AI DraftFeb 26, 2026
Bolas's Citadel + Sensei's Divining Top + Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Overview
Sensei's Divining Top can rearrange and/or draw a card and then put itself on top of your library; Bolas's Citadel lets you play lands and cast spells from the top of your library for different payment (casting a spell this way makes you pay life equal to its mana value rather than its mana cost); Sheoldred, the Apocalypse triggers whenever a player draws a card (you gain 2 life when you draw) so Top's draw will trigger Sheoldred. The top-card visibility rule affects what you can look at while a spell is being cast .
Step 1
Arrange the top of your library using Sensei's Divining Top's 
ability if desired; that ability simply looks and reorders the top three cards and doesn't draw anything.
ability if desired; that ability simply looks and reorders the top three cards and doesn't draw anything.Step 2
Activate Sensei's Divining Top's 
ability; when it resolves you put the top card of your library into your hand (you draw a card) and then put Sensei's Divining Top on top of your library .
ability; when it resolves you put the top card of your library into your hand (you draw a card) and then put Sensei's Divining Top on top of your library .Step 3
When you draw the card as part of Top's resolving, Sheoldred's triggered ability triggers ("Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life") and will be put on the stack after the resolution and state-based actions check .
resolving, Sheoldred's triggered ability triggers ("Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life") and will be put on the stack after the resolution and state-based actions check .Step 4
After Top's has resolved and Top is on top of your library, Bolas's Citadel allows you to play lands and cast spells from the top of your library; if you choose to cast the top card using Bolas's Citadel you follow the casting steps in 601.2 and pay life equal to its mana value instead of paying its mana cost .
has resolved and Top is on top of your library, Bolas's Citadel allows you to play lands and cast spells from the top of your library; if you choose to cast the top card using Bolas's Citadel you follow the casting steps in 601.2 and pay life equal to its mana value instead of paying its mana cost .Step 5
Because Citadel replaces the mana cost with a life payment instead of the mana cost, you cannot choose to cast that spell for any alternative mana costs that would replace its mana cost (see Ruling [2019-05-03]).
Step 6
If you cast Sensei's Divining Top itself from the top using Citadel, the Top card is moved from your library to the stack when you announce casting it ; once it resolves it becomes a permanent again and can be activated on subsequent turns (or immediately if you have ways to untap it).
Step 7
Remember that if the top card of your library changes while you're in the middle of casting a spell, the new top card can't be looked at until the spell becomes cast ; that affects information you can obtain while casting from the top.
Resolution
Normal interaction: You may use Top's ability to arrange the top of your library, and you may activate Top's to draw a card and then put Top on top of your library; the draw from Top causes Sheoldred's "Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life" trigger to trigger and eventually resolve, giving you 2 life. After Top is on top, Bolas's Citadel lets you cast the card that's now on top (including the Top card itself) and, if you cast it via the Citadel, you pay life equal to that card's mana value instead of paying its mana cost (that life payment is part of the cost to cast the spell) (also note you can't choose alternate ways of paying a spell's mana cost when using Citadel's "rather than pay its mana cost" option) [Ruling 2019-05-03].
ability to arrange the top of your library, and you may activate Top's to draw a card and then put Top on top of your library; the draw from Top causes Sheoldred's "Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life" trigger to trigger and eventually resolve, giving you 2 life. After Top is on top, Bolas's Citadel lets you cast the card that's now on top (including the Top card itself) and, if you cast it via the Citadel, you pay life equal to that card's mana value instead of paying its mana cost (that life payment is part of the cost to cast the spell) (also note you can't choose alternate ways of paying a spell's mana cost when using Citadel's "rather than pay its mana cost" option) [Ruling 2019-05-03].Feedback