Theros Chimeras
Standard forum
Posted on June 25, 2014, 6:59 p.m. by Anublet90
They're hardly related to each other, but I took a liking to a series of cards recently, and then I noticed they're all Chimeras, which was pretty crazy
So without ado, what are your opinions on these fellas, future or present?
Now, some of these are quite odd, and some of them have really struck my eye, for example...
Stormchaser Chimera . I really like the ability, but the cost is a bit over the top. Would this be a good (and I mean good, not "decent") inclusion in a deck that makes heavy use of Flamespeaker Adept ?
Another I've always loved is Horizon Chimera . The card is fantastic in my eyes, but I'm not sure what deck to throw him in. Pseudo-Controlly Midrange? Tempo? I'd really appreciate advice here, I've been dying to build around him.
Spellheart Chimera seems potentially good, but I haven't really seen him anywhere. Stuff like Jace's Mindseeker ? Kruphix's Insight ? (Effects like these, not specifically these cards).
Is Riptide Chimera good? I've tried him, but it's pretty wonky. The cost is low, so it lends well to Aggro, but the bouncing slows you down, so it's more like Midrange Constellation, which has me really confused.
And lastly, Perplexing Chimera lives up to its name. I'm assuming this is meant to be used with stuff like Voyage's End , or various means of Reanimation?
@ zandl - from what I can tell, this is very much your territory, though I'm pretty sure I know what you're going to say.
... I'm not sure if I understand what you're asking of me. You want to know my opinion on each card or their viability as a tribal deck or... ??
If you want to know my opinion on each in Standard, then:
No.
No.
Interesting and has a lot of words on it I like. Flash is always good and gaining life is fun, but I'm not quite sure where it would fit. Bant Midrange would make the most sense, flashing into this before Archangel of Thune . It has flying, meaning it can easily flash in and nuke Planeswalkers if the opponent taps out for them.
As it stands, though, Bant seems to work better as a Wrath-n-Walk deck (superfriends) and Courser of Kruphix seems to take care of that life-gain very well. Wouldn't be bad, wouldn't be great.
It also has just 2 toughness for 4cmc, which makes me nervous against aggro.
A hard card to envision a use for. I think it's just too chaotic in nature to be reliable for use. Fun for EDH, but awkward and inconsistent in Standard. Maybe if it was stronger than a 3/3 for 5 mana, I'd like it. Kinda feels like Tibalt; could be good, could be terrible. It just depends on what happens in the game prior to its casting and what's left once it's there.
I could think of better things to do than tap out on turn-5 in control. Too slow for anything else.
Definitely an eye-catcher and largely unexplored. This could be the missing piece of the puzzle to unlocking U/G Constellation. It reminds me of Mana Bloom and the use people found for that recently.
... Actually, this makes me want to brew U/G Constellation now.
My verdict? I dunno. Seems decent on paper but I'd have to try it before I say I think it's good.
Definitely nothing to scoff at. If U/R "Spells" becomes a thing after rotation, I could see this being a finisher alongside Stormbreath Dragon . It has trample, evasion, 3 toughness, and only costs 3 mana, so it has all the right pieces. I think Standard needs to change, though, before it becomes better in the meta.
Expensive and fairly slow. I could see some decent synergy with Courser of Kruphix on turn-4, but that means tapping out for 2 turns straight without immediately affecting the board. Also, Courser has better synergies elsewhere already. Maybe if it would've drawn you a card and you reveal it instead... I just feel like it's too slow for now.
June 25, 2014 7:18 p.m.
Yup, this was pretty much exactly what I was looking for, thanks. I've noticed you have a pretty clear picture of current meta, which is why I specifically called you out. Coincidentally, I've also been wanting to brew some RUG, and I suddenly feel really motivated after reading all this.
June 25, 2014 7:36 p.m.
McSleuthburger says... #5
I really like Spellheart Chimera in my scry deck (more than Stormchaser Chimera ) that flying trample is a bit underrated at times
June 25, 2014 7:48 p.m.
I figured Stormchaser Chimera could be a bit less useless in RUG with some ramping, especially with Courser of Kruphix on the field, since he can play a land before activating the ability.
I haven't gotten to try Spellheart Chimera , but he seems very specialized. Do you have the deck posted on-site?
June 25, 2014 7:52 p.m.
Yeah, the chimeras are definitely a cool part of Theros. I also have a RU scry deck, and Stormchaser Chimera is never worth the mana IMO, even in a deck based on Flamespeaker Adept . I run two Spellheart Chimera since I think he can be a pretty decent late-game creature though.
Knowledge and Power (feedback wanted) Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 1 | 0 COMMENTS | 283 VIEWSMy favorite one is definitely Horizon Chimera . I also have a deck that makes heavy use of him.
Simic Heroic Draw? I don't even know (help wanted) Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 8 | 0 COMMENTS | 1799 VIEWSThe rest are pretty meh, but I think it'd be hilarious to have a deck based on stealing opponents' spells with Perplexing Chimera , maybe backed up with Daring Thief and Hypnotic Siren .
June 25, 2014 8:15 p.m.
If anyone happens to be interested, in helping or in general, there's a new brew going on over at...
Chimeras on the Horizon Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 13 VIEWS.
June 25, 2014 8:16 p.m.
Oh and I forgot to mention... I think there's a lot of potential with Riptide Chimera , Constellation, and enchantments with ETB effects like Fate Foretold .
June 25, 2014 8:18 p.m.
Actually, I had a brew that tried to bounce Fate Foretold and Stratus Walk onto Agent of the Fates . It was great when it worked (fantastic, in fact), but also reeeally clunky, so it didn't need to be sabotaged, it stumbled just fine by itself. Basically Riptide Chimera is really risky, since you can suddenly end up with a completely empty board on your side.
June 25, 2014 8:22 p.m.
and Stormchaser Chimera is never worth the mana IMO, even in a deck based on Flamespeaker Adept
But what if you had ramping?
June 25, 2014 8:34 p.m.
McSleuthburger says... #12
Anublet90 check out my page for my scry deck, I don't feel like trying to link it while I'm on my phone
June 26, 2014 11:58 a.m.
Quadsimotto says... #13
Ive seen some decklists on this site running Perplexing Chimera and Strionic Resonator thought it was a cool idea but was not sure if the ruling would work as it was suggested. I took one izzet burn/draw deck to a fnm and had minimal success with it running the Spellheart Chimera but that was when i was first returning to the game and had little clue as to how to win consistently in the format(still have not figured that one out yet without netdecking) i could imagine Horizon Chimera and Riptide Chimera in a bant constellation deck running Eidolon of Blossoms and Chosen by Heliod or Fate Foretold for some sweet lifegain and draw advantage. I will say i think that the arifact chimera and the Stormchaser Chimera to me just sem overpriced and not really playable.
June 27, 2014 1:25 p.m.
I'm actually trying to make a RUG deck around the Stormchaser Chimera , but it's not going too well. Basically try to use Courser of Kruphix to know when it's a good idea to activate the ability, and ramping to mitigate the cost on the thing. It's not usable as a win-con, though, so currently the deck is a bit of a mess due to lack of focus.
My RUGs Revealed - If anyone's interested.
NobodyPicksBulbasaur says... #2
Of these, only Horizon Chimera is strong enough for legitimate constructed play. He would have to fit in a fairly specific deck, though, which currently doesn't exist. Your guess is as good as mine as to exactly what that deck could be.
Spellheart Chimera and Stormchaser Chimera are both high-upside cards, but either aren't reliable enough (spellheart), or require too much investment (stormchaser) to be worthy of a T1 or T2 deck.
June 25, 2014 7:15 p.m.