Nissa, Vastwood Seer (aka Nissa, Sage Animist) is going to be a Top 10 Magic: The Gathering card in Standard.

What Mike has been thinking about all day…

He has a Hornet Nest in play. His opponent, feeling clever, dashes in a Goblin Heelcutter… The Hornet Nest will not be able to block.

But wait!

Mike casts Collected Company, revealing Nissa, Vastwood Seer and Liliana, Heretical Healer.

He goes and gets a Forest with Nissa, then blocks the Goblin Heelcutter (triggering Liliana, who then flips and makes a 2/2 token).

… And all these cards are good!

The number of amazing flips to Collected Company in Magic Origins is staggering. Nissa, Vastwood Seer isn’t the only Planeswalker you can flip with Collected Company… You can actually flip them all!

Patrick notes that “Mike has always had a fondness and appreciation for Borderland Ranger” … But it turns out that Mike really had always had a fondness and appreciation for Civic Wayfinder.

Civic Wayfinder is a card Mike learned to love in Ravnica Block; and later adopted in place of the less-consistent Knight of the White Orchid in Reveillark decks.

“Nissa is the worst ever Civic Wayfinder… But the best ever everything else.”
-Mike

“Civic Wayfinder has the power of suck.

“It’s like SATYR Wayfinder… No one wants to kill it so it gets in for seven.”
-Patrick

In addition to fetching only basic Forests (instead of any kind of basic land), Nissa has the additional drawback of being a Legend.

BUT!

The upside of Nissa is enormous. Patrick pegs the value of her flip-side (Nissa, Vastwood Seer) at five mana; and points out that flipping Nissa takes zero incremental mana.

Ultimately:

• Nissa is great on turn 2 (she is likely to be good friends with Elvish Mystic)
• Great (or at least good) on turn 3
• … But if you draw Nissa on turn 10, instead of sucking you win the game
• Nissa, Vastwood Seer is essentially what you want in a Magic: The Gathering card. It’s good early and it’s great late.

With Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills, or Evolving Wilds in play, Nissa has the ability to protect herself. If the opponent attempts to somehow kill her — either in response to searching for a basic Forest or putting her Planeswalker-flip ability on the stack — you can break the fetchland in response, putting another Nissa trigger on the stack.

It would be perfectly reasonable to pay five mana for this card.

While the focus of this podcast is Nissa, Vastwood Seer (and her opposite number) Michael and Patrick discuss numerous other cards from Magic Origins, plus make a special announcement! Check back early next week to find out more.

“Why Nissa, Vastwood Seer Will be a Top 10 Card”

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