Disciple of Bolas
Creature — Human Wizard
When this creature enters, sacrifice another creature. You gain X life and draw X cards, where X is that creature's power.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- New Capenna Commander
- Price
- $0.95
- EDHREC rank
- #1482
Disciple of Bolas converts a single large creature into a fistful of cards and a chunk of life — the payoff is immediate and scales hard with power/toughness, which means something like Body of Research can turn it into a 20-card draw in the right shell. The cost is real: you sacrifice the creature, so you need a target worth losing, and four mana on a 2/1 body is not free.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist
Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist naturally grows creatures to enormous sizes through bone counter accumulation, making Disciple of Bolas a reliable way to cash one in for a massive card advantage spike whenever you need to reload.
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis is a free 8/8 that you're often happy to sacrifice anyway, and Disciple of Bolas turns that into eight cards and eight life before Hogaak inevitably comes back from the graveyard.
Yargle and Multani
Yargle and Multani is a combined 21 power sitting in the command zone, and Disciple of Bolas converting that into 21 cards is one of the more obscene card-draw ceilings in Commander.
Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
Henzie "Toolbox" Torre blinks beefy creatures into play at a discount, and Disciple of Bolas provides the payoff loop — sacrifice the blitzed creature for cards rather than waiting for the end-step exile trigger to take it.
Minthara, Merciless Soul
Minthara, Merciless Soul pumps creatures with +1/+1 counters after combat damage, and Disciple of Bolas converts those newly oversized bodies into card advantage before opponents can answer them.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Disciple of Bolas actually lives — 40-life totals make the life gain relevant, multiplayer pods give you time to set up a fat sacrifice target, and the card-draw ceiling climbs unreasonably high with the right creature. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; four mana for a conditional draw effect at sorcery speed doesn't compete in those formats, and you'd need a very specific shell to justify it. Oathbreaker can support it in a go-big black-blue strategy, though the 20-life format compresses how much the life swing matters.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Disciple of BolasBody of Research
Infinite card draw; Infinite draw triggers; Near-infinite lifegain
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.95 bulk tier
At $0.95, Disciple of Bolas sits at the top of the bulk tier — playable enough to see real Commander inclusion but not chased hard enough to climb further. It holds that price floor comfortably given how often it shows up in Golgari and Sultai sacrifice lists, so there's no urgency to buy in bulk.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Body of Research
- Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist
- Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
- Yargle and Multani
- Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
- Minthara, Merciless Soul
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.