Nemesis (Magic: The Gathering)

Battle Royale Starter 2000
Nemesis
Released February 14, 2000
Size 143 cards (55 commons, 44 uncommons, 44 rares)
Keywords Fading
Mechanics Spellshapers, Rebels & Mercenaries
Designers Mike Elliot (lead), Bill Rose, Mark Rosewater
Developers Mike Elliot (lead), Charlie Catena, Paul Peterson, Teeuwyn Woodruff
Dev. code Euripides
Exp. code NMS
Second set in the Masques block
Mercadian Masques Nemesis Prophecy

Nemesis is the second set in the Mercadian Masques block of sets in the Magic: The Gathering game, along with the expansions Mercadian Masques and Prophecy. Its expansion symbol is an axe. The set consists of 143 cards and was released on February 14, 2000. Nemesis is set on the plane of Rath.[1]

Contents

Storyline

The Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria is nearing; the Dark Lord's plans are almost complete. Only the Planeswalker Urza stands in his way. At the same time, Yawgmoth's Inner Circle decides on the election of the evincar to replace Volrath. 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.[2] About every 100th card is a randomly inserted premium foil card.[3]

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, 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 repertoire. The Flowstone creatures, originally introduced in Stronghold had another showing. Other mechanics include:

Notable cards

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

References

  1. ^ Forsythe, Aaron (17 November 2010). "Aaron’s Random Card Comment of the Day #38, 11/17/11". Wizards of the Coast. http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Discussion.aspx?multiverseid=19850. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  2. ^ "Nemesis Checklist". Wizards of the Coast. http://www.wizards.com/magic/generic/cardlists/nm_checklist.txt. Retrieved 4 February 2010. 
  3. ^ Nemesis Booster Pack Wrapper. Wizards of the Coast. 2000. "Premium card odds approx. 1 : 100" 
  4. ^ Buehler, Randy (June 2000). "Pro Tour–New York Back To The Armory". The Sideboard 5 (2): 4–7. 
  5. ^ "Hard Data". The Sideboard 5 (2): 18. June 2000. 
  6. ^ "Top 8 Decks". 2000-04-15. http://www.wizards.com/sideboard/article.asp?x=PTNY9900/top8decks. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  7. ^ "2000 Pro Tour Chicago Event Coverage". Wizards of the Coast. 3 December 2000. http://www.wizards.com/sideboard/event.asp?event=PTCHI00. Retrieved 4 February 2010. 

External links