The Wanderer

The Wanderer
Emperor of Kamigawa
Details
Race	Human Formerly Planeswalker
Birthplace	Eiganjo, Kamigawa
Lifetime	Mending Era-present
Born	4537 AR
Colors
Center:

The Wanderer is a former planeswalker introduced in War of the Spark. She is the current Emperor of Kamigawa, and one of the most efficient and deadly warriors seen on any plane.^[1] She lost her spark during the Desparkening, but unlike her fellow planeswalkers, this was a great benefit to her.^[2]

Appearance and characteristics

The Wanderer is a traveling swordswoman with snow-white hair and brown eyes.^[3][4] As Emperor of Kamigawa, she is unable to reveal her name to anyone. Her bond with the kami Kyodai is embodied by the kami Himoto.^[5]

As the Wanderer, she hides her face behind a wide-brimmed hat and wears white garb.^[4][6] Beneath the brim of her hat, she wears a golden mask that covers her entire visage and even keeps her eyes in the shadow.^[7] Because she admitted that she once was considered to be beautiful, Ral Zarek suspected that her real face was now scarred. The Wanderer didn't deny this and implied that Tezzeret was to blame for her disfigurement.^[7] When she briefly returned to Kamigawa, it turned out that it was her planeswalker spark and not her appearance that was damaged.

The Wanderer is adept at swordplay and can magically absorb kinetic energy and redirect that force through her massive sword.^[8] The broadsword leaves a white mana trail in its wake when she swings it.^[9] She often appears without warning to aid in a battle or defend the innocent, only to disappear just as suddenly without explanation.^[10]

Able to down the largest foes with a single stroke, The Wanderer was also cursed to make an effort not to planeswalk. Unlike other planeswalkers who were tired by the process of planeswalking, The Wanderer could planeswalk and then planeswalk again almost immediately - but if she didn't focus, she would be pulled at random from plane to plane.^[8] This also happened when she slept or fell unconscious. Her condition made her uniquely attuned to the Blind Eternities. She can still feel every ripple across it and can sense a planeswalker's path longer than a typical planeswalker.

The Wanderer is centered in white mana. When she planeswalked, she disappeared in a violent flash of white light.^[7][11] When she had control over her spark, she could planeswalk within the same plane.^[12]

History

Origins

When they were young, the Wanderer and Kaito Shizuki became friends and sparring partners.^[13] Around age fourteen, her spark was ignited when the planeswalker Tezzeret attempted to control the kami Kyodai with a prototype Reality Chip.^[14] The Chip left her spark unstable, causing the irregularities with her planeswalking ability.

On her first day of training, her mentor Light-Paws gave her a puppy, telling her to raise it by hand: care for this dog now, so you can care for the kingdom in the future. The young emperor took these words to heart, and Yoshimaru became the most intelligent, most loyal dog the court had ever seen. She loved having a friend whom she could share her Imperial secrets with and relieve the burden of responsibility.^[10]

War of the Spark

The Wanderer was lured to Ravnica by the Interplanar Beacon and immediately became trapped there due to Bolas's use of the Immortal Sun. Alongside many other planeswalkers and Ravnicans, she fought against the Eternals of Bolas' Dreadhorde.^[9] She and Sarkhan Vol knew each other.

She was one of the few planeswalkers who chose to remain on Ravnica after Chandra disabled the Immortal Sun, helping the Gatewatch in their fight against Bolas. She survived the battle.

Forsaken

As her unique abilities allowed her to track Tezzeret and the Planar Bridge technology he carried, the Wanderer aided Ral Zarek in finding his target.^[7] They eventually found Tezzeret in his fortress on Alara in Esper, once known as the Seekers' Sanctum. The pair were greeted by a squadron of etherium gargoyles in which all but the leader, Brokk, were destroyed. Ral and the Wanderer entered Tezzeret's base and battled against his minions through multiple traps. Upon reaching Tezzeret, the Wanderer was knocked unconscious by the lead gargoyle and automatically planeswalked away.

After regaining consciousness, the Wanderer returned to Esper to investigate Tezzeret's fortress and found evidence of an organized abandonment. Back on Ravnica, the Wanderer relayed her newfound information at the guild meeting after Ral Zarek told the truth about his defeat. The Wanderer also revealed that she could no longer sense the Planar Bridge technology which indicated that Tezzeret may have intended to be followed.^[7]

Ikoria

The Wanderer was briefly present on Ikoria, where Vivien Reid saw her cut down a monster before planeswalking away.^[15]

Neon Dynasty

The Wanderer was briefly able to return to her home plane, meet Kaito, and with the stabilization offered by the Reality Chip, she was able to reconnect with Kyodai and Kaito Shizuki. Before her spark became unstable again, she and the spirit agreed to appoint Light-Paws acting Regent of Kamigawa.^[12]

Against New Phyrexia

The Wanderer and Kaito joined the Gatewatch and other assembled planeswalkers to support the Mirrans' efforts against Elesh Norn on New Phyrexia.^[16] However, the presence of a "planar shield" seriously disrupted the Wanderer's spark upon arrival, giving her only enough time to accompany Kaito and Nahiri to the outskirts of a Mirran camp before involuntarily planeswalking away.^[4]

While Planeswalking through New Phyrexia, she eventually reached the Hunter Maze and came across Nissa Revane and Lukka fighting Phyrexian beasts. She provided some assistance before forcibly planeswalking away. She returned and planeswalked away from the two intermittently while helping them slay Phyrexians. Once she met up with them near the center of the Maze, she revealed she knew where Vorinclex was and suggested that they should eliminate him while they had the chance. She planeswalked away before the two traveled to the praetor's chamber, but she returned to see Lukka compleated and bought Nissa time to flee.^[6]

Upon her return to the Mirran encampment where she had left Kaito and Nahiri, she discovered it razed to the ground.^[4]

Zhalfir

After the failed attempt to stop New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse, the Wanderer ended up on the pocket plane of Zhalfir, where she was temporarily caught in an Amber Prison and reconnected with Teferi Akosa.^[17]

Phyrexian Invasion

Returning to Kamigawa, the Wanderer arrived just in time to save Kaito once again and kill Tamiyo. Before the Moonfolk died, she beseeched the Wanderer to take care of her son Nashi.^[18]

In the aftermath of the invasion, Kaito and the Wanderer led reconstruction efforts on Kamigawa.^[19] The Wanderer lost her spark in the Great Desparkening, using this opportunity to travel her home plane while Light-Paws continued ruling as regent.^[2] A year and some months after the invasion's end, Ral Zarek visited Eiganjo to ask the Wanderer to track Jace, who had gone rogue, but she was no longer able to do so after losing her spark.^[20]

On Duskmourn

The Wanderer received reports that Nashi had gone missing. The only clue to his whereabouts was video footage taken from one of his drones, which showed a mysterious door and footage of a bizarre, dark structure. She sought out Kaito and asked him to gather a rescue party to save Nashi.^[21] He recruited Tyvar Kell and Niko Aris on Kaldheim while the Wanderer searched for the door, eventually finding a similar one on Ravnica. It was the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Living Guildpact, Niv-Mizzet, who offered to help the rescue effort and provided them with the assistance of Aminatou and Zimone Wola. However, when the team came to the door on Ravnica, Aminatou refused to enter, instead providing the other members of the team with fateshifter tokens that they could use to foresee and avoid deadly mistakes. The remaining team members entered the plane of Duskmourn.

Once inside, they navigated the labyrinthine corridors of the shifting, haunted House. Their search was fraught with peril as the House morphed unpredictably, leading them through disorienting rooms and eerie spaces. Their efforts were further complicated by the vanishing of critical pathways, including a screaming door that led Tyvar and Zimone off, and one through which Kaito fell into an abyss, leaving him separated from the group. Despite their attempts to backtrack and reunite, the House's treacherous nature thwarted their progress. Niko and the Wanderer encountered Winter, a resident of the House, who offered guidance on evading its dangers. Winter revealed the House's unyielding grasp on those within, leaving Niko and the Wanderer to confront the grim reality that escape might be beyond their reach.

Winter walked across the small parlor with a deliberate, rolling gait, carefully avoiding the moth motifs woven into the faded carpet. Niko observed Winter's precise movements, realizing nothing about him was as casual as it appeared. Winter warned Niko and the Wanderer not to step on the moths, explaining that Duskmourn was alive and hunted those within it. He revealed that Duskmourn lured people inside, isolated them, and used creatures to hunt them. Winter advised them to stay close to him, remain cautious, and follow the Wanderer's Glimmer - a glowing dragon spirit which represented her hopes and dreams. Together, they followed the glimmer, hoping it would lead them to safety and possibly reunite them with their lost companions.

Winter, Niko, and the Wanderer following the glowing form of Kyodai, traversed the labyrinthine House in search of Nashi.^[22] Along the way, they encountered various obstacles, including cellarspawn, nightmares, and glitch ghosts that emerged from mirrors. At one point, they stumbled upon a clearing where four nezumi, including Nashi, were held captive by wickerfolk. The Wanderer and Niko, using quick thinking and teamwork, managed to rescue Nashi and defeat the wickerfolk by exploiting their fear of fire, although they did discharge the Wanderer's fateshifter in the process when she was briefly turned into a wickerfolk. Despite the rescue, Nashi's obsession with finding his mother Tamiyo continued to drive them deeper into the unknown.

The party led by Nashi continued their journey deeper into Duskmourn through a series of natural environments that seemed impossible to contain within the House.^[23] They entered the Valley of Serenity, home of the Cult of Valgavoth, a dangerous group dedicated to the demon Valgavoth, and then their altar room, where they encountered the Cult. The Cult had captured three survivors, including a wounded girl named Rill and an uninjured captive named Sunset. Rill gave in to the cultists' demands, agreeing to become one of them. Despite trying to intervene, Niko, the Wanderer, and Nashi were captured after a betrayal by Winter, who sealed them in the room with the cultists. The cult leader then used a cloud of sedative dust to knock them out, and they awoke tied to stone posts in another cavern. The Wanderer was the first to regain consciousness, realizing that the cult was using Tamiyo's scroll echo to siphon her stories and feed them to Valgavoth, allowing him to learn where to place the doors to spread his influence beyond Duskmourn's walls.

As the group watched, Valgavoth manifested in the cultists' chamber to reward Winter for his betrayal, opening a door to Innistrad.^[24] He then turned his attention to the rescue team, explaining that with multiple planar travelers, he no longer needed Tamiyo's memories to gain the information he needed. However, they managed to escape thanks to the intervention of Tyvar and Zimone, who had found their way back. They fought off Valgavoth and the cultists, giving Nashi time to retrieve the memory scroll, although Niko was forced to discharge their fateshifter. As they ran away, Valgavoth blocked their way, but Kaito, who had retreated to Ravnica, used Alquist Proft's magic to open a temporary Omenpath from Ravnica to Duskmourn, which the group used to escape.

Trivia

• The Wanderer is the only planeswalker character who has cards without a planeswalker type, because her name is unknown.^[25] The non-legal Heroes of the Realm card Heroes of Kamigawa, which features both Kaito and the Wanderer, introduced "Wanderer" as a mixed type with Kaito, to avoid the card having a type for only one of the planeswalkers it features.^[26]
• The Wanderer appears in the teaser, cinematic, and animated trailers for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.^[27][28][29]
• In Duskmourn: House of Horror, the Wanderer filled the horror trope of the "Action Girl."^[30]
• Even after losing her spark, the Wanderer is still more aware of the Planes and how they fit together and function than anyone else in the Multiverse, except for maybe Loot.^[31]

Artifacts acquired

• The Wanderer has a sword that she uses to channel kinetic energy into powerful attacks.
• For a short time, she was attached to the Reality Chip.
• A fateshifter from Aminatou, extinguished when she was turned into a wickerfolk on Duskmourn.^[32][22]

Planes visited

Planeswalkers met

Gallery

• 
  Concept art by Sam Burley.
• 
  3D model.
• 
  “Rather than be hunted in the shadows, I choose to face the real enemy. I am not afraid of monsters I can see.”
• 
  Kaito and the Wanderer as children.
• 
  Kaito and the Wanderer as adolescents.
• 
  The Wanderer in the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty animated trailer.
• 
  The Wanderer leaves Kamigawa.
• 
  Concept art
• 
  The Wanderer in the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty teaser.
• 
  Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Key art.
• 
  The Wanderer in the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty cinematic trailer.
• 
  The Reality Chip attached to the Wanderer's hand.
• 
  The Wanderer fights Jin-Gitaxias.
• 
  The Wanderer saves Kaito from Jin-Gitaxias.
• 
  The Wanderer rescues Kaito and Tamiyo from Jin-Gitaxias' lab.
• 
  Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty marketing art.
• 
  Tamiyo attaches the Reality Chip to the Wanderer trying to repair the planeswalker's unstable spark.
• 
  Magic: The Gathering Arena avatar.
• 
  Magic: The Gathering Arena sleeve.
• 
  The Wanderer's unstable spark makes her have to concentrate to stay on a plane.
• 
  Kaito and the Wanderer protect Kamigawa during the Phyrexian invasion.

Story appearances

In-game references

Represented in:

Associated cards:

Depicted in:

Quoted or referred to:

References

v t e Planeswalkers   Planeswalker Types Ajani Goldmane Aminatou Angrath Arlinn Kord Ashiok Basri Ket Nicol Bolas Calix Chandra Nalaar Comet Dack Fayden Dakkon Blackblade Daretti Davriel Cane Deborah Thomas Geyadrone Dihada Domri Rade Dovin Baan Elspeth Tirel Estrid Freyalise Garruk Gideon Jura Grist Guff Huatli Jace Beleren Jared Carthalion Jaya Ballard Jeska Kaito Shizuki Karn Kasmina Kaya Cassir Kiora Koth of the Hammer Liliana Vess Lukka Nahiri Narset Niko Aris Nissa Revane Ob Nixilis Oko Quintorius Kand Ral Zarek Rowan Kenrith Saheeli Rai Samut Sarkhan Vol Serra Sivitri Scarzam Sorin Markov Tevesh Szat Tamiyo Teferi Akosa Teyo Verada Tezzeret Tibalt Tyvar Kell Ugin Urza Venser Vivien Reid Vraska Vronos Will Kenrith Windgrace Wrenn Xenagos Jiang Yanggu Mu Yanling Crossover Bahamut Ellywick Tumblestrum Elminster Lolth Minsc Mordenkainen Tasha Zariel Non-eternal Abian B.O.B. Byode Duck Dungeon Master Ersta Inzerva Luxior Svega The Wanderer You Related By Format Venser Scale   Lore Planeswalkers in lore only Ā The Adventurer Altair of Coloni Arzakon Azor Baltrice Bo Levar Bolar Boragor Brand Chaney Crucius Daria Demonic Leviathan Draktha Dyfed Embereck Eskil Faralyn Fatima Feroz Garth Gerheart Greensleeves Grenfell Mor Grinth "Icy" Isona Maive Kenan Sahrmal Kento Khazi Krim Kristina of the Woods Kuthuman Leshrac Liana Manatarqua Masrath Meshuvel Mezlok Mindrel Parcher Platon Rafthrasa Ramaz Ravi Sengir Ravidel Sandruu Slobad Sifa Grent Sylvene Taishiar Taysir of Rabiah Tempé Tessebik Thomil The Thorn The Traveler Tyreus The Unluckiest Vaash Vroga Vram Worzel Yawden Affiliations Ancients Gatewatch Infinite Consortium Nine Titans Sages of Minorad The Three Tolgath Events Great Magus War Igniting Mending Desparkening Colorshift Planeswalker War War of the Spark Related Spark Aetherspark Multiverse Universewalker