This is absolutely disgusting in any 1v1 format.
Your creature has PROTECTION from YOUR OPPONENT.
It's like hexproof, indestructible, and
unblockable all on one creature. And it has
three power, when usually blue creatures this
hard to deal with are 1/1's, to give their
victims time to find an answer. This will make
quick work of whomever it "names" when it hits
the board.
In multiplayer, it has less utility. It can't
reliably be dealt with by one player, sure, but
there are other opponents who see nothing but a
3/1 creature. The opponent you named, meanwhile,
now has legitimate reason to go after you
instead of them. On the other hand, blue also
has cards liek Deadeye Navigator and plenty of
bounce, so if you needed to, you could always
bounce and replay the Nemesis naming another
player...
Commander- 4.5
Casual- 4.75
Multiplayer- 4
David Fanany
Player since
1995
True-Name Nemesis
Fun fact that has absolutely nothing to do with
Magic: this card's name can be seen as a clear
reference to the ending twist of the famous
fantasy novel A Wizard of Earthsea. I'm honestly
a little surprised that Magic hasn't gotten very
much flavor mileage over the years out of the
idea that names have power, an idea that has
existed in folklore for millennia.
In gameplay, True-Name Nemesis really tests your
skills at politics. If you're good at managing
other players in multiplayer games, you should
be trying to arrange a situation where it deals
a ton of damage to the biggest threat at the
table and nobody is tempted to get rid of it on
their behalf. It's important to remember that
its protection does nothing if the chosen player
leaves the game for any reason, so you should
have a way to bounce and replay it. Or else save
it until there's only one opponent left and you
can have an inevitable threat, but that's not
fun.
Welcome back readers while this week has had a
slightly different scoring system I would be
remiss to not mention the stir this card is
causing in eternal formats. True Name Nemesis
being a Merfolk has legacy players salivating,
the fact it’s an almost impossible to interact
with only increases its power level and monetary
value making it one of the most sought after
Commander 2013 cards. The tribal implications
for this card make it a great fit in those style
decks and also in highly aggressive decks
running blue making it a powerful choice. Being
able to give your creature protection from your
friends is also pretty awesome. Overall this
card has definite possibilities in casual and
multiplayer and certain commander decks, it also
is one of the few cards to have a profound
competitive impact.
Commander: 4.0
Casual: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4.5
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno
Today's card of the day is True-Name Nemesis
which is is three mana 3/1 Blue merfolk rogue
that as it enters the battlefield gains
protection from a chosen player. This is
oddly more powerful in non-Commander formats
such as Casual or legacy as temporary alliances
in Multiplayer, most Commander games, and most
of all two-headed giant weaken the impact of
protection from one opponent. The preference for
global or non-targeted effects is a drawback in
those settings as well, but in Casual and Legacy
this is very powerful and has few responses.
Another weakness in Commander is the two Blue in
the casting cost out of three mana as the
multicolor format makes casting it a little less
convenient than a primarily Blue build.
Overall this is a highly valued card currently
and will likely see play at least occasionally
for years to come, but outside of one on one
Commander is less likely to see play in the
format it was printed for.
Commander: 3.0
Casual: 4.5
Multiplayer: 3.0
Skid Rambo
True-Name Nemesis is a Merfolk Rogue that MUST
be countered or you are probably going to lose.
My only beef with this creature is that it is
not a white creature. How often are blue given
protection from anything? Now, back to the
current creature that is quickly becoming the
most popular Commander card on the market.
True-Name Nemesis is way overpowered in a casual
formats and ridiculously dominant in a commander
duel. If True-Named Nemesis has a weak spot, it
is in the multiplayer format. In a multiplayer
game the True-Name Nemesis is just another 3/1
that can agitate one of the other players. You
can be that guy that gets a playset of True-Name
Nemesis and beats your friends to death at the
kitchen table!
