Well this is probably a younger Nicol Bolas. The reasons for my speculation?
Nicol Bolas looks younger in this picture. I know this seems kind of like faulty logic in the world of body-shaping uber-Planeswalkers, but if you look at the "From the Vault: Dragons" explanation of Bolas' "new look", they explained that the image from the "From the Vault: Dragons" version was indeed a younger Nicol Bolas.
Ajani in Alara is a younger planeswalker than his former self. Once again, the lack of "time placement" of the Alara block makes this almost irrelevant other than for those looking for pattern placement. I wouldn't be surprised if each set introduced a planeswalker in his or her "younger" form. I wish I had an Alara Reborn spoiler to confirm another younger Planeswalker or two...
I think Nicol Bolas is stuck in a sealed plane and isolated from the rest of the multiverse. Since Ajani obviously travelled from Alara, this means either Bolas is killed off in Alara (placing the timeline of Alara to pre-Lorwyn) or that this is a newer form. Occum's Razor tells me that its more likely that this is simply a younger Bolas.
HOWEVER, I don't know the details of Bolas' destruction of the Myojin of Night's Reach. If he was "reborn" into a younger form again, that would explain his new (and younger) look. Of course, one could just say "he's younger because of magic", or even "he's younger because an old dragon wouldn't look as appealling and magic art has changed since 'Legends'." To which I staunchly say "get off my lawn!"
EDIT POST SCRIPT: Ignore this. Since we know Lorwyn has to occur after 520 (due to Jace entering Alara for the Aurora) and Bolas was old way before this (if we place his picture in the legend's cycle at pre-Urza). We can assume Ajani (in Goldmane form) is younger than 500 years old. If these assumptions are made, the Bolas in this picture is still over 25,000 years old--probably reborn after the whole Myojin incident? I didn't read those novels so, unfortunately, I have no way of knowing. Can anyone else help me on this quest for knowledge?
Oh, and because I like thinking up weird stuff, and I see Bolas as someone who plays by his own rules enough that he wouldn't bind himself to an alliance with a single planeswalker... (inspired by Wraith's idea of Nicol having no + loyalty, with an added twist).
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker XRBBU
Planeswalker - Nicol
-1: Target player discards a card from their hand and may choose to give Nicol Bolas 2 loyalty counters if a card was discarded. If they do, they gain control of Nicol Bolas at the end of the turn.
-3: Return target permanent to its owner's hand. Target player discards 2 cards at random from their hand and may choose to give Nicol Bolas 2 loyalty counters if 2 cards were discarded. If they do, they gain control of Nicol Bolas at the end of the turn.
-5: Return three tapped permanents to their owner's hand. Target player discards their hand and may choose to give Nicol Bolas 2 loyalty counters if at least 3 cards were discarded. If they do, they gain control of Nicol Bolas at the end of the turn.
Loyalty Counter: X
Yes, I realize with this wording that you can bounce your opponent's permanents, discard your own cards and keep Bolas for yourself. You can also bounce your opponent's stuff and force them to discard. You can drop Nicol relatively earlier and "build up" his loyalty by letting him eat your cards. You can force him to eat your opponent cards, but then your opponent gets the choice of "bribing" him to help him out for a while. If your opponent keeps control of him, he can feed him until you get control of him again (either out of desperation of your opponent or, in the glory of blue, control magic).
I'm sure there's a better way this could be done--this is just something I whipped up randomly >.>' The odd wording of the discard is to ensure players can't "discard 0" (with no cards in their hand) and still give Bolas the loyalty counters. This card is pretty broken with Brighthearth Rings though, since you could drop him turn 5 and give him 4 loyalty counters by dumping 2 cards to him. You could even force your opponent to discard 1 and you to discard 1...and get all 4 counters and retain control of Bolas if you time it properly. And of course, every planeswalker becomes broken when approached by a silly man in a frog suit who is willing to double his loyalty free of charge.
Perhaps he's 5 color, hence the conflux symbol over his head...
- Nicol Bolas looks younger in this picture. I know this seems kind of like faulty logic in the world of body-shaping uber-Planeswalkers, but if you look at the "From the Vault: Dragons" explanation of Bolas' "new look", they explained that the image from the "From the Vault: Dragons" version was indeed a younger Nicol Bolas.
- Ajani in Alara is a younger planeswalker than his former self. Once again, the lack of "time placement" of the Alara block makes this almost irrelevant other than for those looking for pattern placement. I wouldn't be surprised if each set introduced a planeswalker in his or her "younger" form. I wish I had an Alara Reborn spoiler to confirm another younger Planeswalker or two...
- I think Nicol Bolas is stuck in a sealed plane and isolated from the rest of the multiverse. Since Ajani obviously travelled from Alara, this means either Bolas is killed off in Alara (placing the timeline of Alara to pre-Lorwyn) or that this is a newer form. Occum's Razor tells me that its more likely that this is simply a younger Bolas.
HOWEVER, I don't know the details of Bolas' destruction of the Myojin of Night's Reach. If he was "reborn" into a younger form again, that would explain his new (and younger) look. Of course, one could just say "he's younger because of magic", or even "he's younger because an old dragon wouldn't look as appealling and magic art has changed since 'Legends'." To which I staunchly say "get off my lawn!"EDIT POST SCRIPT: Ignore this. Since we know Lorwyn has to occur after 520 (due to Jace entering Alara for the Aurora) and Bolas was old way before this (if we place his picture in the legend's cycle at pre-Urza). We can assume Ajani (in Goldmane form) is younger than 500 years old. If these assumptions are made, the Bolas in this picture is still over 25,000 years old--probably reborn after the whole Myojin incident? I didn't read those novels so, unfortunately, I have no way of knowing. Can anyone else help me on this quest for knowledge?
Oh, and because I like thinking up weird stuff, and I see Bolas as someone who plays by his own rules enough that he wouldn't bind himself to an alliance with a single planeswalker... (inspired by Wraith's idea of Nicol having no + loyalty, with an added twist).
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker XRBBU
Planeswalker - Nicol
-1: Target player discards a card from their hand and may choose to give Nicol Bolas 2 loyalty counters if a card was discarded. If they do, they gain control of Nicol Bolas at the end of the turn.
-3: Return target permanent to its owner's hand. Target player discards 2 cards at random from their hand and may choose to give Nicol Bolas 2 loyalty counters if 2 cards were discarded. If they do, they gain control of Nicol Bolas at the end of the turn.
-5: Return three tapped permanents to their owner's hand. Target player discards their hand and may choose to give Nicol Bolas 2 loyalty counters if at least 3 cards were discarded. If they do, they gain control of Nicol Bolas at the end of the turn.
Loyalty Counter: X
Yes, I realize with this wording that you can bounce your opponent's permanents, discard your own cards and keep Bolas for yourself. You can also bounce your opponent's stuff and force them to discard. You can drop Nicol relatively earlier and "build up" his loyalty by letting him eat your cards. You can force him to eat your opponent cards, but then your opponent gets the choice of "bribing" him to help him out for a while. If your opponent keeps control of him, he can feed him until you get control of him again (either out of desperation of your opponent or, in the glory of blue, control magic).
I'm sure there's a better way this could be done--this is just something I whipped up randomly >.>' The odd wording of the discard is to ensure players can't "discard 0" (with no cards in their hand) and still give Bolas the loyalty counters. This card is pretty broken with Brighthearth Rings though, since you could drop him turn 5 and give him 4 loyalty counters by dumping 2 cards to him. You could even force your opponent to discard 1 and you to discard 1...and get all 4 counters and retain control of Bolas if you time it properly. And of course, every planeswalker becomes broken when approached by a silly man in a frog suit who is willing to double his loyalty free of charge.
Also, I really like the idea of "X" loyalty...