Gornog, the Red ReaperGornog, the Red Reaper | Art by Ishikawa Kenta

Hello, and welcome to Am I the Bolas? This week, I'm confused!

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 below one day. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast?

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I'm Mike Carrozza and I'm eating Ninjas tonight.

I've been told my ancestors have disowned me.

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

SUBMISSION

VERDICT

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.

I'm going to level with you, reader. I've been sitting on this one for a year and some change. I've come back to it a few times, here and there. Every time I read it, my reaction never quite seemed to settle. I told myself I'd commit to writing this submission up a year after I received it and I'm going to dive in here. I say all this because if you can sense that I am annoyed, it's because I am.

Firstly, this is the kind of story that fuels the people who make hating "politics" in Commander their whole personality. The concept of politics in Commander can often be about where to gift the Plant tokens from Dowsing DaggerDowsing Dagger, like maybe you make a deal with the player who's got Phyrexian AltarPhyrexian Altar in play for the Plants if they agree to take damage from your equipped creature. Politics in Commander is also exactly what happened to both the Okinec and Miirym players. It's players banding together to take down the biggest threat, striking a deal that seems to satisfy all involved parties to be on as equal footing as possible, though, often, it's clear someone is going to come out on top. Politics in Commander can turn a non-game into a real heater. Politics in Commander can be used effectively to improve your time at the table. In this story, we see both sides of politicking showcased, but this is going to focus on the final deal made which I will clear up here:

OP, playing Gornog, offers to kill the Miirym player as long as they get immunity from the remaining player (Dogmeat) for a turn. So Dogmeat gets Miirym killed by Gornog player who depletes their entire hand and remains at four life in exchange for Gornog getting one more turn to see if they can turn it out. That's the subtext of this deal, so I'll repeat it without any ambiguity: Dranthony gets one more turn to see if they can win.

This whole thing smacks of a player making a deal because they calculated that the likelihood of Dranthony winning was so low that they figured they'd win no matter what. "Certainly, I can spare a combat. I can rip through the final four life points to kill my opponent on my next turn," they thought. Can you really be surprised that a game with such variance might actually be able to flip your expectations even when there's a one percent chance that Dranthony top decks a way to victory? Everything seemed to line up perfectly and, rather than celebrating that you've witnessed one of the most unlikely outcomes which makes for an exciting story, your three opponents decided that there was somehow an added clause in the deal they witnessed? Is there something missing? Are you recounting the story correctly? If so, this is ridiculous. Dranthony, you offered a deal so you can survive a little longer in an effort to find an out. How this is lost on your opponents is beyond me. The whole point of making a deal at this point is for your own game. Otherwise, it'd be for kingmaking and even then, wouldn't you then concede when it's down to you and the Dogmeat player that you've crowned? Why was the defence of "I didn't attack you" uttered at all? Did Dogmeat forget that she got her end of the deal up front when the Miirym player was killed?

Dogmeat took the deal because she liked her odds against you after the dust settled and she bet on it. Then she lost. Seems like a simple lesson to learn in there about not counting a player out until they've lost, but then it's time to move on to the next one. Maybe take ten minutes to go breathe outside. The odds were in Dogmeat's favor, but luck was on Gornog's side.

I have to ask if some players forget they're playing a game that requires you to eliminate your opponents. What was everyone expecting once Dogmeat honored her deal by not attacking and it was done? Did they think there was equally going to be a turn of mercy from the Gornog player who's been encouraged to flip their top-deck? What are we doing here? I feel like it's pretty clear that at four life, no cards in hand, and only one win condition left at Dranthony's disposal (commander damage), the purpose of the experience of flipping the next card drawn is like when players reveal their hand and flip the river in a game of Texas Hold 'Em - and just like in such a game of Poker, there are some upsets where the one favored to take the pot loses to an unexpectedly relevant four of clubs that makes an appearance. There's a shared tension that the impossible might happen and, in this case, Gornog taking the W here is the "impossible".

So, why the upset when it happens? The implication is that if Gornog doesn't top-deck something impactful enough to completely win the game, their own game comes to an end the following turn. This is what the whole point of flipping the top-deck ostensibly is. If OP had flipped another MountainMountain and extended the handshake for GG's, wouldn't it be unremarkable? This story is interesting because of this unexpected turn of events.

All the opponents being upset here is tripping some alarms for me. Either there's something missing from the submission or there needs to be a reevaluation of the situation internally so we can all agree that when both elements of the deal have been fulfilled, that deal is done and you move forward with the game. Why is there such an expectation of an allegiance to this deal with it would cost you the game entirely - especially when the game has borne so many moments of dealmaking to keep your survival and your win possible?

If you won with the deal as presented in your submission, I can't call you a Bolas. However, your opponents' reactions give me pause and if they'd like to chime in, I'd love to hear more. I recognize this is from over a year ago now, but heck, why not see what happens?