Bolas's Citadel — Magic: The Gathering card

Bolas's Citadel

{3}{B}{B}{B}
Legendary Artifact

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

You may play lands and cast spells from the top of your library. If you cast a spell this way, pay life equal to its mana value rather than pay its mana cost.

{T}, Sacrifice ten nonland permanents: Each opponent loses 10 life.

Set War of the Spark
Rarity Rare
Mana Value 6
Artist Jonas De Ro
Collector # 79
Scryfall

Why Play Bolas's Citadel

Powerful engines that convert life into card advantage excel in slower, grindy matchups where you can afford the initial investment and life payments. The ability to play off the top of your library creates explosive turns, especially when you chain together multiple low-cost spells in succession. Deploy this when you have a reasonable life total and board presence to protect it, as the six mana investment needs time to pay dividends.

Format Notes

Commander represents the primary home for this card, where the higher life totals and longer games provide ample opportunity to recoup the mana and life investment. Pioneer and Modern occasionally see fringe play in dedicated combo builds, though the high mana cost limits competitive viability in faster formats. Historic features some successful midrange and combo applications, particularly in best-of-one queues where games tend to go longer.

Combos & Synergies

Aetherflux Reservoir creates an immediate combo kill, as casting multiple spells off the Citadel quickly builds storm count for a lethal activation. Sensei's Divining Top provides incredible control over your draws, letting you stack cheap spells on top for explosive turns while avoiding expensive cards when your life is low. Cards that gain life like Gray Merchant of Asphodel help sustain the engine, while zero-cost artifacts like Ornithopter enable longer chains of spells.

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Artifact