A common question mono white MTG players wonder is, what are the best white Planeswalkers? Planeswalkers are powerful cards and can take over games. Throughout the years, MTG has printed over 30 mono white Planeswalkers. Depending on the type of deck you are playing, certain Planeswalkers may be better suited for your deck(s) than others.
Overall, one of the best white Planeswalkers is Elspeth, Sun’s Champion. Additionally, Ajana, Strength of the Pride is also a strong contender. This article will not only rank the best white Planeswalkers, but also show which ones are best for specific decks and situations. Each Planeswalker will also have a detailed breakdown and strategy for using them. Let’s jump in!
Table of Contents
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How to Determine the Best White Planeswalkers
When playing a mono white MTG deck, the best way to determine what the best white Planeswalkers for your deck are is to figure out your deck’s goal. For example, if you are playing a lifegain deck, include some Planeswalkers that can help build up your life total. If you are playing a tokens deck, use some of the suggested Planeswalkers that will create tokens or have abilities that work well with tokens. The same thing applies for a +1/+1 counters deck, as there are a decent amount of white Planeswalkers that have awesome abilities for adding counters.
Best White Planeswalkers
Rather than create a traditional best white Planeswalkers list, I decided to group them. In the first group, we have the Wanderers, the best white Planeswalkers for creature removal. As the name suggests, these are the cards to use for some creature removal that also have additional abilities. After that, I have ranked the best white Planeswalkers for token-focused decks. These Planeswalkers will give your token strats a ton of extra synergy. Then there are the best white Planeswalkers for +1/+1 counters decks. There is even a bonus section at the end for the best white Planeswalkers for Angel tribal decks!
Best White Planeswalkers for Removal
These are the best white Planeswalkers to include in your decks that can be used as creature removal. Interestingly, all three of these Planeswalkers are Wanderers. Overall, these are all very good inclusions that offer some extra creature removal. Plus, if you don’t need creature removal when you play them, the offer other useful abilities too.
1. The Wandering Emperor
In my eyes, the first entry of the best white Planeswalkers for removal is the The Wandering Emperor. She enters the battlefield with 3 loyalty and costs 2 white and 2 generic, totaling 4 mana. She can be cast at instant speed since she has flash and has the following other abilities:
Flash
Static Ability: As long as The Wandering Emperor entered the battlefield this turn, you may activate her loyalty abilities any time you could cast an instant.
- +1: Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature. It gains first strike until end of turn.
- -1: Create a 2/2 white Samurai creature token with vigilance.
- -2: Exile target tapped creature. You gain 2 life.
The reason The Wandering Emperor is first on the best white Planeswalkers list is probably solely due to her having flash. Don’t get me wrong, she is still good regardless, but having flash is what really pushes her over the edge. You can sit on 4 open mana and if/when an opponent tries to attack you with a big creature, or even their commander, you can flash her out and immediately use her -2 ability to exile that creature. This is where her static ability comes in handy! Her having flash is useless if you cannot activate an ability when you cast her on an opponent’s turn.
Another good strategy is to use her +1 ability as sort of a combat trick. If you already have a creature that can block, flash her out and give that creature +1/+1 and first strike until end of turn. This will allow you to hopefully kill the opponent’s creature, while keeping yours alive, assuming your creature’s power is equal to or greater than the opponent’s creature’s toughness.
2. The Wanderer
The next spot on the best white Planeswalker for removal is simply named The Wanderer. She costs 4 total mana, of which 1 is white and the other 3 are generic. She enters the battlefield with a starting loyalty of 5 and has one static ability and one activated ability:
Static Ability: Prevent all noncombat damage that would be dealt to you and other permanents you control.
- -2: Exile target creature with power 4 or greater.
There is not a ton to say about The Wanderer as her -2 ability is pretty self explanatory; use it when you needed to take out a problematic creature. Her static ability is a nice little bonus, however. It basically renders Lightning Bolt, or any other burn spells, useless against you and permanents you control.
3. The Eternal Wanderer
The third and final Wanderer, The Eternal Wanderer, is last inclusion of the best white Planeswalkers for creature removal. She is a bit expensive, costing 6 total mana, of which, 2 is white and 4 is generic. She enters the battlefield with 5 starting loyalty along with a static ability that will help keep her alive. All of her abilities are:
Static Ability: No more than one creature can attack The Eternal Wanderer each combat.
- +1: Exile up to one target artifact or creature. Return that card to the battlefield under its owner’s control at the beginning of that player’s next end step.
- 0: Create a 2/2 white Samurai creature token with double strike.
- -4: For each player, choose a creature that player controls. Each player sacrifices all creatures they control not chosen this way.
She is sort of a special Planeswalker in that as soon as she hits the battlefield, you have the option of using any of her activated abilities, immediately. If you need a creature toke, you can use her 0 ability and give yourself a double striking Samurai. If the battlefield is clogged up with creatures you opponents control, use her -4 ability. It is also worth noting, her -4 ability bypasses things like hexproof, shroud, ward and protection since nothing is being targeted! Also, it will impact you as it says each player, not each opponent. Then there is her +1 ability at your disposal.
Her +1 ability can basically blink an artifact or creature you control and return it at your end step, giving you extra ‘enter the battlefield’ triggers. You could also use her +1 ability to disrupt an opponent’s creature/artifact. That creature wont come back until the end of their next turn, basically. That means even after your turn is over, the creature you targeted may still be in exile. Additionally, The Eternal Wanderer also is a really good candidate for best white Planeswalkers in token decks, given that awesome 0 ability she has.
Best White Planeswalkers for Token Decks
These are the best white Planeswalkers to use in token decks. Welcome to the Elspeth portion of the rankings, where all (but one) of the Planeswalkers are Elspeth. These ‘walkers will synergize with your tokens decks and, coincidentally, also make you tokens using their various abilities. Who would have guessed? The general strategy for all of these is to cast them, and if you’re lucky, use their ultimate abilities before they get killed or destroyed.
1. Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
The first entry in the best white Planeswalkers to use in token decks is Elspeth, Sun’s Champion. She is a bit expensive to cast, coming in at 6 total mana, of which 2 is white and the remaining 4 is generic. She enters the battlefield with 4 loyalty counters and has the following abilities:
- +1: Create three 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens.
- −3: Destroy all creatures with power 4 or greater.
- −7: You get an emblem with “Creatures you control get +2/+2 and have flying.”
I think the best strategy for Elspeth, Sun’s Champion is to cast her once you have a bunch of, hopefully small, tokens already on the battlefield. Then you immediately use her -3 ability to take out anything larger than 4 power.
This will often times open up some lanes so you can then attack with your large army of small token creatures while your opponents lost all of their larger creatures. Depending on the number of creatures you already have, you could potentially just win that turn. And the best part is, using the -3 ability doesn’t immediately kill her, but instead brings her loyalty to 1!
If this strategy doesn’t apply for a given situation, her +1 ability is super strong since it creates three creature tokens! That instantly gives you a decent board presence with just a single ability activation. You’ll also have the comfort of knowing that you have her -3 ability ready to activate by keeping her loyalty moving up, and possibly getting to her ultimate ability.
2. Elspeth Tirel
The second spot on the best white Planeswalkers for token decks belongs to another Elspeth; this time it is Elspeth Tirel. She costs 2 white and 3 generic, for a total of 5 mana and enters the battlefield with 4 starting loyalty. She has the following abilities:
- +2: You gain 1 life for each creature you control.
- -2: Create three 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens.
- -5: Destroy all other permanents except for lands and tokens.
The best strategy with Elspeth Tirel is to cast her once you have a bunch of tokens on the battlefield. For one, they can be used to protect her. And second, you want to get to enough loyalty to execute her ultimate ability as fast as possible, so her +2 ability should be used first.
That way, when you do cast her, assuming you have a bunch of creature tokens, you will gain 1 life for each one. This will hopefully be a net positive of 10+ life, in your favor. Then she will be at 6 loyalty, ready to use her -5 ultimate ability the next turn. Using her ultimate ability, just like described with Elspeth, Sun’s Champion, open up some lanes for attacking and possibly end the game right there. Just be warned, she will be a target since your opponents know they will be losing all of their nontoken permanents.
3. Serra the Benevolent
Coming in as the number three spot on the best white Planeswalkers for token decks is Serra the Benevolent. As a side note, this my favorite Planeswalker art ever. She costs 2 white and 2 generic, totally 4 mana and enters the battlefield with 4 starting loyalty with the following abilities:
- +2: Creatures you control with flying get +1/+1 until end of turn.
- -3: Create a 4/4 white Angel creature token with flying and vigilance.
- -6: You get an emblem with “If you control a creature, damage that would reduce your life total to less than 1 reduces it to 1 instead.”
If your deck has a bunch of flyers, she is nearly an auto-include due to her +2 ability. Even if your deck is not focused on flyers, her -3 ability will immediately give you a flyer to (hopefully) target the next turn with the +2 ability.
I think the reason Serra the Benevolent is so popular is because the token she creates with her -3 ability is fairly large, being a 4/4. Additionally, it has flying which will stop airborne threats from picking apart your life total or kill Serra herself. On top of that, the token also has vigilance so you can still get in for damage while keeping it as a blocker on your opponents’ turns. Once you have an Angel token, you can start spamming her +2 to eventually get to 6 loyalty and use her ultimate ability.
Her ultimate ability is pretty cool. It basically keeps you at 1 (or more!) life the rest of the game, provided you control any creature. And in a token deck, you should have no problem controlling, at minimum, a single creature. In fact, if you cast Serra the Benevolent and already have a couple of creatures to protect her, it might make sense to use her +2 ability the turn she comes out and threaten to use the ultimate ability on the very next turn.
4. Elspeth, Knight-Errant
The final spot on the best white Planeswalkers for token decks belongs to Elspeth, Knight-Errant. She costs a total of 4 mana, of which 2 is white and 2 is generic. She enters the battlefield with 4 starting loyalty and has the following abilities attached to her:
- +1: Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token.
- +1: Target creature gets +3/+3 and gains flying until end of turn.
- -8: You get an emblem with “Artifacts, creatures, enchantments, and lands you control have indestructible.”
This Elspeth is a pretty cool one in my eyes. Both of her regular abilities will grow your loyalty by one for each activation. This will hopefully allow you to get in range and use her ultimate ability to get that powerful emblem.
If you don’t have many, or any, creatures, her first +1 ability will give you some blocking fodder to try and protect her. As another option, if you have a few creatures and are looking to attack an opponent, her second +1 ability is very attractive. It will grant one of your creatures with flying along with +3/+3 until the end of the turn. Just continue using which ever ability is most beneficial in a given scenario to try and activate her ultimate ability. Then most of your permanents become very hard to deal with!
Best White Planeswalkers for +1/+1 Counters Decks
The following are the best white Planeswalkers for +1/+1 decks. As you might be able to guess, these Planeswalkers have abilities that will grow your creatures by distributing +1/+1 counters. Each one of these would make for great inclusions in your decks and will help you with your deck’s game plan.
1. Ajani, Strength of the Pride
Ajani, Strength of the Pride is a very strong Planeswalker that comes in as the top entry for best white Planeswalkers in +1/+1 counters decks. He cost 2 white and 2 generic, totally 4 mana and has a starting loyalty of 5 along with the following abilities:
- +1: You gain life equal to the number of creatures you control plus the number of planeswalkers you control.
- -2: Create a 2/2 white Cat Soldier creature token named Ajani’s Pridemate with “Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on Ajani’s Pridemate.”
- 0: If you have at least 15 life more than your starting life total, exile Ajani, Strength of the Pride and each artifact and creature your opponents control.
Ajani is a powerhouse for gaining life with his +1 ability. His -2 ability creates token Ajani’s Pridemate creatures that just get bigger and bigger, for each instance of life gain.
The goal with Ajani is to keep boosting your life total. Ideally, you would use a combination of his +1 ability and his -2 ability to continually gain life, all while adding +1/+1 counters to the Pridemate tokens. By doing this, you shouldn’t have any problems going +15 of your starting life total. Then you have a completely one-sided boardwipe ready to be activated anytime you please with his ultimate 0 ability. Oh yeah, and all of your opponents’ artifacts will be exiled too! But please be mindful, once you do activate the 0 ability, Ajani, Strength of the Pride will be exiled and no longer be in play.
2. Elspeth Resplendent
Coming in at number two on the best white Planeswalkers list is Elspeth Resplendent. She costs 2 white and 3 generic to cast, totaling 5 mana. She enters the battlefield with 5 starting loyalty and has the following abilities available on her:
- +1: Choose up to one target creature. Put a +1/+1 counter and a counter from among flying, first strike, lifelink, or vigilance on it.
- -3: Look at the top seven cards of your library. You may put a permanent card with mana value 3 or less from among them onto the battlefield with a shield counter on it. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
- -7: Create five 3/3 white Angel creature tokens with flying.
I really like this Elspeth because her +1 ability not only gives you a +1/+1 counter, but also your choice of a counter among flying, first strike, lifelink or vigilance. This ability works well with cards that care about any type of counters such as The Ozolith and Nesting Grounds, for example. Her -3 ability is also pretty strong, especially if you have a lot of 1-3 mana value permanents in your deck. Not only do you get to put a permanent on the battlefield with it, that permanent also enters the battlefield with a shield counter on it.
I would be very happy if I were able to get 3 total activations from her before leaving the battlefield. Be it the +1 ability twice and the the -3 ability once, or the +1 ability once and the -3 ability twice. I personally don’t worry about activating her ultimate too much. If you are able to get to 7 loyalty and activate it, great. But if not, I wouldn’t worry too much. Her first two abilities are what make her one of the best white Planeswalkers for +1/+1 counters decks.
3. Basri Ket
Next up on the list of best white Planeswalkers for +1/+1 counters decks is Basri Ket. He is very cheap, costing only a total of 3 mana, of which 2 is white and 1 is generic. He enters the battlefield with 3 loyalty and has these abilities:
- +1: Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature. It gains indestructible until end of turn.
- -2: Whenever one or more nontoken creatures attack this turn, create that many 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens that are tapped and attacking.
- -6: You get an emblem with “At the beginning of combat on your turn, create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token, then put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.”
If you are running a Soldier tribal deck, Basri Ket is a great inclusion. Not only does he distribute +1/+1 counters with his +1 ability, but he can a bunch of Solder tokens out of nowhere, considering his -2 ability.
The best way to use Basri Ket is to cast him when you have a healthy amount of nontoken creatures on the battlefield. Then, as mentioned above, use his -2 ability to create some 1/1 Soldiers when attacking. Alternatively, use his +1 ability to grow a creature and give it indestructible until the end of the turn. This is basically a free attack for you since your creature has indestructible and may even force an opponent to block and lose a creature on their side.
If you can manage to get him up to 6 loyalty, his ultimate ability’s emblem is very nice as it will not only create a token, but also give ALL of your creatures a +1/+1 counter. This can get out of hand very quickly and just gets better and better each turn as you start adding 1 additional power per creature to the board.
Bonus: Best White Planeswalkers for an Angel Deck
I love Angels. They are probably my favorite tribe in all of MTG. I know Angels are pretty popular, so I wanted to include a bonus section for anyone looking for the best white Planeswalkers to include in an Angel deck. As previously mentioned, Serra the Benevolent and Elspeth Resplendent would make excellent inclusions in an Angel deck.
Serra the Benevolent’s -3 ability to create a 4/4 Angel token is a no-brainer. Additionally, her +2 ability will give all of your flying creatures +1/+1 until end of turn, and as I’m sure you know, all Angels have flying. In regards to Elspeth Resplendent, her -7 ultimate ability will give you five 3/3 Angel tokens, if you’re able to pull it off.
Even without her ultimate, she is still one of the best white Planeswalkers for an Angel tribal deck. Her -3 ability can potentially find a bunch of 3 or less mana value Angels and put one of them on the battlefield. The creature she finds also gets a shield counter on it too! Another one of the best white Planeswalkers to include in an angel deck is Archangel Elspeth.
Archangel Elspeth
Archangel Elspeth is one of the best white Planeswalkers you can include in an Angel deck because it provides good tribal synergy. For 2 white and 2 generic mana, she enters the battlefield with 4 loyalty, with these abilities:
- +1: Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token with lifelink.
- -2: Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature. It becomes an Angel in addition to its other types and gains flying.
- -6: Return all nonland permanent cards with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
The goal here is to use her +1 ability and -2 ability back and forth to creature 1/1 Soldier with lifelink and then give them two +1/+1 counters and make them angels. The -2 ability causes the targeted creature to remain an angel until it leaves the battlefield, not just until end of turn.
If she enters the battlefield while you already have a few creatures, especially non-angel creatures, don’t be afraid to use the -2 ability right away. For example, if your Angel deck is running Starnheim Aspirant, Bishop of Wings, Speaker of the Heavens, or any Changelings, they would make for excellent targets! Her ultimate ability is a nice to have, but I would rather use the first two abilities instead. If your goal is to use the -6 ability, as soon as she enters the battlefield, immediately use the +1 ability until you have the required 6 loyalty. I will say, the ultimate ability is pretty cool because it brings back your cheap mana rocks and enchantments too, along with creatures.
Final Thoughts
If you found this article helpful and are considering purchasing some of these awesome white Planeswalkers, please consider using the links provided throughout. By doing so, it lets TCGplayer know you found this information helpful, and this site receives a small commission to keep the wheels turning. Not to mention, it doesn’t cost you anything extra!
With all of that being said, that was my take on the best white Planeswalkers. Depending on your deck, some of these Planeswalkers will make for excellent inclusions. Some of white’s most popular deck themes are token decks and +1/+1 counters decks, and there are some great Planeswalkers for those deck themes. I hope this breakdown has helped with finding some new cards to put in your decks. Let me know in the comments what white Planeswalkers you like using and why. It is always interesting to me to see other people’s thoughts.
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