Nemesis

For other uses, see Nemesis (disambiguation).

Nemesis
Set Information
Set symbol
Themes and mechanics	Alternate casting costs, Calling creatures, Flowstone, Laccoliths, Mercenaries and Rebels, Seals, Spellshapers
Keywords/​ability words	Fading
Set size	143 cards (55 commons, 44 uncommons, 44 rares)
Expansion code	NEM
Development codename	Euripides

Nemesis is the second set in the Masques block. It is the 19^th Magic expansion and was released on February 14, 2000.

Set details

A card of note is Ascendant Evincar. It was the first card to represent the same legendary permanent as a previous card following a major change in the character's storyline. The card was not named "Crovax, Ascendant Evincar", in order to avoid confusion over whether the "legend rule" came into effect when the Evincar and Crovax The Cursed were both in play. This policy was later dropped with the printing of Ertai, the Corrupted in Planeshift.

It continued Mercadian Masques's themes of spellshapers, rebels and mercenaries, and cards with alternative casting costs. Nemesis is generally considered to be the most powerful set of the Masques block.

Critical reception and tournament impact

Several cards from the set have made marks on the tournament scene, including Blastoderm, Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero, Parallax Wave, Accumulated Knowledge, Daze, Submerge, Tangle Wire and the five Seals (for example, Seal of Fire).

Themes and mechanics

Nemesis introduced the only keyword mechanic of the Masques block, Fading. The only cards in the block with Fading appear in the Nemesis expansion. The keyword meant that cards with the ability only remained in play for a few turns, but were typically heavily discounted as a result. Many cards with fading also had activated abilities that traded the card's fade counters for various effects.

Creature types

No new creature types were introduced in this expansion.

The following creature types are used in this expansion but also appear in previous sets: Angel, Beast, Bird, Cleric, Elephant, Elf, Goblin, Golem, Hound, Hydra, Illusion, Insect, Knight, Mercenary, Merfolk, Rebel, Serpent, Ship (later changed to Human), Soldier, Spellshaper, Wall, Wurm.

Cycles

Nemesis features four cycles.

Cycle name	Description and notes	White card(s)	Blue card(s)	Black card(s)	Red card(s)	Green card(s)
Alternate casting cost instants	Each of these instants may be cast without paying its mana cost if an opponent controls a land associated with a certain enemy color and if you control a land associated with the color of the card.	Sivvi's Ruse	Submerge	Massacre	Mogg Salvage	Refreshing Rain
Recruiters	Each of these rare 2/2 Human Rebel or Mercenary creatures has the activated ability ", : Search your library for a [creature subtype] permanent card and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.", where the creature type is one that is iconic of that color.		Seahunter		Moggcatcher	Skyshroud Poacher
Seals	Each of these common enchantments have an activated ability involving its sacrifice for the effect of a well-known instant.	Seal of Cleansing	Seal of Removal	Seal of Doom	Seal of Fire	Seal of Strength
Spellshapers (common)	Each of these common 1/1 creatures has an one-mana activated Spellshaper ability (i.e., ", , Discard a card: [Effect.]").	Netter en-Dal	Trickster Mage	Plague Witch	Bola Warrior	Harvest Mage

Vertical cycles

Cycle name	Description and notes	Common card(s)	Uncommon card(s)	Rare card(s)
Laccoliths	Each of these red Beasts has an ability that is triggered when it is blocked allowing it to deal damage equal to its power to a targeted creature instead of dealing combat damage that turn.	Laccolith Whelp	Laccolith Warrior	Laccolith Titan
Callers	Each of these green spells allows its controller to search his or her library for up to three cards with the same name as it or a creature he or she controls. This mechanic was heralded by Howling Wolf from Mercadian Masques.	Skyshroud Sentinel	Nesting Wurm	Pack Hunt

Pairs

Matched pairs

A mural of Stronghold Biologist and Stronghold Machinist.

Nemesis has three matched pairs.

• Lightbringer and Lawbringer are both common 2/2 Kor Rebels with a mana cost of and the ability ", Sacrifice this creature: Exile target black (Lightbringer) / red (Lawbringer) creature.".
• Stronghold Biologist and Stronghold Machinist are both 1/1 Human Spellshapers with a mana cost of and the ability ", , Discard a card: Counter target creature (Stronghold Biologist) / noncreature (Stronghold Machinist) spell.". The arts of these cards are two parts of a single piece and their flavor texts allude to each other.
• Rackling and Viseling are both 2/2 artifact creatures with a mana cost of and a triggered ability that deals damage to an opponent if an that opponent has 3 cards or fewer in his or her hand or that opponent has 4 cards or more in his or her hand, respectively. These cards pay homage to The Rack and Black Vise and their flavor texts allude to each other.

Mirrored pairs

Nemesis has no mirrored pairs.

Reprinted cards

Functional reprints

Nemesis has one functional reprint:

• Spineless Thug is a functional reprint of Craven Knight from Portal and Young Wei Recruits from Portal Three Kingdoms, save for creature type.

Preconstructed decks

Theme decks

The pre-constructed theme decks are: Template:Theme decks

External links

• Nemesis product information page — Wizards of the Coast
• Nemesis Prerelease FAQ — Wizards of the Coast