Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver
Legendary Planeswalker — Bolas
+3: Each opponent loses 3 life unless that player sacrifices a nonland permanent of their choice or discards a card.
−3: Destroy target creature. Draw a card.
−11: Nicol Bolas deals 7 damage to each opponent. You draw seven cards.
- CMC
- 8
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BRU
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Hour of Devastation
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #12516
Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver enters at five loyalty and immediately threatens to drain each opponent for 3 on the same turn, which is a genuine clock in a four-player pod — but you're paying seven mana for a planeswalker that does nothing to protect itself. The floor is high enough that Nicol Bolas, the Ravager decks run it as a thematic payoff, but in a vacuum the mana cost is punishing and creature-light boards will get it killed before the ultimate matters.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Nicol Bolas, the Ravager flips into Nicol Bolas, the Arisen and can then tutor or reanimate Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver directly from the graveyard, letting you chain planeswalker threats without paying the seven-mana retail price — and the Grixis shell already supplies the discard and removal that keep the Deceiver alive long enough to drain out a table.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver actually earns its slot: three opponents means the minus-3 drains up to 9 life on the turn it lands, and the ultimate at 10 loyalty is reachable in a slower pod. In Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer it's a seven-mana planeswalker competing against formats that end games faster than you can plus-up — the card simply doesn't have a competitive home in any of them. Oathbreaker is a theoretical fit as the signature spell axis, but the seven-mana cost is even more brutal when you're paying commander tax on top.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver isn't available in this context, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for live numbers. Given that it sees play almost exclusively as a thematic inclusion in Nicol Bolas, the Ravager Commander decks rather than a competitive staple, demand is narrow and copies tend to sit at the low end of the mythic price range.
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Sources
Mentioned
- Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.