Archenemy: Nicol Bolas
Lore forum
Posted on Sept. 2, 2016, 6:48 a.m. by Homura_Akemi
So Archenemy: Nicol Bolas was recently announced and with the announcement the detail that each of the four decks will have a planeswalker in them. Will this reflect the planeswalkers who are opposing Nicol Bolas in the new set? Although none of the cards are new, I wonder which three planeswalkers will be facing off against him. Who would realistically go against him in the story? My only definite guess would be Ugin because he probably has a grudge against Bolas, has some free time on his hands in the story, and was once close to Bolas' power level. Let me know who you guys think it is.
At first, before I realized there would be 4 decks, I thought the reprinted walkers would be Bolas, Tezzeret, Sarkhan, and Lili(?).
Now, I assuming it'll be Jace and Gideon, probably with Lili but maybe Chandra.
Jace considers Bolas his archenemy despite only meeting him briefly, due to his relation to Tezzeret and the Consortium. Gideon is just a hero type and basically Jace's best friend, So would likely assist him with taking down a great evil like this. Lili, assuming she wouldn't be dragged into the fight by Jace, may want to handle Bolas either to learn the location of her last demon(s) or because she considers him a demon, even though he technically only brokered the deals.
September 2, 2016 7:26 a.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #4
kanokarob Liliana vs Bolas would be awesome! The last time they met up I don't think she yet had the Chain Veil, so things would be different if they fought know. As for the rest of the Gatewatch, I don't think they would have the sheer power to fight Bolas. Maybe Jace and Chandra, but I doubt Beefslab and Nissa could do anything.
September 2, 2016 7:31 a.m.
Well...
A: They certainly couldn't alone, but they're working as a team here. Jace could protect the other two from Bolas' mental powers. Gideon may not be able to deal much damage, but he could be an effective distraction for the dragon while Lili moves in for the kill, as he's indestructible.
B: The Archenemy is designed to reflect the challenge of such a matchup, that's why they have double life and Schemes.
C: The Archenemy set and the duels that take place using it are not necessarily canon. Just because the Planeswalkers that are chosen are, well, chosen to be included in the premades here doesn't mean they necessarily fight Bolas and win, or lose but survive. So that's irrelevant. They're gonna pick walkers that potentially could be inclined to take him on, but it has no inherent bearing on the continuity.
September 2, 2016 7:41 a.m.
No chance can Jace do anything against Bolas. In Agents of Artifice, Tezzeret used Jace for mental protection vs Bolas. Suffice to say, it didn't end well. And I'm skeptical that the chain veil could do anything more than scratch Bolas. He's perhaps a little less powerful than Emrakul, and way more intelligent.
September 2, 2016 12:18 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #7
Well, we don't fully understand Emrakul, but I bet she'd whoop Bolas' arse. Emrakul planeswalker card: YES!
September 2, 2016 2:39 p.m.
Bolas would probably beat Emrakul tbf. Bolas could probably beat anything apart from bad plot writing.
September 2, 2016 3:51 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #12
Lol Nahiri's attempt to trap him in stone would be met with an evil chuckle and a casual slap against any nearby object. I don't think Emmy would win, Bolas is just too sturng.
September 4, 2016 1:24 p.m.
WOW WOW WOW!! Emrakul couldn't do anything to Bolas. Kruphix, God of Horizons said that he saw three major threats to the Plane of Theros. Those threats are as follows,
The Eldrazi, and this is from a time when all three Titans were still alive.
New Phyrexia, this is counting all of the Phyrexians.
Nicol Bolas. That's it, him by himself.
Kruphix believes that each is powerful enough on its own to defeat all of the Gods of Theros, and destroy the Plane.
As Nicol Bolas is listed by himself, he is clearly the most powerful being in the Lore right now. It would take the Eldrazi Trio to contest Bolas, and they still might lose. Bolas may be able to defeat all of New Phyrexia.
You also have to factor, the Planeswalkers that have had issues with Bolas in the past are the same that defeated the Eldrazi. Emrakul simply cannot contest Nicol Bolas.
Nicol Bolas is master of the Multiverse. Follow him or be destroyed.
I do have to question though, what Lore did I miss where Liliana got mad at Bolas? Since when are they not working together, or more so her doing favors for him? I was under the impression that they were still on good terms, or as good as they can be. I legitimately thought when I first heard of Archenemy: Nicol Bolas, that with four Planeswalkers, you would have Bolas + Liliana against Jace + friend.
September 7, 2016 1:32 a.m. Edited.
Azire Your analysis follows assumptions. Firstly, that the threats mentioned by Kruphix are actually equal in power. Secondly, that the power is divided between each member of the group. These were not explicitly stated as true, so your analysis cannot be known for certain as true.
September 7, 2016 2:07 a.m.
The threats are equal in power, but I was factoring the issue that all threats mentioned have that power split except for Nicol Bolas. We can factor that the Eldrazi swarms, New Phyrexia, and Nicol Bolas are all at the same power level. Considering that Nicol Bolas has that kind of power, it is safe to assume that he would defeat all of the Eldrazi, especially considering within the Lore itself, they split up thus lowering their overall powerlevel to compete against him.
While it wasn't explicitly stated as true, that is all of the information we have to go off of. We have to accept the information given at face value until something brings it into question.
With the information we have, I feel it is safe to assume that Nicol Bolas is the most powerful entity in the Multiverse, and if he is to be defeated, it will take combined efforts to do so. Thus when we take about a 1v1 battle, like Bolas against Emrakul for example, it is safe to assume that he will defeat her.
With the information we have, Nicol Bolas should be able to defeat anybody/anything in a 1v1 battle. Once you start talking about combined efforts, that's where it gets tricky. Of course there could be Phyrexian Eldrazi, (dear god), but that wasn't the topic.
Off topic, as much as I love Nicol Bolas, I do hope that our return to Theros is dealing with New Phyrexia. Enchantment/Artifact block? Yes please. Imagine, Legendary Enchantment Artifact Creature - God. Lol, awesome.
September 7, 2016 2:33 a.m.
It's fun to think about what could defeat Bolas, but really considering things from a Lore standpoint, no matter how powerful Bolas is, he's never going to let himself be in a position where anything can fight him, 1v1 or otherwise, without him explicitly planning it and/or being completely confident he'll survive. Further, in the case of the Eldrazi or New Phyrexia, they have no reason or ability even to take on Nicol Bolas.
The Eldrazi are only interested in the destruction of planes (and possibly recycling their mana into new planes, still not explicitly confirmed). They have no need to attack Nicol Bolas, and he has no reason to fight them either, at least not personally.
New Phyrexia is a world that pretty much just wants to/will want to invade and compleate every other plane. Bolas isn't a plane, but if for some reason they did want to attack him, they would certainly need a very large army to make even a reasonable attempt, and that likely wouldn't do a whole lot, either, just by the nature of an army isn't very good at attacking a single being, particularly when that being can effortlessly pick off the army a few dozen at a time.
Bolas is the most dangerous of the three not because he can absolutely defeat them, no contest, but because he is incalculably intelligent compared to anything else. He wouldn't let himself be caught up with them at all, letting others deal with them as and when he deemed necessary, preparing contingency plans for any and all outcomes.
September 7, 2016 7:38 a.m.
shinobigarth says... #18
Bolas' strongest asset is his mind. his plans have backup plans, his backup plans have backup-backup plans. he accounts for every contingency and every thing that could possibly happen. he probably knew they would go back in time and save Ugin too. they think they got away scott free but he probably accounted for that and is now just playing the waiting game. revenge is a dish best served cold.
as for the Kruphix thing, i would also argue thats more speculation on Kruphix's part. even though Bolas is very powerful, we have to remember he has like 20% of his actual power right now due to the Mending. pre Mending he and the other walkers were almost gods, and he was by far the most powerful of them all. who knows if he's currently powerful enough to take on all of New Phyrexia or all the titans at once (which is an argument that doesnt matter so much now). he would be for sure at full power though.
September 7, 2016 12:25 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #19
Okay: Nahiri + New Phyrexia + Emrakul > Bolas. Bang. There it is
September 7, 2016 3:12 p.m.
shinobigarth I don't think it's relevant. Kruphix was looking at Nicol Bolas post mending and viewed him as powerful enough.
Kruphix saw Bolas through Ajani's mind, and didn't realize that he wasn't even seeing Bolas at his full power. He saw him as that large of a threat without knowing that Bolas right now is laughably less powerful than he can be.
September 7, 2016 3:27 p.m.
shinobigarth I don't think it's relevant. Kruphix was looking at Nicol Bolas post mending and viewed him as powerful enough.
Kruphix saw Bolas through Ajani's mind, and didn't realize that he wasn't even seeing Bolas at his full power. He saw him as that large of a threat without knowing that Bolas right now is laughably less powerful than he can be.
September 7, 2016 3:27 p.m.
The one way I can actually see beating Bolas by is to literally give him infinite power, so that it is all useless.
After all, power is only as useful as the relative amount elsewhere.
Homura_Akemi Nahiri is weak. The others, less so. Bolas could still beat them all, though, as his power is enhanced by his intellect.
Homura_Akemi says... #2
And if it's revealed Sorin is facing him with his new art stuck in a rock I am definitely buying this.
September 2, 2016 6:49 a.m.