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Magic: The Gathering stands as the oldest and most popular trading card game today, and it has greatly influenced many later games. Early on, Wizards of the Coast had to smooth out some kinks in gameplay design, such as getting rid of the controversial ante rules. However, even in the 2010s, Wizards was still in trial and error mode, such as with Planeswalker cards.
Planeswalkers were introduced in the Lorwyn block, and there have been many successful Planeswalker cards since then. In the original Innistrad block, though, Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded debuted as the first-ever two-drop Planeswalker card, and it was an instant dud. This bode ill for Tibalt’s character, as well as the concept of two-drop Planeswalkers.
What Went Wrong With M:TG’s Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded
The original Innistrad block introduced one of the game’s best Planeswalkers, Liliana of the Veil, which is one of the Modern format’s best cards. Then, the block’s third set, Avacyn Restored, broke new ground with Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded, the game’s first attempt at a two-drop Planeswalker card. Planeswalkers usually have a converted mana cost/mana value of 3-6, and Tibalt makes it clear why. If Planeswalkers get any cheaper, they suffer unacceptable reductions in power, and Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded quickly became a running joke in the Magic community.
As a pure red Planeswalker, Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded is all about chaos, damage and “threaten” effects, but this card has poor implementation of all three. The +1 ability enables discard-based and graveyard-based effects, but at the steep cost of discarding a card at random, rather than strategically choosing a card to discard. This makes effects such as Madness or Flashback difficult to use with Tibalt.
Also, the -4 effect has a hefty loyalty counter cost and is based on the player’s hand size, which contradicts how red mana works. Red decks should recklessly use all their cards in aggressive strategies, which doesn’t work with that -4 ability. Finally, the -6 ability is a potential game-winning effect, but Tibalt cannot protect itself while using the +1 ability to reach six loyalty. Worst of all, these three effects don’t even synergize with one another, and the first two actually contradict each other.
All this combines to make a weak and irrelevant Planeswalker that has minimal appeal, despite its low mana cost. As a result, Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded rarely appears in any decks. Other red Planeswalkers can draw cards in better ways, such as Daretti, Scrap Savant, and some can deal damage more effectively, such as Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker and most Chandra cards. Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded soon fell into obscurity, but the card and Tibalt as a character still have a future in Magic: The Gathering.
The Future Of Tibalt & His Planeswalker Cards
Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded never had the impact on Standard it intended, nor does it play a role in Modern or related formats. By now, it is a novelty card, an almost-good card that invites players to challenge themselves to use it profitably. Magic players are known to build decks with bad cards in mind, and find creative, unexpected ways to make use of them. Sure enough, Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded appears in a handful of Commander decks, such as Feldon of the Third Path, Valki, God of Lies and Rakdos, the Showstopper. It’s not a format-defining card, even among the red cards, but this proves that Magic players love to use “pet” cards and create something new with them.
In that, Tibalt is a success after all, and two more Tibalt cards have helped the character gain some recognition. War of the Spark‘s Tibalt, Rakish Instigator is what the original should have been. It prevents lifegain for all opponents and creates explosive 1/1 red Devil creatures, making for a modest but usable card in the uncommon rarity slot.
Lastly, Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter from Kaldheim pushed the character to the next level, abandoning Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded’s CMC and color identity entirely. Now, Tibalt is a Rakdos-colored double-faced modal card, complete with powerful effects based on exile and generating value with those exiled cards. Wizards of the Coast learned some hard lessons from the original Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded, and now, red players have excellent options with the character in a variety of formats.
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