This card is neat, but it's likely going to be
on the back burner for a while because of
Korlash. He's a Nightmare without the flying
ability, but he can fetch more Swamps and
regenerates. It's a fun card. Lots of people
have a soft spot for Nightmare, but for now,
it's going to be relegated to your trade stock
most likely.
The classic. But is it nostalgia that keeps this
coming back year after year, or power? Well, it
depends on how many Swamps you have. In the
current amazing technicolor metagame, most
people don't give monocolored decks a second
thought and nonbasic lands are the fashion of
the day, which severely hinders Nightmare's
potential. However, cards like Magus of the
Coffers, Temporal Extortion, and others could be
used to put Mono-Black Control back in the
blacklight. Trouble is, that deck now has
Tombstalker.
So how big exactly does Nightmare have to get to
be worth six mana? I'd say a 4/4 would be the
cutoff point, given how few flyers there are
that can tangle with a 4/4 in combat and kill it
without dying. And the Ravnica duals mean even a
two-color or three-colro deck might get four
Swamps out, so Nightmare might be a decent
play... if only Tombstalker weren't around to
overshadow it.
Constructed- 3
Casual- 4
Limited- 4
David Fanany
Player since
1995
Nightmare
Nightmare's been around for a very, very long
time, but it hasn't ever really made a huge
impact in constructed formats. Part of the
problem is that Wizards of the Coast keeps
printing expansions with creatures that are
demonstrably more powerful (specifically, have
more abilities). I can understand it being too
slow for formats with Onslaught or Alpha dual
lands, or where the likes of Kokusho are heavily
played, but other than that it's decent.
Oh, except in limited. You'll usually be playing
two colors, and you probably don't want to pay
six mana for a 2/2 or 3/3 flier with no other
abilities. If you're in heavy (and I mean HEAVY)
black, you could give it a shot.
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 2/5
The Missing
Linc
-Balding
for just over 5 years
-Playing MTG for just over 10
Nightmare
For 7 mana, you better get a win card in
constructed. This is not a win card. However, in
a mono-black, you get a big bad flyer. This card
demonstrates the earlier simplicity of magic.
Back in the days this card had flavor. Nowadays,
the flavor is less than fantastic.
Constructed: 2
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 4
Necro
nomikron
MTG Rules Advisor
Nightmare:
This is a bad card for constructed. 6 mana is
too much. You should look at Korlash if you want
a similar effect.
Casual players, however, may like this card.
It's powerful, just too slow. It's slightly
better here, for the fun potental and slightly
slower games (depends on your crowd, really. If
your group plays degenerate stuff, leave this in
your trade binder).
Limited draft: Only playable if you're strong
into black. Sealed deck players should only use
this if there's really nothing left to put in.
You're probably playing 2 colors, and you can't
splash him, you probably will only put it down
as a 2/2 or 3/3. Still, it's a flyer. Sealed
deck players will have the most trouble with
him, due to the fact that they usually splash a
3rd color, weakening the manabase even more.
Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
PsychoAnime
#1
Magic Noob in Canada since 2002
If you're
running pure Swamps or the new Uborg, this is
6/6 flying for 6 mana with the potential to
grow, which is pretty efficient. It's not dying
from red burn and it's immune to most black
removal so it's pretty much down to white to
stick a Paficism-type thing on it.
Still, 6 mana is a lot to pay when you already
have Korlash, who does the same thing for 4
mana. Korlash has regeneration instead of
flying, but a plethora of removal should clear
the way.
In casual, this thing is pretty irresistable.
It's flying, it's big and it's a horse. Running
pure Swamps is also much more common here.
In limited, this thing is a beast. Evasion and
powerful?! Sign me up!
