Price$9.81 – $20.60
Buy on TCGplayerBolas's Citadel
Legendary Artifact
LegalGame Changer Salt 1.72Rank #262
You may look at the top card of your library any time.
You may play lands and cast spells from the top of your library. If you cast a spell this way, pay life equal to its mana value rather than pay its mana cost.
, Sacrifice ten nonland permanents: Each opponent loses 10 life.
Why is this card good?
Bolas's Citadel turns your life total into a second resource, letting you dump your hand-on-top into the battlefield for life instead of mana. In Commander, where you start at 40, that's a massive engine — you can chain multiple spells in a single turn, especially cheap permanents and zero-cost cards.
It shines in storm, combo, and aristocrats decks that run low curves and life manipulation. It's outright degenerate alongside lifegain, Lurrus-style recursion, Sensei's Divining Top, or any way to control your top card (scry, surveil, tutors). Black commanders like K'rrik, Yawgmoth, or any go-wide aristocrats build love it as a card-advantage and combo enabler. The sacrifice ability is a genuine wincon when you're flooding the board with tokens.
Avoid it in high-curve decks (paying 7+ life per spell adds up fast against aggressive tables) and where you have no top-of-library control — you'll brick on lands and expensive bombs. It's a Game Changer for a reason; respect your life total.
Related cards
Aetherflux Reservoir
Pairs as a life-payment payoff and alternate win condition with top-deck casting.
Sensei's Divining Top
Manipulates the top card to optimize what you cast off the Citadel.
Vampiric Tutor
Sets up the top of library for a guaranteed free cast.
Sylvan Library
Top-of-library card advantage engine that synergizes with paying life.
Future Sight
Also lets you play/cast spells from the top of your library.
Ad Nauseam
Black life-for-cards engine that fuels life-payment strategies.
Mind's Desire
Cast-from-top synergy alongside spell-slinging value engines.
Necropotence
Trades life for card advantage, complementing life-as-resource strategy.