Few cards in Magic: The Gathering's history carry the reputation that Liliana of the Veil does. Printed as part of the original Innistrad set, she became an instant staple in competitive decks and has remained relevant across more than a decade of format shifts - a rare feat for any planeswalker, let alone one printed so early in Magic's three-mana-planeswalker era.
Her ability is deceptively simple: one loyalty ability forces both players to discard a card, and another forces both players to sacrifice a creature. In practice, those two modes let her punish opponents far more than they punish you, especially in decks built around discard and sacrifice synergies that make the drawback negligible on your side.
That efficiency is exactly why she's remembered as one of the best planeswalkers Magic has ever printed, not just among the 13 Liliana versions but across the game's entire planeswalker history. Competitive players have built entire archetypes - most famously various flavors of Black-based control and midrange - specifically to maximize her strengths.
This spotlight covers what makes her abilities so powerful, her competitive history, and why she remains one of the most sought-after cards among both players and collectors today.
Liliana of the Veil's first ability forces a two-for-one discard that's symmetrical on paper but asymmetrical in practice, since a well-built deck can empty its hand productively while a disrupted opponent loses real options. Her second ability does the same thing with creatures, forcing a sacrifice that a go-wide or resilient deck can shrug off far more easily than its opponent.
Her ultimate, while rarely reached in practice, provides a powerful long-game payoff that can single-handedly win a grindy match if the game goes long enough to use it.
Liliana of the Veil arrived during a period when discard and sacrifice strategies were already strong archetypes, and her printing gave those decks a single card that did both at once, efficiently, for a low mana cost. That combination made her a near-automatic include in any deck that could support her drawbacks.
Her competitive relevance has endured well beyond her initial format splash, continuing to see play in Modern, Legacy, and other eternal formats years after her original printing.
Beyond her competitive pedigree, Liliana of the Veil has become a genuinely desirable card for collectors thanks to her striking artwork and her status as a defining card from the beloved original Innistrad set. Her various printings, including special editions and promotional versions, carry real premiums in the secondary market.
Collectors who focus specifically on iconic planeswalkers tend to treat her as a cornerstone piece, often prioritizing acquiring her before other, less competitively relevant Liliana printings.
Liliana, Dreadhorde General and Liliana, Death's Majesty both saw real competitive play, but neither has matched Liliana of the Veil's sheer longevity across different eras and formats. Her combination of low mana cost, immediate impact, and lasting relevance sets her apart even from other excellent printings bearing her name.
That gap is part of why she consistently tops rankings of every Liliana planeswalker ever printed, not just rankings of competitively viable ones.
Demand from both competitive players actively using her in decks and collectors chasing a complete or high-end Liliana collection keeps pressure on her market value, a combination that's rarer than it sounds for older Magic cards. Many cards are either played but not collected, or collected but not played - she's consistently both.
Her status as a reserved-list-adjacent, culturally significant card from a beloved set also gives her staying power that newer, mechanically similar cards often lack.
Given her price point and significance, a copy of Liliana of the Veil deserves better than a loose sleeve in a bulk box - a graded card sleeve or a dedicated display frame protects the card while letting you actually show it off. If you own a high-grade or graded copy, that protection becomes even more important.
Collectors who play with their copy in an active Commander or Modern deck should still prioritize a quality sleeve, since even a card this valuable sees real wear from regular shuffling.
The original Innistrad set.
One forces both players to discard a card, and the other forces both players to sacrifice a creature.
She combines strong competitive demand with collector demand for her artwork and historical significance.
Yes, she remains playable in Modern, Legacy, and other eternal formats.
Add a protected copy of Liliana of the Veil to your collection with a frame or graded sleeve from EVORETRO's Card Frame and Stand Collection, built to keep an iconic card looking its best.
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