Editing Nicol Bolas

{{Infobox character
|image=Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker.jpg
|aka=Nicol<br/>God-Emperor of Madara<br/>God-Pharaoh<br/>The Horned One<br/>Forever Serpent<br/>Second Sun<br/>Dragon-God
|birthplace=[[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]]
|lifetime=c. −25,000 [[AR]] to Present
|race=[[Elder]] [[Dragon]]<br>Formerly [[Planeswalker]]
|parents=[[The Ur-Dragon]]
|relatives=[[Ugin]] (twin brother)<br/>[[Arcades Sabboth]] (brother)<br/>[[Chromium Rhuell]] (brother)<br/>[[Palladia-Mors]] (sister)<br/>[[Merrevia Sal]] (sister)<br/>[[Vaevictis Asmadi]] (cousin)<br/>[[Lividus]] (cousin)<br/>[[Piru]] (cousin)<br/>[[Ravus]] (cousin)<br/>[[Rubra]] (cousin)
|veneration=Madaran Empire religion (''God-Emperor'')<br/>[[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]] religion (''God-Pharaoh'')
|cults=[[Madara]] on Dominaria<br/>[[Naktamun]] on Amonkhet
|temples=[[Imperial Shrine]] on Dominaria
|colors = Center: {{mana|UBR}}
|lore=Bolas
|sources=[[Assassin's Blade]], [[Emperor's Fist]], [[Champion's Trial]], [[Time Spiral (novel)|Time Spiral]], [[Future Sight (novel)|Future Sight]], [[Agents of Artifice]], [[Alara Unbroken]]
}}
The nameless,<ref name="Weisman Ravnica novel"/> former [[planeswalker]] once called '''Nicol Bolas''' (born '''Nicol''') is the youngest and most infamous of the seven [[Elder Dragon]]s that survived the [[Elder Dragon War]]. He was also known as the '''Forever Serpent''', the '''Horned One''', the '''God-Emperor''' of [[Empire of Madara|Madara]], as well as the '''[[Second Sun]]'''<ref name="Blood and Fire">{{DailyRef|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-blood-and-fire-2018-07-18|Chronicle of Bolas: Blood and Fire|[[Kate Elliott]]|July 18, 2018}}</ref> and '''God-Pharaoh''' of [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]]. After his downfall in the [[War of the Spark (event)|War of the Spark]] - during which he briefly became a near-omnipotent '''Dragon-God''' - he was magically stripped of all names and titles by his twin brother [[Ugin]] to prevent anyone from summoning him ever again.<ref name="Weisman Ravnica novel" /> He is dead to the Multiverse, his survival known only to Ugin and [[Jace Beleren]].<ref name="Weisman Ravnica novel"/> The now-mortal, planebound dragon is kept imprisoned on Ugin's [[Meditation Plane|Prison Realm]], formerly known as Bolas's Meditation Realm.<ref name="Weisman Ravnica novel"/>

He had styled himself ''"the mind-ripper, the deathbringer, the winged dark that terrifies your dreams, the first to witness the sunrise on [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]], and the last to watch it set for the final time"''.<ref name="Fist"/> On [[Ixalan (plane)|Ixalan]] he adopted the pseudonym '''Lord Nicolas''', and on [[Ravnica]] that of '''Master Venati'''.<ref name="Chapter Eight">[[Django Wexler]] (July 31, 2019), ''[[The Gathering Storm]]'', Chapter Eight.</ref>

==Appearance and characteristics==
Unlike normal dragons, the olive-green-scaled Bolas stands on two legs, using his long tail for balance.<ref>{{DailyRef|savor-flavor/one-only-nicol-bolas-2009-04-08|The One, The Only, Nicol Bolas|[[Doug Beyer]]|April 08, 2009}}</ref> His face is flattened and broad, with pale green eyes and a human-like mouth and features.<ref name="Visual Guide">[[Jay Annelli]] (2022). ''[[Magic: The Gathering - The Visual Guide]]'', [[Wikipedia:DK (publisher)|DK]]. ISBN-13 978-0744061055.</ref> His horns curve upward, framing a hovering orb between them, and his enormous wings spread behind him.<ref name="Eighteen">[[Django Wexler]] (October 9, 2019), [[The Gathering Storm]], Chapter Eighteen. Del Ray.</ref> Standing 35 feet tall, his body stretches 60 feet long, with a 60-foot wingspan, and he weighs 60 tons.<ref name="Duels">Planeswalker Bios, [[Magic 2014/Duels of the Planeswalkers|Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014]]</ref> When Bolas breathes fire, it is black-tinged with death magic. His flight is inelegant.

Already nearly as powerful as a [[planeswalker]] as an elder dragon, after his spark ignited Bolas became the most powerful being in the [[Multiverse]].<ref name="Visual Guide"/> Along with his twin [[Ugin]], they are possibly the oldest beings alive. He was said to be old before Dominaria was even born. He sired whole races, populated entire planes, and then hunted them to extinction for his amusement.<ref name="Fist">[[Scott McGough]] (2003). ''[[Emperor's Fist]]'', pages 307-308</ref> Bolas' hallmark is his touch, an inborn ability that causes a mind-shattering effect with the slightest caress. In his duel with [[Teferi]], Bolas proved skilled enough in blue magic to completely nullify the [[time stream|time magic]] Teferi had created.<ref>[[Scott McGough]] (2006). ''[[Time Spiral (novel)|Time Spiral]]''.</ref>

Nicol Bolas had access to [[Black]], [[Blue]], and [[Red]] mana, and was a master of all three, having many lifetimes worth of experience and knowledge. When Nicol Bolas planeswalked, he disappeared in a golden light, and it was also noted by Sarkan Vol during their first encounter that the way Bolas moved was as though he moved the planes around him, not the other way around, although that may be hyperbole brought on due to Sarkan’s notable reverence towards dragons and his wonder at meeting his first dragon planeswalker. Similarly, he is said to have forgotten more magic than any other being will ever learn.<ref name="Visual Guide"/>

==History==
===Origin===
[[File:Nicol Bolas the Ravager.jpg|thumb|Young Nicol Bolas|left]]
Like the other Elder Dragons, Nicol Bolas was the spawn of [[The Ur-Dragon]], born from an egg-stone shed from the Ur-Dragon's wings, which fell from the sky like a meteor. Born simply as Nicol, he emerged from his egg-stone twinned together with his brother [[Ugin]]. Whereas every other Elder Dragon egg spawned only one dragon, Nicol and Ugin woke together, named themselves together, and touched the soil of [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]] at the same instant.<ref name="The First Lesson">{{DailyRef|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-first-lesson-2018-06-20|Chronicle of Bolas: The First Lesson|[[Kate Elliott]]|June 20, 2018}}</ref> They were both only half the size of their other siblings. When they witnessed their newly-hatched sister [[Merrevia Sal]] being killed by humans and their [[dog]]s, Nicol expressed outrage, but Ugin convinced him to not aid her - to preserve their own lives, to seek more knowledge, and to find their siblings. Inspired by the sun - who he described as bright and fearless - and by his success in killing one of the hounds, Bolas acquired the notion that this multiverse is a place of "hunters and the hunted".<ref>{{DailyRef|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-twins-2018-06-13|Chronicle of Bolas: The Twins|[[Kate Elliott]]|June 13, 2018}}</ref> Originally, Bolas was seen as the least of the Elder Dragons, mockingly called the Last Fallen, having shared his name with Ugin and being smaller and weaker than his siblings.

When Chromium pointed out that the twins shared their names, one for each, Nicol took the second name Bolas to feel equal to his larger siblings.<ref name="The First Lesson"/> After Palladia-Mors mocked their size and their hunting techniques, the twins spent years perfecting various techniques for hunting in tandem.<ref name="The First Lesson"/> After this time, they met and then lived with Arcades Sabboth who had taken up residence as dragonlord in a human settlement. Here Nicol learned about the nature of humans, and how easily they could be manipulated to further his own goals. Having learned enough, he took Ugin to seek revenge for their sister's murder.<ref name="The First Lesson"/><ref name="Things Unseen">{{DailyRef|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-things-unseen-2018-06-27|Chronicle of Bolas: Things Unseen|[[Kate Elliott]]|June 27, 2018}}</ref> After tricking the dragon hunters into a quarrel between several factions, he took over as supreme leader. After this, he tried to use his brother for his ends, and Ugin realized that Bolas had never truly cared for him at all. This mental shock caused Ugin's [[planeswalker's spark]] to [[igniting|ignite]].<ref>{{DailyRef|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-whispers-treachery-2018-07-11|Chronicle of Bolas: Whispers of Treachery|[[Kate Elliott]]|July 11, 2018}}</ref>

===Dragon War and ascension===
Thousands of years before the [[Brothers' War]] or even the [[Thran Empire]], the Elder Dragons were engaged in a conflict that lasted for thousands of years, the [[Elder Dragon War]].<ref name="Blood and Fire"/> Nicol Bolas emerged victorious, though there were survivors other than himself, his brothers [[Arcades Sabboth]] and [[Chromium Rhuell]], his sister [[Palladia-Mors]], their cousin [[Vaevictis Asmadi]], and possibly others. At the crescendo of the war, Bolas ruled half of Dominaria.<ref name="A Familiar Stranger">{{DailyRef|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-familiar-stranger-2018-08-01|Chronicle of Bolas: A Familiar Stranger|[[Kate Elliott]]|August 1, 2018}}</ref> The last clash of the war took place on [[Jamuraa]], between the troops of Bolas himself and Arcades Sabboth. Only the unexpected intervention of [[Ugin]] prevented the ultimate defeat of Sabboth. The war ended there and then, because in rage and envy of Ugin's newly-revealed planeswalker status, Bolas' own [[planeswalkers' spark|spark]] [[igniting|ignited]] and he planeswalked away.<ref name="Perspectives">{{DailyRef|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-perspectives-2018-08-08|Chronicle of Bolas: Perspectives|[[Kate Elliott]]|August 8, 2018}}</ref>

===Confrontation on the Meditation Plane===
Many, many times and adventures later, the two planeswalking brothers confronted each other on the [[Meditation Plane]].<ref name="Perspectives"/><ref name="The Unwritten Now">{{DailyRef|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-unwritten-now-2018-08-15|Chronicle of Bolas: The Unwritten Now|[[Kate Elliott]]|August 15, 2018}}</ref> First above the wide waters of the Meditation Realm and then on a wild pummeling path through the planes, they struggled for days, years, generations. In the end, by diverse paths, they returned to the Meditation Realm where Bolas killed Ugin. Monstrous waves rose from Ugin's fall in the water. The waves ran on and on, washing far beyond the bounds of the Meditation Realm into the web of connection that links the planes and the [[Blind Eternities]]. Bolas was flung through ten or twenty or a hundred planes before he fell hard back into Dominaria, onto the island chain of [[Madara]].

===Fighting the leviathan===
Some years later, Bolas fought a [[Demonic Leviathan]] [[planeswalker]] on the still-young plane of [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]]. The fight lasted a month, reduced [[Madara]] to a third of its original size, and created the first temporal [[rift]]. In the end, the dragon relied upon his touch to defeat his foe. After the battle Bolas feasted on the remains of the leviathan for over a year, absorbing its power in the process. When he finished, naught was left besides what eventually became known as the [[Talon Gates]] and an assortment of blubber. Bolas regards the Talon Gates as his finest trophy and visits them and Madara as often as he can to relish that victory.

===Defeating Ugin again===
[[File:Crux-of-Fate-Art.jpg|thumb|Nicol Bolas killing Ugin the second time]]
Bolas' maliciousness and power came to the notice of the planeswalker [[Azor]], who devised a plan with the reborn [[Ugin]] to permanently imprison him.<ref name="The Unwritten Now"/> To this end, they wanted to use Azor's spark to create an [[artifact]] known as the [[Immortal Sun]] to trap him on the continent of Torrezon on the plane [[Ixalan (plane)|Ixalan]]. Azor would summon Bolas into the plane and trap him there, and Ugin would remove him from existence entirely. To their grief, Bolas discovered the plan thanks to Azor leaving hints of himself on the planes that he had ordered.

To thwart their plan, Bolas traveled to [[Tarkir]]. He found a willing pawn in [[Yasova Dragonclaw]], Khan of the [[Temur]] clan, who sought to end the reign of Tarkir's oppressive dragons. Her conviction and commitment to the destruction of Tarkir's dragons coincided with the ambitions of the Elder Dragon Planeswalker himself. To this end, Bolas gave Yasova a vision of a peaceful and idyllic Tarkir littered with the bones of dragons. In Yasova's vision, a great dragon with scales of burnished gold and a golden orb floating between his horns promised her that if she would lead him to the lair of Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, he would slay him, and the dragons of Tarkir would be no more.<ref>{{DailyRef|magic-story/unwritten-2015-01-14|Unwritten|[[Kelly Digges]]|January 14, 2015}}</ref>

Guided by Yasova, he intercepted Ugin and prepared the ritual to call him there. After a close battle, Bolas was finally able to defeat the Spirit Dragon when he and Yasova turned Ugin's own lesser dragons against him.<ref name="The Unwritten Now"/><ref name="sabotage">{{DailyRef|magic-story/sabotage-2018-01-31|Sabotage|[[R&D Narrative Team]]|January 31, 2018}}</ref> In the original timeline, Ugin died from the physical and magical injuries Bolas had inflicted on him. However, the planeswalker [[Sarkhan Vol]] traveled back in time from 1280 years in the future and saved Ugin by encasing him in a hedron cocoon immediately after the battle ended, preserving the Spirit Dragon in a state of suspended animation.<ref>{{DailyRef|feature/reforged-chain-2015-01-21|The Reforged Chain|[[Doug Beyer]]|January 21, 2015}}</ref> Thus, unbeknownst to Bolas, the [[Time stream]] was changed so that Ugin still lived.

===Return to Ugin's grave===
Suspicious as always, Bolas returned eighteen years later when he discovered that Yasova and her twin granddaughters [[Naiva]] and [[Baishya]] were visiting the site of his victory. He noticed the [[hedron]]s on the grave but failed to perceive their significance.<ref name="A Familiar Stranger"/> He offered Naiva the reign of Tarkir if only she would surrender her grandmother and her twin so he would understand their motivation to visit the grave.<ref name="Perspectives"/> Yasova saved Naiva from Bolas' influence and tricked the elder dragon into thinking that Ugin's grave was targeted by the [[Immortal Sun]] to trap him away. This made him flee Tarkir.<ref name="The Unwritten Now"/>

===Madaran Emperor===
[[File:Nicol bolas God-Emperor.jpg|thumb|right|God-Emperor]]
At some point, Bolas somehow became metaphysically tied to the Madaran temporal rift that he had inadvertently visited thousands of years earlier. As a result, he became unable to physically manifest on Dominaria without anchoring himself to local mana lines, lest his presence overwhelms the plane and cracks its foundation. On [[Empire of Madara|Madara]], three lines of blue, black, and red mana intersected at a single point that was ideal for Bolas's purposes. Bolas slew the then Empress of Madara and erected his [[Imperial Shrine]] on the focal point. From there, he reigned for 400 years as God-Emperor of Madara.

Unfortunately, Bolas created his own worst enemy in the form of his Imperial Champion, [[Tetsuo Umezawa]]. After several trials, Tetsuo renounced his title and declared his intention to slay Bolas, killing the dragon's [[Ramses Overdark|regent]]. In a fit of rage, Bolas abandoned his body to follow Tetsuo's spirit into the [[Meditation Plane]], unaware that it was a trap. This would ultimately prove to be a fatal mistake: Using the [[Meteor Hammer]] spell, Tetsuo destroyed Bolas's [[Imperial Shrine]] while Bolas's physical body was inside, severing the elder dragon's anchor to Dominaria completely. 

Without a physical form, Bolas' spirit-form was unable to escape back to Dominaria or any other plane, and without his connection to the abundant Dominarian mana that he used to fuel his spells, he was left without most of his magic. His physical superiority was rendered irrelevant by the nature of the Meditation Plane, which was a realm of thought and spirit; furthermore, Bolas was largely unaware of its workings, while Umezawa had experience manipulating the fabric of the plane's reality. Stripped of his advantages as a planeswalker, a sorcerer, and a dragon, and forced to battle in a realm where his opponent had a significant edge, Bolas was defeated and killed by Umezawa.

However, as a result of his connection to the temporal rift, a ghostly remnant of his life force still lingered by the Madaran coast, trapped between the material world and the Meditation Realm.

===Time rifts===
Bolas' essence remained present in his land, which became overrun by the [[nekoru]] descendants of [[Wasitora]] and their followers.

As the temporal rifts expanded, he became able to manifest in Madara again, albeit as an immaterial shade. In this form, he presented himself under the alias of ''Sensei Ryu''. When he sensed that the planeswalker [[Teferi]] was lost in a rift and had become separated from his companions he arranged for them to arrive on the Madaran beach near the Talon Gates.
Using [[Venser]]'s latent planeswalker [[spark]], he was able to finally escape his prison and be fully reborn into the physical world, regaining his body by pulling a copy of it through the rift from an earlier point in time.

After Teferi located his companions, he challenged the dragon to a duel to stay Bolas's "gratitude." Bolas easily won, absorbing and planeswalking away from Teferi's attacks, after which he tortured him with his mind-shattering touch and ripped his body to pieces. While Bolas was taunting Teferi's allies with the defeated planeswalker's head in his claw, the dying Teferi shared his knowledge of the collapsing planes with him and he was made aware of the severity of the rift problem. Bolas decided to let Teferi live, allowing the dismembered mage to heal himself. He left soon after swearing a vow to take a terrible vengeance on anyone related to the [[Umezawa]] line, and anyone who had ever aided or come into contact with it, then presumably left for [[Kamigawa (plane)|Kamigawa]].

Bolas later returned to Madara, where he was ambushed by the planeswalker [[Leshrac]], who formally challenged him to a duel; the latter was defeated after an epic battle and was imprisoned in the [[Mask of Night's Reach|mask]] of the [[Myojin of Night's Reach]]. Bolas implied that he had stripped most of Night's Reach's dark power but she had managed to escape.

Bolas then confessed to Teferi and his companions that he had observed the rift phenomenon and took responsibility for closing the Madaran rift, in a way: He had used Leshrac's life force to close the rift. Believing that it was unlikely Teferi and his band could forestall the imminent collapse of the multiverse, Bolas claimed that he had devised a plan to preserve himself if happened. He then left for an unknown destination, likely [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]].

Although the multiverse survived, [[Jeska]]'s [[Mending]] spell changed the nature of the [[planeswalker's spark]]. Bolas, like all other "old planeswalkers" who survived past the Mending, lost a significant portion of his powers. Still, he retained the formidable powers of an Elder Dragon as well as his unmatched intellect.

===Invasion of Amonkhet===
[[File:Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh.jpg|thumb|right|God-Pharaoh/The Horned One]]
At an undisclosed point directly after leaving Dominaria shortly, but before the Mending, Bolas turned his attention to [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]], drawn to the strange metal named [[Lazotep]] and its reaction with necromancy. During his arrival, he found himself opposed by the eight [[god]]s of the world. Despite his waning power, the Elder Dragon proved to be a formidable enemy, laying waste to the population and driving the gods before him, until they gathered in the city of Naktamun for a desperate last stand.<ref name="Revelation">{{DailyRef|magic-story/hour-revelation-2017-06-07|The Hour of Revelation|[[Alison Luhrs]]|June 7, 2017}}</ref>  In secret, the god [[Bontu]] conspired with Bolas to betray her brethren.<ref name="Favor">{{DailyRef|magic-story/favor-2017-07-05|Favor|[[Michael Yichao]]|July 5, 2017}}</ref> When the dragon broke through the protective barrier of the city, he cast a spell that killed every single adult being on the plane, weakening the gods enough to subdue them and corrupting them to worshiping him instead. Three gods were set aside and twisted in their forms to fully serve him, while the remaining gods were simply mind-controlled. The spells that maintained the corruption would be maintained by Bontu, who hoped to be rewarded by Bolas later.<ref name="Favor"/> Using the mummified dead of the plane to raise the children, he built himself monuments and wrote prophecies that would tell of his glorious return.<ref name="Revelation"/> Drawing on the phenomenons like the Curse of Wandering, one of these promises when he returns, he will shatter the Hekma, the magical barrier protecting the populace of Amonkhet from the horrors of the broken lands, and call those who have passed the [[Trials of the Five Gods]] to his side to grant them a true afterlife. The remaining ones, including the [[god]]s themselves, will have to prove their worth to him just like the mortals they tested before.<ref>Flavor text of <c>Nimble-Blade Khenra</c></ref> The theology of this religion were kept in the [[Accounting of Hours]]. Afterward, Bolas left, waiting for the time his scheme would pay off.<ref name="Revelation"/> Additionally, Bolas warped the [[Angel#Amonkhet|Angel]]s of the plane to serve as his agents.

Bolas also spread rumors that he was the one who had created Amonkhet, which was later reiterated by Liliana. The people of Amonkhet found his false prophecies that he will return when the [[second sun]] is positioned between the effigy of Bolas' horns on the plane. This is highly anticipated and reflected in figures of speech.<ref>{{DailyRef|magic-story/trust-2017-04-05|Trust|[[James Wyatt]]|April 5, 2017}}</ref>

===Liliana's contract===
Sometime after The Mending, a severely weakened Bolas met with a wizened [[Liliana Vess]].<ref>{{DailyRef|feature/lilianas-origin-fourth-pact-2015-06-17|Liliana's Origin: The Fourth Pact|[[James Wyatt]]|June 17, 2015}}</ref> She was jealous of the fact he was seemingly unaffected by the mending. He berated her, stating that he had lost more power than she could learn in a dozen lifetimes. Bolas lamented that only a few years previously, planeswalkers like them were akin to living gods who exerted their power and influence throughout the multiverse. Bolas proceeded to act as a broker for four demons to form a contract with her, to restore some of her power and youth at the cost of her soul. His price for this service was unknown at the time. However, it is later revealed after Liliana kills all four demons, that in the event of the demons' deaths, the contract defaults in ownership to Bolas instead of being dissolved.

===Involvement in Alara===
After the Mending, Bolas lost the ability to retain much of his 25,000 years' worth of arcane knowledge. He managed to escape to the plane of [[Alara]] where he began machinations while dwelling in the Shard of [[Grixis]], claiming the necropolis of [[Grixis#Notable locations|Kederekt]] as his own. He prepared to take advantage of the coming [[Conflux (event)|Conflux]] to regain his power, and started to manipulate certain individuals and organizations on the multiple shards to create an environment ripe with tension and ready for war:
*[[Bant]]: The [[Order of the Skyward Eye]] and [[Gwafa Hazid]] spread xenophobia and disorder along the borderlands of Bant's nations.<ref name="ConfluxGuide">(2009). ''[https://archive.org/details/conflux-players-guide-magic-the-gathering-2009 Conflux Player's Guide].'' [[Wizards of the Coast]].</ref>
*[[Esper]]: The [[Seekers of Carmot]] warned Esperites about dwindling supplies of [[etherium]], and created a fervent demand for the otherworldly red stone called [[carmot|sangrite]].<ref name="ConfluxGuide"/>
*[[Grixis]]: [[Malfegor]], Bolas's second-in-command on Alara, led massive armies of the [[undead]], gathering hordes ready to invade the other shards and cut chaotic swaths through any living resistance they find.<ref name="ConfluxGuide"/> In the form of a young boy, Bolas guided [[Thraximundar]] across the various shards, leaving destruction in his wake and feeding the [[Maelstrom]].<ref>{{DailyRef|savor-flavor/face-war-2009-04-13|The Face of War|[[Jenna Helland]]|April 13, 2009}}</ref>
*[[Jund]]: [[Rakka Mar]] stirred fervor for greater and greater "life hunts" among the [[warrior]] clans there.<ref name="ConfluxGuide"/>
*[[Naya]]: [[Marisi]] stimulated the emergence of the philosophical schism of the [[nacatl]] Cloud Empire and the revolt of the [[Wild Nacatl]], which destroyed most of the advanced Cloud Nacatl civilization and cities and the cat-people nation's regression back to savagery.

===The Seekers Fall===
[[Tezzeret]] survived a near-death experience on the shard of Esper, awakening his latent spark. He found himself on Grixis, atop the Kederekt. After fighting off several creatures, all of whom presumably hoped to gain favor with Bolas, the artificer was approached by the dragon himself. Bolas offered him power in exchange for servitude which Tezzeret accepted.

===Recruiting Ral Zarek===
Disguised as a human, Bolas recruited the young [[Ral Zarek]] on [[Ravnica]] for several clandestine jobs.<ref name="Chapther Three">[[Django Wexler]] (June 19, 2019), ''[[The Gathering Storm/Chapter Three]]''.</ref>

===Agents of Artifice===
Sometime after the Mending, Bolas founded an interplanar [[Infinite Consortium|consortium]] which was usurped by Tezzeret in a bloody coup d'état. Bolas retained his mind-reading ability and Tezzeret, fearful of his secrets, tried to counter it by using [[Jace Beleren]]. This ended in disaster as Bolas easily overwhelmed both planeswalkers mentally, and the pair barely escaped with their lives, fleeing from Bolas's hired barbarian horde.

At the end of Jace's struggles, after he defeated Tezzeret in a duel and crushed the artificer's mind, it was revealed that this was all a plan Bolas agreed to regain his consortium. [[Liliana Vess]] was the original architect of this plot and had approached Bolas with her plan. Bolas did not regain his organization, but he had obtained Tezzeret's still living but mindless and crippled body.

===Alara Unbroken===
[[File:Conflux.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Conflux (event)|Conflux]]]]
The full gravity of Bolas' plans came to fruition with Alara's conflux. Through the manipulation of the peoples of all five shards, his plan to trigger full-scale war erupted across Alara, awakening the obelisks of mana on each of the shards and causing the Maelstrom to grow in magnitude. Throughout the conflict, he acquired the servitude of [[Sarkhan Vol]] to help spread seeds of destruction across Naya.

[[Ajani]]'s quest to find his brother's killer eventually led him into conflict with Bolas, and knowing that he could not defeat the dragon-god himself, he summoned the essence of Bolas' soul to fight for him. The ersatz dragon battled Bolas in perfect symmetry before they lunged at each other with powerful bites. Both connected simultaneously, and in a flash of light, the dragons disappeared. It is unknown how badly hurt Bolas was, having harvested the essence of most of the Maelstrom immediately before this climactic battle. His loss to Ajani shook the dragon like none before him to the point, Bolas had to account for the leonin in his schemes<ref name="Nemesis">{{WebRef|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/magic-story/the-brothers-war-chapter-3-nemesis|title=The Brothers' War - Chapter 3: Nemesis|author=[[Reinhardt Suarez]]|date=October 25, 2022|publisher=Magicthegathering.com}}</ref>.

===Mirrodin Besieged===
Bolas demonstrated great interest in the war on [[Mirrodin]]. He sent Tezzeret to observe and assess the rise of the New Phyrexians on the plane, and to serve as Bolas's eyes and ears in the Phyrexian hierarchy. Ultimately, the artificer's mission was to delay the rise of a central leader for as long as possible, a task that was doomed to fail. He also wanted to make sure they didn't have access to interplanar travel. Tezzeret confirmed they didn't upon his return. Bolas believed that the Phyrexians were a chaotically dangerous force that could threaten his rule. His first act upon becoming god-emperor would be to destroy New Phyrexia.<ref name="Nemesis">{{WebRef|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/magic-story/the-brothers-war-chapter-3-nemesis|title=The Brothers' War - Chapter 3: Nemesis|author=[[Reinhardt Suarez]]|date=October 25, 2022|publisher=Magicthegathering.com}}</ref>

===The Elder Dragon on Zendikar===
At some point, Nicol Bolas took notice of the volatile nature of Zendikar. He investigated the [[Eye of Ugin]] and left after studying it. Long afterward, Bolas sent Vol to guard the Eye, to make sure nothing disturbed it.

Sarkhan was, however, misled. When Bolas had sought out and defeated [[Ugin]],<ref>{{DailyRef|feature/planeswalkers-guide-khans-tarkir-part-2-2014-09-10|Planeswalker's Guide to Khans of Tarkir, Part 2|[[Magic Creative Team]]|September 10, 2014}}</ref> he had extracted a great deal of information about the [[Eldrazi]] and the lock that kept them contained. Knowing of the titans and what it would take to unleash them, Bolas sent Sarkhan to the Eye and manipulated the pyromancer [[Chandra Nalaar]] into arriving at the same time. Unfortunately, that only solved two-thirds of the problem, and so Bolas gambled that Jace would show up if prodded in that direction. The purpose of his manipulations was clear—the release of the Eldrazi. He had hoped that the event would lure a horde of planeswalkers to harvest their [[spark]]s.<ref>[[James Wyatt]], 2020, "[[The Art of Magic: The Gathering - War of the Spark]]", [[VIZ Media]]</ref> This scenario didn't play out.

===Hour of Devastation===
[[File:Hour of devastation.jpg|thumb|278x278px|Bolas easily defeats the Gatewatch]]
On Amonkhet, Bolas's scheme worked as intended, with hundreds of the Worthy Dead being converted into his [[Eternal]] army. When he came to the plane and materialized above his throne in Naktamun, he found the city in ruins, the gods felled, and its population under assault from his minions. Pleased, he turned to the treacherous Bontu, commanding her to kill the last of the gods, [[Hazoret]]. When Bontu managed to defeat her sister, Bolas instead rewarded her with death, forcing numerous undead to tear her apart.<ref name="Favor"/>

Seeing his plans come to fruition, Nicol Bolas now turned his attention on the [[Gatewatch]], a meddlesome group of planeswalkers that had come together to stop the [[Eldrazi|Eldrazi Titans]] on [[Zendikar (plane)|Zendikar]]. Asking himself if they were suitable for what he required, Bolas waited for them to form their strategy. As each of them attacked him with their methods, the dragon proved resilient and even condescending. Using his tail, he kept the invulnerable Gideon at a distance by whacking him against the structures of Naktamun and simply ignored Chandra's flames, Nissa's vines, and Liliana's zombies. Focusing on Jace, Bolas let him briefly enter into his mind before crushing that of the telepath. Unknown to either Jace or Bolas, this attempt triggered a failsafe placed in Jace's mind by Ugin, to protect the secret of the latter's survival from Bolas, by temporarily wiping the mind mage's memory and forcing him to planeswalk to Ixalan, thus saving Jace's life (as well as Ugin's secrets). Turning to the rest of the Gatewatch, Bolas addressed Liliana and offered her a chance to survive the confrontation. Offering to tutor her in the use of the Chain Veil, the dragon demanded her to retreat to another plane where he would later contact her. The necromancer took the offer, even asking her teammates to join her, if in vain. Bolas now turned his attention to the rest, taking Chandra into one of his claws and breaking several of her ribs with brute force while lecturing her on the futility of using fire against a dragon. As the pyromancer planeswalked away to save her own life, Bolas turned to Nissa. Using his command over the corrupted world, he turned her link to the land against her to attack her with necrotic magic, forcing her to flee as well. Now facing Gideon, the sole remaining member of the Gatewatch, Bolas took him into one of his claws and used magic to pierce his invulnerability, giving him a choice: stay and die or live and betray the oath he had sworn at Sea Gate. Eventually, Gideon fled too, leaving Bolas victorious.

Only a few minutes later, [[Tezzeret]] appeared and was sent by Bolas to check on the progress of [[Ral Zarek]]. Reveling in his victory, Bolas celebrated the first steps in his plan for reclaiming his stolen power.<ref name="Devastation">{{DailyRef|magic-story/hour-devastation-2017-07-26|Hour of Devastation|[[Ken Troop]]|July 26, 2017}}</ref>

===Claiming the Immortal Sun===
Bolas sent [[Tezzeret]] to [[Kaladesh (plane)|Kaladesh]] to fetch a portable [[planar portal]]. He then sent [[Vraska]] to [[Ixalan (plane)|Ixalan]] to lay claim on the [[Immortal Sun]]. After Vraska had found the artifact, she summoned Tezzeret who took it away with his Planar Bridge.<ref name="sabotage" />

===Planning the Conquest of Ravnica===
[[File:Planning the Conquest.jpg|left|thumb|264x264px|Nicol Bolas' grand scheme]]
After putting together some of Bolas' machinations on [[Ixalan (plane)|Ixalan]] and [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]], Jace and [[Vraska]] theorized on Ixalan that something on the plane of [[Ravnica]] was of extreme interest to Bolas. It seemed to be part of his plan to reclaim his lost power. To reach this goal, they reasoned that he planned to invade the plane with an [[dreadhorde|interplanar army of immortals]], while trapping the resident planeswalkers.<ref name="sabotage"/> Nicol Bolas had turned five planeswalkers onto his side and has given them each control over a guild. Vraska, after having her memories of plotting against the dragon taken away, was under Bolas's influence and became the leader of the [[Golgari Swarm|Golgari]]. Other pawns included the likes of [[Dovin Baan]] for the [[Azorius]] and presumably [[Ral Zarek]] for the [[Izzet]]. Bolas later send a [[House Dimir|Dimir]] agent to plant a thought in the mind of [[Niv-Mizzet]] who ordered Ral to turn [[Project Lightning Bug]] into a beacon to call other planeswalkers to Ravnica.<ref name="Ravnica art book">[[James Wyatt]] (January 2019). "''[[The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Ravnica]]''". [[Wizards of the Coast]]</ref> In addition [[Kaya]] was hired to assassinate the [[Obzedat|Ghost Council]], and was placed in control of the [[Orzhov Syndicate]]. [[Domri Rade]] had taken control of the [[Gruul]], and was counted upon to choose Bolas' side. Bolas also tried to divide the [[Selesnya Conclave]], by controlling glademaster [[Garo]].<ref name="Chapter Five">[[Django Wexler]] (July 3, 2019), ''[[The Gathering Storm]]'', Chapter Five.</ref> Meanwhile, [[Tezzeret]] prepared to deploy the [[Planar Bridge]] for the approaching battle.

When Bolas arrived on Ravnica, he was confronted by [[Niv-Mizzet]].<ref>{{DailyRef|card-preview/niv-mizzet-no-longer-just-izzet-2019-04-12|Niv-Mizzet, No Longer Just Izzet|[[Gavin Verhey]]| April 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/184323589503/was-there-a-reason-we-new-niv-mizzet-was|title=Was there a reason we knew Niv-Mizzet was resurrected before we knew he died?|April 20, 2019}}</ref> They engaged each other in epic combat that destroyed large portions of the city. The two dragons fought using a staggering array of magical, physical, and aerial attacks in which both drew blood. Bolas was even surprised when his mind-shattering touch could not penetrate the Firemind's mental barriers. As the fight wore on, Niv sensed his eventual defeat. After Niv collapsed a huge chunk of the city onto Bolas at a [[Simic Combine|Simic]] [[zonot]], Bolas emerged in a dark sphere of death and destruction, causing Niv to experience fear for the first time and leaped toward his impending death.<ref name="Eighteen"/> In the end, Niv-Mizzet's skull and charred bones were all that remained.<ref name="Weisman Ravnica novel"/><ref>[[Django Wexler]] (October 23, 2019), ''[[The Gathering Storm]], Chapter Twenty, Del Rey.''</ref>

===War of the Spark===
[[File:Defeat of Bolas.jpg|thumb|268x268px|Defeat of Bolas]]
After luring dozens of planeswalkers to [[Ravnica]] with the [[Interplanar Beacon]], Bolas trapped them there through the use of the [[Immortal Sun]]. He claimed dominion over Ravnica and cast the [[Elderspell]] that harvested [[spark]]s and would grant him "ultimate power" and [[List of gods and deities|godhood]].

Bolas installed Liliana as his [[Dreadhorde]]'s general. While leading the Eternals, she witnessed a young girl shield her younger brother from a collapsing wall, only for both of them to be crushed by the falling debris. Pausing to take the scene in, and possibly being reminded of her failings in saving her brother Josu, Liliana then turned the Dreadhorde on Nicol Bolas, stopping their attack on Gideon (but not before one harvested [[Dack Fayden]]'s spark). Bolas saw this and immediately made good on his prior warning to Liliana. He invoked the contract's magic, and Liliana started to disintegrate.<ref><c>Price of Betrayal</c></ref> Bolas' roar of anger was matched by Liliana's scream of defiance.<ref>{{YouTubeRef|b5W9t62t10I|War of the Spark Official Trailer – Magic: The Gathering|channel=Magic: The Gathering|date=March 31, 2019}}</ref> [[Gideon]] then sacrificed himself to save Liliana from the contract.<ref><c>Gideon's Sacrifice</c></ref>

Liliana commanded [[Oketra]] and [[Bontu]] to attack Bolas.<ref><c>Despark</c></ref> Unexpectedly, [[Niv-Mizzet]] impaled Nicol Bolas through the back with [[Hazoret|Hazoret's]] spear. Bolas was the one who gave Hazoret her spear in the first place and it contained a little of his essence, which is why it was able to damage him in his god-like state. Bolas managed to obliterate [[Oketra]], but the distraction allowed [[Bontu]] to bite Bolas and harvest all of the elder dragon's sparks, including Bolas's own. [[Bontu]] was not able to contain all the sparks and quickly ruptured into shards.<ref name="Weisman Ravnica novel">[[Greg Weisman]] (April 2019). "''[[War of the Spark: Ravnica]]''". Del Rey.</ref>

===Nameless and imprisoned===
[[File:Prison Realm.jpg|left|thumb|232x232px|Nameless and imprisoned]]
As the gathered planeswalkers charged at the weakened and desparked Bolas, [[Ugin]] telepathically reached out to [[Jace]], explaining that he needed Bolas alive instead of dead.<ref name="Weisman Ravnica novel"/> Citing how Bolas had cheated his death at the hands of [[Tetsuo Umezawa]], and how Ugin himself cheated death by becoming a Spirit Dragon, Ugin determined that the surest way to neutralize Bolas as a threat was to imprison him while tricking the multiverse into thinking he perished since Bolas' arrogance would have prevented him from having precautions in the case of his imprisonment instead of his death. To this end, he requested that Jace conjure an illusion of Bolas dying and disintegrating into ashes. Jace reluctantly complied, fooling the other planeswalkers long enough for Ugin to planeswalk into Ravnica undetected and then planeswalk out with Bolas in tow.

Ugin wrapped Bolas in his wings while traveling through the [[Blind Eternities]], taking him to the [[Meditation Realm]]. Because Bolas had lost his spark, he was grievously wounded even with Ugin's protection, and it took him weeks before he regained consciousness and months to start recovering. Ugin told him that it was his world even before Bolas became a planeswalker and that he had helped [[Niv-Mizzet]] to be reborn. Ugin also revealed that the gem in the middle of Bolas's horns is part of Ugin's soul and he saw every step and mistake of his brother. Ugin then informed Bolas that he had lost the use of both his names, so that he couldn't be [[summon]]ed by another being ever again.

Ugin told his brother that he'll become his jailer for the remainder of Bolas's mortal life and expanded himself all over the Meditation Realm. It has now become a prison for Ugin and Bolas, alike - they cannot leave it. But just to be certain that Bolas will never plague the multiverse again, Ugin will keep watch over his brother until Bolas' natural death in thousands of years.

==Note on Test of Metal==
''Key events in ''[[Test of Metal]]'' have been contradicted by later stories. Chief among these contradictions are Jace and Liliana believing Tezzeret to be dead prior to the events of Kaladesh,<ref>{{DailyRef|magic-story/very-arena-2016-10-12|In This Very Arena|[[Doug Beyer]]|October 12, 2016}}</ref> and Jace having not seen Liliana between the events of ''[[Agents of Artifice]]'' and ''Catching Up''.<ref>{{DailyRef|magic-story/catching-2015-07-22|Catching Up|[[Kelly Digges]]|July 22, 2015}}</ref>''

In a cave composed entirely of sangrite, Bolas rebuilt Tezzeret's body and mind and tasked him to find [[Crucius]] the Mad. Bolas ultimately saw this mission come to fruition when he tracked Tezzeret to an island made entirely of etherium. There he demanded to know what Tezzeret had been up to. To get direct answers, Bolas formed a mental link to Tezzeret and read his memories. There, many of Tezzeret's plans and actions were laid out.

Bolas soon learned he would not be the only visitor upon the Metal Island though. Jace arrived next, followed lastly by Sharuum, stripped of her etherium. As soon as the sphinx left, a terrible fight broke out among the assembled walkers, and it ended with Bolas victorious. However, during the fight, his concentration and powers severely waned. This was revealed to have been engineered by Tezzeret, who was the true victor of the fight. Tezzeret himself left Bolas trapped on the island, infested with a mental device that would keep the Elder Dragon there as long as needed.

Little did Tezzeret anticipate that the dragon he had been fighting was nothing more than a poorly constructed simulacrum, specifically made to fail at reining in the artificer. Bolas himself appeared on the island and informed his copy that it would not be alive by the time Tezzeret returned, and he had served his purpose in making Tezzeret reveal the secrets he had learned.

==Trivia==
*Nicol Bolas was originally printed as a [[creature]] in ''[[Legends]]'', and reprinted in ''[[Chronicles]]'', ''[[Time Spiral]]'', ''[[From the Vault: Dragons]]'', and ''[[Masters 25]]'', the last two featuring new artwork.
*[http://duelmasters.wikia.com/wiki/Nicol_Bolas Nicol Bolas] also appears as a card in the Japanese [[TCG]] ''[[Duel Masters]]'', which is likewise published by [[Wizards of the Coast]].<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/138359327673/i-recently-learned-about-jace-and-nicol-bolas|title=I recently learned about Jace and Nicol Bolas cards being released for Duel Masters in Japan.|January 30, 2016}}</ref>
*In ''[[Conflux]]'', he was printed as a Planeswalker card with the type ''Bolas''. This would later be reprinted in ''[[Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas]]'' and finally in ''[[Magic 2013]]'', being the first-ever multi-colored card in a core set.
*He is considered by many fans to be one of the major antagonists of the MTG storyline.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/if-i-had-nicol-2009-04-06|If I Had a Nicol...|[[Mark Rosewater]]|April 06, 2009}}</ref>
*Bolas narrates the trailer for [[Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013]] and is the primary antagonist of the [[War of the Spark]] trailer.<ref>{{YouTubeRef|q-OvjZUNP6A|Magic 2013 - iPad/iPad 2/New iPad - HD Intro Trailer|channel=TouchGameplay|date=June 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{YouTubeRef|b5W9t62t10I|War of the Spark Official Trailer – Magic: The Gathering|channel=Magic: The Gathering|date=March 31, 2019}}</ref>
*He is considered by [[Kruphix]], one of the gods of [[Theros (plane)|Theros]], to be one of the greatest possible future threats to the plane putting him on the same level of danger as the [[Eldrazi]] and [[New Phyrexia (plane)|New Phyrexia]]. By Kruphix's admission, any of the three would be able to defeat all of the gods of Theros. However, Kruphix does not realize that the Bolas he sensed from Ajani's memories are merely a shell of his former self and true power.
*Despite his mana alignment, which is associated with darkness and used this way in some of Bolas' appearances, Bolas bears a strong sun and light motif in ''[[Emperor's Fist]]'' (where he is associated with the sun; see introduction quote above), in [[Amonkhet]]'s storyline (where his assault on the gods is done through a blast of white light, and he uses the [[Second Sun]] to cultivate his worship as solar), in post-Ixalan stories (as he holds possession of the [[Immortal Sun]]) and in his backstory in [[Core Set 2019]], where it is shown that Bolas modeled himself after the sun, ruled his first kingdom as the "Second Sun," and his planeswalking manifests as golden light.
*[[Mark Rosewater]] has expressed confidence that Nicol Bolas will appear again someday, but most likely not as a planeswalker due to the events of the [[Bolas Arc|Bolas Saga]].<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/704471671378182144/|title=Hello Mark! Is Nicol Bolas (also known as the nameless one) entry on the Venser scale still up to date?|December 23, 2022}}</ref>
*In the video game ''[[Magic: The Gathering Arena]]'', Bolas is voiced by Jonathan Lipow.<ref>{{WebRef|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10967214/characters/nm1517800|title=Jonathan Lipow as Goblin, Nicol Bolas|publisher=IMDB}}</ref>
*Bloas received cross-promotional cards in ''[https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Lord_of_Vermilion_II Lord of Vermilion II]'' and ''Lord of Vermilion Re:2''.<ref>{{WebRef|url=https://www.magiclibrarities.net/832-rarities-lord-of-vermilion-ii-and-iii-mtg-character-cards-english-cards-index.html|title=Lord of Vermilion II and III MTG Character Cards|publisher=[[Magic Librarities]]}}</ref>

==Artifacts acquired==
[[File:Spirit-Gem2.jpg|thumb|228x228px|The Spirit-Gem]]
Already immensely powerful, Bolas has gathered several artifacts to add to his plethora of abilities:
*<c>Gem of Becoming</c><ref>{{DailyRef|feature/whats-gem-2012-08-23|What's That Gem?|[[Monty Ashley]]|August 23, 2012}}</ref> 
*The [[Spirit-Gem]] that he wore between his horns, which looks similar to the Gem of Becoming. Found on the Meditation Realm, Bolas was unaware that it was made from a piece of Ugin's essence. Ugin used his connection with the Spirit Gem to observe the events of the [[War of the Spark (event)|War of the Spark]] without being on Ravnica.
*[[Immortal Sun]] {{-}} Used as a means to trap planeswalkers on Ravnica. Entrusted to Dovin Baan during the War of the Spark.
*[[Planar Bridge]] {{-}} Used as a means to bring his Eternal army to other planes. Grafted into his minion Tezzeret's body.
*{{card|Bolas's Citadel|title=His citadel}} {{-}} Used as a phylactery to store the sparks of the planeswalkers he harvested during the War of the Spark.

==Planeswalkers met==
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|*[[Ajani Goldmane]]
*[[Aminatou]]<ref name="Magic 22">[[Jed MacKay]] (2023). "War of Fate". Pt 2. ''[[Magic (BOOM! comic)|Magic]]''. Iss 22. Boom!</ref> (non-canon)
*[[Chandra Nalaar]]
*[[Demonic Leviathan]]
*[[Domri Rade]]
*[[Dovin Baan]]
*[[Garruk Wildspeaker]]
*[[Gideon Jura]]
*[[Isona Maive]]<ref name="Magic 22"/> (non-canon)
*[[Jace Beleren]]
*[[Jeska]]
*[[Leshrac]]
*[[Liliana Vess]]
*[[Nahiri]]<ref name="Magic 23">MacKay, Jed. (2023). "War of Fate". Pt 3. ''Magic''. Iss 23.</ref> (non-canon)
*[[Nissa Revane]]
*[[Ral Zarek]]
*[[Ramaz]]
*[[Sarkhan Vol]]
*[[Teferi]]
*[[Tezzeret]]
*[[Ugin]]
*[[Venser]]
*[[Vraska]]
*[[Kaya]]
}}

==Planes visited==
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
*[[Alara]]
*[[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]]
*[[Bant]]
*[[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]]
*[[Esper]]
*[[Grixis]]
*[[Gobakhan]]<ref name="Weisman Ravnica novel"/>
*[[Jund]]
*[[Kamigawa]]
*[[Kephalai]] <ref name="The Unwritten Now"/>
*[[Meditation Plane]]
*[[Naya]]
*[[Phyrexia]] <ref name="Scott"/>
*[[Rabiah]] <ref name="Scott"/>
*[[Ravnica]]<ref name="Weisman Ravnica novel">[[Greg Weisman]] (April 2019). "''[[War of the Spark: Ravnica]]''". Del Rey.</ref>
*[[Segovia]] <ref name="Scott"/>
*[[Skalla]]
*[[Tarkir]]
*[[Ulgrotha]]
*[[Wildfire]] <ref name="Scott">{{WebRef |url=http://www.phyrexia.com/forum/messages/11/6484.html?1068868422|title=Legends Cards in Legends II (ABlade, EFist, CTrial)|author=[[Scott McGough]]|date= November 14, 2003|publisher=Phyrexia.com}}</ref>
*[[Zendikar (plane)|Zendikar]]
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Nicol Bolas Legends art.png|Nicol Bolas's first art, on the Legends expansion set.
File:Elder.jpg|Young Nicol Bolas.
File:Patient Rebuilding.jpg|After the Great Mending, Bolas begins his great plan to regain power.
File:Nicol bolas vs Ajani .jpg|Nicol Bolas vs Ajani in [[Alara]].
File:Ajani's Last Stand.jpg|Ajani interrupts Nicol Bolas' plans in Alara.
File:Nicol Bolas MTGA avatar NPE.png|Nicol Bolas is the final challenge of the ''[[Magic: The Gathering Arena]]'' new player experience.
File:HOU Key Art.jpg|The Second Sun
File:Imminent Doom.jpg|The God-Pharaoh returns and the Hour of Devastation is over.
File:HourOfDevastation.png|The Hour of Devastation
File:Bolas vs Gatewatch.jpg|Bolas vs Gatewatch in [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]].
File:NicolBolas.jpg|<c>Deep Analysis</c>
File:LilianaBolasManga.png|Bolas claims [[Liliana Vess]]'s contract.
File:Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God art.png|Nicol Bolas casts the [[Elderspell]].
File:Bolas citadel.jpg|Bolas Citadel.
File:Nicol bolas Dragon God.jpg|Nicol Bolas, The Dragon-God.
File:The Eldest Reborn.jpg|Using Venser's latent spark, Bolas was able to finally escape his prison and be fully reborn into the physical world.
File:Bolas contract.jpg|Bolas activates Liliana's contract after the necromancer's betrayal.
File:Bolas Devastation.jpg|Bolas during the Hour of Devastation
File:Nicol Bolas Pharaoh.jpg|The God-Pharaoh returns.
File:Bolas Omniscience.jpg|''“There is no greater folly than standing against me.”''
File:Nicol bolas.jpg|Using magic Bolas can fly without using his wings.
File:Torment-of-Hailfire.jpg|Sadism of Bolas.
File:Wit's End.png|''“Your pathetic ideas lie in shambles, Planeswalker. Where is your arrogant pride now?”''
File:Apex of Power.jpg|Nicol Bolas, The Omnipotent (pre-mending).
File:Cruelty of Bolas.jpg|Cruelty of Bolas.
File:Bolas Telepathy.jpg|Bolas Telepathy.
File:Nicol Bolas2.jpg|Nicol Bolas and his touch
File:Nicol bolas and Sarkhan.jpg|Nicol Bolas and [[Sarkhan Vol]] at [[Bolas's Donjon]].
File:Eric deschamps nicol bolas.jpeg|Nicol Bolas Key art M19 by Eric Deschamps.
File:In Bolas's Clutches.jpg|Bolas obtains control of Liliana's demonic contract, to use it in his Grand Scheme.
File:Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver.jpg|<c>Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver</c>
File:BolasNivManga.png|Bolas kills [[Niv-Mizzet]].
File:BolasDeath.png|The [[God-Eternal]]s turn on Bolas.
File:Nicol Bolas concept by Dan Scott.jpeg|Nicol Bolas cosplay reference by Dan Scott.
File:Nicol Bolas MTGA avatar WAR.png|Dragon-God avatar for ''Magic: The Gathering Arena''.
File:M13BolasArt.jpg|''[[Magic 2013]]'' box art by [[Brad Rigney]].
File:BolasDM.jpg|[https://duelmasters.fandom.com/wiki/Nicol_Bolas Nicol Bolas] card art for ''[[Duel Masters]]''.
File:BolasDM2.png|[https://duelmasters.fandom.com/wiki/Nicol_Bolas Nicol Bolas] alternate art for ''[[Duel Masters]]''.
</gallery>

==Story appearances==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Title !! Author !! Publishing date !! Set !! Setting (plane) !! Featuring
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|feature/seekers-fall-part-3-2009-02-04|The Seeker's Fall, Part 3}} || [[Jenna Helland]] || 2009-02-04 || [[Alara block]] || [[Grixis]] || [[Tezzeret]], Nicol Bolas
|-
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20210502012941/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/enter-eldrazi-part-3-2010-04-22 Enter the Eldrazi, Part 3] || [[Brady Dommermuth]] || 2010-04-22 || ''[[Rise of the Eldrazi]]'' || [[Zendikar (plane)|Zendikar]] || [[Sarkhan Vol]], Nicol Bolas, [[Tezzeret]]
|-
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20221118195108/https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/dark-discoveries-part-i-2011-05-05 Dark Discoveries, Part 1] || [[Jenna Helland]] || 2011-05-05 || ''[[New Phyrexia]]'' || [[New Phyrexia (plane)|New Phyrexia]], Unknown plane || [[Tezzeret]], Nicol Bolas
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|feature/reforged-chain-2015-01-21|The Reforged Chain}} || [[Doug Beyer]] || 2015-01-21 || ''[[Fate Reforged]]'' || [[Tarkir]] || [[Sarkhan Vol]], [[Ugin]], Nicol Bolas, [[Yasova Dragonclaw]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|feature/lilianas-origin-fourth-pact-2015-06-17|Liliana's Origin: The Fourth Pact}}|| [[James Wyatt]] || 2015-06-17 || ''[[Magic Origins]]''|| [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]], Two unknown [[plane]]s || [[Liliana Vess]], [[Raven Man]], [[Ana]], [[Josu Vess]], Nicol Bolas, [[Kothophed]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/hour-revelation-2017-06-07|The Hour of Revelation}} || [[Alison Luhrs]] || 2017-06-07 || ''[[Hour of Devastation]]'' || [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]] || Nicol Bolas, [[Oketra]], [[Hazoret]], [[Kefnet]], [[Djeru]], [[Samut]], [[Razaketh]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/favor-2017-07-05|Favor}} || [[Michael Yichao]] || 2017-07-05 || ''[[Hour of Devastation]]'' || [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]] || [[Hazoret]], [[Samut]], Nicol Bolas, [[Bontu]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/hour-eternity-2017-07-12|Hour of Eternity}} || [[Ken Troop]] || 2017-07-12 || ''[[Hour of Devastation]]'' || [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]] || [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet#|Nylah]], [[The Scarab God]], [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet#|Asenue]], [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet#|Makare]], [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet#|Genub]], [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet#|Kawit]], Nicol Bolas, [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet#|Amenakhte]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/endure-2017-07-19|Endure}} || [[Michael Yichao]] || 2017-07-19 || ''[[Hour of Devastation]]'' || [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]], [[Theros (plane)|Theros]] || [[Samut]], [[Djeru]], [[Hazoret]], Nicol Bolas, [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet#|Masikah]], [[Hapatra]], [[Neheb]], [[Gideon Jura]], [[Nissa Revane]], [[Jace Beleren]], [[Liliana Vess]], [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet#|Haq]], [[The Scorpion God]] 
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/hour-devastation-2017-07-26|Hour of Devastation}} || [[Ken Troop]] || 2017-07-26 || ''[[Hour of Devastation]]'' ||  [[Amonkhet (plane)|Amonkhet]] || Nicol Bolas, [[Jace Beleren]], [[Liliana Vess]], [[Chandra Nalaar]], [[Nissa Revane]], [[Gideon Jura]], [[Raven Man]], [[Tezzeret]]
|-
|  {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/talented-captain-vraska-2017-09-20|The Talented Captain Vraska}} || [[Alison Luhrs]] || 2017-09-20 || ''[[Ixalan]]'' ||  [[Ravnica]], [[Meditation Plane]], [[Ixalan (plane)|Ixalan]] || [[Vraska]], Nicol Bolas, [[Malcolm]], [[Amelia]], [[Edgar]], [[Gavven]], [[Jace Beleren]] 
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/sabotage-2018-01-31|Sabotage}} || [[Alison Luhrs]] || 2018-01-31 || ''[[Rivals of Ixalan]]'' || Two unknown [[plane]]s, [[Tarkir]], [[Ixalan (plane)|Ixalan]] || [[Ugin]], [[Azor]], Nicol Bolas, [[Vraska]], [[Jace Beleren]]
|-
|{{ArticleArchive|magic-story/wool-over-eyes-2018-02-14|Wool Over the Eyes}} || [[Alison Luhrs]] || 2018-02-14 || ''[[Rivals of Ixalan]]'' || [[Kaladesh (plane)|Kaladesh]], Angrath's homeplane, [[Meditation Plane]], [[Ixalan (plane)|Ixalan]], [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]] || [[Huatli]], [[Saheeli Rai]], [[Angrath]], [[Vraska]], Nicol Bolas, [[Jace Beleren]], [[Malcolm]], [[Breeches]], [[Gideon Jura]], [[Jaya Ballard]], [[Apatzec]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/return-dominaria-episode-12-2018-05-30|Return to Dominaria: Episode 12}} || [[Martha Wells]] || 2018-05-30 || ''[[Dominaria]]'' || [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]] || [[Liliana Vess]], [[Yargle]], [[Rafwyn Capashen]], [[Jaya Ballard]], [[Shanna Sisay]], [[Arvad]], [[Jhoira]], [[Gideon Jura]], [[Chandra Nalaar]], [[The Cabal]], [[Radha]], [[Slimefoot]], [[Muldrotha]], [[Belzenlok]], [[Whisper]], [[Teferi]], [[Karn]], [[Urgoros]], [[Tiana]], Nicol Bolas
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-twins-2018-06-13|Chronicle of Bolas: The Twins}} || [[Kate Elliott]] || 2018-06-13 || ''[[Core Set 2019]]'' || [[Tarkir]], [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]] || [[Naiva]], [[Baishya]], [[Yasova Dragonclaw]], [[The Ur-Dragon]], [[Arcades Sabboth]], [[Chromium Rhuell]], [[Palladia-Mors]], [[Merrevia Sal]], Nicol Bolas, [[Ugin]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-first-lesson-2018-06-20|Chronicle of Bolas: The First Lesson}} || [[Kate Elliott]] || 2018-06-20 || ''[[Core Set 2019]]'' || [[Tarkir]], [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]] || [[Naiva]], [[Baishya]], [[Yasova Dragonclaw]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Fec]], [[Tae Jin]], Nicol Bolas, [[Ugin]], [[Chromium Rhuell]], [[Palladia-Mors]], [[Arcades Sabboth]], [[Te Ju Ki]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-perspectives-2018-08-08|Chronicle of Bolas: Perspectives}} || [[Kate Elliott]] || 2018-08-08 || ''[[Core Set 2019]]'' || [[Tarkir]], [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]], [[Meditation Plane]] || [[Naiva]], Nicol Bolas, [[Ugin]], [[Arcades Sabboth]], [[Baishya]], [[Yasova Dragonclaw]]  
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-things-unseen-2018-06-27|Chronicle of Bolas: Things Unseen}} || [[Kate Elliott]] || 2018-06-27 || ''[[Core Set 2019]]'' || [[Tarkir]], [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]] || [[Naiva]], [[Yasova Dragonclaw]], [[Baishya]], [[Tae Jin]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Fec]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Mattak]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Oiyan]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Darka]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Rakhan]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Sorya]], [[Ugin]], Nicol Bolas, [[Vaevictis Asmadi]], [[Palladia-Mors]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-whispers-treachery-2018-07-11|Chronicle of Bolas: Whispers of Treachery}} || [[Kate Elliott]] || 2018-07-11 || ''[[Core Set 2019]]'' || [[Tarkir]], [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]], [[Meditation Plane]] || [[Yasova Dragonclaw]], [[Tae Jin]], [[Naiva]], [[Baishya]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Fec]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Mattak]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Oiyan]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Darka]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Rakhan]], [[Ugin]], Nicol Bolas, [[Chromium Rhuell]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-blood-and-fire-2018-07-18|Chronicle of Bolas: Blood and Fire}} || [[Kate Elliott]] || 2018-07-18 || ''[[Core Set 2019]]'' || [[Tarkir]], [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]] || [[Naiva]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Darka]], [[Yasova Dragonclaw]], [[Baishya]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Fec]], [[Atarka]], [[Tae Jin]], Nicol Bolas, [[Lividus]], [[Ravus]], [[Rubra]], [[Vaevictis Asmadi]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-familiar-stranger-2018-08-01|Chronicle of Bolas: A Familiar Stranger}} || [[Kate Elliott]] || 2018-08-01 || ''[[Core Set 2019]]'' || [[Tarkir]], [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]], [[Meditation Plane]] || [[Yasova Dragonclaw]], [[Naiva]], [[Tae Jin]], [[Baishya]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Mattak]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Oiyan]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Rakhan]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Sorya]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Fec]], Nicol Bolas, [[Ugin]], [[Arcades Sabboth]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/chronicle-bolas-unwritten-now-2018-08-15|Chronicle of Bolas: The Unwritten Now}} || [[Kate Elliott]] || 2018-08-15 || ''[[Core Set 2019]]'' || [[Tarkir]], [[Meditation Plane]], [[Zendikar (plane)|Zendikar]], [[Kephalai]], [[Ravnica]], [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]], A unknown [[plane]] || [[Naiva]], [[Baishya]], [[Yasova Dragonclaw]], [[Ugin]], Nicol Bolas, [[Azor]], [[Tae Jin]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Mattak]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Oiyan]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Rakhan]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Sorya]], [[List of secondary characters/Tarkir#|Fec]] 
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/war-spark-ravnica-old-friends-and-new-2019-05-08|War of the Spark: Ravnica—Old Friends and New}} || [[Greg Weisman]] || 2019-05-08 || ''[[War of the Spark]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Araithia Shokta|Rat]], [[Hekara]], [[Teyo Verada]], Nicol Bolas, [[Liliana Vess]], [[Kaya]], [[Ral Zarek]], [[Gideon Jura]], [[Teferi]], [[Lavinia]], [[Jace Beleren]], [[Chandra Nalaar]], [[Jaya Ballard]], [[Ajani Goldmane]], [[Karn]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/war-spark-ravnica-path-opulent-2019-05-15|War of the Spark: Ravnica—The Path to Opulent}} || [[Greg Weisman]] || 2019-05-15 || ''[[War of the Spark]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Araithia Shokta|Rat]], [[Teyo Verada]], [[Kaya]], [[Ral Zarek]], [[Angrath]], [[Jaya Ballard]], [[Gideon Jura]], [[List of secondary characters/Ravnica|Gan Shokta]], [[Domri Rade]], [[Vorel]], [[Maree]], [[Kiora]], [[Samut]], [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet|Eknet]], [[Temmet]], [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet|Neit]], [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet|Haq]], [[List of secondary characters/Amonkhet|Kawit]], [[Huatli]], [[Saheeli Rai]], [[Kasmina]], [[Oketra]], [[Kefnet]], [[Bontu]], [[Rhonas]], [[Jace Beleren]], Nicol Bolas
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20230330065740/https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=671981442a09c23d267bd602b&id=36d503287d The Gathering Storm: Chapter One] || [[Django Wexler]] || 2019-06-05 || ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]'' / ''[[Ravnica Allegiance]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || Nicol Bolas, [[Ral Zarek]], [[Tezzeret]], [[Niv-Mizzet]]
|-
| {{ArticleArchive|magic-story/war-spark-ravnica-ashes-2019-06-12|War of the Spark: Ravnica—Ashes}}|| [[Greg Weisman]] || 2019-06-12 || ''[[War of the Spark]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Araithia Shokta|Rat]], [[Gideon Jura]], [[Tomik Vrona]], [[Lavinia]], [[Ral Zarek]], [[Jace Beleren]], [[Chandra Nalaar]], [[Teferi]], [[Ajani Goldmane]], [[Nissa Revane]], [[Jaya Ballard]], [[Karn]], [[Kaya]], [[Teyo Verada]], [[Isperia]], [[Dack Fayden]], [[Saheeli Rai]], [[Hekara]], [[Vraska]], Nicol Bolas, [[Borborygmos]], [[Samut]], [[Vorel]], [[Sorin Markov]], [[Nahiri]], [[Arlinn Kord]], [[Feather]], [[Liliana Vess]], [[Oketra]], [[Rakdos]], [[Bontu]], [[Niv-Mizzet]], [[Angrath]], [[The Wanderer]], [[Mu Yanling]], [[Jiang Yanggu]], [[Mowu]], [[Vivien Reid]], [[Aurelia]], [[Exava]], [[Lazav]]
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20210429053949/https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=671981442a09c23d267bd602b&id=48e093d4dd The Gathering Storm: Chapter Three] || [[Django Wexler]] || 2019-06-19 || ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]'' / ''[[Ravnica Allegiance]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Dovin Baan]], Nicol Bolas, [[Ral Zarek]], [[Aurelia]], [[Isperia]], [[Lavinia]], [[Tomik Vrona]]
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20220629133355/https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=671981442a09c23d267bd602b&id=86d67692c6 The Gathering Storm: Chapter Five] || [[Django Wexler]] || 2019-07-03 || ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]'' / ''[[Ravnica Allegiance]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Ral Zarek]], [[Hekara]], [[Lavinia]], [[Emmara Tandris]], Nicol Bolas, [[Kaya]], [[Tomik Vrona]], [[Teysa Karlov]]
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20230419070020/https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=671981442a09c23d267bd602b&id=77411a7f11 The Gathering Storm: Chapter Eight] || [[Django Wexler]] || 2019-07-31 || ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]'' / ''[[Ravnica Allegiance]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Ral Zarek]], [[Dovin Baan]], [[Kaya]], [[Teysa Karlov]], Nicol Bolas
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20230330214116/https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=671981442a09c23d267bd602b&id=fd2c659d7a The Gathering Storm: Chapter Nine] || [[Django Wexler]] || 2019-08-07 || ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]'' / ''[[Ravnica Allegiance]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Ral Zarek]], [[Tomik Vrona]], [[Hekara]], [[Lavinia]], [[Kaya]], [[Teysa Karlov]], Nicol Bolas, [[Mazirek]], [[Vraska]], [[Storrev]]
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20210429053800/https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=671981442a09c23d267bd602b&id=d671aab704 The Gathering Storm: Chapter Fifteen] || [[Django Wexler]] || 2019-09-18 || ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]'' / ''[[Ravnica Allegiance]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Ral Zarek]], [[Tomik Vrona]], [[Kaya]], Nicol Bolas, [[Teysa Karlov]]
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20210429131201/https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=671981442a09c23d267bd602b&id=d0a25b1715 The Gathering Storm: Chapter Sixteen] || [[Django Wexler]] || 2019-09-25 || ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]'' / ''[[Ravnica Allegiance]]'' || [[Ravnica]], Unknown plane || [[Ral Zarek]], [[Tomik Vrona]], Nicol Bolas, [[Vraska]], [[Mazirek]], [[Storrev]]
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20230315115021/https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=671981442a09c23d267bd602b&id=0d75c9223b The Gathering Storm: Chapter Eighteen] || [[Django Wexler]] || 2019-10-09 || ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]'' / ''[[Ravnica Allegiance]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Niv-Mizzet]], [[Ral Zarek]], [[Vraska]], [[Storrev]], Nicol Bolas
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20220516194142/https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=671981442a09c23d267bd602b&id=b7318e2d99 The Gathering Storm: Chapter Twenty] || [[Django Wexler]] || 2019-10-23 || ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]'' / ''[[Ravnica Allegiance]]'' || [[Ravnica]] || [[Ral Zarek]], [[Kaya]], [[Hekara]], [[Lavinia]], [[Vraska]], Nicol Bolas, [[Mazirek]], [[Storrev]], [[Tezzeret]], [[Niv-Mizzet]]
|}

==In-game references==
{{in-game
|cards=
*<c>Nicol Bolas</c>
*<c>Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God</c>
*<c>Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh</c>
*<c>Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker</c><ref>{{DailyRef|nicol-bolas-planeswalker-2009-01-19|Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker|[[Doug Beyer]]|January 19, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|latest-developments/building-bolas-2009-04-10|Building Bolas|[[Tom LaPille]]|April 10, 2009}}</ref>
*<c>Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver</c>
*<c>Nicol Bolas, the Ravager</c> // <c>Nicol Bolas, the Arisen</c>
|associated=
*<c>Angel of the God-Pharaoh</c>
*<c>Augur of Bolas</c>
*<c>Bolas's Citadel</c> 
*<c>Disciple of Bolas</c>
*<c>Gem of Becoming</c>
*<c>God-Pharaoh's Faithful</c>
*<c>God-Pharaoh's Gift</c>
*<c>God-Pharaoh's Statue</c>
*<c>Honor the God-Pharaoh</c>
*<c>In Bolas's Clutches</c>
*<c>Pools of Becoming</c>
*<c>Seek Bolas's Counsel</c>
*<c>Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas</c>
*<c>The Eldest Reborn</c>
*<c>Throne of the God-Pharaoh</c>
*<c>Tyrant's Scorn</c>
|title1=Nicol Bolas's reign
|custom1=
*<c>Apex of Power</c>
*<c>Fraying Omnipotence</c>
*<c>Patient Rebuilding</c>
|art=
*<c>Ajani's Last Stand</c>
*{{card|Avatar|Core Set 2019|TM19}}
*<c>Commence the Endgame</c>
*<c>Conflux</c><ref>{{DailyRef|feature/nicol-bolas-conflux-2009-04-07|Nicol Bolas in Conflux|[[Magic Arcana]]|April 07, 2009}}</ref>
*{{card|Costume Shop|Unfinity}}
*{{card|Countersquall|Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas}}
*{{card|Cruel Ultimatum|Shards of Alara}} <ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/about-fifth-ultimatum-2009-02-03|About That Fifth Ultimatum...|[[Magic Arcana]]|February 03, 2009}}</ref>
*{{card|Cruel Ultimatum|Commander 2013}}
*<c>Crux of Fate</c>
*{{card|Deep Analysis|Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas}}
*<c>Deliver Unto Evil</c>
*<c>Despark</c>
*<c>Desperate Lunge</c>
*<c>Finale of Eternity</c>
*{{card|Finishing Move|Unfinity}}
*<c>Hour of Devastation</c>
*<c>Imminent Doom</c>
*{{card|Jetpack Death Seltzer|Unfinity|SUNF}}
*{{card|Liliana, Untouched by Death|Comic-Con|PS18}}
*<c>Niv-Mizzet Reborn</c> (Background)
*<c>Overwhelming Splendor</c>
*<c>Planewide Celebration</c>
*{{card|The Prismatic Bridge|Secret Lair|SLD|#=1155}}
*<c>Prison Realm</c>
*{{card|Prize Wall|Unfinity}}
*{{card|Repurcussion|Secret Lair|SLD|#=1065}}
*<c>Storm the Citadel</c>
*<c>The Elder Dragon War</c>
*<c>Topple the Statue</c>
*{{card|Tormenting Voice|Dragons of Tarkir}}
*<c>Torment of Hailfire</c>'''
*{{card|Totally Lost|War of the Spark}}
*{{card|Trivia Contest|Unfinity}}
*{{card|Vorthos, Steward of Myth|Unfinity}}
*{{card|War of the Spark|Heroes of the Realm|HTR19}}
*{{card|Wit's End|Magic 2013}}
*Several [[scheme]] cards from ''[[Archenemy: Nicol Bolas]]''
|flavor=
*{{card|Ajani's Pridemate|War of the Spark}}
*{{card|Aven Mindcensor|Amonkhet}}
*<c>Blackblade Reforged</c>
*<c>Blood Reckoning</c>
*<c>Bontu's Last Reckoning</c>
*{{card|Cascading Cataracts|Dominaria United Commander|DMC|#=202}}
*<c>Chandra's Defeat</c>
*{{card|Cinder Barrens|Core Set 2019}}
*{{card|Concession Stand|Unfinity|UNF|#=205c}}
*{{card|Costume Shop|Unfinity|UNF||#=206f}}
*{{card|Cower in Fear|Magic 2013}}
*<c>Crook of Condemnation</c>
*<c>Crush Dissent</c>
*<c>Defiant Khenra</c>
*<c>Djeru's Renunciation</c>
*<c>Dissenter’s Deliverance</c>
*<c>Doomed Dissenter</c>
*<c>Doomfall</c>
*<c>Dovin's Acuity</c>
*<c>Dunes of the Dead</c>
*<c>Duskmantle Operative</c>
*<c>Elder Mastery</c>
*<c>Finale of Revelation</c>
*<c>Font of Agonies</c>
*<c>Form of the Approach of the Second Sun</c>
*<c>Frontline Devastator</c>
*<c>Gideon's Defeat</c>
*<c>Gitaxian Spellstalker</c>
*{{card|Godless Shrine||SLD|128}}
*<c>Hekma Sentinels</c>
*<c>Herald of the Dreadhorde</c>
*<c>Hour of Revelation</c>
*<c>Imp's Mischief</c>
*<c>Jace's Defeat</c>
*<c>Life Goes On</c>
*<c>Liliana's Defeat</c>
*<c>Magmaquake</c>
*{{card|Mana Drain|Judge Gift|J16}}
*{{card|Manalith|Hour of Devastation}}
*<c>Mastermind’s Acquisition</c>
*{{card|Mighty Leap|Amonkhet}}
*<c>Merciless Eternal</c>
*<c>Moaning Wall</c>
*<c>Mindclaw Shaman</c>
*<c>Naga Vitalist</c>
*<c>Neheb, the Eternal</c>
*<c>Nimble-Blade Khenra</c>
*<c>Nissa's Defeat</c>
*<c>No Escape</c>
*<c>Open into Wonder</c>
*<c>Ornery Kudu</c>
*<c>Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner</c>
*<c>Protection of the Hekma</c>
*<c>Psychic Barrier</c>
*<c>Puncturing Blow</c>
*<c>Rakka Mar</c><ref>{{DailyRef|savor-flavor/bolass-secret-minions-2009-01-27|Bolas's Secret Minions|[[Doug Beyer]]|January 28, 2009}}</ref>
*<c>River's Rebuke</c>
*<c>Sarkhan's Catharsis</c>
*<c>Slave of Bolas</c>
*<c>Solemnity</c>
*<c>Soul Manipulation</c>
*<c>Spark Harvest</c>
*<c>Sphinx of Foresight</c>
*<c>Sphinx's Insight</c>
*{{card|Strategic Planning|Hour of Devastation}}
*<c>Supreme Will</c>
*<c>Time to Reflect</c>
*{{card|Tormenting Voice|Amonkhet}}
*<c>War of the Spark</c>
*<c>Winged Shepherd</c>
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{PWBio|Nicol-Bolas}}
*{{DailyRef|savor-flavor/one-only-nicol-bolas-2009-04-08|The One, The Only, Nicol Bolas|[[Doug Beyer]]|April 08, 2009}}
*{{DailyRef|arcana/bolass-minions-2012-08-27|Bolas's Minions|[[Monty Ashley]]|August 27, 2012}}

{{Dominaria|characters|state=collapsed}}
{{Planeswalker|characters}}
[[Category:Meditation Plane]]
[[Category:Elders]]
[[Category:Dragons]]
[[Category:Wizards]]
[[Category:Twins]]