#worldwaker

 Nissa Revane is a Zendikari Animist. As such, she is able to animate the land around her. The Zendikari apparently didn't like that, as they thought that Nissa was causing Zendikar to lash out. I guess they didn't notice the presence of the Eldrazi.

 Nissa's first ability is an "enter the battlefield" effect which allows you to search for a Forest. This forest doesn't have to be basic, which is awesome. Nissa is an adept explorer, so it makes sense for her to find new lands. In her origin story, she discovered a swamp and found that it was surprisingly beautiful. How flavourful would it be to search for an Overgrown Tomb with Nissa?! That would be amazing.

Nissa's second ability causes her to planeswalk when a land enters the battlefield under your control if you have seven or more lands. This ability is awesome for Green ramp decks, but is not quite as flavourful as the other four planeswalking abilities. Gideon fought alongside his Irregulars, Jace forgot copious amounts of stuff, Liliana killed her brother and made him a zombie (simultaneously!), Chandra did a lot of damage, and ... Nissa found some lands? That is really lackluster. Nissa didn't planeswalk because she discovered some new locations on Zendikar. She planeswalkers because she couldn't save Zendikar from the Darkness which plagued it. She was powerless to save the land which she loved. I don't know how they would design an ability that matched that and had good gameplay, but that is what I want from Nissa.

 Nissa's first +1 tutor's for Nissa's Chosen, and places it on the battlefield. This is an interesting ability. Many of the planeswalkers I've examined this month (as well as some appearing in articles which weren't geared towards planeswalkers) have abilities which produce creature tokens. As I've said before, this is a planeswalker's version of casting a creature spell. Nissa is special in this regard. She doesn't cast her own spell- she creates a creature from your spell. This is unprecedented for me. I don't have a catch all answer for this, so we are going to build one from the ground up. The spell must be in your library for Nissa to tutor it. That means it is a spell within YOUR subconscious, not Nissa's. Nissa puts it onto the battlefield: you don't cast the spell. Essentially, Nissa takes a spell that you know, and casts it. Perhaps, Nissa asks you for a good conjuring spell and she goes with her "chosen." Maybe Nissa doesn't actually know any summoning spells because she is used to animating Zendikar. This is a really cool ability. If anyone has other good ideas for how it fits, let me know.

Nissa's second +1 has you gain two life for each elf you control. Nissa uses Green nature magic to heal you. This magic is bolstered by each elf you control. Each elf pitches in some of their healing abilities, similarly to performing rituals in DND when you have other people help with the ritual. It is interesting to note that if you don't have elves, Nissa doesn't do anything. She apparently isn't great at healing.

Nissa's -7 tutor's for any number of elf creatures and puts them onto the battlefield. Just like the first ability, she casts your spells for you. This could also be flavoured as Nissa being "in tune" with the elves, allowing her to conjure them more easily than you can. This relates to Kiora's Uncharted Realms in which she takes on Thassa. Kiora's conjurings were self-aware and became less loyal to her as her power diminished. Nissa can conjure more elves because she is the elf planeswalker.

 Nissa's first +1 turns target land you control into a 4/4 elemental with trample. This is beautiful. Nissa permanently animates one of your lands. Her connection with the land is so strong that the land remains animated even once she's gone.

Nissa's second +1 untaps up to four target forests. Nissa is able to energize the land. Even someone else's land! Remember that 4/4 we made? We can untap it too!

Nissa's -7 tutors for any number of basic lands, puts them on the battlefield, and makes them permanent 4/4s with trample. The Worldwaker is here, and now the world is awoken. Nissa basically brings Zendikar to you, and makes it hit like a truck.

I love Nissa Worldwaker. This is the first version of Nissa I had seen, and I was stunned. It really makes the original Nissa feel lackluster. She just can't compare. This Nissa does exactly what she should. She ramps into lands. She untaps lands. She animates lands. I think this is my favourite card from M15. I'm honestly a touch salty that I pulled an Apex Predator instead of a Worldwaker.

We made it to the present, and we are awarded with a brand new Animist. Who's excited to see how the new Nissa measures up? This guy!

 Nissa's +1 reveals the top card of your library. If it's a land, you ramp. If it's a nonland, you draw. That's a pretty good deal. Nissa is so in tune with the land that she can ramp you into lands that are in your subconscious. And drawing a card isn't too shabby either!

Nissa's -2 puts a legendary 4/4 elemental creature token onto the battlefield. If you don't like spoilers and haven't read this week's Uncharted Realms, skip to Nissa's ultimate. Otherwise, bask with me in the awe that is Ashaya, the Awoken World. Ashaya is a flavour badass. She is named after Nissa's nickname: Worldwaker. How could I not love something named after Worldwaker?! Ashaya is an elemental that is not controlled by Nissa. Ashaya is Zendikar Incarnate (see what I did there? Referencing another new Origins card)! Nissa doesn't even need to tell Ashaya what to do. They are one! She and Zendikar are one! She is connected to the Leylines for crying out loud! You know how the Eldrazi were attracted to Zendikar because it is so rich in mana? Nissa is essentially a walking pile if mana now! The ground moves for her! She could probably even split the Red Sea. She wouldn't need to will it so. It would just happen. If Zendikar loses this battle, I will be severely upset. They can't take this beautiful plane from us!

Nissa's -7 untaps up to six target lands, and makes them 6/6 elementals. She doesn't even have to untap forests anymore! Nissa is so Zendikar that she is just as chummy with any land type. Also, while they don't get trample, six 6/6s is really big. Zendikar just might have a chance!

I have one qualm with the new Nissa. This is also kind of spoilerish so go read Wednesday's UR. Unfortunately, this deals specifically with Ashaya. I really like Ashaya, so I don't like that I have an issue with her, but I do. Ashaya is the one elemental that is always alongside Nissa. All other elementals return to the land after the "battle" ends. The Ashaya token doesn't have this property. At first, I misremembered Worldwaker while reading Wednesday's article and thought that the lands stopped being creatures at the end of the turn. That would make Ashaya perfect. She'd be the only elemental that lasts after combat (the "battle"). This is not the case. All of Nissa's animations are permanent. Ashaya is actually the easiest elemental to get rid of because she vanishes from existence if someone uses a bounce spell on her. Basically, the Uncharted Realms set me up for an amazing token, and I ended up getting a slightly less amazing token.

 And there you have it, planeswalkers! We have caught up with all five of the Origins planeswalkers. That was a great series of weeks. I would like to continue with the Planeswalker Positivity weeks, but I feel like the other planes and factions of Magic deserve to have a few turns again. If a planeswalker which is important to me pops up, I'll give then an article, but until then, let's kick it back to Ravnica. I'll see you all there next week.

I hope you enjoyed the article/series of articles! I especially enjoyed Nissa. Jace and Liliana were great too. Really, so we're the other two. Maybe I just like Magic?