Tezzeret came out second-best in a duel with Jace Beleren. He has now been rebuilt by Nicol Bolas, and returns as that dragon’s field agent. He is currently on Mirrodin, keeping one eye on the progress of the Phyrexians, but taking no part in the ongoing war.
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas has an affinity for artifacts, just like his original incarnation. However as a blue/black rather than mono blue planeswalker, this affinity comes through in a different way. Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas costs four mana to cast, including one blue and one black mana. He enters the battlefield with three loyalty counters and has three abilities, all related to artifacts. This means you won’t be using him outside of a blue/black artifact deck. However his abilities are worth the restriction.
The first ability adds one loyalty counter and allows you to look at the top 5 cards of your library, reveal and artifact card to put into your hand, and out the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. A blue ability as far as these things go, but a useful one. Adding a single loyalty counter is all you need to access Tezzeret’s final ability too.
The second ability is useful when you need an attacker out of nowhere. For the cost of one loyalty counter, target artifact becomes a 5/5 artifact creature. Useful if you have an untapped artifact land. It can even be used on an equipment card, but remember that equipment which becomes a creature cannot be attached to a creature. If it was already attached it becomes unattached.
The final ability is great in multiplayer, including in Grand Melee. It costs four loyalty counters, and target player loses x life and you gain x life. X is equal to twice the number of artifacts you control. So if you have two artifact they lose 4 life, if you have three they lose 6 and so on. In the kind of deck you’ll use Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas in you should have nine or ten artifacts before using this ability. The ability can immediately kill an opponent as well as giving you the life to absorb attacks from the player to your right. Artifacts or spells with the proliferate ability become valuable in this deck, as they allow you to quickly restore Tezzeret’s loyalty counters, ready for another strike.
Verdict: Strong. Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas will do well at the magic table with a deck built around him. The card can also be added to some other decks, but works best in a purpose-built deck.
Connections: Like Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas? You may also like [Tezzeret the Seeker] [Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker] [Jace, the Mindsculptor]
Don’t like Tezzeret? You may prefer [Sarkhan the Mad] [Jace, Memory Adept] [Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded]
