MTG - Is it worth it to buy Archenemy: Nicol Bolas for Magic: The Gathering?
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- čas přidán 12. 06. 2017
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Many Magic The Gathering Players ask the question...is it worth it to buy Archenemy: Nicol Bolas
Much like the original Archenemy release, Archenemy: Nicol Bolas is a many versus one format, where multiple players team up against a single opponent. This opponent is given the advantage of Scheme cards to grant them powered up benefits throughout the game, and thus the team must work together to defeat the archenemy!
But has Arch Enemy: Nicol Bolas finally cracked the problem of overpowered arch enemies whose schemes are near impossible to overcome, or is another in the line of “good in theory” but disappointing in practice alternative formats for a game not made to handle such extreme variations? Let’s take a look!
Please note:
This video is a review of the product: Arch Enemy: Nicol Bolas and assumes that you as viewer is familiar with the format. If you would like to learn how to play Archenemy, please see my instructional video here, which is linked in the description.
Archenemy: Nicol Bolas is essentially a Magic: The Gathering board game. It is self-contained, able to be played right out of the box with 3-4 friends, and is not just a reskin of a different game, but rather is real Magic the Gathering gameplay with real Magic: The Gathering decks.
While there may be some balance issues in regards to the Archenemy vs. The Gatewatch decks, they are minor, and the biggest problem with gameplay is the likely lack of replayability, with games getting stale fast and no easy way to play this with other decks.
Despite there being reasonable financial value of individual cards, the cards themselves have little to no relevance for players and collectors. There are no chase rares or mythics or other needed reprints here, no original cards other than the schemes, and only the planeswalker cards themselves have new art...and they are not even foil.
Nonetheless this is a very good product and possibly a great deal of interest to casual players, players who love flavor, or just players who like to break up more intense gameplay for a fun magic evening with friends. - Hry
If many Magic the Gathering players ask a question in the woods and the Professor isn't around to answer it, do they make a sound?
MTG Draft Sesh haha XD
Yeah, all the other magic players will definitely have answers, and won't refrain from giving your their opinions on it, too.
If there's something Magic players love more than playing Magic, it's talking and complaining about Magic.
Ohad Klopm
The professor hears all MTG questions
I want
Archenemy : Jace
hero team featured with :
- Nicol Bolas
- Yawgmoth
- Emrakul
Wait...
Lol
Wow that.......
Oh goodie. The mind break gang
Some people just want to beat Jace into the dirt and it’s a thing
M A N Y M A G I C T H E G A T H E R I N G P L A Y E R S A S K
Yahel Hotam Oh heavens, the memes are coming.
oh yes
Ｔ Ｈ Ｅ Ｑ Ｕ Ｅ Ｓ Ｔ Ｉ Ｏ Ｎ
Ask dA questionnnn
M A 🅱 Y M A 🅱 I C C T H E G 🅱 T H E R I N G P L A 🅱 E R S 🅱 S K
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Learn To Play Archenemy here: czcams.com/video/HRT9PeDnX1E/video.html
and How To Play Planechase here: czcams.com/video/wC98RS2YvJk/video.html
Watch Archenemy played here on Game Knights: czcams.com/video/NgvKLZPDIIE/video.html
Tolarian Community College
whats that massive card on the shelf by your head and how did you get it?
I must ask, i noticed that there are cards that are reprints that have their own expansion symbol, can you use the ones without that particular symbol like the ones that have the actual hour of devastation, amenkhat, ect. for standard or other magic formats?
thats Baron Sengir.
oversized cards used to be given, among others, as DCI player rewards .... before the dark times. before the mending
yes. as long as the card name is LEGAL in standard (i.e. it was reprinted in a curently standard set), it doesnt matter which set you use for the card
Give Arena of the Planeswalkers another chance with all the expansions!
Someday I will play a game of Planechase Archenemy Conspiracy Commander Draft. Someday.
pbtenchi I'm already organizing that type of event
Planechase Archenemy Conspiracy Commander VANGUARD Draft XD
Add two headed giant to that and I'm in
is 2 headed giant archenemy 2 players against six?
I would assume but im not sure
I think I'm one of the few that the Planeswalkers not being in foil is actually a check in the plus column. I just really hate foils.
Agreed with the rest of the assessment though.
yes its worthy of your money -nicol bolas
Prof. how could you forget Grand Abolisher?!?! He still carries a $6-$7 price tag!
Nicholas Canevit Lightning Bolt and Grim Lavamancer got a reprint too. Lightning Bolt in particular needs to be reprinted every chance you can reprint it.
Matt Howe Yea but Grim Lavamancer needs it more than Lightning Bolt right now for easier access to Modern Burn Decks, also I need some cheaper Grand Abolishes for my Soul Sisters Deck in Modern.
While this isn't a notable reprint, I like that they added the talismans to he Bola deck- first reprint and the original copies have greyed out mana symbols. I love that they're starting to reprint the check lands more often- hopefully we'll see the enemy check lands reprinted soon.
$20 now
HE WAS 6 DOLLARS???
I'm here 4 years later cause my buddy's game store got a used copy of this and they asked me if it looked like fun. Thanks for always coming through with the good reviews Prof! We might pick it up if it isn't too expensive.
I've had a ton of fun with this new arch enemy. My friends and I have been trying to mix up the game play, and have 2 vs 1 matches where we use our standard decks vs an unmodified bolas deck. Gotta say it's been one of the best casual games I've played and it seems like a good way to introduce players to magic. This arch enemy enticed my friend to pick up magic, would recommend
Picked this up off Amazon at a discount. Really looking forward to playing it. Thanks for the unboxing! This video pushed me to get it.
I've had a lot of fun with this set and have gone on to make my own "box". Had a great time balancing the decks.
Many magic the gathering players ask the question, "should I subscribe to tolarian community college?" Simple answer. Yes.
great video your review was very helpful and informative, also I loved your appearance on game knights it was amazing to see your play style which was surprisingly similar to mine although more refined overall; I hope for your continued success and to see you on game knights in the future.
A fan
WH
I just can't take this game seriously when "Bolas" translates to "Balls" in my country.
Nicol Balls hehehe...
Nicole Balls
What country?
Red Hot Nickel Balls
I really appreciate these product reviews. I feel like you provide an unbaised, objective look at these products that we all have some emotional investment in.
Thank you Prof for making such great content, I always look for when you make a new video. It is one of the highlights of my day.
Dear, Tolarian Community College
I just want to say that, i watch one or more of youre video's everyday, and i really appreciate you making these video's because they help me to become a better MTG player and helps me to keep a eye out for good cards to add to my deck and collection.
Your Subscriber, Lathan Bell 7/7/17
It frustrates me that not all cards have the same set symbol. The Amonkhet cards and lands still have the Amonkhet symbol, while the rest have the Archenemy: Nicol Bolas set symbol
Thank you, I really liked that you explained the product as I had no idea what it was
I like that the package ties into a story line. It isn't only HUUUUUGE MONSTER against whatever. Future products should tie into storylines as well. For instance Dack Fayden and Planeswalker friends vs. Ashiok.
the best part about arch enemy bolas, is that you dont have to use the decks provided, you can use your own personal decks, or you can create decks spesifically ment to work with eachother or with the scheme cards
This video really helped me decide if I should buy this, and I think I will pick it up. I love the idea of pick up and play and with it also being a self contained game it makes it even easier to just pull for a fun game night. Thank you professor! 😀
After watching the Game Knights episode, I'm glad that the sides are actually very close to each other, and I am happier to hear that it is the three who have the edge, and not the one, if for no other reason that I think it makes for a better casual play experience if more people can leave feeling like they won. I'd like to give it a try myself, but I know that I won't be buying it myself; hopefully I'll get the chance to play with someone else's set someday.
I moved away from home for school and none of my friends, as far as I know, are particularly interested in MTG. Sucks, cause I never played an Archenemy game and the concept sounds really fun!
I cannot wait to get mine! Me and three friends are getting into Magic (I am a returning player) and this will get us to be able to play together while my friends learn and gain experience playing MtG.
To think Grand Abolisher is now worth $23.00 and Sword of the Animist $15.00. Commander staples!
I'm pretty interested in making Commander decks geared specifically towards working well 3v1 with this particular scheme deck. I've already got one deck in mind, and I might just adapt one of the weaker precons I have in my collection too.
the plainswalker decks they have released over the last year also work very well if you want to mix it up stright out the packs even minus the boosters they play very well in place of the gatewatch decks
i really want this now, thank you for showing me this or i would have never known how cool it really is
I'm sad that WotC doesn't seem to be interested in revisiting the Archenemy format anymore. Shame because as a casual player, I love this whole 3-VS-1 boss battle format.
Considering that we're closing into a Phyrexian invasion in the current (as of this post's writing) storyline, it would be nice to have a Phyrexia-themed Archenemy set. Probably have a hero trio composed of Karn, Teferi, and Jaya.
Will there be an Archenemy: Yawgmoth?
AlbertLloydy it would be so awesome :D
One can only hope. Yawgmoth was so bad ass that he didn't need to do trivial things like planeswalk. He just built up and expanded his own plane until he could literally smash it another and send his legions skittering across it like cockroaches scurrying over an oozing scab and assimilating whatever was in their way to do his bidding. That or he just created his own planes to cultivate entire worlds to act on his behalf. The true OG antagonist of MTG.
if Yawgmoth Wills it, let it be done...
So the Yawgmoth decks "leading card" would be??? XD
His tomb perhaps, lol
That would be cool
This product looks like it was very well designed and so much fun!
As for the value, I want value! It's great knowing that Wizards did actually pay attention to that aspect! The packaging is superb and neatly contains the whole product. As for it being static, I can see a lot of cards being substituted into this to spice things up besides the Archenemy cards the Professor used. :)
Thanks professor! I have been kicking myself for a few years now for not picking up the previous Archenemy cards. I have been slowly picking them up individually when I find them. I love them for my Draft cube. Have any recommendations on the old ones to mix in with the new ones to help balance out the Archenemy's deck?
This was so much fun to play! The best part was when everyone started role-playing their characters:
Nissa: Hey, Chandra, are you just going to play pinging weenies all game that get removed the second they hit the table?
Chandra: Well do you feel like playing something . . . ever? It's turn 4 and all I see over there is a Bob Ross painting of happy trees.
Nicol Bolas: Yessss, goooood! Release your hate and sick burrrrrrns!
Gideon: CHAD!!!
thanks for this! dude in the game store had no idea what it was. i guessed from the box, correctly, based on your review, what it was. what do you think of it as a teaching tool? (i spend a lot of time teaching kids to play.)
Id like to see more archenemy products, most notably booster packs of sceme's I had the dragon arch enemy deck long ago and still ahve those scemes somewhere.
Part of me really wants to get this just so I can try and change the decks. At least in a semi effective way. It's like a janky puzzle you're not supposed to really be able to solve. Oh how tantalizing!
Yeah I agree. I don't see why you can't just power up the side that needs the help, you know?
Todd Mckinley i think these deck were playtested and were balanced.
it's hard to build a balance game with your own deck building.
it will ended up with the advantage of side.
Todd Mckinley I fully customized all 4 decks with the new hour ov devastation God's for bolas and let me tell you it is tons of fun never the same duel and very well balanced
Exactly. The puzzle I'm trying to solve is how to make sure the gate watch don't get their asses handed to them by Bolas every time. It's fun tweaking these decks to try and give the planeswalker some semblance of a chance.
I just LOVE how you "assume" (in a way that you are right, though) we have all seen Game Knights. :D
Between my friends who I regularly play magic with we have two cubes, planechase anthology, all pre made commander decks from 2015 on, 15 old premade decks, a handful of the duel decks and all the planes walker decks. We agreed that we had to switch what we were doing from week to week to keep variety. This is going into the collection. I think that my friends and I are the typical market for this product 3 dudes and 1 dude-lite with just enough extra money to spend a month on products like this.
Been waiting for this, I think it's worth it as you get 4 decks for the price of 2, I think I might switch out one or 2 gate watch decks with other duel decks as they are well rounded decks that don't require too much knowledge to play with some of my casual friends
saw the command zone games and windmill slam and haven't seen the gatewatch win yet :/ i'd love to see a youtube video where the gatewatch wins. :D
also i appreciate your critical-ness of this review. ^^ initially thought it looked cool, but now think the only thing i'd really want from it (at least for now) is the life counter, which can be bought from people on ebay who dismantle the commander anthology sets.
"thats right, you heard me"
ohhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiii!
fav moment with TCC so far!
What is the music during 9.00 + . Ordered my box already with intent of making a commander archenemy
I bought this just for collection sake and may use it (or at least a few of the cards) in other decks. The price was reasonable for what you get and I really like the life counter.
This video was great because when I saw they were putting Amonkhet cards into it I wasn't sure if I was going to have to purchase/trade for them if they had the archenemy bicol bolas symbol. I collect x1 of each printing of zombies, so it gets hard when a lot of stuff gets reprinted and you can't be sure if it will have new set symbol or not.
thnks for the information, ima see about getting it
Great video but can I mention some of the cards do see a lot of play in other formats lightning bolt for example
I skimmed through all the scheme cards and couldn't find any schemes requiring Nicol Bolas vs. Gatewatch except for "add UBR to your mana pool" which could be tweaked to include the Archenemy's colors instead. Which schemes were you referring to?
@9:23 Do you think it was intentional or lazy to not have all the cards with the same expansion symbol? The cards from Amnkhet look funky mixed with the new Expansion symbol O.o
I'm going to try out the Scheme cards in my Cube (of course, the card that gives Grixis mana will be read as "Three different colors of mana in any combination), but with one twist to the normal draft. While each player gets 1 booster per draft round, the Archenemy gets two. I think that the Archenemy being able to first-pick a nice bomb twice makes it a bit more balanced.
As always, a very helpful video. ^^
How do you think the various Planeswalker decks they've been releasing compare to the power-level of the decks presented in this product? Might assist playability somewhat if you could swap out Gideon's deck for say, Ajani's Planeswalker deck.
Question: Can you double sleeve with KMC Perfect Fits with Ultra Pro Eclipse?
Could you use enchantments and sorceries instead of the scheme deck for more variation? Just a thought.
I don't know. I recently got into magic and bought a Gideon planeswalker deck. I've bought many booster packs hoping to beef it up a little becuase it is really underwhelming. I bought archenemy and the Gideon deck has cards I'd love to use to get where I need to be.
Is it legal to use the archenemy cards in my planeswalker deck?
so what additions should i give to the rules for playing with commander decks?
question professor. you said yourself the gate watch decks are basically planeswalker decks so do you think other actual planeswalker decks would work as a sub for the included decks?
great video, altought i dont really like to play with preconstruted decks, i takes half the fun for me. by the way, what happened to pauper? i am expecting a video with top 5 commons from amonkheth or maybe a deck review or something, maybe soon? please?
I'd love a local board game cafe to pick this up to have a few games at.
man then you'd get boys stealing bolts and bolas for quick cash.
so are going to get a vid on the core sets announcement or are you waiting for the In Response video to hash it out there?
Hey, could you do a deck tech on each of the amonkhet gods of commander? I am considering building one, but don't know which one I want.
great vid! Bravo!
Would a cube product by WoTC be a good MTG board game? I know many people are designing their own cube. Like commander, why not a cube product as well?
would the schemes pair well with a grixis commander as the archenemy ?
Could u use the 3 decks for other purposes or is it just based on archenemy
The music seems to be a touch too loud when the distorted guitar starts.
good review!
It is already availabile for about 30 bucks sometimes. for that price it is very nice to pick up, even if your local store wouldn´t be happy about that
has any one thought of making a bolas, chandra, Raytheon, and nissa commander decks to play along side these schemes?
Me and my buddy's played this yesterday at Friday night magic and had a ton of fun. It's pretty balanced and has some pretty good moments. Sure it can't compare to the normal magic formula but it's still a great purchase if you want a really fun team based magic experience. I would really recommend it if you're interested.
do you think you can use planeswalker duel deck can be use with this game?
This is one of the few times I have to disagree with you prof, my play group had a ton of fun playing this with commander. As long as the archenemy had at least red, black and blue colors in their deck it worked.
If every one has the same power of deck does this work better as 2v1 or 3v1?
We never did a 2v1 but the archenemy won like half the time.
I played as the archenemy with, Yidris, Breya and creature Bolas as my commander. Others in my group played things like progenitus and Jeleva. We collectively don't have that many multi color decks that went with it. So long as the archenemy had a deck that was on par with the others it was a fairly even match.
Mefous sure, magic can always be customized. I see it as an engine. Plus you can always strip cards from here, or just playtest it over time. I have at least 10 cards I wanted, and like this more than hour of devastation.
What about memnarchenemy?
I like your videos! But I have a question I am a new player and like heavy creature decks (Red, Green, and Blue) but I always get lose when I play against decks that wipe the field is there any good counter to that and go will with creature heavy deck?
You should be aiming to go under control decks. You need to try to present as close to lethal as possible before a control deck establishes control. Then it's all about sneaking dmg through for the win.
Well I was just looking to get into magic but just as a board game, so I think this one is for me. Professor, do you think a planeswalker deck could be added to this if I want one more player? or is doing that going to unbalance everything in favor of the group?
Sounds reasonable, would not go above 4v1 though. You could switch out the Gatewatch decks actually with any other Planeswalker deck you like, just keep 3 different colors on the board.
I'm wondering if it's worth it for the cards to be used in other decks.
This is actually pretty good if you're trying to play archenemy for a bit and then start a cube. A lot of these cards are great cube staples.
Prof have you ever played Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn? It's a great game and fits the 'card game as a board game' model. 8 balanced decks in the core that my girlfriend and I can enjoy at the kitchen table, and then I can build decks with cards from expansions to take on the local meta. Fantastic game that feels like a modernised Magic.
Looks fun, I'm getting one.
could be fun to upgrade all the decks including the archenemy cards might do that to have a really cool self-contained magic experience with friends
what if we take the starting planeswalkers(all four of them) and build a commander deck with them as commanders?(I know a planeswalker can't be a commander but it could be an exception here)... would it work like this?
Ananas 122 actually the Origins Flip Walkers and original Bolas creature could make that work and be legal
Hey Prof. Just wanted to say nice suit. Looking good.
Damn, I was hoping this would add to my EDH game nights.
Which of the older archenemy cards should I add to this to spice it up?
Your favorites; you're the archenemy.
Could you do a modern deck tech for some deaths shadow variant for modern. I feel like that would be interesting
I'd love to see a Grixis DS deck tech
the cover art goes hard.
Everything in this world parishes at my whim, even you Gatewatch!
So you can play this with just three people?
is the quality of the cards poor or the camera? For example the second Doom Blade.
What do you think about thislast article of jeefrey steefel ?
as always professor, so professional
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY ARCHENEMY, PLEASE SEE MY INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO, WHICH IS LINKED IN THE DESCRIPTION
I have to say all the decks are upgradeable I have done so to make all legal for modern and nicol bolas with the 3 new god cards is An amazing experience when you team up with friends to try and defeat the bolas and his 3 God's epic and very fun
Am i aloud to use one of those decks against other people
When does the commander anthology giveaway end
Given the tendency of foil cards to curve, especially those from supplemental products, I am perfectly fine with the Planeswalkers having new art but not being foil.
Odd that I have watched 3 games on CZcams and Bolas won them all but you say the balance is in favor of the Gatewatch. Hope thats true. If not I will probably make some minor tweaks to help the Gatewatch decks if needed.
I own this and have played close to a dozen games, and Bolas only lost once when he was stuck on 2 Mana. I've powered up the planeswalker decks, and he still dominates.
It's 2019 Planechase and Archenemy booster packs when?
We played this as intended: four players, using these decks, with no modifications. We were able to greatly increase replayability by letting each player Scry 1 before their draw step. You're exactly right about this being a self contained experience, but I think it has more playtime than you give it credit for, depending on the group.
We play at lunch, and we pull out this game about once every other week. As none of these players are heavy magic enthusiasts and don't have their own cards, these lower-powered, more theme-focused decks are perfect for them. No crazy strategies to understand about the decks, just fun that's easy to jump into. I can see how it could quickly get boring for a more enfranchised group of players, but it works great as a product for more casual players.
Are these cards legal in any format?