This art is worlds ahead of the art on the other versions. It is infinitely better. Old fogey dragon reading a book, badass dragon taking wing.
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I like the planeswalker version better.
But you know the cool part, you can have both of them in play at the same time even though they're the same entity! It's like the two Rhys's.
God_of_Destruction
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Old baddest elder dragon came back to finish the job... You rule Nicol Bolas... when this hits your opponent, bam evrything is lost...
tempesteye
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(5 votes)
This version is a great re-imagining of the ultimate omnipotent Planeswalker. While some prefer the Classic art, the new card really impresses upon the viewer just how powerful Nicol Bolas is. And he's a great general for any EDH/Commander game.
SavageBrain89
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Dominaria's strongest being and coolest character.
darkfury
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
truely epic artwork he is about to eat a "fully Mature" dragon size matters
Weretarrasque
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
The only worthwhile Elder Dragon, Bolas is awesome (A million times more so with new art). If only he had trample...
i mean look at all those mana symbols, epic art, cool expansion symbol, foil, big P/T... mmmm-mmm.
Neutralion
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Planeswalker version is illustrated by same artist, however, this one have better artwork.
izzet_guild_mage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Holy crap...that tiny little dragon's about to be gobbled up...
DeathDark
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have both Nicol Bolas and Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker in the same deck (sunburst). One of the most satisfying things in the world is to hit someone with both at once. 14 total damage, they discard 7 cards and then their hand, and they sacrifice 7 permanents.
NeoSin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
As I said with his other artwork (though this one is much better) the timeless elder dragon, who in his planeswalker form is quickly becoming the center of the Magic storyline. We are already revisiting Mirrodin, maybe an epic shadow at Dominara with the planeswalkers vs Bolas is coming?
Zoah
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(9 votes)
(Before anything, I just want to say that it looks like the dragon you all say he's going to eat is in the back ground to me and is likely not that much smaller than him up close)
But, moving on. This is much better art, but not because he lacks a book. (I liked the book) more because he actually looks like a dragon and not a demon or something. Although, it takes slightly away from his appearance as an intelligent being. Let's face it, if this art were used for Hellkite Overlord noe of us would have known the difference.
I think the artist should have kept the book somewhere in the art... (A dragon pulling a mid air back-flip while reading a book would have been awesome)
001010011100101110
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
WANT!
Gishra
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
His head is WAAAY too small for his body in this art. Sorry, but that's just how I see it and it's always bugged me!
divine_exodus
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(5 votes)
Don't mess with him! Just look at that art!
DacenOctavio
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Scion of the Ur-Dragon morphs into this at end of Declare Blockers step. Opponent ragequits. Epic win. *Dollar for the epic jar.*
dragonking987
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
can someone explain to me why he is good 7/7 with flying for 8 is horrible and I dont see how his ability is good you can make then discard there hands on the what 9th turn if they cant block and he eats up 3 of your mana each turn he cant be bad with this good of ratting but can someone tell me why he is good?
Qoid
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(5 votes)
I don't see how anyone could give this card less than 5/5.
planarsibling
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I don't know how I feel about the new art. It looks like any other enraged dragon to me. It seems more like a pawn of bolas then the elder dragon himself. This card shows more of a non-thinking beast than the intelligent, scheming, archenemy of the multiverse.
That said, the old art looked nothing like a dragon...so I can't say it's better.
rinoh20
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(7 votes)
hes chasing a butter fly. sooooooo evil :D
TwoStars
★★★★☆ (5.0/5.0)(23 votes)
His mana cost is 2UUBBRR. Get it? TOO UBER!
Nevermind.
WarioMan
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(7 votes)
Aww, look at the little birdy in the art, he wants to eat it.
Tonymitsu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@dragonking987
1. a 7/7 that flies for 8 CMC is hardly overcosted, even by today's standards.
2. Mana ramp in his colors is sufficient that you can easily hard cast him by turn 4 or 5 A single Dark Ritual on turn 6 will get him into play, requiring nothing else but not missing a land drop. Hell it can be earlier with spells like Summoning Trap, Elvish Piper, Quicksilver Amulet, etc. It only costs three to keep him alive.
3. His ability doesn't require combat damage. It triggers off any damage at all. So, if say, you were to equip him with Shuriken/Viridian Longbow, or enchant him with Hermetic Study/Psionic Gift, or any number of other things.
Furthermore...
4. His ability pulls the opponents entire hand. Not one or two, or four, or {X} cards, but all of them. You can cast any number of spells that are in his colors to force your opponents to draw cards, sneak some damage at them, and toss them all in the graveyard.
He is the most powerful of the Elder Dragon Legends by far, and the only one that anyone seriously considers playing. That's why he was the only one reprinted in this From the Vault series.
sonorhC
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
I've never understood what the big deal is with this guy. By the time you get him out, even with mana acceleration, and eat through all of your opponent's chump blockers, they've probably already gotten most of the cards out of their hand, anyway. And it's hard to cheat him into play, since you'll still need to at least be able to pay his upkeep cost (or give him haste and settle for only one swing). Sure, he's Terror-proof, but the same is true of his brothers Chromium and Vaevictis Asmadi. And Palladia-Mors doesn't care about chump blockers, and even Arcades Sabboth at least gives you a benefit without even attacking (a really minor benefit for the cost, but still, it's something). What makes this the best of the Elder Dragons?
JFM2796
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(6 votes)
Epic art. Well-Deserving for "Dominaria's most ancient evil". I like how this was printed before Alara, kind of a foreshadow. Makes me wonder what other cards they slip into the "From the Vault" sets.
luca_barelli
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Finally, Magic's second-greatest villain gets the artwork he deserves!
Magnor_Criol
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
@sonorhC - What makes him deadlier than the others is that once you start landing hits with him, your opponent isn't likely to be able to recover. They won't be able to keep cards in their hand, and that really shuts people down. They can't plan long-term, they can't hold on to a trick for later, they can't keep a creature in hand to protect it from a kill spell. They're forced to play out or lose it, and they're forced into topdeck mode. That's devastating.
You know, on top of the 7 damage per turn they're already taking.
axiobeta
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
You have to commend the guy for trying his best to scare that Storm Crow
Totema
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Not nearly as dapper as the old art.
Arachobia
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ Tonymitsu
Excellent points, save for the Shuriken :P. Still good though
SgtSwaggr
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
For those of you who play EDH, here's a quick history lesson. EDH stands for Elder Dragon Highlander. The Elder Dragon part was named after the five legend dragons that appeared in the set Ledgends. The most famous of the five is yours truly, Nicol Bolas. The Highlander part refers to the famous line of the movie Highlander, "There can only be one!" Meaning there can only be one copy of every card in an EDH deck, lead by a legendary creature!
Atali
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This version is so absurdly expensive compared to even the original Legends version, what gives? It can't be THAT much rarer can it?
SkyknightXi
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Zoah: I'm pretty sure that with the Legends art, Beard was indeed trying for "demonic dragon". Kind of goes with the name. Nicol is derived from the German word for "devil", while Bolas is apparently some sort of demonic epithet. Exhibit A: The Goetic demon Glasya-Labolas...or, as his name is occasionally rendered, Glasya La *Bolas*.
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(2 votes)
sonorhC: I suppose those might be fair complaints, if this were printed in a regular set today.
done? THAT'S why. This particular card, like so many old cards, is actually not stupendously impressive anymore. But that's not the point. The point is, IT'S NICOL BOLAS. DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE'S DONE?! WHAT HE'S CAPABLE OF DOING?! This is how powerful he was BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. He shortly became a Planeswalker, and his Planeswalker card is what's LEFT OF HIM after nearly all the powers of the Spark are nerfed by the Mending.
Nicol Bolas, Yawgmoth, Urza and Emrakul the Aeons Torn are hands down the Top 4 Most Powerful Beings in Magic. Nicol Bolas is older than at least two of them.
dlgn
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
5/5. Just because he's Nicol Bolas.
KnexWiz
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(5 votes)
old nicol bolas: 1$
FTV nicol bolas: 40$
new frame & foil makes a BIG diference
TheWallinator74
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Lord Bolas in his early years. And he was still stronger than most beings in the Multiverse.
Rikiaz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Simply put one of the most beautiful cards in the entire game. Not only does it have ridiculously amazing artwork, that looks even better in the gold border with the FTV foil, but it is also really good in any timmy style deck. Throw him in Commander, Reanimator, or Cruel Control and you too will see the terrible power of Nicol Bolas. Oh and I nearly forgot to mention, dat flavour text!
PinkleDadandy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Nicol > Niv
wholelottalove
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Good commander but people have a tendency to rush attacking when you play using this card. They get all "Oh, you're playing Nicol Bolas so I have to wipe you out right away" and I have to tell them that the card costs EIGHT mana. But then I attack with Barbed Shockerfor the lols.
I was gonna buy Thraximundar for a Grixis EDH deck because I like it better as a card but I saw this art and I thought "Of course Nicol Bolas has to be my commander". Nicol Bolas is the most epic thing ever!
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Changlings are also Elders. Neat.
WolfWhoWalks
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Simply phenomenal in my Scion of the Ur Dragon EDH deck.
When I'm feeling particularly cruel and Bolas-esque, I resist one-hit kills with Dragon Tyrant or Moltensteel Dragon, and I swing with this fellow. Watching opponents squirm and gape in annoyed horror is oh so delightful.
Goatllama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like how he's chasing a hellkite overlord in the art, what a joker!
ViashinoWizard
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(7 votes)
"WHO STOLE MY BOOK"
DeviousPie
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
While he may very well be Dominaria's most ancient evil, he will never be the greatest evil. Only when his will alone can win the game for you, a bargain with him generate absurd levels of card advantage, and when, even after he dies, his tomb itself break the game in several formats, will he match the evil of Yawgmoth.
You know when people say, "It's funny how you can have two Nicol Bolas'? It doesn't make sense, but it's cool."
Well, it actually does. See, Bolas, with his millennia-old power, used it to create a carbon-copy clone of himself, so powerful that it overwrites the legend rule. This is his Planeswalker card. Why? So he can have someone he can relate to. Kind of like Biovisionary. He feels like everyone's below him, so he just creates himself.
And when they're on the battlefield, I can also imagine them having all kinds of madcap mayhem, similar to Riku or Ruric Thar.
Or... you know, it's a cool card and all and you could just play it... I'm... you don't have to judge me...
I for one don't like this art. Much prefer the old art, has more of the blue/intellectual theme. And his sitting there reading a book is priceless. This dragon looks too much like the bogardan hellkite and similar theme dragons.
Comments (55)
But you know the cool part, you can have both of them in play at the same time even though they're the same entity! It's like the two Rhys's.
And he's a great general for any EDH/Commander game.
he is about to eat a "fully Mature" dragon
size matters
Of course, he's no match for his planeswalker form.
i mean look at all those mana symbols, epic art, cool expansion symbol, foil, big P/T... mmmm-mmm.
But, moving on. This is much better art, but not because he lacks a book. (I liked the book) more because he actually looks like a dragon and not a demon or something. Although, it takes slightly away from his appearance as an intelligent being. Let's face it, if this art were used for Hellkite Overlord noe of us would have known the difference.
I think the artist should have kept the book somewhere in the art... (A dragon pulling a mid air back-flip while reading a book would have been awesome)
That said, the old art looked nothing like a dragon...so I can't say it's better.
Nevermind.
1. a 7/7 that flies for 8 CMC is hardly overcosted, even by today's standards.
2. Mana ramp in his colors is sufficient that you can easily hard cast him by turn 4 or 5 A single Dark Ritual on turn 6 will get him into play, requiring nothing else but not missing a land drop. Hell it can be earlier with spells like Summoning Trap, Elvish Piper, Quicksilver Amulet, etc. It only costs three to keep him alive.
3. His ability doesn't require combat damage. It triggers off any damage at all. So, if say, you were to equip him with Shuriken/Viridian Longbow, or enchant him with Hermetic Study/Psionic Gift, or any number of other things.
Furthermore...
4. His ability pulls the opponents entire hand. Not one or two, or four, or {X} cards, but all of them. You can cast any number of spells that are in his colors to force your opponents to draw cards, sneak some damage at them, and toss them all in the graveyard.
He is the most powerful of the Elder Dragon Legends by far, and the only one that anyone seriously considers playing. That's why he was the only one reprinted in this From the Vault series.
You know, on top of the 7 damage per turn they're already taking.
Excellent points, save for the Shuriken :P. Still good though
Please go look up Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker or read any of the MTG novels featuring this guy.
.....
done? THAT'S why. This particular card, like so many old cards, is actually not stupendously impressive anymore. But that's not the point. The point is, IT'S NICOL BOLAS. DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE'S DONE?! WHAT HE'S CAPABLE OF DOING?! This is how powerful he was BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. He shortly became a Planeswalker, and his Planeswalker card is what's LEFT OF HIM after nearly all the powers of the Spark are nerfed by the Mending.
Nicol Bolas, Yawgmoth, Urza and Emrakul the Aeons Torn are hands down the Top 4 Most Powerful Beings in Magic. Nicol Bolas is older than at least two of them.
FTV nicol bolas: 40$
new frame & foil makes a BIG diference
T2 Seething Song, Sneak Attack, This.
Nicol Bolas is the most epic thing ever!
When I'm feeling particularly cruel and Bolas-esque, I resist one-hit kills with Dragon Tyrant or Moltensteel Dragon, and I swing with this fellow. Watching opponents squirm and gape in annoyed horror is oh so delightful.
Well, it actually does. See, Bolas, with his millennia-old power, used it to create a carbon-copy clone of himself, so powerful that it overwrites the legend rule. This is his Planeswalker card.
Why? So he can have someone he can relate to. Kind of like Biovisionary. He feels like everyone's below him, so he just creates himself.
And when they're on the battlefield, I can also imagine them having all kinds of madcap mayhem, similar to Riku or Ruric Thar.
Or... you know, it's a cool card and all and you could just play it... I'm... you don't have to judge me...
Also, attatch Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker to this guy with Mycosynth Lattice and Bludgeon Brawl.