi and Shark Typhoon provided powerful late game threats.

Niche Competitive Planeswalker Deck Types

While goodstuff midrange piles are common, there are many fringe competitive planeswalker decks waiting to be discovered by intrepid brewers. Some examples:

Superfriends – Deck with 10+ different planeswalkers. Often led by proliferate style commanders.

Oathbreaker – Format runs single planeswalker + spell as command zone combo piece.

Top Deck Manipulation – "Miracle" draw spells support tap out walkers.

There are likely powerful undiscovered permutations for those willing to avoid conventional wisdom!

Key Planeswalker Deck Building Guidelines

Based on an analysis of winning deck lists and commentary from pro players like Andrea Mengucci and Reid Duke, here are some essential tips:

• Match planeswalker card advantage engines with sufficient lands. Budget at least 40% mana sources in a Teferi deck.
• Lower curve walkers like Baby Teferi shine with protection instants to survive early turns.
• Build your suite of planeswalkers to align with the game ending threat or combo. Don‘tvalue good stuff walkers over synergy.
• Include planeswalker removal whether hard removal, counterspells, or discard if you expect opposing walkers.

Maximum Number of Planeswalkers in Deck

Given competitive deck building principles, what are practical upper limits on planeswalker numbers?

Diminishing returns hit rapidly once you exceed these thresholds. Be wary of clogging up draw steps and muddying your game plan!

Conclusion

While planeswalkers are extremely powerful, their deck building costs in mana curve, card advantage, and support requirements must be respected. Always tie your walker suite into your primary game ending threats and interactions. Stick within the ranges prescribed for competitive decks, but don‘t fear pushing boundaries if you uncover creative synergies.

Hopefully this guide has fully equipped you to maximize planeswalkers in your next Magic: The Gathering deck build! Let me know in the comments if you brew up any sweet planeswalker piles.