Bolas's Citadel
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Alchemy Legal
Archenemy Legal
Arena Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Freeform Legal
Gladiator Legal
Highlander Legal
Historic Legal
Historic Brawl Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pioneer Legal
Planar Constructed Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Bolas's Citadel

Legendary Artifact

You may look at the top card of your library at any time.

You may play the top card of your library. If you cast a spell this way, pay life equal to its converted mana cost/mana value rather than pay its mana cost.

: Sacrifice ten nonland permanents: Each opponent loses 10 life.

SaberTech on Dissident Storm

1 month ago

Alright. It's harder to pull off a storm deck in Commander but there are things you can do.

The easiest way to storm in Commander is with the Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal combo. The Scepter copies the imprinted spell, but you cast the copy so it counts towards your storm count. Running this combo requires you to run a bunch more mana rocks though, because you need to be able to produce at least 2 mana off of the rocks just to get the engine going, plus more mana if you want to produce infinite mana off of the combo. I don't know what your budget is like or if your group allows proxies, but at higher level tables you'd be looking to run cards like Mana Vault and Grim Monolith since those produce 3 mana all on their own. Beyond that though, you would definitely want to be running the talismans like Talisman of Dominance. Everflowing Chalice is another good option for storm because it's on rate if you only kick it once or you can just play it for free un-kicked to increase your storm count. Whichever rocks you end up running, you'll need a good number in the deck to support the combo.

The Dramatic Scepter combo also works well with Wishclaw Talisman. Activate the Talisman, then with the ability on the stack you activate the Scepter to untap the Scepter, the Talisman, and your mana rocks. While the first ability is still on the stack, activate the Talisman again and repeat the cycle. You'll be able to use up all 3 wish counters yourself and in the end you just pass a useless Talisman to the opponent, although after tutoring three cards you should just be winning that turn. The combo also just kills if Guttersnipe is out.

Running a bunch of mana artifacts (that don't enter tapped) has another benefit in that you can run cards like Paradoxical Outcome, Hurkyl's Recall, and Retract. You get to tap your rocks for mana, bounce them back to hand, and then recast them to increase your storm count and hopefully even net extra mana, although that requires more artifacts that produce more mana than they cost like Sol Ring, Mana Vault, and Grim Monolith.

Another combo card you could be running is Chain of Smog, which combos with Professor Onyx as long as you keep targeting yourself with the Chain and its copies. The copies won't count towards your storm count, but they will get you a bunch of treasure tokens off of Storm-Kiln Artist. You would have an empty hand, but you would have the mana to cast Kess and then cast a card from your graveyard. Ideally, you would be running wheel effects like Wheel of Fortune to immediately refill your hand and keep your plays going. Storm decks typically like to run wheel effects. On the more budget end of things, you could at least be running Windfall and similar effects so that you can match your opponents' hand sizes after emptying your own.

Chain of Smog + Archmage Emeritus will basically let you mill through your deck at the cost of emptying your hand. You'll be forced to discard the cards that you draw off of Emeritus. However, If you run a copy of Unearth in the deck then you can draw and discard your deck, use Kess to cast Unearth from your graveyard, and bring back Thassa's Oracle for the win. It's a risky line though because you won't have access to any counterspells to protect it.

Unearth is still worth considering for the deck in general since it can get back several relevant creatures in case they are countered, it's a 1 mana spell for storm count, and at worst you can cycle it away to draw a card.

Another combo I can think of based off of cards already in your deck is God-Eternal Kefnet + Scroll Rack + Time Warp (or any other extra turn card that doesn't exile itself). You use Scroll Rack to make sure that Time Warp is the top card of your deck. When you draw, Kefnet sees it and copies it. You cast the copy, and then before the end of your turn you use Scroll Rack to put Time Warp from your hand back on top of your library. Rinse and repeat for infinite turns.

Beyond that is typical storm stuff:

If all of that is sounding really expensive, Stella Lee, Wild Card and Veyran, Voice of Duality are known commanders for their own unique storm decks. You can find lists at various budget point for them online. Zada, Hedron Grinder can also play as a budget, glass-cannon style goblin storm deck.

firasnake on Soul Siphon

3 months ago

Profet93 awesome thanks, Divining Top is essential for a variety of reasons

"Second Chance" cards (Stunning Reversal, The Golden Throne, Pact Weapon, Platinum Angel) are more strategic than incidental and they almost all have a card advantage / ramp component, but most importantly you want to have them so you can abuse life sinks (Ad Nauseam, Bolas's Citadel, Vilis, Broker of Blood)

Doombeard1984 on Mean Golgari elves machine

4 months ago

Hello there,

So I would definatley suggest Umbral Mantle. Can essentially make you infinite green mana with several of your mana elves.

Dionus, Elvish Archdruid is an absolutely crazy card if you can get him. Can activate Lathril twice in your turn, and also pumps your board.

Any kind of "Ability Haste" enabler is good. Thousand-Year Elixir, Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler fit the bill for this.

Big fan of Temur Sabertooth. Although not an Elf, if you have loads of mana, and a draw enabler on board, can draw your whole deck. Also lets you protect your board from boardwipes (the arch enemy of pointy ears).

You are in black, and low to the ground mana wise Bolas's Citadel is a beast in decks like this as give insurmountable value.

Three Tree City as a land mayeb?

Hope this helps,

Here is my own Lathril Deck, so may be able to find some more inspiration there. Good luck, and obviously a +1 left :)

Not just an Elfball deck (although it still does)

hootsnag on Varragoth Mono Black Creatueless Combo Win

5 months ago

Ah so you caught the Obelisk of Undoing/Bolas's Citadel/Aetherflux Reservoir synergy with my infinite mana generation? I may actually add Hall of the Bandit Lord. Not sure what you mean about Maze of Ith. The boast ability can only be used once per turn.

Pedrodamus on Moraug + World At War

7 months ago

Just came across the following interaction and I THINK I understand how it will resolve itself out, but just wanted confirmation:

I'm in my 2nd main and I just cheated Moraug, Fury of Akoum off the top with The Infamous Cruelclaw. I play a fetch which creates an extra combat phase. Now, I also have a Bolas's Citadel on board and I have a World At War on top and I play that. Do I still get my extra main phase after the extra combat phase created by World At War? I know every extra combat created goes ahead of a previous one in the order and the way I'm interpreting World At War is that the extra main phase is baked into its extra combat so that entire effect would resolve prior to Moraug's extra combat which would now happen after the main phase granted by World At War?

Thanks in advance, and feel free to tell me if i'm completely wrong lol.

Tarzunga on Toshiro

10 months ago

Hello. Interesting approach you took with Toshiro, if I may offer my input, being Toshiro my main commander, you can add 1 card to your deck that will make an infinite combo with others you already have. If you add Doom Whisperer he can go inifite with Aetherflux Reservoir and Bolas's Citadel. Sensei's Divining Top can replace Doom Whisperer in that combo also, if you prefer it.

If you want you can check my deck for some ideas, but mine is built more as a spellslinger. Still in need of upgrades tho.

DungeonMimic1993 on Hey Jude

10 months ago

Thank you for the feed back DreadKhan, it reminded me that I haven't edited my digital version of this deck even though I changed my physical. I've updated the above deck to match my real deck and added some of your suggestions. First of all, You were 100% right about mana being a struggle and Judith being a kill on sight. I really haven't found any ramp in rakdos so thanks for the lands, i can see them building up fast. I also added Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge to produce mana off killing creatures. he's not very fast for mana but he is a good cheep blocker too.

Aetherflux Reservoir is definitely on my to-buy-list, but when i bought this deck I opted for the Bolas's Citadel instead.

I'll probably hold off adding Sensei's Divining Top because one; It's a bit out of my budget, and two; personally, I find combo wins to be a kind of disappointing way to end a game - at lest not as exciting as dealing 20 damage to everything with starstorm. But if you are someone who likes combos that is a very solid one to add for sure.

Shock for Flare is a pretty close swap, Flare costing more mana and doing less lifelink damage, but keeping cards in your hand. Once i add the charge up lands a two mana difference won't be as big as it is currently so i think that will make it worth it to replace.

Rite of the Raging Storm is going in for sure. Because the creatures will die at the end of the turn they will trigger cards like Deathbringer Thoctar , Massacre Wurmfoil, or any other similar creature in the deck making it a must have. Not a card i would have found otherwise so thank you so much for suggesting it.

I could add Kothophed, Soul Hoarder so i have more a chance at drawing one, but Harvester of Souls does the same minus taking lots of damage making it a better option for me.

Because most of the card in here say "each" i can almost always get around Hexproof, Shroud, and Ward, and I have cards like Burn from Within to get around indestructible and Fanged Flames to get through protection so there hasn't been a time yet were there was something i couldn't kill, but you never know when your wubrg friend is going to play Progenitus so not a bad card to put in there if you come across something really hard to deal with often.

I really appreciate your feed back, I just played this deck yesterday and in a 6 player game, and came very close to a win if i had exactly 2 more mana or one more card draw, so everything you recommended is on point with what this deck needs.

Flarhoon13 on Aminatou's Adventures in babysitting the Gatewatch

1 year ago

May 3, 2024 I started a new quest. Having built 52 decks, I endeavoured to play them all, in roughly the same order as I created them.

July 19

Aminatou's Adventures in babysitting the Gatewatch loss brings the record to 14-21-1. Deepglow Skate was countered, preventing a Jace, Unraveler of Secrets' ultimate. Francois' Toxrill, the Corrosive deck won quickly via Bolas's Citadel and Sensei's Divining Top, defeating Cody's amazing Heliod, the Radiant Dawn  Flip deck, too. Win percentage drops to .400

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