Way back in the day when I started playing Magic beyond the kitchen table, creatures were held in disdain, almost as if they were simply there to mop up after you had already won the game. Superman. Psychatog. Exalted Angel. Sure, you had the occasional anomaly like Flametongue Kavu and other powerful ETB effect creatures, but by and large the game was decided by powerful Instants, Sorceries, and Artifacts. Arguably, the same could be said for EDH, where creatures are expected to die before your next turn, thus the proliferation and popularity of ETB creatures in the format. And with WotC slowly pushing the boundaries for the power level of creatures, this trend will continue.
So, what's a creature hatin' spell slingin' control lovin' guy to do?
This is a rough draft prototype, so there are probably quite a few flaws. Namely, I think it's lacking in card draw and disruption elements, but since this is a rough draft I'm not sure where cuts can be made. I want to include more theft cards like Memory Plunder, Slave of Bolas, Mindslaver, and Worst Fears for both functionality and flavor purposes.
The gameplan is the same as every other control deck in EDH:
1) Ramp ramp ramp.
2) Disrupt disrupt disrupt.
3) Establish control of the game.
4) Beat them to death with your sweet dragon.
Any feedback, concerns, or criticisms? The only things I'm really married to right now are the creaturelessness of the deck and the commander.
The tax effects just weren't fun for me, so I took them out and replaced them with more theft-style cards, which is probably going to be the direction I take the deck in. Recurring Insight is a consideration for both flavor and power but I think Blue Sun's Zenith is the better choice, despite probably drawing fewer cards simply for the fact that it's an instant. Cutting Deep Analysis for it, despite it being a strong flavor choice and an otherwise fine Magic card, might be the right choice but I'm leaving it alone for now.
I've only drawn Dragon's Breath once, and when I did it was great (turned Nicol into a two turn clock) but it just looks so mediocre on paper and feels winmoreish. I do like the fact that it recurs itself, though. Mystic Retrieval has been delightfully useful, despite my skepticism about including it. Recurring Crosis's Charm twice to get rid of problematic creatures was nice, if mana intensive.
Speaking of mana, nothing pleases me more than a fine-tuned manabase, but I still run into color issues and I'm pretty sure it's because of all the color intensive spells I'm running like Future Sight and Memory Plunder. I'm thinking of dropping some basics and investing in a few fetchlands now that the allied pairings are reasonably priced and the enemy pairings are being reprinted. For aesthetics, I would only run Polluted Delta, Bloodstained Mire, and Scalring Tarn, because the off-color fetches irk me. This is a theme deck, after all!
Are there any solid noncreature theft cards out there that I missed? Vedalken Shackles would be great but I'm pretty sure 9 Islands isn't enough to support it, Slave of Bolas is cute but not impactful, and Blatant Thievery was an underperformer in the modified Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge precon I started EDH with.
I'm digging the theme! I started a similar project after seeing Dark Intimations spoiled - this is going to be a fun year for Bolas EDH!
For your theme, I like Expropriate a lot. I think you should consider Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time to supplement your card draw, especially considering how many spells you run.
I agree with your assessment about your color requirements. I've taken the approach of leaning more heavily towards black and using Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
That's all I've got for now! Good luck with the deck!
Thanks! Yeah, Dark Intimations has me excited, too even though it's pretty bad in my current list. Hopefully there will be a new Bolas 'walker. Have you seen the new full art basic lands? They're the real genesis of this project, no lie. Those puppies are sweet.
Expropriate is definitely on theme and pretty decent to boot. I'm just not a big fan of extra turns in EDH due to how boring it can be for other players, and the deck is already mean enough as is. On the other hand it is a theme deck, and Nicol Bolas isn't exactly the nicest planeswalker in MTG lore, so I'll give it a test run.
I don't think I want to add UTOY. I'd be tempted to add in Cabal Coffers and I already have a big mana black deck. I prefer relying on artifacts for mana. They're on theme, it's a dragon's hoard!
- Deep Analysis (4 cards for 6 mana and 3 life isn't a great bargain even if you can spread it out over a few turns)
- Dragon Breath (cute, but win more)
- Rite of Replication (powerful for sure, but cloning is far different from theft, even if I did just beat someone by replicating their Kokusho)
+ Treasure Cruise
+ Dig Through Time
+ Expropriate
Oh, and for my manabase I opted to not go for fetches because I'm a cheapskate and instead will be putting in the three Vivid lands I can run. They're basically Crumbling Necropolis 2-4 so eh.
On a playtest note, I managed to get a turn 4 hasty Nicol Bolas out in 1v1 due to an insane opening grip. Needless to say I won that game.
EDIT: Oh, I'm trying to find room for Reins of Power, because a 4cmc instant speed pseudo Insurrection is probably pretty good. Maybe Mystic Retrieval? It's probably not very good with two big delve spells.
You could cut Mind Twist. Iy only hits one player. If this was a 1v1 I would keep it. Cut Dragon Tempest it doesn't do anything here except with bolas.
You could cut Mind Twist. Iy only hits one player. If this was a 1v1 I would keep it.
There's a significant number of decks in my meta that tend to draw a lot of cards. When the blue player taps out you can utterly wreck their day unless they're holding Force of Will or Pact of Negation. Even Twisting for 3-4 against a full grip can be paralyzing. I'll keep an eye on it though because you do have a valid point.
Cut Dragon Tempest it doesn't do anything here except with bolas.
Normally I'd agree, but I cast Bolas in >75% of my games and Wit's Ending some poor bystander and hasting my dude for another hand wipe for an extra 2 mana is a powerful interaction. I would be more comfortable cutting Lightning Greaves over Dragon Tempest despite the fact that it can haste creatures that have been bribed or are feeling treacherous. I'll see how it works out long term but I've been happy with it so far.
Domineering Will is a fun one too; it plays right into Bolas' wheelhouse when you steal creatures from an enemy and give them to yourself (or an ally, Bolas can play politics too!) to block an otherwise lethal attack. I also like Arcbond as another political card that one can use as a way to showcase Bolas' destructiveness.
If you ever decide to add creatures to the deck, clones are a great choice for a Bolas deck. Bolas loves minions that can infiltrate his enemies' organizations, maneuvering them into that perfect place where he can strike without revealing his hand. Dack's Duplicate, Evil Twin, Metamorph, etc!
I almost always play Shattering Pulse in my red decks. Buyback is so good.
Indeed. It just competes with Vandalblast for my artifact destruction which is far more powerful IMO. 8 mana to munch a creature and a mana rock is pretty good, but a well timed 5 mana Vandalblast can potentially lead to blowouts.
Speaking of buyback, I probably need to find room for Capsize.
Domineering Will is a fun one too; it plays right into Bolas' wheelhouse when you steal creatures from an enemy and give them to yourself (or an ally, Bolas can play politics too!) to block an otherwise lethal attack. I also like Arcbond as another political card that one can use as a way to showcase Bolas' destructiveness.
If you ever decide to add creatures to the deck, clones are a great choice for a Bolas deck. Bolas loves minions that can infiltrate his enemies' organizations, maneuvering them into that perfect place where he can strike without revealing his hand. Dack's Duplicate, Evil Twin, Metamorph, etc!
Yeah, the alpha list used to contain most of the good clone cards, but I pared most of them out and decided to shift the focus to being completely creatureless. Losing Phyrexian Metamorph and Clever Impersonator hurt, but thematically it feels right.
Any other suggestions for cuts? I could possibly cut a basic land given the massive amounts of ramp, but the deck is super mana hungry and I hate missing land drops early on.
Head Games: Interesting addition. Possibly a de facto Wit's End by giving them all lands in the late game, and a powerful political tool by giving the target an answer to a mutual threat. I'll slot it in the test/maybeboard. Sadistic Sacrament: It's a house in my MBC list and would likely have a similar result here, but for some reason I'm averse to running it here. I think it's far better than Denying Win due to its versatility. I think I want to have my opponents be under the illusion of being able to find their power and/or combo pieces only to disrupt them. Seems meaner. Complicate: Now this is an interesting choice. I know tax counterspells are generally frowned upon in multiplayer EDH but a slightly overcosted Mana Leak that can act as a nearly uncounterable Force Spike that replaces itself when needed could be very strong. Thing in the Ice: Boo hiss. Plea for Power: This is another interesting suggestion. The tactic of naming the option you don't want is great, though I'm not sure it would work. I should think the majority of the time it's going to be an easier to cast Concentrate, which isn't necessarily bad, but eh. Well of Ideas: Too many free cards for my opponents. Even with the additional draws I get I don't think I'd be able to contain that many people drawing that many cards (my 2 vs their 3 in the typical 4 man pod). Darkness: Charlie Murphy jokes aside, the surprise factor could be useful and it could be used politically as well. Eat that, Craterhoof Behemoth! Volcanic Offering: Hm, this could be nice. I think it's the best of the offerings, since you can use it to get rid of two problematic lands and creatures without suffering any losses of your own. Desertion: I want to use this and move the deck in the direction of using more instants to offset its huge mana cost, but as is I just can't justify leaving 5 mana open on the off chance someone will cast an Eldrazi or Rune-Scarred Demon or something else saucy. Spelljack: So damn mana intensive, even if it's on theme and possibly very strong in my meta. Maybe if I move to more instants over sorceries. Repercussion: Eh, requires too much work to set up. I think I'd rather just play another black wrath. Boom // Bust: It's a powerful option, no doubt, but my playgroup frowns upon MLD, as do I. Then again, I personally avoid infinite combos and they don't, so maybe it's time to turn the tables. I got rocks for days.
I've been thinking of cutting the reanimator spells except for Beacon of Unrest and Rise of the Dark Realms. They're strong and somewhat on theme in that they let me use other people's cards, but eh. Also thinking of dropping Phyrexian Arena for Blue Sun's Zenith because Arena is a worse and worse top deck as the game moves on. I want big, explosive plays rather than incremental advantage. Consider this a Timmy control deck.
Pseudo-overhaul since I got interested in the deck again. This time I removed all budget constraints since it's for a different playgroup that allows proxies.
I think I may be running too many lands and not enough card draw, but lordy lord is the ramp package here real.
Way back in the day when I started playing Magic beyond the kitchen table, creatures were held in disdain, almost as if they were simply there to mop up after you had already won the game. Superman. Psychatog. Exalted Angel. Sure, you had the occasional anomaly like Flametongue Kavu and other powerful ETB effect creatures, but by and large the game was decided by powerful Instants, Sorceries, and Artifacts. Arguably, the same could be said for EDH, where creatures are expected to die before your next turn, thus the proliferation and popularity of ETB creatures in the format. And with WotC slowly pushing the boundaries for the power level of creatures, this trend will continue.
So, what's a creature hatin' spell slingin' control lovin' guy to do?
Go all Bolas on their asses.
1 Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Lands: 37
1x Badlands
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Cascade Bluffs
1x Command Tower
1x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Graven Cairns
1x Grixis Panorama
6x Island
3x Mountain
1x Polluted Delta
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Shivan Reef
1x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Sulfurous Springs
1x Sunken Ruins
5x Swamp
1x Underground River
1x Underground Sea
1x Volcanic Island
1x Watery Grave
Planeswalkers: 3
1x Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
1x AEtherspouts
1x Brainstorm
1x Capsize
1x Counterspell
1x Crosis's Charm
1x Cryptic Command
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dig Through Time
1x Disallow
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Forbid
1x Grixis Charm
1x Hero's Downfall
1x Into the Roil
1x Magmaquake
1x Memory Plunder
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Negate
1x Reins of Power
1x Swan Song
1x Vampiric Tutor
Artifacts: 16
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Coalition Relic
1x Commander's Sphere
1x Dimir Signet
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Grim Monolith
1x Izzet Signet
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Rakdos Signet
1x Sol Ring
1x Talisman of Dominance
1x Talisman of Indulgence
1x Thought Vessel
1x Thran Dynamo
1x All Is Dust
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Bribery
1x Crux of Fate
1x Damnation
1x Dark Petition
1x Decree of Pain
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Dreadbore
1x Insurrection
1x Ponder
1x Preordain
1x Rise of the Dark Realms
1x Toxic Deluge
1x Treasure Cruise
1x Vandalblast
Enchantments: 6
1x Animate Dead
1x Copy Artifact
1x Dragon Tempest
1x Mind's Dilation
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Treachery
This is a rough draft prototype, so there are probably quite a few flaws. Namely, I think it's lacking in card draw and disruption elements, but since this is a rough draft I'm not sure where cuts can be made. I want to include more theft cards like Memory Plunder, Slave of Bolas, Mindslaver, and Worst Fears for both functionality and flavor purposes.
The gameplan is the same as every other control deck in EDH:
1) Ramp ramp ramp.
2) Disrupt disrupt disrupt.
3) Establish control of the game.
4) Beat them to death with your sweet dragon.
Any feedback, concerns, or criticisms? The only things I'm really married to right now are the creaturelessness of the deck and the commander.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
- Rhystic Study
+ Memory Plunder
+ Worst Fears
The tax effects just weren't fun for me, so I took them out and replaced them with more theft-style cards, which is probably going to be the direction I take the deck in. Recurring Insight is a consideration for both flavor and power but I think Blue Sun's Zenith is the better choice, despite probably drawing fewer cards simply for the fact that it's an instant. Cutting Deep Analysis for it, despite it being a strong flavor choice and an otherwise fine Magic card, might be the right choice but I'm leaving it alone for now.
I've only drawn Dragon's Breath once, and when I did it was great (turned Nicol into a two turn clock) but it just looks so mediocre on paper and feels winmoreish. I do like the fact that it recurs itself, though. Mystic Retrieval has been delightfully useful, despite my skepticism about including it. Recurring Crosis's Charm twice to get rid of problematic creatures was nice, if mana intensive.
Speaking of mana, nothing pleases me more than a fine-tuned manabase, but I still run into color issues and I'm pretty sure it's because of all the color intensive spells I'm running like Future Sight and Memory Plunder. I'm thinking of dropping some basics and investing in a few fetchlands now that the allied pairings are reasonably priced and the enemy pairings are being reprinted. For aesthetics, I would only run Polluted Delta, Bloodstained Mire, and Scalring Tarn, because the off-color fetches irk me. This is a theme deck, after all!
Are there any solid noncreature theft cards out there that I missed? Vedalken Shackles would be great but I'm pretty sure 9 Islands isn't enough to support it, Slave of Bolas is cute but not impactful, and Blatant Thievery was an underperformer in the modified Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge precon I started EDH with.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
For your theme, I like Expropriate a lot. I think you should consider Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time to supplement your card draw, especially considering how many spells you run.
I agree with your assessment about your color requirements. I've taken the approach of leaning more heavily towards black and using Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
That's all I've got for now! Good luck with the deck!
Expropriate is definitely on theme and pretty decent to boot. I'm just not a big fan of extra turns in EDH due to how boring it can be for other players, and the deck is already mean enough as is. On the other hand it is a theme deck, and Nicol Bolas isn't exactly the nicest planeswalker in MTG lore, so I'll give it a test run.
As for the Ruse Cruise and Dig Through Time I agree completely. Both are solid additions.
I don't think I want to add UTOY. I'd be tempted to add in Cabal Coffers and I already have a big mana black deck. I prefer relying on artifacts for mana. They're on theme, it's a dragon's hoard!
- Deep Analysis (4 cards for 6 mana and 3 life isn't a great bargain even if you can spread it out over a few turns)
- Dragon Breath (cute, but win more)
- Rite of Replication (powerful for sure, but cloning is far different from theft, even if I did just beat someone by replicating their Kokusho)
+ Treasure Cruise
+ Dig Through Time
+ Expropriate
Oh, and for my manabase I opted to not go for fetches because I'm a cheapskate and instead will be putting in the three Vivid lands I can run. They're basically Crumbling Necropolis 2-4 so eh.
- Island
- Swamp
- Mountain
+ Vivid Creek
+ Vivid Marsh
+ Vivid Crag
On a playtest note, I managed to get a turn 4 hasty Nicol Bolas out in 1v1 due to an insane opening grip. Needless to say I won that game.
EDIT: Oh, I'm trying to find room for Reins of Power, because a 4cmc instant speed pseudo Insurrection is probably pretty good. Maybe Mystic Retrieval? It's probably not very good with two big delve spells.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
There's a significant number of decks in my meta that tend to draw a lot of cards. When the blue player taps out you can utterly wreck their day unless they're holding Force of Will or Pact of Negation. Even Twisting for 3-4 against a full grip can be paralyzing. I'll keep an eye on it though because you do have a valid point.
Normally I'd agree, but I cast Bolas in >75% of my games and Wit's Ending some poor bystander and hasting my dude for another hand wipe for an extra 2 mana is a powerful interaction. I would be more comfortable cutting Lightning Greaves over Dragon Tempest despite the fact that it can haste creatures that have been bribed or are feeling treacherous. I'll see how it works out long term but I've been happy with it so far.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
I almost always play Shattering Pulse in my red decks. Buyback is so good.
If you ever decide to add creatures to the deck, clones are a great choice for a Bolas deck. Bolas loves minions that can infiltrate his enemies' organizations, maneuvering them into that perfect place where he can strike without revealing his hand. Dack's Duplicate, Evil Twin, Metamorph, etc!
Indeed. It just competes with Vandalblast for my artifact destruction which is far more powerful IMO. 8 mana to munch a creature and a mana rock is pretty good, but a well timed 5 mana Vandalblast can potentially lead to blowouts.
Speaking of buyback, I probably need to find room for Capsize.
Oh man, Domineering Will is a good one. Arcbond I'm less sure about. It's fun as a surprise Myojin of Night's Reach I suppose, so maybe it's worth testing.
Yeah, the alpha list used to contain most of the good clone cards, but I pared most of them out and decided to shift the focus to being completely creatureless. Losing Phyrexian Metamorph and Clever Impersonator hurt, but thematically it feels right.
So, for testing purposes:
- Lightning Greaves
- Mystic Retrieval
- ???
+ Reins of Power
+ Domineering Will
+ Capsize (maybe, the charms can both bounce so this might not be worthwhile)
Any other suggestions for cuts? I could possibly cut a basic land given the massive amounts of ramp, but the deck is super mana hungry and I hate missing land drops early on.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
ayyy
Head Games: Interesting addition. Possibly a de facto Wit's End by giving them all lands in the late game, and a powerful political tool by giving the target an answer to a mutual threat. I'll slot it in the test/maybeboard.
Sadistic Sacrament: It's a house in my MBC list and would likely have a similar result here, but for some reason I'm averse to running it here. I think it's far better than Denying Win due to its versatility. I think I want to have my opponents be under the illusion of being able to find their power and/or combo pieces only to disrupt them. Seems meaner.
Complicate: Now this is an interesting choice. I know tax counterspells are generally frowned upon in multiplayer EDH but a slightly overcosted Mana Leak that can act as a nearly uncounterable Force Spike that replaces itself when needed could be very strong.
Thing in the Ice: Boo hiss.
Plea for Power: This is another interesting suggestion. The tactic of naming the option you don't want is great, though I'm not sure it would work. I should think the majority of the time it's going to be an easier to cast Concentrate, which isn't necessarily bad, but eh.
Well of Ideas: Too many free cards for my opponents. Even with the additional draws I get I don't think I'd be able to contain that many people drawing that many cards (my 2 vs their 3 in the typical 4 man pod).
Darkness: Charlie Murphy jokes aside, the surprise factor could be useful and it could be used politically as well. Eat that, Craterhoof Behemoth!
Volcanic Offering: Hm, this could be nice. I think it's the best of the offerings, since you can use it to get rid of two problematic lands and creatures without suffering any losses of your own.
Desertion: I want to use this and move the deck in the direction of using more instants to offset its huge mana cost, but as is I just can't justify leaving 5 mana open on the off chance someone will cast an Eldrazi or Rune-Scarred Demon or something else saucy.
Spelljack: So damn mana intensive, even if it's on theme and possibly very strong in my meta. Maybe if I move to more instants over sorceries.
Repercussion: Eh, requires too much work to set up. I think I'd rather just play another black wrath.
Boom // Bust: It's a powerful option, no doubt, but my playgroup frowns upon MLD, as do I. Then again, I personally avoid infinite combos and they don't, so maybe it's time to turn the tables. I got rocks for days.
I've been thinking of cutting the reanimator spells except for Beacon of Unrest and Rise of the Dark Realms. They're strong and somewhat on theme in that they let me use other people's cards, but eh. Also thinking of dropping Phyrexian Arena for Blue Sun's Zenith because Arena is a worse and worse top deck as the game moves on. I want big, explosive plays rather than incremental advantage. Consider this a Timmy control deck.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
I think I may be running too many lands and not enough card draw, but lordy lord is the ramp package here real.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
Thematic, fun, and powerful. Good call. I think a good cut would be Beacon of Unrest since I never really liked it anyway.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK