Spoiler Highlight: Screaming Nemesis in Standard, Pioneer, and Modern

Screaming Nemesis costs 2 and is a 3/3 creature with haste. Any time it takes damage, it deals that much damage to any other target. If you deal damage to one of your opponents through this card, they won't be able to gain life for the rest of the game.

A 3/3 creature with haste and an extra ability is already something, depending on the ability, but Screaming Nemesis' ability, in particular, also stands out quite a bit. And, despite simple to understand, this effect is simply absurd in several situations as well.

Red creatures are usually better in combat, and create pressure by forcing your opponent to answer them before they can win you the game. This creature, however, wants to take damage, and like so we won't care if it dies. Furthermore, its controller might just decide to kill it with a Lightning Bolt, for instance, just to use its effect.

The greatest concern behind this card is that its effect is permanent, and, to stop it from triggering, you need to remove it with cards that don't deal damage, which are often black (destruction and sacrifice effects) or white (exile). This makes this effect pretty difficult to interact with, even more considering your opponent might just kill their creature with burn as an answer to removal.

This being said, I believe this card has a lot of potential for Standard, as well as Pioneer and Modern, even.

Standard will get a rotation soon, when Bloomburrow releases, and should change significantly, but we can still imagine how interesting Screaming Nemesis will be in this format.

Mono-Red Aggro and its variants are always popular in this format, and usually struggle quite heavily with lifegain. Screaming Nemesis might just take red decks to another level in the future.

Standard has abilities that prevent lifegain, but they're nothing like this new card.

Call In a Professional is really similar to another card I'll mention when I discuss Modern. Nonetheless, its cost is quite restrictive, and its effect only lasts until the end of the turn, even though it also goes around damage prevention. Giant Cindermaw is also similar to Screaming Nemesis, but its effect only lasts as long as it is standing on your battlefield.

It's difficult to say exactly how much this new card will see play, as it will only come out in September. However, it isn't difficult to see the potential it has for the current format, as well as the future.

Modern also has a few cards that prevent lifegain and see their fair share of play in aggressive red decks.

Skullcrack is a staple of Modern burn decks, and is incredibly efficient against decks that gain life. Its effect is great, but it only lasts until the end of the turn. Roiling Vortex, on the other side, is an enchantment, but its effect, which also prevents lifegain, costs to activate.

As for Stigma Lasher, it is a bit cheaper, but its effect only prevents lifegain permanently if it deals combat damage, unlike Nemesis's ability, which doesn't trigger through combat damage. However, Stigma Lasher dies to any removal without causing any further issues to your opponent, and Nemesis will force them to use effects that don't deal damage to it. If your opponent can't find the removal they need, they'll be forced to choose between taking combat damage every turn because of this card, or blocking it and no longer gaining life for the rest of the game.

As a creature, Screaming Nemesis also puts even more pressure on your opponent with its body, as well as its effect. The fact it almost always deals some damage on the turn you summon it is just another bonus. All of this means this card is significantly more interesting for a format like Modern, in which cards like Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury have been quite successful: the new Elder Giant card has even been critical in control decks to stabilize against aggro decks.

Furthermore, Modern is full of removals that deal with Screaming Nemesis incredibly well through destruction or exile. Still, I believe this card has more pros than cons, particularly if we consider the decks it might play in, and how much it might help them.

In Pioneer, things are even more intriguing. This format has two red cards in particular that deal with lifegain.

We've discussed Vortex before. As for Ferocidon, it's the same as Stigma Lasher in Modern: a creature that might simply be killed. Even though it is efficient and does its job well, I believe Ferocidon is easily replaced by Screaming Nemesis in many situations.

Out of the most relevant decks in this format that use lifegain as a way to stabilize and control the matches, we can highlight Rakdos Vampires and Azorius Control. Azorius, in particular, uses this mechanic in a very specific and subtle way. Rakdos uses many sources of lifegain in its main deck, and losing it against aggro decks might be a big problem.

However, without a question, the biggest advantage Nemesis has in Pioneer is the fact that it deals with the Amalia Combo for good. This combo centers around Amalia Benavides Aguirre, whose ability lets her explore any time you gain life. Alongside Wildgrowth Walker, you can create a loop to make Amalia huge, destroy all other creatures, and leave her on the board with 20 power. Screaming Nemesis is the perfect hate against this combo because it prevents your opponent from gaining life permanently, and blocks their combo forever.

Obviously, this deck also includes a few tools to protect its main strategy, and they can, yes, kill Screaming Nemesis with a Get Lost or remove them from your hand with a Thoughtseize. It is still an incredibly relevant interaction.

That is, if this combo survives until Duskmourn comes along, considering it is currently one of the main decks the Pioneer community point fingers to whenever they discuss bans.

Duskmourn is still a few months away, but it already created a lot of discussion and hype. Screaming Nemesis is, undoubtedly, incredibly interesting, and I'm anxious to see it in action. Now we only have to wait until it is released to see how eternal formats will handle it.

What do you think of this card? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!