Am I the Bolas? - NecroWedding

July 1, 2026

Papalymo TotolymoPapalymo Totolymo | Art by Immanuela Crovius

Hello, and welcome to Am I the Bolas? This week, a wedding!

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?

THIS PODCAST! 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!

I'm Mike Carrozza and I hope people are opening Jumpstart so I don't have to.

The Whizzer, Classic Speedster

I must have this little dweeb.

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

SUBMISSION

Hey Mike,

Long-time reader, first-time submission. Me and my friends have been friends for the last 16 years. We are all in our late 30s and like all sorts of decks between us. For the most part, we stick between Bracket 2 and Bracket 3; definitely casual and no one puts a ton of money into specific cards. If we already have them, can trade for them, or crack them in a pack, we can use expensive cards, but otherwise, we roll with what we have. I bought the Final Fantasy 10 precon deck and pulled Papalymo TotolymoPapalymo Totolymo from the collector booster sample pack. I was struck with SO many ideas and, after months, I settled on sacrifice control. Essentially, I play as few creatures as possible while dealing ping damage through my commander with board wipes, enchantments and planeswalkers.

I had an idea for Wedding RingWedding Ring because I had just opened a Spider-Man special full art version! A few of my friends love to gain life and draw cards, so I thought it'd be a fun as way to help combat that. Well, in my deck's third outing, my friend Steve had been playing the Zombie precon deck from Aetherdrift with many very good upgrades to it, bringing it closer to high Bracket 3. He was basically running the board the entire game while unable to do much to me. While I had 105 life, I couldn't do much to him either. He had knocked out another player and was about to take out a second, so I decided to Hail Mary. I gave him the Wedding RingWedding Ring and he took out the other player. On my turn, I used NecrologiaNecrologia and paid enough life so that he drew his deck but left me with six cards in my deck. Then I ended my turn.

Wedding Ring

Necrologia

Temmet, Naktamun's Will

He was mad and ended up cussing me out for even playing such a stupid combo in the first place then proceeded to not play for like three weeks. He still doesn't wanna talk about it and move on. I thought given that he had taken all other players and had me on the ropes the whole game that it was a fitting attempt at a win that could absolutely have backfired because paying life for NecrologiaNecrologia is a cost so if he counters it I still lose the life, lol. Given our friendship I am curious if I am indeed the as—er, uh, Bolas.

GodBroly

P.S. Sorry if I didn't format stuff right I provided my decklist cause I thought you'd find it interesting. The lands are just basics SwampSwamps and PlainsPlains.

Decklist

Papalymo Totolymo

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.

First of all, shout out to NecrologiaNecrologia. What a fun card. Look at this thing.

Necrologia

Play it more!

I also want to shout out Papalymo TotolymoPapalymo Totolymo! What a fun commander and definitely one I've had my eye on. I've resisted cutting the little guy in my Winter Soldier, Icy AssassinWinter Soldier, Icy Assassin brew that I've been cooking up, but this story made me feel like maybe the li'l guy needs to be in charge of a 99, too.

I think your instinct to go control with him is spot on, and that's a ton of fun. I'm thrilled to hear you all play with what you have within the pool. I appreciate this because it combats the optimization issue that many playgroups run into. That said, however, we do have an example of the disparity that luck with packs can create in a pod, thanks to your pal playing the Temmet, Naktamun's WillTemmet, Naktamun's Will deck. I think there should still be some discussion about deck inclusions to stay within brackets and so that people don't feel like they're always playing an unwinnable match when someone cracks a crazy pull. You also got lucky with that Wedding RingWedding Ring pull!

One thing I also need to note is that you describe the deck as Bracket 2, but you've got Tergrid, God of FrightTergrid, God of Fright in your deck. Tergrid is a Game Changer and that immediately kicks your deck into Bracket 3. If you need a refresher on the Bracket System, check out EDHREC's guide here. I reference it a ton for my column.

Tergrid, God of Fright

When it comes to the actual play, I think this is pretty open and shut, if I'm being honest. I don't think this play is worthy of such salt from your friend. It was a clever out that you figured out, and the Hail Mary paid the heck off. Hallelujah! I don't think it's fair for your friend to ignore that this behaviour has clearly stuck with you and caused you to think about this interaction more than I believe you should've been made to.

I don't think you're the Bolas by a long shot. I would recommend asking your pal if he would be open to expressing his feelings on the matter rather than shrugging it off or dismissing it. I don't think that's fair and would request some openness from your friend. That said, it's up to you whether you drop it and when.

Cool play! Thanks for writing in!

Papalymo Totolymo

Mike Carrozza

Mike Carrozza is a stand-up comedian from Montreal who’s done a lot of cool things like put out an album called Cherubic and worked with Tig Notaro, Kyle Kinane, and more people to brag about. He’s also been an avid EDH player who loves making silly stuff happen. @mikecarrozza on platforms.

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