Is it weird that I like the original more? Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker dealt with non-creature permanents on an uptick, and can steal creatures too. This has a weird mill mechanic that may or may not hit something good, a discard effect that doesn't matter much in the late game, 7 damage for 7 isn't fantastic (and doesn't allow for back-to-back activations due to loyalty costs) and the -12 is just a wrath.
1 mana cheaper, 3 more starting loyalty. Worse at dealing with permanents in play, but much better at parity or ahead. Also, the ult is not a wrath, it's a 1-sided planar cleansing. It kills all non-land permanents your opponent's control.
I'm actually not sure. I love OG nicol bolas and still run him, so I'll probably try this guy in his place to get a feel for it. I would not be surprised if you're right and the old one is better. It just does so much more when you're behind.
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Being one mana cheaper is huge so is being able to go up to 8 or 9 loyalty. The fact that his -4 can dome the opponent for 7 is what makes this card appealing to me since he's a legit win condition and can pretty much nuke any planeswalker / creature. I'll definitely be testing this over OG Nicol Bolas (which is currently riding in the sideboard because I was testing Samut).
The original Bolas is only 1 loyalty away from the new one if they both uptick, and both sit at 3 if they downtick. The OG Bolas can also start nuking lands at parity or ahead and achieve the ultimate in 2 turns for a Cruel Ultimatum, which should be more than enough to win the game. I can't think of a situation where I'd prefer the new one to the old other than it being slightly easier to cast.
The original Bolas is only 1 loyalty away from the new one if they both uptick, and both sit at 3 if they downtick. The OG Bolas can also start nuking lands at parity or ahead and achieve the ultimate in 2 turns for a Cruel Ultimatum, which should be more than enough to win the game. I can't think of a situation where I'd prefer the new one to the old other than it being slightly easier to cast.
My guess is that nuking lands at parity is worse than a free spell every turn.
This card seems super good. Took me a couple reads, the top ability being pretty much repeatable cascade except on your opponent's stuff seems sweet. And the ultimate is sweet. Seems great! Hope it's real.
Fails my "rule of thumb" for 6+ mana planeswalkers , as it's relatively poor at stabilizing the battlefield when it comes into play.
However, the other abilities are so powerful (even for a 7 mana planeswalker), that it's possible it makes up for it.
If you are at par, ahead or SLIGHTLY behind, It's hard to imagine a scenario where this doesn't win the game when resolved.
I'm not really interested due to the restrictive casting cost and lack of synergies, but the card is good.
Not sure if it's better than the original Nicol Bolas.. Extra black mana cheaper is a big deal but it's less powerful. If I ran the OG bolas, I'd definitely test this one.
Now that I think about it, Bolas 2.0 is very reminiscent of Karn. Both cost 7 mana, they exile cards from hands, and blow up things. Karn can exile any one problematic permanent, but Bolas being able to go straight for the dome is a nice tradeoff.
Is it really that bad at stabiizing? I get the random card from their deck is random, but it's a random cube card, there are so many Bolas could hit which swing the game back in your favor while potentially ******* up other plans.
To be fair, most planeswalkers are awful at stabilizing a wide board state. Only Ugin / Elspeth, Sun's Champion / Chandra, Flamecaller have real sweeping abilities. Like Karn, Bolas can at least blow up the most threatening permanent and then possibly dig you out via cascading your opponent assuming your opponent goes for your life total instead.
Using the +2 ability to reveal a mana rock is going to be super feels bad. Savannah Lions / Llanowar Elf can at least block, lol.
The +2 is very swingy. Against an aggro deck, I can't see getting anything that's going to make a large impact. Against a control deck, maybe you exile a planeswalker, maybe you exile a counterspell. I want something that's going to be able to guarantee value more.
The +1 is nice, and if the +2 was better, I'd be excited about it. But by the time Bolas comes down, its likely the opponent is either going to be in top-deck mode, or they'll have a draw engine online. It's a great option to have when the opponent has 1 to 3 cards in hand, but outside of that, I'd rather be using the other uptick.
The -4 makes the card. I can see a lot of games where Bolas comes down and does lethal. Or Bolas upticks then -4s twice for lethal. If I'm using the -4 on a Planeswalker or creature, I'd much much rather have the original Bolas, but 7 damage is huge.
I think the ultimate is irrelevant. I think this Bolas wins games by looping his -4. The ult is only if you want to style on your opponent.
To be fair, most planeswalkers are awful at stabilizing a wide board state. Only Ugin / Elspeth, Sun's Champion / Chandra, Flamecaller have real sweeping abilities. Like Karn, Bolas can at least blow up the most threatening permanent and then possibly dig you out via cascading your opponent assuming your opponent goes for your life total instead.
Using the +2 ability to reveal a mana rock is going to be super feels bad. Savannah Lions / Llanowar Elf can at least block, lol.
I like the Karn analogy.
To be fair, Most CUBEABLE 6+ mana planeswalkers are great at stabilizing wide board states (the three you listed are 3/4 of my expensive planeswalker section)
Exiling a permanent is better at protecting tho. I can't count how many times, I hit a creature land, a recursive creature or an oblivion ring with karn.
Thankfully being able to go to the DOME with the 7 damage ability makes them effectively equal at dealing with planeswalkers.
At parity+ I'd rather have Bolas... Though Karn's ultimate is more game winning.
Hm, I might have to bring back my 3-color section...
I like this one a lot more than the original one due to its cost. Not only is 7 rather than 8 huge, but no second black mana makes him easier to splash in more decks. Plus, I always hated running a CDDE/MNNO card in my 3-color section when all the other ones where CDE/MNO.
The only downside is the ultimate, which seems a bit lackluster compared to the other abilities and no longer mirror's Ugin's ultimate.
The ultimate seems insane. It may not be necessary due to 7 damage being enough, but Plague Wind'ing on steroids will win you the game probably every time it happens.
The ultimate seems more geared towards multiplayer.
It seems more geared towards people playing magic. How likely is anyone going to lose if you end the turn with all your permanents and your opponent ends the turn with just their lands? What am I missing?
The ultimate seems insane. It may not be necessary due to 7 damage being enough, but Plague Wind'ing on steroids will win you the game probably every time it happens.
It is a very powerful effect, but I think it is a rather uninteresting ultimate, less powerfull (or at least less actively game-winning) than many other ultimates and the -4 ability will often be more useful to the win the game.
I mean yeah, it's not doing lethal damage, but if your opponent comes back from it they either hit the lottery or ***** went as bad as it could for you. It might as well say 'game over' in 99.9% of games, minus scenarios where you get burned out with what they have in hand or some insane series of top decks and plays that somehow beats a board where they have nothing and you have everything.
That being said, I agree that doming for 7 will be the best course of events in most games.
I think you guys are underestimating the value of the +2. It won't be reliable in every situation, but the average value of a cube card is so high that the upside outweighs the potential whiffs. Going up to 9 also means he's probably not going to be vulnerable on the crack back.
In any case, this card actually reminds me most of Jace, the Mind Sculptor in that it offers control of the opponents hand and board while also drawing you into action spells. That's a combination that has to be respected.
Biggest drawback to OG Bolas is that he costs 8... this one is also easier on the colored mana portion of the cost. Definitely worth testing, given the strength of these abilities. Not sure if he'll stick over the other, but can't wait to play it and see.
I think I'll test this out. I've wanted to play the original Bolas planeswalker, but the mana cost was prohibitive. This is quite a bit better, cost-wise.
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Having bolas in an izzet deck splashing black just adds so much to the card. This card is weaker, but it costs less and is unplayable less often, seriously even in dedicated grixis decks there were games without double black available and it felt bad.
Cheaper, easier mana requirements, more starting loyalty, has a {+2} ability that will create really awesome cube stories, it can exile-Mind Rot the opponent, it can use its {-4} ability to kill pretty much any creature or planeswalker around, it can immediately Fireball the opponent for 7 damage, and it has an attainable ultimate that is pretty bananas. I like this more than the original Bolas, and I think if you support a 3-color section (or a generic "multicilor" section) this should be your Grixis representative.
I think the +2 is interesting and the -4 is pretty powerful, but other than that, I don't think this guy brings much in comparison to the original Bolas walker. Dealing with actual permanents on the battlefield that are currently affecting the game feels much more powerful to me. I've played Bolas in my Grixis section forever and he's great at taking a game that you maybe weren't winning and making it more attainable. He provides you a threat at the same time he removes a threat from your opponent all while ticking up to 8 loyalty, making him incredibly hard to deal with in combat. And the ultimate is easier to come back from on this guy than on the original.
I don't want to say I don't like this one at all, because he's certainly interesting and looks pretty fun, but I definitely don't like him as much as the original.
Is it weird that I like the original more? Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker dealt with non-creature permanents on an uptick, and can steal creatures too. This has a weird mill mechanic that may or may not hit something good, a discard effect that doesn't matter much in the late game, 7 damage for 7 isn't fantastic (and doesn't allow for back-to-back activations due to loyalty costs) and the -12 is just a wrath.
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I'm actually not sure. I love OG nicol bolas and still run him, so I'll probably try this guy in his place to get a feel for it. I would not be surprised if you're right and the old one is better. It just does so much more when you're behind.
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Being one mana cheaper is huge so is being able to go up to 8 or 9 loyalty. The fact that his -4 can dome the opponent for 7 is what makes this card appealing to me since he's a legit win condition and can pretty much nuke any planeswalker / creature. I'll definitely be testing this over OG Nicol Bolas (which is currently riding in the sideboard because I was testing Samut).
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My guess is that nuking lands at parity is worse than a free spell every turn.
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Fails my "rule of thumb" for 6+ mana planeswalkers , as it's relatively poor at stabilizing the battlefield when it comes into play.
However, the other abilities are so powerful (even for a 7 mana planeswalker), that it's possible it makes up for it.
If you are at par, ahead or SLIGHTLY behind, It's hard to imagine a scenario where this doesn't win the game when resolved.
I'm not really interested due to the restrictive casting cost and lack of synergies, but the card is good.
Not sure if it's better than the original Nicol Bolas.. Extra black mana cheaper is a big deal but it's less powerful. If I ran the OG bolas, I'd definitely test this one.
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Using the +2 ability to reveal a mana rock is going to be super feels bad. Savannah Lions / Llanowar Elf can at least block, lol.
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The +2 is very swingy. Against an aggro deck, I can't see getting anything that's going to make a large impact. Against a control deck, maybe you exile a planeswalker, maybe you exile a counterspell. I want something that's going to be able to guarantee value more.
The +1 is nice, and if the +2 was better, I'd be excited about it. But by the time Bolas comes down, its likely the opponent is either going to be in top-deck mode, or they'll have a draw engine online. It's a great option to have when the opponent has 1 to 3 cards in hand, but outside of that, I'd rather be using the other uptick.
The -4 makes the card. I can see a lot of games where Bolas comes down and does lethal. Or Bolas upticks then -4s twice for lethal. If I'm using the -4 on a Planeswalker or creature, I'd much much rather have the original Bolas, but 7 damage is huge.
I think the ultimate is irrelevant. I think this Bolas wins games by looping his -4. The ult is only if you want to style on your opponent.
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I like the Karn analogy.
To be fair, Most CUBEABLE 6+ mana planeswalkers are great at stabilizing wide board states (the three you listed are 3/4 of my expensive planeswalker section)
Exiling a permanent is better at protecting tho. I can't count how many times, I hit a creature land, a recursive creature or an oblivion ring with karn.
Thankfully being able to go to the DOME with the 7 damage ability makes them effectively equal at dealing with planeswalkers.
At parity+ I'd rather have Bolas... Though Karn's ultimate is more game winning.
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I like this one a lot more than the original one due to its cost. Not only is 7 rather than 8 huge, but no second black mana makes him easier to splash in more decks. Plus, I always hated running a CDDE/MNNO card in my 3-color section when all the other ones where CDE/MNO.
The only downside is the ultimate, which seems a bit lackluster compared to the other abilities and no longer mirror's Ugin's ultimate.
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The ultimate seems more geared towards multiplayer.
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It seems more geared towards people playing magic. How likely is anyone going to lose if you end the turn with all your permanents and your opponent ends the turn with just their lands? What am I missing?
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That being said, I agree that doming for 7 will be the best course of events in most games.
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In any case, this card actually reminds me most of Jace, the Mind Sculptor in that it offers control of the opponents hand and board while also drawing you into action spells. That's a combination that has to be respected.
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I don't want to say I don't like this one at all, because he's certainly interesting and looks pretty fun, but I definitely don't like him as much as the original.
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