Nevermaker MTG Card


Nevermaker - Morningtide
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Elemental
Abilities Evoke,Flying
Released2008-02-01
Set symbol
Set nameMorningtide
Set codeMOR
Power 2
Toughness 3
Number44
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byChuck Lukacs

Key Takeaways

  1. Evoke grants Nevermaker a cost-efficient, instant-like effect to disrupt opponent plays.
  2. Its leave-the-battlefield ability offers strategic play and tempo control in matches.
  3. While potent, evoke sacrifices Nevermaker, and specific mana needs could limit decks.

Text of card

Flying When Nevermaker leaves play, put target nonland permanent on top of its owner's library. Evoke (You may play this spell for its evoke cost. If you do, it's sacrificed when it comes into play.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: When Nevermaker leaves the battlefield, its ability to put a target nonland permanent on top of its owner’s library can disrupt an opponent’s board and effectively act as a temporary removal, potentially setting them back on available resources. This can offer a strategic advantage that, although not directly drawing cards, helps maintain card superiority on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: As a card that can be played using Evoke, Nevermaker allows for a more affordable use of its ability, which can be particularly advantageous early in the game. This cost-efficient measure can accelerate your game plan, leaving mana open for other crucial plays.

Instant Speed: Although Nevermaker itself is not an instant, its Evoke mechanic provides a similar edge, allowing you to trigger its ability at a moment’s notice. This versatility ensures that you can respond to threats or create opportunities at a time that is most impactful, akin to the flexibility provided by instant speed spells.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Nevermaker doesn’t force a discard, its evoke cost lets you cast it for less at the expense of sacrificing it, potentially losing a creature you could have used for blocking or attacking.

Specific Mana Cost: Nevermaker requires a specific mana arrangement of one blue and three of any color, making it less flexible for decks that aren’t heavily invested in blue mana resources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing four mana to deploy, Nevermaker’s ability to delay an opponent’s threat might not stack up favorably against other lower-cost control or bounce spells in a player’s arsenal.


Reasons to Include Nevermaker in Your Collection

Versatility: Nevermaker offers a unique and flexible role within various deck archetypes. Its ability to temporarily remove an opponent’s threat from the board makes it a suitable fit in control decks or those looking to delay an adversary’s game plan.

Combo Potential: As a creature with an impactful ‘leaves the battlefield’ effect, Nevermaker can become a linchpin in decks designed around bounce or flicker mechanics, allowing for repeatable use of its powerful ability.

Meta-Relevance: In a game climate that heavily features persistent and difficult-to-remove threats, having Nevermaker as part of your strategy can provide an edge. As the metagame evolves, so does the utility of cards that can manage the pace and tempo of play.


How to Beat Nevermaker

In the world of MTG, Nevermaker presents a unique challenge as a creature that can potentially disrupt your game plan by returning target nonland permanents to the top of the owner’s library. This effect can create a repetitive nuisance, especially if the Nevermaker is part of a deck that thrives on bounce or flicker strategies. Facing down this card requires a bit of strategic foresight and resources dedicated to removal or counterplay.

To effectively counteract Nevermaker, instant-speed removal is key. Cards like Path to Exile or Rapid Hybridization can remove Nevermaker from play before its leave-the-battlefield ability triggers. Countering Nevermaker upon cast with spells such as Counterspell or Mana Leak also ensures it never gets a chance to disrupt your board state. Additionally, employing graveyard shuffling effects like those found on cards like Elixir of Immortality can nullify the tempo lost when Nevermaker routinely pushes your cards to the top of your library. Adapting your game plan and keeping these responses ready could make all the difference when facing the tactical dilemma posed by Nevermaker.


Cards like Nevermaker

Nevermaker is a unique entity within the realm of Magic: The Gathering, offering both a strategic edge and an element of control over the battlefield. Residing in the same category with cards like Man-o’-War, Nevermaker also allows players to return a creature to its owner’s hand, but with a deeper layer of manipulation—as Nevermaker places the targeted nonland permanent on top of its owner’s library instead. This subtle difference can disrupt an opponent’s next draw, potentially providing a higher tactical advantage than a standard bounce effect.

Another card worth comparing is Void Stalker, which allows a player to tuck a creature into its owner’s library as well. While Void Stalker provides a more direct library shuffling method by forcing a creature swap between the libraries, Nevermaker’s ability to temporarily detain a draw and dictate the next play without requiring an exchange is notable. Lastly, we have a card like Venser, Shaper Savant—a formidable card that can unseat any spell or permanent back to its owner’s hand. Venser offers immediate on-cast impact without waiting for a death trigger, differing from Nevermaker’s leave-the-battlefield condition.

What makes Nevermaker compete well among these variants is its balance between controlling opponents’ plays and forging an opportunity for tempo swings, making it a card worth considering for decks that capitalize on denial strategies.

Man-o'-War - MTG Card versions
Void Stalker - MTG Card versions
Venser, Shaper Savant - MTG Card versions
Man-o'-War - Visions (VIS)
Void Stalker - Magic 2013 (M13)
Venser, Shaper Savant - Future Sight (FUT)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Nevermaker MTG card by a specific set like Morningtide, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Nevermaker and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Nevermaker has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Nevermaker card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2008-04-01 Effects that cause you to pay more or less to cast a spell will cause you to pay that much more or less while casting it for its evoke cost, too. That’s because they affect the total cost of the spell, not its mana cost.
2008-04-01 Evoke doesn’t change the timing of when you can cast the creature that has it. If you could cast that creature spell only when you could cast a sorcery, the same is true for cast it with evoke.
2008-04-01 If a creature spell cast with evoke changes controllers before it enters the battlefield, it will still be sacrificed when it enters the battlefield. Similarly, if a creature cast with evoke changes controllers after it enters the battlefield but before its sacrifice ability resolves, it will still be sacrificed. In both cases, the controller of the creature at the time it left the battlefield will control its leaves-the-battlefield ability.
2008-04-01 If you’re casting a spell “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t use its evoke ability.
2008-04-01 When you cast a spell by paying its evoke cost, its mana cost doesn’t change. You just pay the evoke cost instead.
2008-04-01 Whether evoke’s sacrifice ability triggers when the creature enters the battlefield depends on whether the spell’s controller chose to pay the evoke cost, not whether they actually paid it (if it was reduced or otherwise altered by another ability, for example).

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