Am I The Bolas? - Play it as it Lies
Katilda, Dawnhart Prime Illustrated by Bryan Sola
Hello, and welcome to Am I the Bolas?
This column is for all of you out there who have ever played some Magic 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?"
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 in the column. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast?
I'm Mike Carrozza, aka Mark Carbonza, and I found a pretty rock!
It's so so soft!
This week, play it as it lies.
(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)
HELLO, MIKE
Hello Mark/Mr. Wazowski,
This is my second time writing to you, and I appreciate your articles!! ("Eeyore" was my previous time writing to you).
This is a situation where a player wanted to rewind their turn to optimize their play.
I honestly don't remember many of the other commanders during the game except for the rewind request player: they always play Katilda, Dawnhart Prime. It's their only EDH deck they have optimized, and they are very proud of it, and for good reason. It. Wins. Games.
Katilda is a Human build where they use Humans as mana dorks to cast big spells, activate expensive abilities, protect their board, or win with Halo Fountain. It's a deck to keep your eye on.
The turn they wanted to rewind involved reanimating a creature. They chose to bring back Eternal Witness so they could grab a protection spell with its ETB. After resolving Eternal Witness's ability, they realized they made a mistake and asked if they could take back their reanimation choice. Before agreeing, I asked what they wanted to switch to specifically. They said they would rather bring back Village Bell-Ringer, which would untap their creatures and give them ten mana to do various other scary Selesnya things.
I said I'd rather keep the board state as it resolved with Eternal Witness. The other two podmates had no opinion in either direction because it didn't directly affect their plans.
The Katilda player offered to roll for the decision to keep the salt levels low. I agreed, narrowly won the roll, and the board state remained as it was. It didn't end up mattering as neither of us won that game in the end.
We've played many games since. They are a very nice player, and there's no bad blood between us over that day.
I'm just curious if being the only one stuck on that kind of decision when no one else cares is a shade of Bolas. Maybe Tezzeret level? Or Secret Lair Chibi Bolas? (lol)
Appreciate what you do!
The Midwest Magic Player
HOWDY, DANIEL!
Thank you for writing in 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.
A second submission from you, MMP! Last time, not the Bolas; let's see if this time is the same.
This story is... pretty simple to me. Let me be real. If somebody asks for a takeback in the same turn and things haven't progressed much beyond their own actions, I'm hella flexible and would allow the rewind. It seems like the reanimation hitting either Eternal Witness to bring back a protection spell or nabbing the Village Bell-Ringer is all face-up information. It's a matter of simply changing the reanimation target. I would give the Katilda the okay to switch it. To me, it's a mistake that will be a learning experience regardless of the table's decision.
I don't think you're the Bolas for wanting to play it as it goes because the decision was made. Personally, I would want to play against a player making the best play they can think of in the moment. I understand your desire to lock into the decisions made because the expectation is that players will take the time to think out their plan through their options.
Given that you have played with and continue to play with this player means that you know each other well enough that there should be some sort of precedent to draw from. I would caution you to keep consistency in the way you approach takebacks. Like, if you weren't scared of the deck and all the mana, would you have allowed the rewind?
I think the strict enforcement of this type of thing isn't my favorite, but if it's how your group approaches it, great! I appreciate that you used the dice rolling as a compromise. I don't think this is Bolas material, but it's definitely giving Azorius lawmaker who is putting forward a bill to service their own interests.
Not the Bolas, but watch yourself, counselor!
