The 29 Best Blue Planeswalkers in Magic

Last updated on March 28, 2024

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage | Illustration by Lius Lasahido

Debuting in Lorwyn, planeswalkers have become an eternal staple of Magic design ever since. With several new planeswalkers coming out with each set, we’ve had planeswalkers of various power levels; from cards that dominated their respective Standard formats and cards that have been banned in nearly every competitive format to the occasional full dud.

Looking at all the planeswalkers ever printed, there are 30 mono blue planeswalkers. Today, I’ll be looking at all the mono blue planeswalkers in Magic’s history. Expect plenty of card draw, artifact shenanigans, tempo-based minuses, and Jace. Lots and lots of Jace.

Ready? Let’s get into it!

What Are Blue Planeswalkers in MTG?

Narset, Parter of Veils | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

While this might seem straightforward, we’re only looking at cards with the planeswalker type. They must have blue color pips and no other colors. I’m also going to only count planeswalkers from traditional sets as opposed to Un-sets as those cards don’t operate on the same axis as traditional set planeswalkers. Like, I don’t know how to evaluate B.O.B. (Bevy of Beebles) from Unsanctioned.

#29. Mu Yanling, Celestial Wind

Why? Mu Yanling, Celestial Wind is likely worse than a basic land in most Commander decks.

#28. Teferi, Timeless Voyager

These planeswalker deck face commanders have always been a rough road. Six mana gets you a… well, um, a card I don’t think would make it in a Draft deck in whatever format you like. Teferi, Timeless Voyager would be a tough cast even at 4 mana.

#27. Tezzeret, Cruel Machinist

Let’s say you’ve already ultimated Mordenkainen, maybe? And can inexplicably give everything haste in a blue heavy deck? #gotem

Um, so yeah, Tezzeret, Cruel Machinist is a “no.”

#26. Mu Yanling

Mu Yanling is definitely the worst extra turn spell in MTG.

#25. Jace, Arcane Strategist

Underpowered and overcosted like all the War of the Spark planeswalker deck face cards, Jace, Arcane Strategist seems unplayable to me. Perhaps as a Jace completionist impulse in a superfriends deck, I get it, but I need a lot more for 6 mana in today’s EDH.

#24. Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage

You’d expect the Ixalan overcosted, underpowered card to be the worst one, but somehow this is better than the Arcane Strategist. Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage still isn’t really playable, but I can see a deck that wants the mass untap ability if you’re willing to pay 6 for this.

#23. Jace, the Living Guildpact

The badness of this card will remind you why Teferi, Time Raveler is good. Jace, the Living Guildpact doesn’t do nearly enough to justify sleeving it up.

#22. Jace, Cunning Castaway

A disappointment in its Standard, Jace, Cunning Castaway gets better every year. Don’t get excited, but paired with cards that multiply tokens like Doubling Season and an increasing number of cards that turn planeswalkers into creatures like Spark Rupture, as well as cards that move counters like Goldberry, River- Daughter, you have something far more playable than it used to be. It’s still not good, really, but forget it Jace, it’s Ixalan.

#21. Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor

Before people started to understand that spot removal was card disadvantage to the table in Commander, Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor seemed better. I’m not sure how useful the Wizard tokens are even in wizard decks, which largely have better choices. Still, people seem to play this quite a bit, so I must be missing something?

#20. Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer

Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer has a most tempting ultimate. Four turns to get there is nuts, though. If you can move counters and/or proliferate or are slinging an Ichormoon Gauntlet in superfriends, maybe you could give it a shot?

#19. Jace Beleren

One of the original Lorwyn Five, Jace Beleren is, like all 3-mana walkers, something to watch. Great in Kami of the Crescent Moon style decks spanning the range from group hug to decks like Xyris, the Writhing Storm that weaponize opponent card draw, this Jace is the most “fair” Jace, if we can say that? It seems unlikely that the mill ultimate ever matters in EDH, but it’s there.

#18. Jace, Memory Adept

Let’s say you mana rock Jace, Memory Adept on turn two in EDH. In only 24ish turns you’ll mill out the table! This is probably a fine card to include in your underdog EDH mill deck, but, real talk, if you could run a second copy of Consider instead, wouldn’t you?

#17. Mordenkainen

You probably think Mordenkainen belongs with the 6-mana Jaces at the bottom of this list. You might be right. But it makes a token, which can be big, which can matter and helps the chances of the ultimate. The ultimate is pretty great in case you want to combo off and can’t afford the good tutors. It can get you Thassa's Oracle wins that way, including immediately with Doubling Season or Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider.

#16. Jace, Mirror Mage

I need to confess something to you all. I love Verazol, the Split Current as a commander. It’s wacky, I know, but I love that it keeps piling on counters for commander tax! If you kick Jace, Mirror Mage and duplicate that kick with Verazol, that’s three Jaces! Three! Now for the Doubling Season effects! In a “scryfall” deck like Galadriel of Lothlórien, that’s a lot of scrying! Is that good enough? Well….

#15. Will Kenrith

There are so many excellent Izzet commanders, but Will Kenrith paired with Rowan Kenrith are my guilty pleasure favorite Izzet leaders. When you finally drop Will, which doesn’t seem so delayed given all your cheap spells, you use the second ability, draw two cards, then go spell crazy the next turn or even drop Rowan or all the other versions of the Kenrith planeswalkers I stuff into this deck (perhaps ill-advisedly!) on the cheap.

What I really like about this duo, aside from the flavor, is that they are (or at least were) secretly powerful. Folks are relieved when they’re your Izzet commanders, and you get a bit underestimated the way you won’t be when you drop something like Veyran, Voice of Duality.

#14. Jace, Architect of Thought

Jace, Architect of Thought caused the groaning of mono red players all over the world during Return to Ravnica Standard. Eventually transitioning to having a place in Modern prior to the Jace, the Mind Sculptor unban, now it appears that Jace, Architect of Thought is now only played consistently in EDH or Cube. The 4-mana cost is right, and having an answer to token swarms is a decent option in superfriends decks, but I’m never excited to draw this card when I’ve sleeved it up.

#13. Jace, Unraveler of Secrets

Paired with Archon of Emeria or Rule of Law, Jace, Unraveler of Secrets locks everyone out of the game. It takes three turns to tick Jace up to that ultimate, so you’ll need to move counters and/or proliferate to get there quick enough to have any chance to actually do it. That has gotten easier with counter moving and proliferate cards released in the past 18 months, but it’s still tough and likely to make you unpopular as heck.

#12. Jace, the Perfected Mind

Jace, the Perfected Mind is making mill a thing in Standard again, which is downright shocking. A card that can mill 15 cards on ETB also serves as a reasonable control finisher. That may not matter that much in EDH, so this card is probably underplayed there. Cast for compleation rate, Jace is draws three cards for three in most games of Commander, where someone is likely to be stuffing their graveyard. Even with zero other synergies, that’s fine.

#11. Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim

A nice enough control card in Standard, Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim is a counters factory if you’re moving them around. The ultimate is easy enough to get to if you’re packing this in a Day's Undoing type of shell, but it’s also not exactly the ultimate you want in a 4-player EDH game.

#10. Tezzeret, Artifice Master

Divination every turn? Cool. Drop Thopters or proliferate/move counters to get to that crazy ultimate? Coolest. It fits. For my money, Tezzeret, Artifice Master has the most metal of all Tezzie art.

#9. Tezzeret, Betrayer of Flesh

Obviously you need to run this in an artifact deck. If so, the first ability, Catalog, twice, gets you to the ultimate, which is bonkers. But it’s the static that’s really fun. Pair this with a Training Grounds and/or an Omen Hawker, and you’ve got the infinite business with cards like Basalt Monolith.

#8. Teferi, Temporal Archmage

This card keeps getting better in the proliferating, counters moving, Ichormoon Gauntlet MTG world. A 6-mana walker that takes 5 turns to ultimate isn’t great, even in a superfriends deck where the ultimate just wins. But if you could get there quick, yes please. If not, that second ability kind of rocks in certain decks. At worst, Teferi mostly pays for itself.

#7. Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

If you hold Tamiyo, the Moon Sage in hand until the token mage swings at someone, you’ll be drawing a lot of cards. A lot.

#6. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy // Jace, Telepath Unbound

A powerful card in its Standard, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, at base, is a looter, which is often just good enough. It’s legendary, which matters more and more, and the option to flip it into Jace, Telepath Unbound to Snapcaster Mage something is really flexible.

#5. Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Before the days of Oko, Thief of Crowns, the best planeswalker of all time was Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Banned in Standard and Modern, Jace, the Mind Sculptor was the first planeswalker to have four abilities. As you might imagine, that made the flexibility of this card immense. A singular win-condition that paired with shuffle effects to filter rapidly through unwanted cards, this card was staple in multiple formats for years. Still useful in Commander for its ability to Brainstorm and thwart opposing Brainstorms, Jace can still induce groans, even if it doesn’t quite earn them the way it used to.

#4. Tezzeret the Seeker

This Shards of Alara planeswalker introduced the artifact obsessed character who would recur throughout several later sets. Tezzeret the Seeker remains a Cube staple today and saw plenty of play throughout its lifespan in Magic. Generating mana advantages through the plus ability paired with mana rocks, fetching artifacts from your deck, and threating to ultimate the turn after entering play, Tezzeret, the Seeker quickly proved its worth in artifact-centric decks. Five mana is a lot to tutor an Ensnaring Bridge or a Pithing Needle, but blue often needs quite a few artifact tutors.

#3. Teferi, Master of Time

One of the weaker Teferi planeswalkers in most Constructed formats, Teferi, Master of Time excels in EDH, where it lets you activate loyalty abilities once per turn on any player’s turn and at instant speed. At a 4-player table, it takes less than two full turn-cycles to threaten an ultimate of taking two extra turns after the current turn. While perhaps underwhelming in the context of the other recent Teferi Planeswalkers, this is easily the most snowballing Teferi in EDH.

#2. Jace, Wielder of Mysteries

Jace, Wielder of Mysteries does a great Thassa's Oracle impression for Commander, where a backup for your wincon in the 99 is always welcome. The card draw and small amount of mill is also useful.

#1. Narset, Parter of Veils

If you’ve been playing Magic during any period since War of the Spark, you know Narset, Parter of Veils. One of the most ubiquitous cards in Eternal formats and Standard, Narset remains one of the most powerful planeswalkers thanks to its static ability. Turning off card draw for opponents can hamstring specific decks like Izzet Phoenix in Pioneer, and it dominates blue mirrors in Eternal formats where Brainstorm is an endless staple.

We’ve also seen decks leverage this static and pair it with cards like Echo of Eons or Day's Undoing to lock out opponents instantly. Add the fact that Narset, Parter of Veils can dig you to specific answers like Supreme Verdict, and it’s easy to see why this is a perennial staple across all formats in Magic.

Wrap Up

Jace, the Living Guildpact | Illustration by Chase Stone

Although there are some incredibly powerful mono blue planeswalkers, from an EDH perspective, the power crown has been passed to Azorius and Simic with cards like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Oko, Thief of Crowns. It’s best to think of these planeswalkers as niche plays outside of two main archetypes, superfriends, and artifacts. There are some powerful synergies to be had with the best ranked walkers on this list.

As proliferate and counter moving cards, um, proliferate, and as more cards like Luxior, Giada's Gift that turn planeswalkers into creatures are printed, many of these blue planeswalkers have the flexibility to fit into new patterns of superfriends builds. I predict that the top half of these cards will see increasing amounts of play in Commander in the years to come, despite or perhaps because of the large scale desparking from March of the Machine and The Aftermath.

How about you? Are you on board the newfangled version of the superfriends train in EDH? Or do you have other uses for these walkers? Care to spill your secrets in the comments or over on our Discord?

Take care and stay safe!