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Commander Nexus
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  3. Nicol Bolas, the Ravager // Nicol Bolas, the Arisen

Command zone

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager // Nicol Bolas, the Arisen

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager // Nicol Bolas, the Arisen

Legendary Creature — Elder Dragon // Legendary Planeswalker — Bolas

Nicol Bolas wants a deck that plays sturdy creatures that also deal with opponents' cards. It also suits a deck that throws away its own cards on purpose for a reward.

  • Mana cost1 genericblueblackred
  • Blue, Black, Red ()
  • Power / toughness4 / 4
  • RarityMythic

Flying

When Nicol Bolas enters, each opponent discards a card.

4 genericblueblackred: Exile Nicol Bolas, then return him to the battlefield transformed under his owner's control. Activate only as a sorcery.

//

+2: Draw two cards.

−3: Nicol Bolas deals 10 damage to target creature or planeswalker.

−4: Put target creature or planeswalker card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.

−12: Exile all but the bottom card of target player's library.

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Themes

Cards That Fit Nicol Bolas, the Ravager

Picked for what they do in Nicol Bolas's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Nicol Bolas's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

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The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Nicol Bolas, the Ravager

explain how Nicol Bolas works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

A double-faced card enters the battlefield with its front face up by default, unless a spell or ability instructs you to put it onto the battlefield transformed, in which case it enters with its back face up. The back face of a double-faced card can't be played.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

Each face of a double-faced card has its own set of characteristics: name, types, subtypes, abilities, and so on. While a double-faced card is on the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of the face that's currently up. The other set of characteristics is ignored.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

If another permanent that isn't a double-faced card (such as Mirror Image) becomes a copy of Nicol Bolas, the Ravager, activating the ability to exile it and return it transformed will only exile it. It won't return to the battlefield at all.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

If Nicol Bolas leaves the battlefield after his creature face's activated ability has been activated but before it resolves, the card remains in whichever zone it moves to. It won't be exiled or return transformed.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If you leave the game, any permanents you control from Nicol Bolas's third loyalty ability that came from other players' graveyards are exiled.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

In some rare cases, a spell or ability may cause Nicol Bolas to transform while it's a creature on the battlefield. If this happens, the resulting planeswalker won't have any loyalty counters on it and will subsequently be put into its owner's graveyard.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

Nicol Bolas, the Arisen has a color indicator on its typeline. This color indicator means that it's a blue, black, and red permanent.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

The mana value of a double-faced card is the mana value of its front face, even while it's on the battlefield with its back face up. For example, the mana value of Nicol Bolas, the Arisen is 4.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

When Nicol Bolas's enters-the-battlefield triggered ability resolves, first the next opponent in turn order (or, if it's an opponent's turn, that opponent) chooses a card in their hand without revealing it, then each other opponent in turn order does the same. Then all the chosen cards are discarded at the same time.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

While a double-faced card isn't on the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of its front face. For example, Nicol Bolas has the characteristics of its creature face in the graveyard, even if it was a planeswalker on the battlefield before it was put into the graveyard.

Wizards of the Coast 13 Jul 2018

You can activate one of the planeswalker's loyalty abilities the turn it enters the battlefield.

11 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Nicol Bolas, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryUBRPlayers write colors as letters: U for blue, B for black, R for red. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.MidrangeMidrange decks play solid creatures that also deal with opponents' cards, attacking when it is safe and defending when it is not. They sit in the middle: slower than an all-out attacking deck, sturdier than a deck built to answer everything.Open the Midrange pageValue CreatureA creature that does two jobs: it deals with an opponent's card when it arrives, then stays as a real attacker. Its enter the battlefield ability destroys, damages, counters or bounces something, and it has 3 or more power or an ability like flying that makes it hard to block. Answering your opponent and pressuring them with the same card is what a Midrange deck is built on. Shriekmaw, Meteor GolemOpen the Value Creature pageReanimationReturns a creature card from a graveyard straight to the battlefield, skipping its mana cost. That is why decks built around it put their biggest creatures into the graveyard on purpose. Named for Reanimate. Animate DeadOpen the Reanimation pageOpponent DiscardMakes opponents discard cards from their hands. In a format where everyone starts with seven and refills slowly, stripping a hand can be harder to recover from than losing a creature. Windfall, Sword of Feast and FamineOpen the Opponent Discard pageRecursionBrings cards back from the graveyard: to your hand, to the battlefield, or letting them be cast again from where they lie. Eternal Witness, Reanimate, VictimizeOpen the Recursion pageDamage RemovalRemoves creatures by dealing damage to them rather than by destroying them outright. This includes fight cards, where your creature deals the damage. Damage only kills a creature if it at least equals its toughness, so it can miss the biggest ones, and it does not kill a creature that cannot be destroyed. Lightning Bolt, Rabid Bite, PyroclasmOpen the Damage Removal pageMadness/DiscardDiscard decks throw away their own cards on purpose and play cards that reward each discard. Cards with madness can even be cast for a different, usually cheaper, cost at the moment you discard them.Open the Madness/Discard pageDrawDraws you extra cards. More cards means more choices every turn, and in a 100-card deck it is the main way to find the pieces you need. Rhystic Study, SkullclampOpen the Draw pageETB ValueDoes something useful the moment it arrives: an enter the battlefield ability, which players shorten to ETB. You keep that effect even if the card is removed straight afterwards, which is why these pair so well with flicker cards that make them enter again. Solemn Simulacrum, The One RingOpen the ETB Value pageRepeatable DamageDeals damage again and again rather than once. It comes from an activated ability you can use every turn, or a trigger that fires whenever something happens. Walking Ballista, Impact TremorsOpen the Repeatable Damage pagePingersPinger decks deal one damage at a time, again and again, to pick off small creatures and wear opponents down. The damage usually comes from creatures you tap to deal 1 damage, or from cards that deal damage whenever something happens.Open the Pingers pageMana SinkGives you somewhere useful to spend spare mana, usually through an ability you can activate again and again. Rogue's Passage, Mind StoneOpen the Mana Sink page