The initial mana cost and starting loyalty on
this seem a little underwhelming, but in play
this can be a surprising boon, even by
Planeswalker standards. Nissa has two +1
abilities, one of which refunds nearly all the
mana you spent on her (and maybe more if you're
using cards like Overgrowth or Rites of
Flourishing) and one that gives you a 4/4
trampler out of one of your lands. Usually
effects that turn your lands into creatures are
dubious because they open up the option for your
opponent to kill your lands, but since Nissa
comes down turn five, by then you should be able
to spare a land. And a 4/4 trampler is sturdy
enough that the resources your opponent spent to
kill it (a removal spell, or a 4-power creature)
should be worth paying a land for. More
importantly, if you have a land untapped, you
can animate it and use it as a blocker to
protect Nissa and keep her loyalty building up--
that Ultimate is really something special. It
gives you a horde of 4/4 tramplers AND a massive
boost in mana development, meaning you can
either swing for the win or hardcast all your
best stuff. And even if your opponent has the
Day of Judgment as an answer, your deck is now
completely land-thinned while his isn't, so
you'll draw nothing but gas to recover.
The number ten card of the year is Nissa,
Worldwaker which is a five mana Green
planeswalker with three loyalty. The first +1
makes a target land you control into a 4/4 with
Trample that remains a land which is a very
solid threat and in a low mana curve build there
is little risk to using it. The second +1 untaps
up to four Forests, which can include those
turned into creatures, which allows attacks and
mana usage or a pseudo-Vigilance. The -7 allows
you to search your library for any number of
basic land cards and put them into play with the
same 4/4 with Trample effect from the +1. The
ultimate is devastating with Red/Green to
provide the option of Haste for all creatures
you control. Overall this is a strong
planeswalker with three useful effects that are
almost always worth playing which makes this a
likely sight across a variety of formats.
In Limited this is a clear first pick in
Booster and foundation for a deck in Sealed as
the first +1 and -7 are dominating abilities in
the format. The second +1 can support the other
two effects, but 4/4 Trample creatures will
often win with no additional support needed.
There's something that feels good about
planeswalkers who have more general abilities.
Granted, some of them become ridiculous like
Jace the Mind Sculptor, but it sort of makes
more sense lore-wise. They're supposed to be
beings of the multiverse, beyond issues like
politics and such. At least, that was what I
always understood from the situation.
This new version of Nissa shows her as a being
of the multiverse, in contrast to her previous
tribal incarnation. Tribal Nissa was good, but
only in like one deck, but as the Worldwaker,
she is assured a place in Magic's future
history. You can be sure that Forests will be in
every large Magic set; you can be assured that
there will be large green things to cast in
every Magic set, period. And she's even still
pretty good in Elf decks.
