Nemesis is the second set in the Mercadian Masques block of sets in the Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...

 game, along with the expansions Mercadian Masques and Prophecy

Prophecy (Magic: The Gathering)

Prophecy is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set. It was the third set of the Masques block, along with the expansion Mercadian Masques and Nemesis. The Prophecy expansion consists of 143 cards. Its expansion symbol are three crystals...

. Its expansion symbol is an axe

Axe

The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...

. The set consists of 143 cards and was released on February 14, 2000. Nemesis is set on the plane

Plane (Magic: The Gathering)

In Magic: The Gathering, planes are parallel universes in the Multiverse Planes are often confused with planets by Magic players, because most planes are named after their primary planets...

 of Rath.

Storyline

The Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria

Invasion (Magic: The Gathering)

Invasion is the 21st expert level set, and the first set in the Invasion block of cards of Magic: The Gathering. The rest of the block is Planeshift and Apocalypse. It contains 350 cards.-Set History:...

 is nearing; the Dark Lord's plans are almost complete. Only the Planeswalker

Planeswalker

In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...

 Urza

Urza

Urza Planeswalker is a fictional character from the universe of Magic: The Gathering, best known for his millennia-long struggle with Yawgmoth and the plane of Phyrexia...

 stands in his way. At the same time, Yawgmoth

Yawgmoth

Yawgmoth, known as the "Father of Machines" and called the Ineffable by his underlings, is a fictional being from Magic, The Gathering, and is the unabated god of the plane of Phyrexia, a universe of untold corruption and mechanical monstrosity. He wields nearly unlimited magical might and...

's Inner Circle decides on the election of the evincar to replace Volrath

Volrath

Volrath is a character from the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, featured in the sets Tempest, Stronghold, Exodus, Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, and Prophecy...

. The Phyrexian emissary Belbe has to choose between Greven Il-Vec, Ertai, Crovax, and the newly-returned Volrath.

Set history

Nemesis prerelease events were held on February 5, 2000. At these events the prerelease card, a foil Rathi Assassin, was handed out. The set was officially released on February 14, 2000. Nemesis had a fair share of cards appear in well-placing tournament decks. Many of the cards with Fading were quite powerful; the cards Parallax Wave, Parallax Tide, Blastoderm, Saproling Burst, and Tangle Wire all appeared in decks in various formats.

Rarity breakdown

The 143 Nemesis cards come in three rarities, common, uncommon, and rare. 55 cards are common, 44 are uncommon, and 44 are rare. Nemesis booster packs include 15 cards, one rare, three uncommon, and eleven common. About every 100th card is a randomly inserted premium foil card.

Reprints

Of the 143 in Nemesis none is a reprint. 22 cards from Nemesis have been reprinted afterwards, 16 in Core Sets. Seal of Fire and Seal of Doom were reprinted in Dissension, Defiant Vanguard as a timeshifted card in Time Spiral

Time Spiral

Time Spiral is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set, released October 6, 2006. The set is laden with references to previous Magic: the Gathering sets and is the first to take place in Dominaria since the May 2003 set Scourge...

, and the remaining three cards as a part of special limited edition duel decks.

Mechanics

In Nemesis, new Rebels, Mercenaries, and Spellshapers were added to the Mercadian Masques

Mercadian Masques

Mercadian Masques is the nineteenth Magic: The Gathering expansion and was released in October 1999 as the first set in the Masques block. It is notable for being the first set not protected by Wizards of the Coast's "Reprint Policy"...

repertoire. The Flowstone creatures, originally introduced in Stronghold

Stronghold (Magic: The Gathering)

Stronghold was the 21st Magic: The Gathering set and thirteenth expert level set, and the second set in the Rath Block, released in March 1998. The block includes Tempest and Exodus. Stronghold contains 143 cards...

had another showing. Other mechanics include:

• Fading — Normal permanents enter the battlefield and stay there until removed, cards with Fading only have a limited lifespan. Fading always appears on Magic cards as "Fading X". A card with Fading X stays on the battlefield for X full turns after the turn it entered the battlefield, and is afterwards put into the graveyard.
• Seals — This is a cycle (one card in each color) of enchantment cards that have no immediate effect on play when cast. They can be sacrificed for an effect, though.
• Free spells — Nemesis further explores the idea of spells that can cast for an alternate cost, not involving mana. This was first introduced in Alliances
  Alliances (Magic: The Gathering)
  Alliances is the fourteenth Magic: The Gathering set and eighth expansion set, released on 10 June 1996. It was released 8 months after Homelands, which is the longest gap between expansion sets in the history of the game. It is now the middle set in the Ice Age block since the July 2006 release of...
  
  and was also a mechanic used in Mercadian Masques
  Mercadian Masques
  Mercadian Masques is the nineteenth Magic: The Gathering expansion and was released in October 1999 as the first set in the Masques block. It is notable for being the first set not protected by Wizards of the Coast's "Reprint Policy"...
  
  .
• Laccolith creatures vertical cycle — This is a kind of beast that can deal their combat damage immediately upon becoming blocked, meaning that these creatures can deal damage even before creatures with First Strike. The Laccolith only appear in red.

Notable cards

Several cards from Nemesis had a major impact on tournament play. Most of these were cards with the Fading ability.

• — Lin-Sivvi had a huge impact on tournament Magic. At the 2000 Pro Tour New York a Rebel deck, relying heavily on the strength of the card, was by most considered to be the dominant deck, and was indeed played by almost half the competitors. Eventually six of the eight final decks were Rebel decks, most of them indeed playing the maximum allowed four defiant heroes. Lin Sivvi was banned from block-constructed play after that Pro Tour
  Pro Tour (Magic: The Gathering)
  The Pro Tour is the highest form of competitive play for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game. It consists of a series of payout tournaments held throughout the world, each requiring an invitation to participate. Every PT awards a total of $230,000 in cash prizes, with $40,000 going to...
  
  , but in the following season in the finals of the Standard Pro Tour held in Chicago both decks were Rebel decks with Lin Sivvi.
• — Played for its alternate casting cost as a free counterspell in the same league as . Other "free counters", and , exist within the same block.
• — This is a green 5/5 creature for 4 mana. Although Blastoderm has only a limited lifespan due to his Fading 3 ability, the creature's high power with a comparably low mana cost made it one of the strongest creatures in Magic at the time. When an otherwise identical white Blastoderm, , was printed seven years later in Planar Chaos
  Planar Chaos
  Planar Chaos is an expansion set, codenamed "Crackle," from the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. The set was released on February 2, 2007. The pre-release events took place on January 20 and 21, 2007. It is the second set in the Time Spiral block...
  
  the creature failed to have as much impact on tournament play as Blastoderm had had in its day, though.

External links

• Wizard's official page for Nemesis