<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yes Man, Personal Securitron" href="#" target="_blank">Yes Man, Personal Securitron</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CDan+Murayama+Scott%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dan Murayama Scott</a></em></p>
<p>Hello, and welcome to <em>Am I the Bolas</em>?<strong> This week, vibe check, please!</strong></p>
<p>This column is for all of you out there who have ever played some <em>Magic </em>and wondered if you were the bad guy. I'm here to take in your story with all of its nuances so I can bring some clarity to all those asking, "Am I the Bolas?"</p>
<p>I'm ready to hear you out and offer advice. All you have to do is email amithebolas@gmail.com with your story, a pseudonym you want to use, and of course, only include details you don't mind in the column! You might see your story below one day. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast?</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-25893" src="https://commandersherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/bolcast_logo430x430-300x300.png" alt="" width="249" height="249" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@AmITheBolcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">THIS PODCAST!</a> Do us a favor a subscribe to us. We've got some fun stuff in the works and it would mean a lot to Michael, Morgan, and I if you did! Become a Bolcut and get into the Bolcast!</p>
<p>I'm Mike Carrozza, and I've got some cool news!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Call Forth the Tempest"></div></div>
<p>I'm a part of <a href="https://www.cascadecascade.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cascade Cascade</a> and my first piece came out last week. I'm really proud of it! 🙂</p>
<p>(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)</p>
<hr />
<h2>SUBMISSION</h2>
<p><em>Dear Mike,</em></p>
<p><em>I'm a long-time reader and long-time hothead. I try to keep a cap on my temper, but I recently did something I never thought I'd ever do in a Commander game: I scooped on turn 3.</em></p>
<p><em>Here's what you should know. I have a deck I love to play helmed by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yes Man, Personal Securitron" href="#" target="_blank">Yes Man, Personal Securitron</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Humble Defector" href="#" target="_blank">Humble Defector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in the command zone? Yes, please!). Usually, before I pass him off to another player, I ask the table, "Who would like to draw cards?" Here's the deal (and I think it's a fair deal), if I'm gonna pass you Yes Man, I want him back eventually. You can pass him along to anyone else who wants cards and accepts the deal, just try to make sure I get him back by my next turn. I've had this deck basically since the release of the Fallout set - usually everyone loves it. We pass him around the table and all draw cards. Eventually, people have drawn enough cards and stop taking the deal - but by then, he's got a fair number of quest counters and I can make an army of 1/1s - certainly powerful, but nothing game-breaking (and by then I’ve helped people draw answers). It doesn't win a ton but people enjoy playing against it and I love to play it so I can look past the low win rate. Unfortunately, I haven't played the deck at all as of late because of something that happened during a game that left me with a sour taste in my mouth.</em></p>
<p><em>A few weeks ago, I showed up at my LGS to meet up with a group of coworkers who get together a couple times a month for some Commander games. I showed up a little late and wasn't able to join a pod with my coworkers, but the nice thing about playing at an LGS is we can usually round off games with some strangers. I joined another game nearby with three people I'd never met who seemed friendly and were playing some interesting commanders I'd never seen before. For a game with strangers, I figured Yes Man was a safe bet. I let my opponents know what my deck does and we started the game.</em></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yes Man, Personal Securitron"></div></div>
<p><em>Thanks to a turn one <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, I'm able to untap with Yes Man on turn three. I ask the same question I've asked dozens of times, "who wants to draw some cards?" Well, something happened I've never seen before. My opponents (who clearly all know each other), look at each other and then basically say, "No thanks!". I'm sort of confused, so I reply, "Wait really? Nobody wants to draw?" They sort of shrug and explain that if they have to choose between drawing and completely shutting off my deck, they’re going to choose the latter. They agree among each other not to tap him at all.</em></p>
<div dir="auto">
<div dir="auto">
<p><em>At this point, I’m feeling completely embarrassed. Sure, it is probably a mistake that my deck pretty much revolves around that play pattern, but it’s a fun and fair play pattern! I feel like it was rude that my opponents seemed to have worked this out before the game started and didn’t care to let me know that I wouldn’t be doing anything for the entire game. I basically told them if that’s how it was going to be, I was not going to watch them play without me for one-to-two hours and just scooped. I was so agitated, I didn’t even link back up with my friends and I left the game store.</em></p>
<p><em>Now, I’m contemplating deconstructing my favorite deck because I don't want to be reminded that it’s entirely up to my opponents whether it runs or not. I’m kind of feeling like I was silly to expect people to go along with my expected play pattern and that my crash out at the LGS was probably not justified.</em></p>
<p><em><strong>What do you think? Am I the Bolas? </strong></em></p>
</div>
<p><em>Thanks,</em></p>
<p><em>Dr. Diamond Randy</em></p>
</div>
<div dir="auto">
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Summary Dismissal"></div></div>
</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
<hr />
<h2>VERDICT</h2>
<p>Thank you for writing and asking me to weigh in on your story. As I mention every week, if folks don't write to me, there's no column, so if you, the reader, want to send me a story, whether it's your own or one from Reddit or a friend's, please send it to amithebolas@gmail.com and I'll get to it here.</p>
<p>Dr. Randy, I loved this submission. I think it was such a gift and not just because I got to come up with your pseudonym. Thank you, Dr DR. It's also a gift because I get to tell you that there's no need to take apart a deck you like. Is the spark for it fully gone? You called it your favorite deck, I have to hope you've still got love for it and this experience didn't taint it irreversibly.</p>
<p>I think it's clear when someone rocks up with a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yes Man, Personal Securitron" href="#" target="_blank">Yes Man, Personal Securitron</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck what the intended vibe is. Everybody passes it around between each other and you're just asking for a bone every now and again. You just want people to pass Yes Man around because eventually, there's a chance you get a bunch of tokens and I'm guessing the <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/group-hug" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Group Hug</a> element gets a game on rails and that's pretty exciting. It's most definitely a game you need to buy into, which is why you have to hope the other players will give you their honesty.</p>
<p>Playing with your friends who know the deck and pass around Yes Man, they know it's not a threat because, like you said, it's not a big game-winner. If the time arises where they don't feel like playing against Yes Man, I'd think you'd be understanding and pick something else.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Homeward Path"></div></div>
<p>The fact that they let you put that on the table and then didn't buy in sucks big time. I understand where they're coming from if it's really about winning the game through your own deck and not giving an opponent an inch. Sure, fine, be competitive, but let me know before I pick this deck! Maybe! Just a thought!</p>
<p>This all comes down to the vibe check. Having a chat with people about the deck and getting their honest impressions is going to be important for this deck no matter what. It seems like you've got the chat down, but I'd recommend mentioning that if they aren't interested in playing into the fun of it, you can pull something else out.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Fall of Lord Konda"></div></div>
<p>I have to imagine you have the only absolutely perfect card for this deck in the 99 - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Homeward Path" href="#" target="_blank">Homeward Path</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - but I have to hope there's more to this deck so that it can hang a little, specifically for situations like these. But even if it doesn't, who cares? If you're in the game and nobody's playing into it, you're right, you can scoop. It's not the game you would have played if the conversation had signaled even a little hesitation and yet, the others aren't keen to play it. Oh, well. Leaving entirely, is less fun. I wish you'd checked in with one of your pals and talked it out with them, I'm sure you'd have gotten some support on this. This is a Rule Zero deck after all in the sense that you require the buy-in of your pod to really get anything out of it.</p>
<p>Gotta get better at the vibe check, but I don't think you're wrong for scooping.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Path to Exile"></div></div>
<p>Thanks again!</p>


Am I the Bolas? - Yes Man, No Man

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grismold, the Dreadsower" href="#" target="_blank">Grismold, the Dreadsower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CFilip+Burburan%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Filip Burburan</a></em></p>
<hr />
<p>Hello, and welcome to <em>Am I the Bolas</em>?<strong> This week, we just got back and it's already about kingmaking!</strong></p>
<p>This column is for all of you out there who have ever played some <em>Magic </em>and wondered if you were the bad guy. I'm here to take in your story with all of its nuances so I can bring some clarity to all those asking, "Am I the Bolas?"</p>
<p>I'm ready to hear you out and offer advice. All you have to do is email amithebolas@gmail.com with your story, a pseudonym you want to use, and of course, only include details you don't mind in the column! You might see your story below one day. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast?</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-25893" src="https://commandersherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/bolcast_logo430x430-300x300.png" alt="" width="249" height="249" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@AmITheBolcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">THIS PODCAST!</a></p>
<p>I'm Mike Carrozza and I'll be prereleasing all weekend, thank you very much.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn"></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i>Soon.</i></p>
<p>(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)</p>
<hr />
<h2>SUBMISSION</h2>
<div dir="auto">
<p><em>Dear Mike,</em></p>
<p><em>This scenario came up a few weeks ago, and while it didn't cause any actual salt in our pod, it did spark some constructive debate about king-making etc. </em><em>I'm interested to hear your take.</em></p>
<p><em>We're down to three players.</em></p>
<p><em>Player A manages to smash me (Player B) down to exactly one life, then casts <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Disrupt Decorum" href="#" target="_blank">Disrupt Decorum</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, goading my board along with Player C's positively enormous <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grismold, the Dreadsower" href="#" target="_blank">Grismold, the Dreadsower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. On my turn, I have zero ways to strike back at Player A, and zero ways to not die to Player C's aforementioned beastly Grismold which was also goaded and would have no choice but to squish me. </em></p>
<p><em>I cracked a healthy stack of Junk tokens searching for a way to keep myself alive but hit nothing. I did, however, hit a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arid Mesa" href="#" target="_blank">fetch land</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>...</em></p>
<p><em><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grismold, the Dreadsower"></div></div></em></p>
<p><em>With absolutely no way to prevent my death, I instead chose to play and crack the fetch land, killing myself in the process, which freed Player C's Grismold from his goad-y obligations and allowed him exact revenge on my behalf by smooshing Player A into goo.</em></p>
<p><em>Like I said, no one was truly upset by this - Player A was a perfectly good sport after a few expletives hurled my way - but we did talk further about the situation, with half the pod saying "Hell yeah, I'd have done the same thing," and the other half saying they probably wouldn't have due to hesitations over king-making, and wouldn't have been too pleased to be on the receiving end of it. </em></p>
<p><em>It wasn't a heated controversy by any means, but one I found interesting.</em></p>
<p><em>I maintain that I was inarguably already dead, and the only recourse I had available to me was revenge on the one that sealed my fate - yes, I intentionally handed the game to someone else by killing myself, but I did so with an in-game mechanic rather than a shady scoop. Also, it wouldn't have worked had Player A not brought me down to exactly one life. It kinda worked out too perfectly for me to let the opportunity pass by, lol.</em></p>
<p><em>Regardless, it's become my favorite loss I've ever suffered.</em></p>
<p><em>Your thoughts?</em></p>
<p><em>-Player B</em></p>
</div>
<div dir="auto">
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flooded Strand"></div></div>
</div>
<hr />
<h2>VERDICT</h2>
<p>Thank you for writing and asking me to weigh in on your story. As I mention every week, if folks don't write to me, there's no column, so if you, the reader, want to send me a story, whether it's your own or one from Reddit or a friend's, please send it to amithebolas@gmail.com and I'll get to it here.</p>
<p>I know there're a lot of kingmaking submissions in <em>AITB</em> history and we just kicked off the new year, but I think this one's worth it.</p>
<p>Player B, allow me to begin with a compliment: I really liked your submission. I appreciate that you and your pals weren't salty and just had a fun chat. A little debate among buds - everybody got to learn something about their friends tonight. It's almost like you naturally formed two camps of players who honor the game and players who honor the story. But I'll let you in on a little secret...</p>
<p>You're the real winner, to me. You got to play god.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Erebos, God of the Dead"></div></div>
<p>Obviously, if you know me at all, you know I'm Team Story. Every day, all day. There is no scenario in which you win the game, but you ultimately got to wield the most power. Your action determined the game's winner and this all had to come together <em>just so</em> to happen. And it fell into your lap.</p>
<p>What makes this one so compelling is that it isn't really about kingmaking so much as it is a celebration of beating the odds of there being absolutely nothing you could do to <em>affect</em> the game. With every Junk token sacrifice, the likelihood you'll find anything dips. What are the chances?! Player A seemed to have this one in the bag and, all of a sudden, a twist. Huge reveal. Even just seeing you "draw" the fetch land raises the question of "What's he gonna do?" What great tension! On the one hand, so much had to line up for this to happen. How could you not? Right?</p>
<p>It's what makes it a great story. It's almost poetic! You're looking for a way to stay alive and the god of chance whispers to you, "Sometimes the best way to stay alive is to die," before vanishing again. You lose in the game but you've created drama. Go for it and make the memory.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lose Hope"></div></div>
<p>The one who might be a "loser" here is the winner of the game, Player C. They win, but spiritually they're runner-up in both the dualistic nature of the upcoming final two with Player A, and the above-the-table victory that is this fetch land play. In a single activation most players take for granted, you were able to taint all potential victories with a stink of "if Player B had" or "if Player B hadn't." A whim decided this game. Would you resist the call to use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grismold, the Dreadsower" href="#" target="_blank">Grismold, the Dreadsower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> by proxy, and by extension Player C, as your puppet? What power.</p>
<p>I write "loser" in quotes because there are no real losers in this story - except Player D, technically, sorry! Everybody gets to walk away with whatever version of the outcome they decide and enjoy that without completely being wrong. Everybody gets to have a moment in the sun. Player C technically wins. Player A gets a justifiable "if Player B hadn't" moment that everybody can agree with, which can feel like a win, a hard-fought near-victory. And Player B gets to have been the one to get literally lucky enough to be the catalyst of an exciting moment in the game.</p>
<p>Like I said, this is less about kingmaking and more about leaning into the extra excitement that the game can whoopsie into.</p>
<p>Altogether, no losers, no Bolas. Everybody seems to have had fun with it and the debate was a good time. I wish everybody's playgroups fun, capital M Moments with <em>Magic</em> this year. Happy new year!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Puppeteer"></div></div>


commander scoop

Am I the Bolas? - Yes Man, No Man

Am I the Bolas? - Fetching a King