Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas is the cheapest planeswalker in the entire Tezzeret line, costing just three mana while still packing a real artifact-payoff kit.
Printed in 2011's Mirrodin Besieged, it arrived during Tezzeret's storyline stint working for Nicol Bolas, which the card's name directly references.
This guide walks through its exact loyalty abilities, why the low cost matters, how it holds up next to pricier Tezzerets, and where it earns a slot in a real Commander deck today.
If you are looking for an efficient early artifact payoff rather than a flashy top-end threat, this is the Tezzeret worth a closer look.
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas costs {2}{U}{B}, is a Legendary Planeswalker — Tezzeret, and starts at just 3 loyalty, the lowest starting loyalty of any Tezzeret card.
Its abilities are +1, look at the top five cards of your library, reveal an artifact card from among them and put it into your hand, then put the rest on the bottom in any order; −1, target artifact becomes an artifact creature with base power and toughness 5/5; and −4, target player loses X life and you gain X life, where X is twice the number of artifacts you control.
Digging five cards deep every turn for an artifact card is a strong hit rate in any deck running a real artifact count, and the unrevealed cards go to the bottom rather than back on top, keeping your draws consistent.
Because it is a plus ability, it can be repeated turn after turn without ever putting Tezzeret at risk of dying to its own cost.
Making any artifact a 5/5 creature for a single loyalty point is efficient, especially on a mana rock or utility artifact that was otherwise doing nothing in combat.
Because the cost is so low, this ability can be used the same turn Tezzeret enters if you already have a spare loyalty-neutral target, effectively giving you an immediate attacker.
The life drain scales with twice your artifact total, so a board with even five artifacts turns a single activation into a ten-point swing.
Unlike the ultimates on higher-loyalty Tezzerets, this ability is reachable relatively early thanks to the card's low starting cost and cheap +1 loop.
Agent of Bolas is an efficient midrange piece for any blue-black artifact deck, rewarding a reasonable artifact count without demanding the extreme density that some later Tezzerets need.
Its low mana cost also makes it easier to protect and recast if removed, since you are not investing as many resources up front as with a five- or six-mana planeswalker.
The original Mirrodin Besieged printing remains the standard way to pick one up, with a Guilds of Ravnica Mythic Edition and Secret Lair Drop offering alternate looks for collectors.
Prices sit comfortably in the mid-tier range, more accessible than the original Shards of Alara Tezzeret but still commanding a real premium over the newest Core Set entries.
At just three mana, Agent of Bolas is far easier to fit into an already-crowded early curve than most other planeswalkers in the line, letting it come down alongside your other turn-three plays in a normal game.
That accessibility also means it is much less painful to lose to removal, since you are investing a fraction of the resources a five- or six-mana Tezzeret would represent.
Because the −1 ability can turn any artifact into an immediate attacker, it pairs especially well with a mana rock you no longer need for mana that turn, converting a dead permanent into real pressure.
Holding the −4 for a turn when your artifact count has already grown gets significantly more value than firing it the moment Tezzeret resolves.
Mirrodin Besieged, released in 2011.
{2}{U}{B}, three mana total.
3, the lowest of any Tezzeret planeswalker.
It doubles the number of artifacts you control for both the life loss and life gain.
A three-mana planeswalker this efficient is worth keeping in easy reach rather than buried in a bulk box. A 3-inch EVORETRO collector album keeps the full Tezzeret line organized together by printing, exactly the kind of set that is easy to lose track of across a decade of reprints.
For the price, few planeswalkers punch above their mana cost as consistently as Agent of Bolas.
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