Bit of a newbie here. I played MTG pre-planeswalker (like Ice Age days). Can someone please explain how Planeswalkers work? For example, Grist, the Hunger Tide, Loyalty of "3" I understand is like a life total but how do the +1, -2, and -5 work? Thanks
Planeswalkers have loyalty counters. The number in the lower right corner is the starting number of loyalty counters the planeswalker enters the battlefield with.
Planeswalkers have loyalty abilities, and activating them costs adding (yes, adding) loyalty counters or removing loyalty counters as indicated by the number in front of the ability. If the planeswalker doesn't have enough loyalty counters to activate a - ability, it cannot be activated. You can activate one loyalty ability per planeswalker per turn, and only with sorcery timing. This restriction applies to loyalty abilities, even if the permanent that has them is not a planeswalker. More recent planeswalkers often also have additional abilities, that are not loyalty abilities.
Planeswalkers can be attacked with creatures. When a creature attacks a planeswalker, the controller of that planeswalker may assign creatures to block those attackers. You can also damage them with damage spells (if the target restrictions allow such). Damage dealt to a planeswalker removes that many loylaty counters from it. A planeswalker with no loyalty counters is put into the graveyard as a state based action. This is not destruction, so making it indestructible does not save it. (Note, that life loss does not apply to planeswalkers. They are not players and don't have a life total.)
Planeswalkers are legendary permanents, so they fall under the legend rule. Many planeswalkers have different iterations, and you can have multiple of those iterations on the field at the same time. The legend rule only applies to permanents with the EXACT same name. Originally, planeswalkers had the "planeswalker uniqueness rule", which was very similar to the legend rule, but checked planeswalker types instead of name. The two rules have since been combined into one legend rule, and planeswalkers have been made legendary. Older printings of planeswalkers therefore don't have the legendary supertype printed on them, but they are legendary now.
Planeswalkers have loyalty abilities, and activating them costs adding (yes, adding) loyalty counters or removing loyalty counters as indicated by the number in front of the ability. If the planeswalker doesn't have enough loyalty counters to activate a - ability, it cannot be activated. You can activate one loyalty ability per planeswalker per turn, and only with sorcery timing. This restriction applies to loyalty abilities, even if the permanent that has them is not a planeswalker. More recent planeswalkers often also have additional abilities, that are not loyalty abilities.
Planeswalkers can be attacked with creatures. When a creature attacks a planeswalker, the controller of that planeswalker may assign creatures to block those attackers. You can also damage them with damage spells (if the target restrictions allow such). Damage dealt to a planeswalker removes that many loylaty counters from it. A planeswalker with no loyalty counters is put into the graveyard as a state based action. This is not destruction, so making it indestructible does not save it. (Note, that life loss does not apply to planeswalkers. They are not players and don't have a life total.)
Planeswalkers are legendary permanents, so they fall under the legend rule. Many planeswalkers have different iterations, and you can have multiple of those iterations on the field at the same time. The legend rule only applies to permanents with the EXACT same name. Originally, planeswalkers had the "planeswalker uniqueness rule", which was very similar to the legend rule, but checked planeswalker types instead of name. The two rules have since been combined into one legend rule, and planeswalkers have been made legendary. Older printings of planeswalkers therefore don't have the legendary supertype printed on them, but they are legendary now.
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