Nicol Bolas, the Ravager card art

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager

Legendary Creature — Elder Dragon // Legendary Planeswalker — Bolas MV 4

Tracked across real Commander games played through TurnZero HQ.

Buy on TCGplayer Track your own decks
Jump to section ▾
What it doesRulingsIn the 99Every version

What it does

Flying

When Nicol Bolas enters, each opponent discards a card.

4: Exile Nicol Bolas, then return him to the battlefield transformed under his owner's control. Activate only as a sorcery.

+2: Draw two cards.

−3: Nicol Bolas deals 10 damage to target creature or planeswalker.

−4: Put target creature or planeswalker card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.

−12: Exile all but the bottom card of target player's library.

Rulings

11 official rulings, in the order Wizards published them.

  • 2018-07-13

    While a double-faced card isn't on the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of its front face. For example, Nicol Bolas has the characteristics of its creature face in the graveyard, even if it was a planeswalker on the battlefield before it was put into the graveyard.

  • 2018-07-13

    The mana value of a double-faced card is the mana value of its front face, even while it's on the battlefield with its back face up. For example, the mana value of Nicol Bolas, the Arisen is 4.

  • 2018-07-13

    A double-faced card enters the battlefield with its front face up by default, unless a spell or ability instructs you to put it onto the battlefield transformed, in which case it enters with its back face up. The back face of a double-faced card can't be played.

  • 2018-07-13

    Nicol Bolas, the Arisen has a color indicator on its typeline. This color indicator means that it's a blue, black, and red permanent.

  • 2018-07-13

    In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If you leave the game, any permanents you control from Nicol Bolas's third loyalty ability that came from other players' graveyards are exiled.

  • 2018-07-13

    If another permanent that isn't a double-faced card (such as Mirror Image) becomes a copy of Nicol Bolas, the Ravager, activating the ability to exile it and return it transformed will only exile it. It won't return to the battlefield at all.

  • 2018-07-13

    In some rare cases, a spell or ability may cause Nicol Bolas to transform while it's a creature on the battlefield. If this happens, the resulting planeswalker won't have any loyalty counters on it and will subsequently be put into its owner's graveyard.

  • 2018-07-13

    Each face of a double-faced card has its own set of characteristics: name, types, subtypes, abilities, and so on. While a double-faced card is on the battlefield, consider only the characteristics of the face that's currently up. The other set of characteristics is ignored.

  • 2018-07-13

    You can activate one of the planeswalker's loyalty abilities the turn it enters the battlefield.

  • 2018-07-13

    If Nicol Bolas leaves the battlefield after his creature face's activated ability has been activated but before it resolves, the card remains in whichever zone it moves to. It won't be exiled or return transformed.

  • 2018-07-13

    When Nicol Bolas's enters-the-battlefield triggered ability resolves, first the next opponent in turn order (or, if it's an opponent's turn, that opponent) chooses a card in their hand without revealing it, then each other opponent in turn order does the same. Then all the chosen cards are discarded at the same time.

Rulings are Wizards of the Coast's own, mirrored from Scryfall and refreshed nightly.

Covered in our set guide Core Set 2019 The return of core sets, and the first with a story in it. Released Jul 13, 2018 Read the guide →

In the 99

Every deck whose current list includes Nicol Bolas, the Ravager, whatever its commander.

Decks running it 1
Games played 0
Win rate — Fewer than 5 completed games, which is not enough to publish a rate yet.
Confirmed on board 0 Games where a board photo caught it actually in play.

Every version of Nicol Bolas, the Ravager

5 printings, newest first. Prices are the market figures Scryfall publishes, refreshed nightly. A printing with no figure shows a dash rather than a zero, because Scryfall publishes none for some of them.

Prices from Scryfall, which tracks the TCGplayer and Cardmarket markets. They move daily and are a guide rather than a quote. Search TCGplayer for Nicol Bolas, the Ravager. It runs a name search across every version, which covers the printings TCGplayer publishes no direct link to.

Aggregated from Commander games tracked in TurnZero HQ. Every figure counts decks and games only. No individual deck list, player or playgroup is identified. Win rates are withheld below 5 completed games, where the sample is too small to mean anything.