Dark Intimations

Dark Intimations


  • Color: Multicolored
  • Type: Sorcery
  • Rarity: Rare
  • Set:

Buy from Card Kingdom - $ 0.25

Buy Core Set 2021 Box - $34.99

Buy Jumpstart Booster Box - $124.99
Previous Spoiler: Battle at the Bridge
Next Spoiler: Disallow


New MTG Spoilers in the same colors
Raging Regisaur

Raging Regisaur

Lawmages Binding

Lawmages Binding

Ironroot Warlord

Ironroot Warlord

  • Graymalkin86

    New Bolas Walker incoming in Amonkhet block! Sure, everyone expected it, but this just confirms it. Gonna be tough to top the original in terms of mana cost and raw power.

    • It will probably be a cheaper, less powerful version in all likelihood (which is fine).

    • Alex

      I just want Nicol Bolas to be an old man sitting in his chair in his library again…

      • Hedronal

        It’s Bolas, he has a whole plane to use as his library (Bolas’s Meditation Realm).

        • Alex

          I don’t think you got the reference… In his original art, Bolas was rather cartoony and looked like an old man in a recliner, more inclined to shaking his cane at dem keeds on the lawn than being a central antagonist. That was back in the good ol days of the 90’s when Wizards didn’t take themselves too seriously.

          • Hedronal

            Also back when Bolas was stuck on just the one plane, and hadn’t had pre-mending planeswalker powers.
            Things taking themselves more seriously is generally the price of them lasting long enough in media.

    • Shagoth

      I don’t think it’s too hard. His abilities are all ridiculously good but to a new player they won’t make them go “WOW,” (aside from the ultimate, obviously) so I think they can boost the cost by a couple, give him four abilities, make three of them abilities that if they were on a card they’d cost five to seven, and then make his ultimate dumb even by Planeswalker standards.
      Or they could go the boring route and make him cheaper, less explosive, but playable and potentially powerful outside of EDH. :/

    • Agarwaen

      I expect at least 6 mana cost in the new Nicol Bolas card, to be played the turn after this mini cruel ultimatum.

    • Zombie

      Even if he’s still ridiculously overcosted I’ll accept it if they finally make him stronger than Karn.

      I mean, Karn’s a Planeswalker simply because he has Venser’s spark, yet he’s still better than friggin’ BOLAS.

      • Hedronal

        Karn was a planeswalker before Venser gave him his spark, that was to de-phyrexianize Karn. Karn originally used his planeswalker power (acquired via Weatherlight-era schenanigans) to create the plane Argentum, which due to Phyrexian oil corrupting its guardian Memnarch, became Mirrodin.

        • David Fitzsimmons

          You both are right. Karn was a walker before Venser doing that thing. But he was NOT a walker when Venser did it.

          Karn sacrificed his spark during the Mending in order to seal a rift. His spark did not just vanish instantly, it drained away from him thus allowing him to use the last of his waning power to planeswalk back to Mirrodin. Without his spark the phyrexian oil within him was finally able to corrupt him.

          Venser and the other walkers attempted to save Karn by having Melira purrify Karn of the phyrexian oil since she was completely immune and was able to harness her immunity and extend it to others like some kind of magical vaccine beam. She succeeded in cleansin Karn but told the others it was still too late, she could never reverse the process on a fully corrupted heart. So Venser, who was dying from essentially magical cancer decided to use his talent in teleportation and banishment to transport his heart into karn while (presumably) banishing Karn’s in the same moment.

          Venser’s heart either gave Karn a new/Venser’s spark or it restored his own spark due to all the mana a heart of a planeswalker presumably has, similar to how Ob Nixilus used all the mana of Zendikar to restore himself. But I don’t think it really matters the specifics of what exactly was the case since at the end of the day he still would not have become a walker again without Venser’s sacrifice.

          • Hedronal

            This just makes it even more apparent how much stuff Karn has witnessed, been a part of, or had done to him. Being an immortal on the Weatherlight helped, but still.

          • David Fitzsimmons

            people tend to overlook how awesome Karn could actually be. He is one of the few remaining legacies (legacy in general, not the weapon) of Urza still around, not to mention he contains all the memories of Urza thanks to the mightstone and weakstone within him, as well as the knowledge from the thran tome.

            With all this stuff in Karn, he could really give Bolas a run for his money if his pacifistic stance didn’t keep him from going all out.

          • Hedronal

            If he saw what Bolas does on some places, he very well might. That’s about how it went after he got a spark again against Phyrexia. Now he just needs to team up with Ugin or something, Bolas’s biggest rival.

      • David Fitzsimmons

        Not sure why having Venser’s spark should factor into why he should or shouldnt be better then Bolas. Bolas’s spark is the exact same as every one else’s thanks to the mending. What makes Bolas powerful is his age and experience. Karn certainly is not as long lived as Bolas, but he does have a lot of the power bestowed upon him thanks to Urza which I presume is why he was able to travel in time in order to seal the space time rift before it grew to the size it was during the events of the Mending. Karn always showed hints of immense power, but his preference towards pacifism tends to make him seem not as potent as Bolas.

  • Daniel Behan

    Nice mini Cruel Ultimatum

  • Derek Mullins

    Well, well, well… Hello, Grixis.

  • Dr. Burn Crow

    HE RETURNS!

  • Avery Standley

    WHAT?! WTF?

  • Chromasticore

    Hot diggity daffodil! Bolas is back! But will he get a shiny new card?

    • BusinessmanGinger

      Oh of course, not in this set but he will definitely be back in Amonkhet :)

  • Tolle

    Interesting. Do you think they’d print this without a bolas in the set? How many planeswalkers are we getting?

    • Kevan Kramer

      Bolas is in the next set. There is only two PWs this set.

  • MTG fan

    Story Spotlight #5

    • Derek Mullins

      Yeah… I’m really curious what’s happening, since it’s the end.

  • Derek Niles

    I’m sorry what?

  • thoptertoken

    Bolas in Aether Revolt??????

    • Transgendent

      Nah. Since it’s story card 5/5, it’s probably just setting up Bolas for the next set.

  • Nanya

    Welcome back, Nicol Bolas.

  • Zombie

    This is going straight into my Breya deck, might even give me an excuse to play Nicol Bolas.

  • zipec

    For those who consider Cruel Ultimatum too fat. :-)

  • Shagoth

    Cruel Funtimatum
    This is seriously one of the most fun cards I’ve seen from a design and flavor perspective. I want to make a janky pile of garbage just to appropriately utilize it and make it almost a Nicol Bolas deck including Nicol Bolas’s most iconic spells associated with him.

  • Brian Schmidt

    I read the first paragraph and get to the fifth word in the second paragraph and just stopped reading.

    • joe

      That’s just because you’re stupid

      • Brian Schmidt

        Or because my mind was blown to think that Bolas gets an additional loyalty counter

  • NothingSpecial

    They damn well better have made a *new* nicol bolas

    I want to intentionally force a 3-color draft deck once in my life :P

    • Hedronal

      He rules Amonkhet, the next plane, so it’s been safe to assume a new Bolas card is coming for awhile.

  • That Guy

    Honestly I feel like this should be 4 mana rather than 5.
    This card Kind of gives me the impression that Bolas will have an ability that will kill himself on the first use unless he has this card and I don’t like that. I hope I’m wrong.

    • Deadly Berry

      You mean like some sort of Sarkhan The Mad? Doubtful, considering how flavor they’re going lately, he’ll have for sure very well thought abilities.

      • That Guy

        More like Liliana of the dark realms. And I hope he does.

  • Deadly Berry

    “You may exile Dark Intimations from your graveyard. If you do, your next Bolas Planeswalker spell you cast this turn will have its cost reduced by 1”- That’d have been nice; having a ~6 loyalty PW enter with one more counter is almost unnoticeable, even more discreet if you consider the fact that said PW will have +2 or +3 abilities. I guess it’s cool enough to barely fit in.

    • Tezzybros

      The current bolas doesn’t care for one measly loyalty counter. The new one may be like tezzeret agent form, being only one counter off from ultimating and killing players. That I am afraid of. Also for copies of this card is for loyalty. Quite a lot if you ask me to ultimate off on the turn you casted nicol (unreleased new form, not old version)

  • Vizzerdrix

    Ahh it’s a little cruel ultimatum how cute

  • pbtenchi

    I can’t make out the art : /

    • Hedronal

      Someone standing between two machines made to mimic Bolas’s horns, I think. They’re either producing steam, or in a dusty environment.

  • Happy The Cat

    so… new bolas confirmed?

    • Hedronal

      Still technically one tiny step short of confirmed, but I think it’s been safe to assume for awhile now.

      • Happy The Cat

        I mean he has to show up at some point right? hopefully he will still have his way too expensive but completly crush stature like his old cards have had. if they treat him like Emrakul and make him just a cheap high-powered threat with none of the awe of the last card I’ll be a bit disappointed.

        • Hedronal

          With this card, one of Bolas in Amonkhet block as close as it can be to confirmed without being confirmed. I too hope he maintains his powerful gravitas. Perhaps with some ability that happens to deal with vehicles too, not being able to affect them would give him weakness to looter scooter, and thus undermine him.

    • Joe

      He’s basically been confirmed since the next Block is a plane completely under his control AND his main servant returned in this block

  • Jackson Means

    Ahhh yeah, so mecha-Bolas visits zendikar, how perfect!

  • kmk888

    Card’s a little clunky but at a certain point it doesn’t matter because of the amount of card advantage packed onto the card. EXCELLENT way to follow a board wipe such as Yahenni’s Expertise.

    The Bolas control deck already looking dope even without him. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be good you still get to roleplay as the oldest, evilest villain in the multiverse so you’ve got that going for you, which is nice

    • Reyos Blackwood

      I know this is going into my grixis EDH, it’s not clunky at all in that format.

  • llamalord44

    Portal from Kaladesh to Amonkhet?

  • Sani K

    I wish the next Bolas costs 4UUBR, and third one 4UBRR. Last one 2UUBBRR

    • Hedronal

      Or hybrid mana could get involved.

  • Nick Art

    I’m pretty sure every Magic story fan is feeling the way JoJo fans felt when Dio returned for Part 3.

  • hmmm. machine parts that relate to nicol bolas…is tezzeret building a giant nicol bolas robot. call it Nickle Bolas.

  • Cthulhooo

    Mean ultimatum :D

  • Lizaretto

    it is a metal Bolas.. Look closely at the card art! its a figure standing infront of him and to each of the figures sides are “robotic” Bolas horns.

    • Lizaretto

      What if it turned out to be a meld card! That would be so cool!

      • Daniel Kaine Allen

        As cheesy as it sounds it would make a bit of sense, like in the exodia sense. But I really doubt wizards would ever go to that kind of extreme. I doubt we will see anything like meld for a very long time. If ever again. Just think of all of the other really cool card abilities and mechanics we haven’t seen in ages. I doubt a meld planeswalker would happen. Kinda like how I would love to see vehicles be a mechanic that travels outside of kaladesh. But it won’t. Even though a lot of vehicles are similar to things outside of kaladesh, but still won’t be considered a vehicle.