Bolas' Thieving Super Villains

Commander / EDH* Combo Control Discard Elder Proliferate Superfriends UBR (Grixis) Vorthos

sweetaction

Land (37)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Canyon Slough
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Darkwater Catacombs
• 1x Fetid Pools
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Interplanar Beacon
• 1x Inventors' Fair
• 4x Island
• 1x Karn's Bastion
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 1x Morphic Pool
• 2x Mountain
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Sunken Ruins
• 6x Swamp
• 1x Training Center
• 1x Watery Grave

Removal (6)

• 1x Countersquall
• 1x Crux of Fate
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Fuel for the Cause
• 1x Hour of Devastation
• 1x The Elderspell

Agents (17)

• 1x Angrath, the Flame-Chained
• 1x Ashiok, Dream Render
• 1x Dack Fayden
• 1x Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
• 1x Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage
• 1x Jace, Cunning Castaway
• 1x Liliana Vess
• 1x Liliana of the Veil
• 1x Liliana, Dreadhorde General
• 1x Ral Zarek
• 1x Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
• 1x Sarkhan, Fireblood
• 1x Tezzeret the Schemer
• 1x Tezzeret the Seeker
• 1x Tezzeret, Artifice Master
• 1x Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge
• 1x Vraska, Scheming Gorgon

Draw (8)

• 1x Commence the Endgame
• 1x Cruel Ultimatum
• 1x Geth's Grimoire
• 1x Patient Rebuilding
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Tezzeret's Gambit

Bolas (6)

• 1x Nicol Bolas
• 1x Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
• 1x Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
• 1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
• 1x Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver
• 1x Spark Double

Discard (2)

• 1x Liliana's Caress
• 1x Megrim

Commander (1)

 ^Flip

Ramp (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Everflowing Chalice
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble

ArtifactsofPower (6)

• 1x Blade of Selves
• 1x Contagion Engine
• 1x Helm of the Host
• 1x Planar Bridge
• 1x Rings of Brighthearth
• 1x The Chain Veil

Signature-spells (5)

• 1x Deliver Unto Evil
• 1x Kaya's Ghostform
• 1x Temporal Mastery
• 1x The Eldest Reborn
• 1x Torment of Hailfire

Steal (2)

• 1x Hellkite Tyrant
• 1x Insurrection

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Maybeboard

Land (13)

• 1x Cabal Stronghold
• 1x Cascade Bluffs
• 1x Crumbling Necropolis
• 1x Desert of the Fervent
• 1x Desert of the Glorified
• 1x Desert of the Mindful
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Great Furnace
• 1x Karn's Bastion
• 1x Seat of the Synod
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vault of Whispers
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold

Discard (4)

• 1x Crosis, the Purger
• 1x Dreamstealer
• 1x Elder Mastery
• 1x Waste Not

ArtifactsofPower (2)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Bolas's Citadel

Bolas (1)

• 1x Clever Impersonator

Signature-spells (12)

• 1x Command the Dreadhorde
• 1x Dark Intimations
• 1x Deepglow Skate
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Enter the God-Eternals
• 1x Insidious Dreams
• 1x No Mercy
• 1x Omniscience
• 1x Release to the Wind
• 1x Savor the Moment
• 1x Scheming Symmetry
• 1x Time Warp

Steal (6)

• 1x Blatant Thievery
• 1x In Bolas's Clutches
• 1x Reins of Power
• 1x Slave of Bolas
• 1x Sudden Substitution
• 1x Treachery

Draw (1)

• 1x Dragon's Hoard

Agents (8)

• 1x God-Eternal Bontu
• 1x God-Eternal Kefnet
• 1x Jace Beleren
• 1x Saheeli, the Gifted
• 1x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
• 1x The Locust God
• 1x The Scarab God
• 1x The Scorpion God

Removal (6)

• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Despark
• 1x Finale of Eternity
• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x Soul Manipulation
• 1x Vandalblast

Ramp (3)

• 1x Revel in Riches
• 1x Storm the Vault  ^Flip
• 1x Thran Temporal Gateway

Other (1)

• 1x Mastermind's Acquisition

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This is a Nicol Bolas themed super friends deck. This deck is intended to be piloted in the spirit of Bolas, so the mechanics and approach to victory are all built around the character of Bolas. The goal? Gather artifacts of power, agents, slaves, and minions to regain the power that was lost. Bolas is at the end of the day all about power, and control.

Design decisions, and why Nicol Bolas, the Ravager   instead of Nicol Bolas as the commander

1. This deck has a Grixis super friend’s sub-theme
2. Nicol Bolas used everyone to his own ends. This is perfectly represented in the God-Eternals. However, the original Nicol Bolas represents an earlier form of Bolas before he gained his spark.
3. Mechanically, the commander for this deck, Nicol Bolas, the Ravager  , represents Bolas after he transitioned to a planeswalker when his spark ignited. Additionally he is a planeswalker as well which is fitting. OG Bolas will still be in the 99.
4. This deck has a strong theme of discard, given that is the game mechanic that represents Bolas's mind chattering ability. To that end the original Elder Dragon form of Bolas Nicol Bolas will be in the 99.
5. Planeswalkers that are able to fit the color identity of the deck will be included only if they were allies or agents of Nicol Bolas at some point, or were heavily manipulated by him at some point.
6. Planeswalkers like Dovin Baan and Kaya, Ghost Assassin who fought on Nicol Bolas's side for a time are not able to be in a Grixis deck, they will therefore, unfortunately, be excluded.
7. Although we will also be missing Dovin, Hand of Control who is both mechanically strong in this deck and friends of Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, we do get to represent Kaya and others through signature spells such as Kaya's Ghostform
8. Some planewalker cards are better than others. This means although we are running a few Tezzeret cards as an example we will not run all versions, so Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas will be left out in favor of the more mechanically appropriate Tezzeret, Artific Master or Tezzeret the Seeker.

Bio - Nicol Bolas

He sired whole races, populated entire planes, and then hunted them to extinction for his amusement. Bolas' hallmark is his touch, an inborn ability that causes a mind shattering effect with the slightest caress.

Mechanics

Our objective is to remove our opponents’ resources, by stealing the best of what is theirs, stopping their plans before they start with discard and counter spells, and occasionally devastating their board with large sweeps. We overpower our enemies by gathering power (card advantage and powerful artifacts) and assembling our army of agents/planeswalkers, re-animated creatures.

We can break our strategy up into a few categories, this also helps us establish a balance in game play. Below are the strategies and estimated card counts I am aiming for in this bolas focused scheme.

1. Nicol Bolas, the Ravager CMDR 1
2. Bolas - The man himself 6
3. Agents - Other planeswalkers 18
4. Ramp – Arcane Signet or Thought Vessel 10
5. Artifacts of power The Chain Veil or Planar Bridge 5
6. Draw - Cards like Commence the Endgame & Rhystic Study representing Bolas's gathering of arcane knowledge 8
7. Signature-spells (Reanimate, Proliferate, Tutors, Discard Support, and Flavor Win such as Torment of Hailfire) 5
8. Steal - Hellkite Tyrant & Insurrection effects 2
9. Discard - Liliana's Caress & Megrim 2
10. Removal - Spell based removal such as Hour of Devastation or Crux of Fate 6
11. Land 37

Technique Show

Combat Tricks:

1. Nicol Bolas, the Ravager   + Blade of Selves, attack with Nicol Bolas, then activate Nicol Bolas, the Ravager   transform ability in response to the Blade of Selves trigger. You end up with three Nicol Bolas, the Ravager   entering the battlefield tapped and attacking, opponents discard 3 cards, your commander becomes a walker Nicol Bolas, the Arisen and two of your three clones die allowing the third to land it's damage and stay on the field.

Win Conditions

1. Hellkite Tyrant + Blade of Selves/Helm of the Host
2. Insurrection
3. Torment of Hailfire
4. Discard payoffs Liliana's Caress and Megrim
5. Vraska, Scheming Gorgon

Although this deck is not a combo deck, there are a few combo's in it if you are interested in that sort of thing. Mostly non-infinite.

Combos Show

Winning Combos:

1. Jace, Cunning Castaway + Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
2. Tezzeret the Seeker + The Chain Veil + Everflowing Chalice

Removed:

1. God-Eternal Kefnet + Scroll Rack + Temporal Mastery

Infinite Mana Combos:

Signature Spells

The below list are of VERY strong thematic spells. Some made it into this deck, others mechanically were not a fit, but are worth noting.

1. The Eldest Reborn
2. Torment of Hailfire
3. Dark Intimations
4. Cruel Ultimatum
5. The Elderspell
6. Deliver Unto Evil
7. Hour of Devastation
8. Slave of Bolas
9. Enter the God-Eternals
10. Command the Dreadhorde

Artifacts of Power

Bolas has been tracking down various artifacts and powerful devices on his quest to rule everything. Several devices intended for his destruction have been captured by Bolas and used to his own advantage.

#ArtifactsofPower

1. The Chain Veil The Chain Veil was used heavily by Liliana.

	...And you will know her by the trail of undead.

Liliana has been running from her past for too long. But the ancient and powerful Chain Veil seems to be the answer to all her problems. It will give her the power to get free from the demonic pact that drives her, even if it means killing every demon in the Multiverse. As Liliana's enemies pile up, so do the complications. That cursed, barbarian planeswalker Garruk Wildspeaker, has tagged her as his numinous quarry. The power of the Veil has drawn the unsavory attention of the Dragon Nicol Bolas. And her old friend Jace Beleren is drawn into the middle. But as the Veil takes hold of her, it's hard to tell if those voices in her head are her own, or the eldritch spirits of the Veil.

1. Planar Bridge Used as a means to bring Bolas's Eternal army to other planes. Grafted into his minion Tezzeret's metal arm. The Planar Bridge is one of the few means to move non-planes walkers between planes after the Mending.

Not included in this deck Show

1. The Immortal Sun Immortal Sun was used as a means to trap planeswalkers on Ravnica. Entrusted to Dovin Baan during the War of the Spark. The massive stone slab was created ages ago by the ancient sphinx planeswalker Azor. Azor was in league with the Spirit Dragon with whom he had created a plan to trap the nefarious Nicol Bolas on Ixalan. Though the artifact has powerful magical properties (intended for its guardians to keep it safe), its main purpose is to prevent planeswalkers from leaving Ixalan. Azor created the Immortal Sun by imbuing it with his planeswalker's spark, thus trapping himself as well. Bolas used The Immortal Sun to trap many planeswalkers on Ravnica, after they had been lured there by the Interplanar Beacon, to harvest their sparks.

2. Conflux After the Mending, Bolas lost the ability to retain much of his 25,000 years worth of arcane knowledge. He also (along with other planeswalkers) lost his immortality and greater power to move others through a planar portal. He managed to escape to the plane of Alara where he began machinations while dwelling in the Shard of Grixis, claiming the necropolis of Kederekt as his own. He prepared to take advantage of the coming Conflux to regain his power, and started to manipulate certain individuals and organizations on the multiple shards to create an environment ripe with tension and ready for war

3. Gem of Becoming The Spirit-Gem that he wears between his horns, which looks similar to the Gem of Becoming. Found on the Meditation Realm, in the Pools of Becoming, Bolas was unaware that it was made from a piece of Ugin's essence. Ugin used his connection with the Spirit Gem to observe the events of the War of the Spark without being on Ravnica. Now in possession of Liliana Vess.

4. Bolas's Citadel His citadel — Used as a phylactery to store the sparks of the planeswalkers he harvested during the War of the Spark.

Frenemies/ Agents

Bolas treats everyone as a tool to be used and controlled. Many "Allies" are so begrudgingly and there are several instances where someone changes sides either for or against Bolas. He uses manipulation and other tactics to control others.

1. Tezzeret is a heavily aligned agent of Bolas. He serves as much as he also despises Bolas.
2. Liliana Vess eventually broke away from Bolas but has been one of the more effective agents. We will use cards that represent Liliana throughout this relationship progression, starting with Liliana Vess and ending with Liliana, Dreadhorde General which depicts Liliana before she turns on Bolas.
3. Sarkhan Vol was manipulated by Bolas and broken by him. He is represented by his pre-broken states,Sarkhan, Fireblood and Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker, as he later becomes an enemy of Bolas more closely allied to Ugin.
4. Ral Zarek, for years, performed secret missions for Bolas.
5. Vraska aligned herself with Nicol Bolas to fulfill her ambitions of becoming guildmaster and restore equality within the Golgari. She only served Bolas for a short time, however, until her encounter with Jace. Vraska is only represented by her card Vraska, Scheming Gorgon where she aligns with Bolas's schemes, even though Jace will later persuade her otherwise.
6. Jace Beleren, while being a member of the Gatewatch, and being opposed to Bolas, had his mind nearly destroyed and lost his memories while confronting him. Jace, Cunning Castaway Jace is here to help tell the story of Vraska, and Bolas while demonstrating the state Bolas had put him in after their psychic battle.
7. Ashiok is a schemer like Bolas, but never directly cooperated with Bolas. She manipulated the dreams of inhabitants of Theros before Bolas arrived. She seems a natural ally.
8. Daretti is clever and ambitiously seeking knowledge for his artifice. There is no evidence that he ever met Bolas, but seems a fitting ally.

Planeswalkers that become opposed to Bolas, but were manipulated by him and Trapped by the Immortal Sun. Bolas uses and discards those that he will, and each of these Agents were mere pawns drawn in for their spark:

1. Dack Fayden was lured back to Ravnica by the Interplanar Beacon, and immediately became trapped there by Bolas using the Immortal Sun, Dack didn't stand against Bolas until the end and was another puppet dancing to Bolas's strings. It is conceivable that Dack might have allied with Bolas should circumstances have been different.
2. Saheeli was lured back to Ravnica by the Interplanar Beacon, and immediately became trapped there by Bolas using the Immortal Sun. Saheeli was manipulated here and so is represented by her card printed from this time Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
3. Davriel while trapped he tried to stay out of the conflict, but is always seeking power and eventually stole the elder-spell out of the mind of one of the Eternals. Represented here by Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage
4. Angrath While trapped he temporarily pull Eternals to his side during the fight, allowing him to amass his own miniature army. He is represented here by Angrath, the Flame-Chained

Agents not present in this deck:

1. Dovin Baan Served bolas for a short time, but sadly can't be present due to color restrictions.
2. Kaya has been on both sides of this conflict, but will only be represented here in a few related spells, such as Kaya's Ghostform, which is fitting given her over all involvement.
3. Domri Rade was easily manipulated by Bolas, however doesn't fit the current strategy and being Gruul is not legal in a Bolas deck. Like many Agents of Bolas, Domri has served and is discarded, Domri and many more will experience Slave of Bolas treatment.

Enemies:

Because the below characters are straight up enemies of Nicol Bolas, we will not have any of them present in this deck. However, they may take prominent roles in Sisay watch or NIV My Guild Walkers.

1. Ugin
2. Azor, the Lawbringer - Friend of Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
3. Ajani Goldmane
4. Teferi
5. Venser
6. Vivien Reid
7. Jeska
8. Leshrac
9. Myojin of Night's Reach
10. Tetsuo Umezawa

In his duel with Teferi, Bolas proved skilled enough in blue magic to completely nullify the time magic Teferi had created.

Gatewatch

1. Gideon Jura
2. Jace Beleren
3. Chandra Nalaar
4. Nissa Revane
5. Ajani Goldmane
6. Teferi
7. Liliana Vess Was being controlled by Bolas, and later joined the Gatewatch
8. Kaya - Eventually abandoned Bolas and joined the Gatewatch

Notable exclusions

Several cards are either mechanically perfect for this deck but thematically off, or thematically on point, but lack synergy with the other cards in a strong enough way. Those exclusions are listed here for reference and future review.

Mechanical Exclusions:

1. Augur of Bolas
2. Sarkhan the Mad Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
3. Domri, Anarch of Bolas Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
4. Domri, Chaos Bringer Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
5. Domri, City Smasher Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
6. Domri Rade Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
7. Dovin, Architect of Law Bolas is the law, and needs no architect
8. Dovin, Grand Arbiter Bolas isn't interested in arbitration
9. Kaya, Orzhov Usurper Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
10. Liliana, Death Wielder Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
11. Liliana, Death's Majesty Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
12. Liliana, Death Wielder Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
13. Liliana, Death's Majesty Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
14. Liliana, Heretical Healer   Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
15. Liliana of the Dark Realms Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
16. Liliana, the Last Hope Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
17. Liliana, the Necromancer Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
18. Liliana, Untouched By Death Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
19. Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath Weak demons have no place with Bolas
20. Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted Too expensive
21. Ral, Izzet Viceroy Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
22. Ral, Caller of Storms 6 mana cantrip
23. Tezzeret, Cruel Machinist Sad precon...

Thematic Exclusions:

1. Sarkhan, Fireblood was after he broke away from Nicol Bolas
2. Sarkhan Unbroken This represents his state of brokenness that Bolas left him in.
3. Sarkhan the Masterless At this point Sarkhan had left Bolas
4. Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker Doesn't fit into Bolas's grand plans today
5. Sarkhan, Dragonsoul Sad precon...
6. Jace, Arcane Strategist Jace was only an agent for a short time...
7. Jace, Architect of Thought Jace was only an agent for a short time...
8. Jace Beleren Jace was only an agent for a short time...
9. Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage Jace was only an agent for a short time...
10. Jace, Memory Adept Jace was only an agent for a short time...
11. Jace, the Living Guildpact Jace was only an agent for a short time...
12. Jace, the Mind Sculptor Jace was only an agent for a short time...
13. Jace, Unraveler of Secrets Jace was only an agent for a short time...
14. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy   Jace was only an agent for a short time...
15. Jace, Wielder of Mysteries Jace was only an agent for a short time...
16. Kaya, Ghost Assassin She's rolling with the Gatewatch

Other Superfriends & SuperVillain Deck Lists

Gatewatch Vorthos Super Friends Deck:

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Sisay watch

Commander / EDH* sweetaction

59 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

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Living Guildpact Vorthos Super Friends Deck:

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NIV My Guild Walkers

Commander / EDH* sweetaction

48 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

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Nicol Bolas Vorthos Super Friends Deck: deck-large:Rise to Power - Bolas

Date added	4 years
Last updated	3 years
Exclude colors	WG
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	26 - 0 Mythic Rares 35 - 0 Rares 20 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.89
Tokens	Construct 1/1 C Token w/ Defender, Copy Clone, Dragon 5/5 R, Emblem Dack Fayden, Emblem Tezzeret the Schemer, Emblem Tezzeret, Artifice Master, Etherium Cell, Illusion 2/2 U w/ Phantasmal, Servo 1/1 C, Thopter 1/1 C, Zombie 2/2 B, Zombie Army 0/0 B
Folders	In Progress Decks