Venser Scale

The Venser Scale is a ranking by Mark Rosewater of the likelihood that a given planeswalker will be getting a new planeswalker card in future Standard-legal sets. Planeswalkers are ranked from 1 (very likely) to 10 (very unlikely). Mechanical space and flavor both play a role.

Description

As one of the Rosewater Scales, the Venser Scale is analogous to the Storm Scale for mechanics and the Rabiah Scale for planes. It is named for the planeswalker Venser, who will almost certainly never return as a planeswalker in a regular set because he gave up his spark and is dead in the storyline. Like the other scales, the Venser Scale is only a reflection of Rosewater's opinion and generalities about planeswalkers. It does not account for any actual future plans, or the opinions of other R&D members.

Descriptive rankings

Based primarily on the explanation for Storm Scale, the following rankings apply:

• Level 1: Will definitely see again, possibly every few years (Note that this is less frequent than the Storm Scale's 1 which means "most likely in the next set", since planeswalkers are represented on far fewer cards than card mechanics in general.)
• Level 2: Will definitely see again, but not necessarily right away
• Level 3: Will most likely do again, probably many times
• Level 4: Will most likely do again, but they have issues that make them less of a guarantee
• Level 5: We need to find the right place to bring it back, but I'm optimistic
• Level 6: We need to find the right place to bring it back, but I'm a little less optimistic
• Level 7: It's unlikely to return, but possible if the right environment comes along
• Level 8: It's unlikely to return, but possible if the stars align
• Level 9: I never say never, but this would require a minor miracle
• Level 10: I never say never, but this would require a major miracle

Additionally, when asked if there was anyone higher on the Venser scale, Rosewater gave this answer for Englebert:

• Level 11: "He knows what he did."

Venser scale rankings

Trivia

• Shortly after Mark Rosewater confirmed Venser was still a 10 on his own scale in December 2022, he was given a new card in the next premier set, Phyrexia: All Will Be One: Venser, Corpse Puppet. However, in this form he is a creature, and a zombified one at that, not his original Planeswalker self.
• The Desparkening has caused many planeswalkers to go up in their Venser scale rating. The scale measures their return as a planeswalker card and returning as a legendary creature doesn't count.

References