Nemesis, Part Four

Gary Wise

The following is a preliminary look at the Red cards in Nemesis for the purpose of limited play. They are listed alphabetically.

Ancient Hydra - A Powerhouse, a well timed Hydra will kill multiple creatures and deal damage in increments of 5. Generally speaking, the Hydra's counters will end up being used to kill three creatures and attack once. Capable of killing every non-rare creature in the environment with its fading counters save Deadly Insect, Blastoderm, Thermal Glider and Oraxid, it trades effectively with the Green fatties. 9.5/10

Arc Mage - The red uncommons in this set are just a little strong. Originally, R2 + 2/2 = Grey Ogre, but now, as a small bonus, this guy makes every card in your deck better than Shock, doing 2 to any creature or player, split any way you like. 9.5/10

Bola Warrior - Marginally playable, the Warrior's ability suits aggressive decks well, forcing defensive ones to hold back more than they'd like. 4/10

Downhill Charge - An interesting finisher, the charge gets better with each regenerator or flyer in one's deck. That said, there are better ways to finish an opponent off, so unless 'jank' decks make a comeback, this card won't see that much play 4.5/10

Flame Rift - Again, this card will be a lot better if 'jank' makes a return, which seems to be a decent possibility. Regardless, this will be sideboardable against control decks. 4.5/10

Flowstone Crusher - This guy is so big. Granted, for five mana, you get what you pay for. 8/10

Flowstone Overseer - Phyrexian Plaguelord reincarnated, in a deck with 10 or more mountains, this guy may be better. Able to boost your attackers or 'flow' opposing creatures out of existence, he seer also beats down for four a turn. The best card in the environment for a mono red deck. 10/10

Flowstone Slide - Forced March reincarnated, the slide is a mass kill that can be modulated to the caster's liking. A very strong first pick, the only problems I see here are a high casting cost and the fact that you may have to pass one of the strong red uncommons when taking it. 9.5/10

Flowstone Strike - A very solid card that can kill Bouncers, 'Takers and Kris Mages at instant speed, the Strike can also give your evasion creature a small boost when necessary. 6/10

Flowstone Surge - Generally unplayable, weakening your defense and making your one-toughness creatures unplayable. 2/10

Flowstone Wall - A very solid blocker, this'll hold off opposing offences until your fliers can get through for the kill, with the toughness of six being almost as effective on defense as the threat of a 4/3 killing their rebels or a 3/4 killing their red fatties. 6/10

Lacolith Grunt - A deceptively strong ability, the Lacoliths are all very similar to Alley Grifters or Chambered Nautilus, if only in the fact they won't e blocked unless absolutely necessary. The Grunt is only 2/2 for 3, but it will almost take something with it if it dies in combat. 6.5/10

Lacolith Rig - Only playable in times of desperation, while the ability is a good one for a creature to have, its very seldom that it will be worth a card. 3.5/10

Lacolith Titan - Not a lot of ways to stop this beast, when it hits the table, the game is likely yours. While seven mana is a lot, it seems likely that all you have to do to win if hold off your opponent until it hits play, assuming they've used up all of their Black kill spells. 9.5/10

Lacolith Warrior - probably the best red beatdown creature in the environment. That isn't to say it's better than Shock Troops, but it really dos compare favorably to Lightning Hounds, Gerrard's Irregulars and Wild Jhovall. 8/10

Lacolith Whelp - Generally too small to be effective, it could be decent in a RG deck with a number of creature boosters. 4.5/10

Mana Cache - Doesn't seem to be too applicable to limited doctrines. 1/10

Mogg Alarm - This might be playable if it was an instant, but as it isn't, you'd need a couple of Kyren Negotiations or Collective Unconscious' to make this a decent card. 4/10

Mogg Salvage - A good sideboard card. 4/10

Mogg Toady - Pretty simple: if you have a lot of creatures in an aggressive deck, it's playable, otherwise it isn't. 4/10

Moggcatcher - If you have Squee and an Arms Dealer or two then maybe...3/10

Rupture - A Very strong card, the problem is that it's difficult to get big card advantage when you automatically lose 2 cards in the deal. That said, it is a mass kill, and one that can finish an opponent off with direct damage, so no complaining, though it would e better as an instant. 8.5/10

Seal of Fire - Awesome card. At one mana, you can play it first turn when you have nothing else to do with our mana, and let it sit, lurking, threatening, until it finds it's optimal use. Keep an eye on the number of cards in hand when this is in play, it could be indicative of how much it hurts their deck. 8.5/10

Shrieking Mogg - You do 1, then they do 12...1/10

Stronghold Gambit - Hmmm...for two cards you get a small creature... a good way to get Shrieking Goblin into play, now if only it were an instant... 5/10