The most infamous of the seven Elder Dragons, Nicol Bolas was once one of the most feared Planeswalkers in Magic: The Gathering. However, since War of the Spark, Bolas has lost his spark and been imprisoned by his brother Ugin in the Meditation Realm. Neither can escape the realm, with Ugin watching over Bolas until his death. Stripped of all his power and even his names, he can never be summoned again, and Nicol Bolas is no more. For now, that is.

Related: The Strongest Planeswalkers in Magic: The Gathering History

For a long time, Nicol Bolas was considered the one primary antagonist of Magic: The Gathering by many of its players. Since his defeat in War of the Spark, however, it is unlikely a new card of Bolas will be printed for quite some time, if ever again. They're still a terror in various formats, though.

6 Nicol Bolas

Nicol Bolas

It is no surprise that the first Nicol Bolas card to be printed is the weakest of the bunch. Even as the lowest of the Bolas cards, it still packs a punch. Coming in at a mana cost of two generic, two blue, two black, and two red, Nicol Bolas is the only to not be a planeswalker in some form. A 7/7 creature with flying, Bolas will certainly do some damage if you can get him out there, especially with his added ability that forces your opponent to discard their entire hand if you land a hit.

However, the biggest downside to this card is its upkeep tax of one blue, one black, and one red. This makes playing the card an eternal mana sink. You will already have the mana, but will you really want to pay the tax every turn just to keep him around?

5 Nicol Bolas, The Deceiver

Nicole Bolas, the Deceiver

The Deceiver is easily the worst of the Bolas planeswalker cards. With a mana cost of five generic, one blue, one black, and one red, with a starting loyalty of five, The Deceiver is still an easy target for your opponent thanks to its abilities.

Related: Worst Planeswalker Cards In Magic: The Gathering History

Of those, his minus abilities pack a punch, considering you can use his -3 ability as soon as he is summoned. This allows you to destroy target creature and draw a card, allowing you to rid of any threat on the board while gaining card advantage. His ultimate ability does seven damage to a target opponent while you draw seven cards, a great way to either seal the deal on a game or shift the tides greatly in your favor.

On its own The Deceiver is a strong planeswalker, but as a Nicol Bolas card, his abilities just don't compare.

4 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker

Nicol Bolas Planeswalker

The first planeswalker card printed for Nicol Bolas certainly does have a fitting name.

Costing four generic, one blue, two black, and one red, and with a starting loyalty of five, this card hits the board and makes an immediate impact. With its +3 ability, you can destroy target noncreature permanent. This means you can target another planeswalker, artifact, enchantment, or if you woke up and chose violence you can even target your opponent's land. Land destruction is strong and highly demoralizing, and this ability alone could win the game for you with steady use.

Bolas' -2 ability allows you to gain control of a target creature. You're thinking it's just Act of Treason, but pay attention to the fact that this ability is not until end of turn, making it more like a repeatable Agent of Treachery.

Every single ability on this Bolas card is enough to change the tides of a game, but coupled together makes for one superbly powerful card.

3 Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh

Nicol Bolas, God Pharaoh

This is when things get a little out of hand for Bolas planeswalker cards. God-Pharaoh is a force to be reckoned with. Costing four generic, one blue, one black, and one red, he's also the cheapest of the Bolas cards to cast (so far). He starts with a staggering 7 loyalty, which makes him essentially immune to burn spells taking him out right away. Then there's the fact that he has four loyalty abilities, yes that's right four!

His +2 ability has your opponent exile cards from their library until they exile a nonland card, which you can then cast without paying its mana cost. This gives you a free spell to cast from your opponent's deck and that is simply never a bad thing, all while pumping up his loyalty.

His monstrous ultimate ability exiles all nonland permanents your opponents control, which would effectively end the game. Every single ability on this card makes an impact, and turns this card into a huge threat on the battlefield.

2 Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God

Nicol Bolas, Dragon God

Dragon-God comes in as the lowest costing Nicol Bolas planeswalker, only costing one blue, three black, and one red. Thanks to his passive ability which gives him access to all loyalty abilities of all planeswalkers in play, he's one of the most diverse. This can even lead to a couple infinite combos when paired with Oath of Teferi and Jace, Cunning Castaway or Aminatou, the Fateshifter.

Related: The Best Infinite Creature Token Combos In Magic The Gathering

While it may take a bit to build up to, thanks to Dragon-God only coming in at 4 loyalty, his -8 ability can be an immediate victory if your opponents don't control a legendary creature or planeswalker. A swift and decisive victory is never a bad thing in Magic, and this card hands it to you on a silver platter.

Coming in War of the Spark, Dragon-God might just be the last Nicol Bolas card we ever see, but he certainly went out with a bang.

1 Nicol Bolas, The Ravager//Nicol Bolas, The Arisen

Nicol Bolas The Ravager and Nicol Bolas The Arisen

This is it, the strongest Nicol Bolas and with good reason. Starting out by being cast as a creature for one generic, one blue, one black, and one red to cast, Bolas can then be transformed into a planeswalker by paying four generic, one blue, one black, one red to transform.

The Arisen starts with a loyalty of seven when transformed, and again has four abilities. His minus abilities are a great source of removal as well as returning some lost pieces of your own to the board. You could even steal those strong pieces from your opponents graveyard you just put there with Bolas himself as well.

Like most strong planeswalker cards, his ultimate ability will all but end the game. If your opponent doesn't have an answer for Bolas pretty soon after he is played, then the game is going to slip from their fingers relatively quickly.

This transforming card is without a doubt the strongest Nicol Bolas card to be printed. It's the best of both worlds in a strong and reliable creature and a devastatingly strong planeswalker with the ability to completely shift the game.

Next: Magic The Gathering: The Planeswalkers With The Most Cards