Bolg of the North
AI draftAI-generated draft analysis — not yet human-reviewed. Treat with healthy skepticism.Limited summary
Five-mana 5/5 signpost: sacrifice a creature to deal its power to another creature, and excess damage becomes Amass counters. Removal, a big body, and Army growth in one card — the BR curve-topper.
Roles
Archetypes
Gameplay notes
Throwing a big creature at a small one banks the difference as Army counters — overkill is value, not waste. The sacrifice is optional.
Key synergies
Clap! Snap! establishes or enlarges Bolg's Goblin Army, while Bolg adds more counters through excess damage; the creature half then gives that counter-laden Army menace.
Each Saga chapter can blink Bolg, repeatedly retriggering its enters ability and converting additional expendable creatures into removal and potential Goblin amass counters.
Bolg can sacrifice the Pair on entry, triggering its death ability to amass Goblins 4 while also dealing 1 damage with Bolg. This converts an expendable three-drop into removal, a 4-power Army upgrade, and Bolg's 5/5 body.
Sacrificing the Rampager to Bolg deals damage equal to its power, then its death trigger amasses Goblins for that same power; any excess Bolg damage can add still more counters to the resulting Army.
Paying 2 life raises the Prowler to 4 power before Bolg sacrifices it, turning a cheap creature into 4 damage and making excess-damage amass much easier to generate.
When Bolg's damage kills an opposing creature, Head of the Hunt exiles it and creates a 2/2 Wolf, adding another payoff to Bolg's sacrifice-based removal.
Gone Fishing can blink Bolg alongside another creature; both return together, allowing Bolg to sacrifice that companion immediately for another damage-and-amass trigger.
The Saga supplies a Goblin Army that Bolg can sacrifice, turning its accumulated power into removal and potentially replacing it with another Army through excess damage.
Bolg's excess-damage amass puts counters that trigger the Goblin's 2-damage payoff — removal that burns face.
Bolg's sacrifice removal now replaces the thrown creature with a new one off the top — value stacked on removal.
Gathering of Darkness supplies a 3-power Army that Bolg can sacrifice to deal 3 damage and potentially amass again from excess damage, while also returning another creature to provide future sacrifice material.
Gundabad Opportunist is an excellent creature to sacrifice to Bolg after its enters ability has resolved. Its 4 power lets Bolg deal 4 damage, often killing a blocker and potentially producing additional Goblin Army counters through excess damage.
Bolg sacrifices a creature and can then kill an opposing creature in a separate event, allowing Great Fierce Bee to scry for each death event while Bolg converts them into removal and amass value.
The Blade adds 2 power to a creature before Bolg sacrifices it, increasing both Bolg's removal range and potential excess damage while leaving the Equipment available for reuse.
When Bolg sacrifices the Sentries, their death trigger can give Bolg's intended victim -1/-1 before his damage resolves. That effectively increases the removal's reach and lowers lethal toughness, making excess-damage amass easier to achieve.
Casting Smaug's Fury on the creature Bolg will sacrifice increases its power by 3 for the turn, letting Bolg convert the temporary pump into substantially more damage and possible amass counters.
Equipping Bolg's intended sacrifice with the Spear adds 2 power, so Bolg deals 2 additional damage and is more likely to generate excess-damage amass counters; the Equipment remains after the creature is sacrificed.
Bolg can sacrifice Gollum for 2 damage, and Gollum can later be returned from the graveyard to reuse its enters ability. However, recovering and recasting it costs four mana and requires sacrificing another artifact or creature, so it is not freely reusable ammunition.