Nemesis - a Complete Review (white)

• white
• blue
• black
• red
• green
• artifact
• land
• conclusion

==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
White has never had much trouble dealing with attackers (Smite, Righteousness, Humble) and this isn't the best in white removal. The downside of Angelic Favor is that it doesn't get rid of any big attackers, like Covetous Dragon or Palinchron. The upside is that this card could change the environment a bit. There aren't a lot of things a Negator hates more than getting a 4/4 blocker in front of him. And this can be done on the Negator's first attack, when your creature still has summoning sickness.

2. Avenger en-Dal, 1W, Creature - Spellshaper 1/1, Rare 2W, Tap , Discard a card from your hand: Remove target attacking creature from the game. Its controller gains life equal to its toughness.

==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
As a control player at heart (maybe that's why my beatdown decks always end up losing), I love any card that removes my opponent's cards from the game. Especially reusable cards. Anything that is removed from the game ceases to be a problem completely. No returning that Weatherseed Treefolk to your hand when the Avenger gets rid of it. No regenerating your Albino Troll. No Unearthing your Skirge. I think the Avenger is cheap enough that it'll see play in spite of its fragileness.

3. Blinding Angel, 3WW, Creature - Angel 2/4, Rare Flying Whenever Blinding Angel deals combat damage to a player, that player skips his or her next combat phase.

==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
It could be a soft lock against certain decks (mainly green), but at 5 mana it can only start attacking on turn 6. Against weenie green, you usually won't get a turn 6 and more controllish green will have a solution for it. White has much better options when it comes to a lockdown (Mother of Runes, Wall of Glare, Worship, Pariah). Still, it's an original card, which gives it extra fun points.

4. Chieftain en-Dal, 1WW, Creature - Knight 2/2, Uncommon Whenever Chieftain en-Dal attacks, attacking creatures gain first strike until end of turn.

==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
Knighthood on legs, sort of. Too bad it only works when attacking, because first strike is better on defense. Even a few first strikers can together hold off anything the opponent can throw at them, but on the attack, any blocker with more toughness than their power kills them and survives. Also, white weenie already has 8 2/1 fliers in the 3cc slot, so the competition is probably too much for the Chieftain to make an impact.

5. Defender en-Vec, 3W, Creature - Cleric 2/4, Common Fading 4 Remove a fade counter from Defender en-Vec: Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn.

==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
Fading means, if I remember right that the permanent comes into play with X fade counters on it. Every upkeep one is removed, unless none are left, in which case the permanent gets buried. That means this card can only live 5 turns at maximum under normal circumstances and only 4 of those turns can it attack. That's not much for 4 mana. If there is any kind of stall in the game, this dies uselessly. Using the ability just speeds that up. Fading can be interesting, but not on a defensive permanent like this.

6. Defiant Falcon, 1W, Creature - Rebel Bird 1/1, Common Flying 4, Tap : Search your library for a Rebel card with converted mana cost 3 or less and put that card into play. Then shuffle your library.

==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 3
A rebel bird? Ok, this is stretching things a bit, how is a Falcon going to recruit rebels? Other than that, it seems like an ok creature, especially because it can fetch the 2/1 fliers for you and 4 mana is just about reachable in a weenie deck.

7. Defiant Vanguard, 2W, Creature - Rebel 2/2, Uncommon When Defiant Vanguard blocks, at end of combat, destroy it and all creatures it blocked this turn. 5, Tap : Search your library for a Rebel card with converted mana cost 4 or less and put that card into play. Then shuffle your library.

==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 4
Finally a defensive rebel. This is a creature you don't usually want to attack with, although against a creatureless opponent it's still a 2/2. Instead, you can use this to discourage your opponent from attacking and if he doesn't, you can fetch another rebel. The mere existence of this card will also give people something to think about if a rebel tutor is untapped with enough mana available to fetch a Defiant Vanguard. If you attack, you'll likely loose your best attacker at no card disadvantage to your opponent.

8. Fanatical Devotion, 2W, Enchantment, Common Sacrifice a creature: Regenerate target creature.

==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
It has potential against cards like Wildfire, Earthquake and Steamblast, but Absolute Law does it much better. In the end, I think this is mostly a tool to get on top in creature battles, which makes it a fun card. In serious play, you'll usually prefer another creature, because all your creatures are good and you don't want to sacrifice one to save another.

9. Lashknife, 1W, Enchant Creature, Common If you control a plains, you may tap an untapped creature you control without paying its mana cost. Enchanted creature has first strike.

==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
This card has no redeeming features at all. Enchant creatures are already pretty weak, but if they only give a semi-useful ability like First Strike, they're not likely to see play. Somehow, I suspect that the spoiler is missing something. Maybe it's a cantrip or can be played as an instant. Both would make the card much better, but not above mediocre.

10. Lawbringer, 2W, Creature - Rebel 2/2, Common Tap , Sacrifice Lawbringer: Remove target red creature from the game.

==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
Not a bad hoser, especially as you can tutor for it, but the gliders are better, because they fly. This might see play as a sideboard card if some red creature starts to dominate the environment, but in most cases the red glider will work just as well.

11. Lightbringer, 2W, Creature - Rebel 2/2, Common Tap , Sacrifice Lightbringer: Remove target black creature from the game.

==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
Ditto.

12. Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero, 1WW, Creature - Rebel Legend 1/3, Rare X, Tap : Search your library for a Rebel card with converted mana cost X or less and put that card into play. Then shuffle your library. 3: Put target Rebel card from your graveyard on the bottom of your library.

==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
Note that you don't loose one mana when tutoring with Lin Sivvi, which is pretty nice already. The variable tutor strength is nice, but what really makes this guy for me is his reuse of dead rebels ability. In serious play, a weenie deck usually won't have much use for that, because you're bound to have more copies in your library, but in casual play that's different.

13. Netter en-Dal, W, Creature - Spellshaper 1/1, Common W, Tap , Discard a card from your hand: Target creature can't attack this turn.

==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
It's not that this is a bad card, it's just that Dawnstrider is so much better, even if it is a different color. White already has plenty of good 1cc creatures as well.

14. Noble Stand, 4W, Enchantment, Uncommon Whenever a creature you control blocks, you gain 2 life.

==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 3
Maybe fun in a wall deck, but most of the time, you'd rather have Noble Purpose for the same casting cost (all your creatures have a Spirit Link) and that didn't turn out to be a very strong card either, although it was quite fun.

15. Off Balance, W, Instant, Common Target creature can't attack or block this turn.

==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 1
Maybe it'll stall your opponent long enough to get through a killing blow, but I doubt it.

16. Oracle's Attendants, 3W, Creature - Soldier 1/5, Rare Tap : All damage that would be dealt to target creature this turn by a source of your choice is dealt to Oracle's Attendants instead.

==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
Damage prevention almost never shows its face in serious play, because it's too passive.

17. Parallax Wave, 2WW, Enchantment, Rare Fading 5 Remove a fade counter from Parallax Wave: Remove target creature from the game. When Parallax Wave leaves play, return to play under their owners' control all cards removed from the game with Parallax Wave.

==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
At first sight, this seems like bad creature removal or one card of a two-card combo for a one-sided Wrath of God (cast Parallax Wave, remove 5 of your creatures, cast Wrath of God, your creatures come back next turn). It has a few interesting possibilities though. For one, you can combo it somewhat with Opalescense (turns all global enchantments into creatures): remove 4 of your opponent's creatures and Parallax Wave from the game. All creatures will come back and Parallax Wave will have 5 counters again, ready to do it again. With a bit of juggling during your upkeep, you should be able to keep 4 of your opponent's creatures removed from game with just 2 cards. Not great, but fun anyway. It gets better when you remove your own creatures from the game, say Radiant's Dragoons, Bone Shredders, Ravenous Rats or Avalanche Riders. With Opalescense, you can use it as often as you like, for a one-sided Armageddon, a Mind Twist or just a few thousand life. Even without, it's quite a bit of cardadvantage.

18. Seal of Cleansing, 1W, Enchantment, Common Sacrifice Seal of Cleansing: Destroy target artifact or enchantment.

==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
The seals are generally quite good, I think only the black seal is a bit iffy. This one lacks the extra ability of Aura of Silence, but it's also cheaper and splashable, which makes up for it. There are probably three good reasons to use this over disenchant: 1) If you're playing a deck based around enchantments, like enchantress or Replenish decks. 2) If you're playing a deck that wants to keep its hand empty, like a deck with Cursed Scroll or Ensnaring Bridge or Null Brooch. 3) If you can't afford to keep mana open for a Disenchant later in the game but have a gap in your mana curve at 2 or 3. In other cases Disenchant is better because of the surprise factor, but this will still see quite a bit of play, I think. Even if only as a 5th Disenchant.

19. Silkenfist Fighter, Creature - Cleric 1/3, Common Whenever Silkenfist Fighter becomes blocked, untap it.

==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
The casting cost is missing, but I'm guessing it's 1W or WW, because if it costs 3 mana, it's strictly inferior to Standing Troops (2W, 1/4, doesn't tap to attack). Not a bad creature, especially because if it doesn't get to do its damage, it'll at least be able to block next turn.

20. Silkenfist Order, 3WW, Creature - Cleric 3/5, Uncommon Whenever Silkenfist Order becomes blocked, untap it.

==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
Too expensive to see play. Plus white has better creatures.

21. Sivvi's Ruse, 2WW, Instant, Uncommon If an opponent controls a mountain and you control a plains, you may play Sivvi's Ruse without paying its mana cost. Prevent all damage that would be dealt this turn to creatures you control.

==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 3
This could see play in sideboards against Wildfire and Earthquake. Absolute Law is probably still a better choice though.

22. Sivvi's Valor, 2W, Instant, Rare If you control a plains, you may tap an untapped creature you control instead of paying the mana cost of Sivvi's Valor. All damage that would be dealt to target creature this turn is dealt to you instead.

==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 1
In spite of the Alternative Casting Cost (ACC), it's still just damage prevention. It's also remarkably similar to Orim's Cure.

23. Spiritual Asylum, 2WW, Enchantment, Rare Creatures and lands you control can't be the target of spells or abilities. When a creature you control attacks, sacrifice Spiritual Asylum.

==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
It's a bit too expensive as a an anti-landdestruction card and defensive white decks usually don't pack a lot of creatures, because Wrath of God will just kill them. Still, this looks like a great card in casual play. Finally you can play with all those fragile creatures and at least have some hope of them surviving until they've lost their summoning sickness and you can start using them. For a mono-white deck, you could try a deck with Avenger en-Dal for the removal, Jasmine Seer for insane lifegain, Devout Witness for a reusable Disenchant and Wall of Glare for Defense.

24. Topple, 2W, Sorcery, Common Remove target creature with the greatest power from the game. (If two or more creatures are tied for greatest power, target only one of them.)

==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
The drawback is significant, but not crippling. Most of the time, it'll be the creature with the highest power you want to get rid of anyway, but sometimes you'll be stuck not being able to get rid of some irritating 1/1. The fact that it's a sorcery doesn't help either. White has better options in serious play, like Arrest, but Topple at least removes from game. Bye bye, Masticore.

25. Voice of Truth, 3W, Creature - Angel 2/2, Uncommon Flying, protection from white.

==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
The voices are finally complete! Or are they? Maybe Prophecy will have one with protection from artifacts. Either way, this is strictly a fun card for angel theme decks.