5 Underrated Cards From Nemesis

Nemesis is often cited as one of the worst sets of all time and it is certainly an underwhelming one. Throughout all of Magic history, anytime a series of super busted sets come out – like Urza’s Block (Urza’s Saga, Urza’s Destiny, Urza’s Legacy) – the game’s designers tend to overcorrect and give us a super powered down set. Masques Block (Mercadian Masques, Prophecy, Nemesis) is what immediately followed after Urza’s Block, and on the whole these sets are not very strong, and Nemesis might just be the weakest of those three sets.

For most commander players, there is really only one super relevant card in the entire set – Skyshroud Claim – which is a great ramp card for any deck playing Green, especially because it can grab any land with the “Forest” type, not just basics.

However, to a certain extent, I think the set’s reputation goes a little bit too far, as I think there are several cards in the set that deserve a little more attention from Commander players.

5. UNDERRATED COMMANDER: LIN SIVVI, DEFIANT HERO

While Masques Block was weak on the whole, Lin Sivvi was one of the cards in the set that really shined in 60-card formats back in the day. She even got banned in Masques Block Constructed – and for good reason – her ability to just straight up tutor rebels directly to the battlefield made her an insane value engine. If you want to know more about her.

While she’s not nearly as strong outside of her relatively weak block, I do think she makes for an interesting Commander for the same reasons. Having a creature in your Command Zone that can tutor stuff up is a big game in a singleton format, and Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero just keeps getting better the more Rebels that get printed.

These days, there are 53 rebels with a mono-white identity that Lin-Sivvi can fetch you at a moment’s notice, and she’s gotten some really great ones in the recent past and some of them are must-kill threats. For example, Jet, Rebel Leader gives you a creature that is very capable of helping you get even more Rebels on the board and Sally Pride can give you a bunch of tokens and gives you a mass buff effect when she attacks. 

In addition to her ability to just grab rebels that are absolute powerhouses, there are also some really sweet utility cards she can search up. For example, you can get the Kindred Enchantment Bound in Silence, or grab Reveille Squad at instant speed to deter attackers.

There are also 8 changelings that Lin-Sivvi can grab, and the most impressive of these is Mirror Entity, who can turn your board of Rebels into lethal quite easily.

4. MOGGCATCHER, SKYSHROUD POACHER and SEAHUNTER

Okay, I cheated a little bit here by including three cards, but it’s pretty clear why I did that – these three make up a cycle of creatures who can tutor creatures with really prominent creature types directly to the board. You’ll notice this is similar to Lin-Sivvi’s ability – this set had a big focus on these “recruit” type effects.

All three of these are undoubtedly fragile, and that’s what holds them back the most from seeing play, but their activated abilities are incredibly strong. You don’t even have a mana restriction on what you can grab, so using one of them likely means you can tutor up any creature in your deck for only three mana.

If you’re playing goblins, elves, or merfolk, you should more seriously consider using these three in your deck.

3. MURDEROUS BETRAYAL

Murderous Betrayal gives you a repeatable way to remove creatures and while the cost of half your life rounded up is pretty steep, there are plenty of Commanders who can turn that downside into upside or at least mitigate against the downside. When you can do that, and this just feels like a card that lets you kill almost anything for two mana at a time, it’s really powerful.

For example, Combining the Betrayal with Willowdusk or Rowan, Scion of War is pretty nasty. Willowdusk can turn that lost life into a mountain of +1/+1 counters, while Rowan can give you a massive discount on black or red spells for the rest of the turn.

2. AETHER BARRIER

Everyone knows about Rhystic Study. It’s one of the most well-known cards around because it’s so good in Commander. Well, Aether Barrier is like Rhystic Study’s much less successful older brother. Nemesis is the set right before Prophecy, where Rhystic Study was originally printed.

While its effect isn’t quite as frustrating since it only triggers off of creature spells, is symmetrical, and doesn’t make the opponent make quite as challenging of a choice. But it can be a pretty nasty card for any Commander deck that doesn’t run a whole lot of creatures.

While it can work in just about any deck that focuses on spell types other than creatures, perhaps the best home for the barrier is Zur the Enchanter. Zur decks tend to just be filled with Enchantments to tutor up, and Aether Barrier works great as something to tutor with Zur’s attack trigger and it will almost always only trigger in your favor.

1. SEAL OF DOOM

At first glance, Seal of Doom just seems like a really inefficient removal spell. You have to cast it at sorcery speed after all, and it can’t even kill black creatures. Typically, that wouldn’t be worth three mana. However, because of the Seal’s typing it’s way easier for Black decks to recur than an instant or sorcery removal spell would be.

For example, you can use Muldrotha or The Master of the Keys to bring it back every single turn, and that gives you a huge advantage in just about any game.

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Nemesis has some pretty sweet cards in it if you give it a chance. What Nemesis cards do you think are being overlooked by Commander players? Let me know over on Bluesky or X.