<p>The rules for planeswalkers changed with the release of Ixalan on September 29, 2017, so the second part of this answer is no longer correct, but is left for posterity.</p>
<p>With the release of <a href="http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/ixalan-mechanics" rel="noreferrer">Ixalan</a> all planeswalkers have the Legendary supertype (with all previous ones receiving errata to add it to existing cards), and the Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule has been removed.</p>
<p>This change means that they are <strong>no longer</strong> be a valid choice for Lay Bare the Heart since Ixalan came out.</p>
<hr />
<p>They can be chosen with Lay Bare the Heart because Planeswalkers are not Legendary. While the 'Legend Rule' and the 'Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule' have similar effects, they are not the same, and they look at different information on the card.</p>
<p>The Legend Rule looks at the name of the card, so you can have <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNiv-Mizzet%2c%20Dracogenius%5d">Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius</a> and <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNiv-Mizzet%2c%20the%20Firemind%5d">Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind</a> on the battlefield at the same time even though they are the same character because the card name is different. However you could not have <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNissa%20Revane%5d">Nissa Revane</a> and <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNissa%2c%20Steward%20of%20Elements%5d">Nissa, Steward of Elements</a> on the battlefield at the same time because the Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule looks at the planeswalker type and they both have the planeswalker type 'Nissa'.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>704.5j</strong> If a player controls two or more planeswalkers that share a planeswalker type, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “planeswalker uniqueness rule.”</p>
<p><strong>704.5k</strong> If a player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.”</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-29T09:37:24.600Z
It seems that this answer is going to be invalidated soon: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/ixalan-mechanics
Michał Politowski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-04-26T17:55:32.310Z
2018-10-31T19:24:37.873Z
2020-06-17T09:01:24.697Z
diego
<p>The new Amonkhet card <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bLay%20Bare%20the%20Heart%5d">Lay Bare the Heart</a> says it can remove a non-land, non-legendary card from the opponent's hand. I'm curious if it can hit planeswalkers. I know they suffer from the "legendary rule", but as they don't explicitly say "legendary" on the card I'm inclined to believe that they can be targeted. Does anyone have an official ruling?</p>

<magic-the-gathering><mtg-planeswalkers>
Are Planeswalkers "Legendary"?
Robert Wertz
# Are Planeswalkers "Legendary"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-04-26)

The new Amonkhet card [Lay Bare the Heart](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bLay%20Bare%20the%20Heart%5d) says it can remove a non-land, non-legendary card from the opponent's hand. I'm curious if it can hit planeswalkers. I know they suffer from the "legendary rule", but as they don't explicitly say "legendary" on the card I'm inclined to believe that they can be targeted. Does anyone have an official ruling?

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering, mtg-planeswalkers


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-04-26. Score: 35 | Accepted answer

The rules for planeswalkers changed with the release of Ixalan on September 29, 2017, so the second part of this answer is no longer correct, but is left for posterity.

With the release of [Ixalan](http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/ixalan-mechanics) all planeswalkers have the Legendary supertype (with all previous ones receiving errata to add it to existing cards), and the Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule has been removed.

This change means that they are **no longer** be a valid choice for Lay Bare the Heart since Ixalan came out.

---

They can be chosen with Lay Bare the Heart because Planeswalkers are not Legendary. While the 'Legend Rule' and the 'Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule' have similar effects, they are not the same, and they look at different information on the card.

The Legend Rule looks at the name of the card, so you can have [Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNiv-Mizzet%2c%20Dracogenius%5d) and [Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNiv-Mizzet%2c%20the%20Firemind%5d) on the battlefield at the same time even though they are the same character because the card name is different. However you could not have [Nissa Revane](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNissa%20Revane%5d) and [Nissa, Steward of Elements](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNissa%2c%20Steward%20of%20Elements%5d) on the battlefield at the same time because the Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule looks at the planeswalker type and they both have the planeswalker type 'Nissa'.

> **704.5j** If a player controls two or more planeswalkers that share a planeswalker type, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “planeswalker uniqueness rule.”
>
> **704.5k** If a player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.”

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: It seems that this answer is going to be invalidated soon: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/ixalan-mechanics  

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