Our first Planeswalker. For those that don't
know how these work, when you play it, it gets N
loyalty counters, where N is that number in the
bottom right corner. You can use one of this
girl's 3 abilities once per turn, and you add or
subtract counters as necessary. When it's out of
counters, it dies (either by spending them or
taking damage).
This lady is one of the better Planeswalkers. 5
mana is a bit steep but she can swing the game
heavily in your favor with her tutoring ability.
The big ability, reanimating everything for you,
will win you the game, but it does take a bit of
work to build up to there, and you'll never
reach 8 counters facing a red deck. All in all,
not bad, and might see play in discard decks.
In limited, if you're black, you play this, no
doubt. At worst, it's a 5 damage meat shield,
but that tutoring ability will win you the game.
Constructed - 3
Casual - 4
Limited - 4.5
David Fanany
Player since
1995
Liliana Vess
The hard part about assessing planeswalkers is
that they're brand new, and no-one (regardless
of how confident they sound) will be sure how
they'll play in constructed until they play with
them in constructed. Vampiric Tutor has always
been playable and silver bullet strategies have
always been popular. Unlike the Tutor, though,
Liliana looks a little slow for combo. Like all
the planeswalkers, if you ever manage to set off
her third ability, you should just about always
win the game, especially in limited.
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 4/5
The Missing
Linc
-Balding
for just over 5 years
-Playing MTG for just over 10
Lilian Vess
I think the new planeswalkers have some
potential. Even if you keep her around for two
turns and get two most needed cards, this is
worth it. It's diabolic tutor x2 +1 mana. The
discard feature aint that bad. Highly unlikely
the third ability will ever be played but if it
does...wow. Imagine pulling that off in limited.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 4
Limited: 3
PsychoAnime
#1
Magic Noob in Canada since 2002
Liliana Vess
5 loyalty for 5 mana is ok, but by turn 5, the
discard won't mean as much. The tutor ability is
rather nice. Black has a bunch of hosers like
Extirpate. You could play many 1-ofs and then
just slam this down to get whatever best hoses
your opponent and win the game from there. The
last ability doesn't attract me much though. I'd
rather just tutor 3 times (5 + 1 loyalty from
the first effect) then save up the loyalty.
In limited, this can break a stalemate. A bunch
of creatures in 1 turn is certainly good.
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3.5/5
Limited: 3/5
Swordmaster13
Tuesday's card
is a new Planeswalker card, Liliana Vess.
Planeswalkers are a very interesting new type of
card as they offer some interesting abilities.
Liliana costs a lot at five mana especially in a
color that doesn't have a lot of mana
acceleration, but she's a potential threat when
she comes out. Add a loyalty counter to the 5
she already has and your opponent must discard a
card. Take 2 away and search your library for
the next card you'll draw. If you can get her to
8 counters or more, you can reanimate every
creature in all graveyards on your side, a very
powerful effect. Though she can be attacked, her
effects work especially for a black/green deck
sporting a Tarmogoyf, especially after you use
all her counters.
Limited: 3/5(she offers speed, discard and a
powerful finishing move to a deck running black)
Constructed: 3.5/5(she's possibly Tarmogoyf's
new best friend)
BMoor
Liliana Vess
Envy me-- I actually pulled a foil Liliana Vess
at the prerelease. And it was quite the bomb.
Not only does she reliably empty your opponent's
hand quite soon after making an appearance, she
also helps you set up devastating clashes as
well as finding you any other bombs you may
have. The third ability? You'll never actually
use it, because Vess tends to draw a lot of
fire. But in a way, that is her third ability--
once she comes down, your opponent starts
attacking her and not you. In that way, you can
be more selective about what you block, and will
probably be meow likely to win a damage race.
Of course, that's all in Limited. I suspect
Constructed decks will have an easier time
taking this off the board, but if the only
answers are sorcery speed, then she still
guarantees at least a discard or a tutor.
