Elvish ChampionElvish Champion Illustrated by D. Alexander Gregory

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 [email protected] 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?

THIS PODCAST!

I'm Mike Carrozza - here's a pic of me!

I LOVE MY SMILE!

This week, oh jeez where do I even begin?

(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)

HELLO, MIKE

HOWDY, WIREWOOD SYMBIOTE!

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 [email protected] and I'll get to it here.

Let's examine the facts we have from your submission. You're part of a playgroup. You play regularly. The group has begun to slowly power creep. You're playing notorious commander Ezuri, Renegade LeaderEzuri, Renegade Leader which is an Elfball legend that should raise some alarms for anybody who is familiar with it. You mention you've got several tutors and you opted to get the Elvish ChampionElvish Champion.

Okay. I have no idea what to say about this one besides I don't think I have enough information to give a full-on verdict, but I'll try.

If you're all slowly powering up your decks, it should be fair for you to pack some head like Elvish ChampionElvish Champion. Everybody should be running creature removal too, so hopefully that's part of the creeping, but clearly in this story, that doesn't come up. I have to hope you've also included Yavimaya, Cradle of GrowthYavimaya, Cradle of Growth to tutor for if you're playing the Champion because otherwise this is just a silver bullet for that one other player in the pod.

Here are the issues I have about this story. I never like tutors beyond land ramp tutors, like fetch lands. I play Commander because I like variability. But I understand why you'd want to play them and it's a rule for myself, not the format, so live and let live.

If you're tutoring Elvish ChampionElvish Champion at this table, it seems like there's only one reason, and that's to kill this one green player at the table. Pretty brutal way to go about it, but if that's the nature of the group, I guess it's okay.

Unfortunately, the protests from that one player tell me it's likely not the vibe. To become defensive about it is not my favorite response to this, but it's fair. This is your decklist and if you were to take this deck to an LGS and you could use it against unknown players, you'll probably be able to take out some more players and it'd be fair game. Elvish ChampionElvish Champion is a great card for Elf decks, for sure.

But this being a playgroup of friends means that you have some considerations if you want to keep playing. The way you describe this player is "there is only one player who has green in their deck other than me." You know that much. It will feel targeted if nobody else in your group plays green.

Anyway, I want you to consider allowing for some special rules for playing the card against your playgroup, especially when it's only that player also playing green. Rules like "I can't tutor for Elvish ChampionElvish Champion" in those games. Let there be some tension about it! You'll both know the card is in the deck. If it's not out yet, it's on its way! Maybe it's in your hand and you're trying to find your moment! That's interesting.

If I'm playing in my playgroup and someone who knows I play graveyard decks 90% of the time and all my removal is on ETB abilities, I would hate playing against them if their first moves are tutoring for Torpor OrbTorpor Orb and Rest in PeaceRest in Peace. That would straight up tick me off enough to need to take a walk. I'd begin building my decks with this in mind to kill those cards, but I'd have a conversation about it first.

If the whole group is building stronger and stronger decks and this is something you've all agreed on, that's awesome. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect and it doesn't seem like a conversation was very fruitful. I would recommend trying again and being open to some compromise.

My instinct says Bolas here. Maybe my green bias is showing, but you're already playing Ezuri and there was no mention of Yavimaya, Cradle of GrowthYavimaya, Cradle of Growth to spread the love on the combat. Feels like this actually might be pointed.