Magic: The Gathering

Rusting Golem

Nemesis 138 • uncommon

Set: Nemesis
Collector number: 138
Rarity: Uncommon
Mana cost: 4 generic mana
Type: Creature
Colors: Colorless
Artist: Greg Staples
Market price: $0.25

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$0.25est. via TCGplayer

104,743cards tracked

0copies listed for sale

Market

What it's worth

$0.25market price via TCGplayer · Aug 21, 2026$0.14 – $0.27 over the tracked period

Estimate for a typical copy of Rusting Golem; condition, printing, and grading move the real number.

Lore

Why it matters

This card from the Nemesis set stands out for its mechanical focus on the slow decay of power, forcing players to carefully manage their resources as the creature degrades over time. As an uncommon find, it offers a distinct strategic challenge, rewarding those who can maximize its utility before its inevitable decline.

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Card face

What it does

Fading 5 (This creature enters with five fade counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a fade counter from it. If you can't, sacrifice it.)

Rusting Golem's power and toughness are each equal to the number of fade counters on it.

Formats

Where you can play it

StandardNot legal
PioneerNot legal
ModernNot legal
LegacyLegal
VintageLegal
CommanderLegal
PauperNot legal
BrawlNot legal
HistoricNot legal
TimelessNot legal
Penny DreadfulNot legal
OathbreakerLegal

Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Card text via Scryfall. Not approved or endorsed by Wizards. As of the last catalogue refresh.

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Where to find one

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Provenance

Where it came from

Rusting Golem was released in February 2000 as part of the Nemesis expansion for Magic: The Gathering. As the second set in the Masquerade block, Nemesis leaned heavily into themes of betrayal and mechanical manipulation, fitting the Golem into a lineage of artifact creatures designed to test the limits of card efficiency versus detrimental upkeep costs.

The artwork was provided by fantasy illustrator Greg Staples, who utilized a grim, industrial aesthetic to emphasize the creature's decaying state. By depicting the Golem in a process of structural failure, the design mirrors the card's mechanical function, where the player is forced to remove rust counters until the card eventually sacrifices itself. It was received as a quintessential example of the 'glass cannon' design philosophy prevalent during that era of the game.

Generated by Pi, the collecto.rs collecting companion

Collectors

Who's collecting this

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About

About Rusting Golem

Rusting Golem is a card in the Magic: The Gathering catalog on collecto.rs. Nemesis 138 • uncommon. Catalog data is sourced from Scryfall. No public cards collectors track this one yet — adding yours would make you the first on collecto.rs.

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Where does the Rusting Golem catalog entry come from?

The catalog entry for Rusting Golem is sourced from Scryfall. Catalog-level facts stay consistent across every collector; your own data (condition, edition, acquisition notes) is yours.