Chimeras in mythology are a creature of minor debate. Historians and scholars can't quite agree on it's form, which is due to discrepancies in stories that have it ranging from a triple headed beast to a single headed creature with body parts of varying animals. Traditionally the Chimera is compromised of parts from a snake (or dragon), goat, and a lion, sometimes it has wings like a demon, other times none. Of course it's all speculation as no one alive has ever seen a Chimera, but it's interesting that the same creature is described in so many different vastly different ways.

The Chimera's role in religion and mythology is far stretching with it appearing in almost every classical Greek/Roman epic and in many folklore texts from many parts of the world. In fact, the Chimera is one of the few mythological creatures that transcends into every major religion. Whether as a staple of Greek mythology, an ancient beast from the Taoistic Japan, a fel creature described in Hindu texts, or an obvious representation of Satan (I'll take Goat, Serpent, Lion, and Fire Symbology for 100 Alex), the Chimera is well known around the world.

The two things that can be agreed on by many is that the Chimera breathes fire, and that if you play Magic the cards are beyond bizarre. Some people may not even remember the Chimeras as I'm digging up ancient dirt here, but for your reference the last time we saw Chimeras was in the Mirrodin block as a set of bizarre artifacts. What I'm looking for however are the four Chimera creatures that reside in the Visions set. They are: Brass-Talon Chimera, Iron-Heart Chimera, Lead-Belly Chimera, Tin-Wing Chimera

For those of you who have never seen these cards before and even those who have, you're probably scratching your head wondering why I'm writing about them. First, who wants to play an overcosted 2/2 for four mana? Second, they seem to exist solely to stack onto each other like Lego's. What makes it even worse is just like Lego's, they only fit on other Lego's. You can't put them on your Lincoln Logs, Tyco Blocks, or your Army Men, they solely for each other. If you're anything like me, you have two final thoughts - why are there only four Chimeras and how the heck do these things come from the concept of what a Chimera is in mythology? I'll attempt to answer these questions as in the rest of the article, but for now, just realize that these four creatures are distinctive, and to me utterly intriguing.

In the world of Magic, the Chimera somehow became artifact creatures as well as artifacts that gain legs. Every thing about the four Chimeras mystifies me. I mean, they're available to players in Magic the Gathering Online, but you have to use Mistform Ultimus to even make tribal requirements. The fact that such a staple creature has been transmuted into an artifact is also almost unanswerable. The only thing I can come up with, is the Chimeras are a mystery to color code. They breathe fire making them red, but Lions/Cats are typically white or green, Snakes typically green, and Goats I guess fits Red or Green. The concepts and creature types of a Chimera in itself defies the logic of Magic, perhaps to avoid the complications of color logic, the easy answer was to take the color away.

Yet, I find the idea of a living Chimera interesting, especially since in the lore of the world they are living beings composed of several living creatures. Perhaps this is what inspired the designers to create the four Chimeras of Magic. The idea that Chimeras are made up of several creatures lends itself to the inspiration that your Chimera creatures build onto each other. The Chimeras keep growing as a single creature, apart they are weak, together they are feared. I was pretty much stretching the feasibility on the color argument, but this makes sense without that obvious stench of cow poo.

The best and worst part about the Chimeras is that they do build on each other. If you were to combine all four Chimeras as one creature, you would have an 8/8 First Striking, Trampling, Vigilant, Flier. That combined is a Voltron-esque creature that can take out Akroma. However, there is a drawback: it costs twice the mana and four times the cards as it would to cast an Akroma. So the question begs... why play them? Well, for one reason, they are versatile and hard to deal with. Since Chimeras can sacrifice at anytime to augment each other, it makes them hard to target and also hard to block appropriately. For instance, if a vigilant and first strike Chimera are in play and the only blocker available is a 4/4 creature, the blocker still can't handle either creature appropriately, as either one turns the other into a 4/4 with First Strike. It's these conundrums that make the Chimeras fun, it's the utter lack of a Chimeras that makes them weak though.

The other downside is that building a Chimera up is like building a Snowman. If you lose the base, you lose the whole thing. It doesn't matter how or why you lost the base, all your work and all the cards are done for. This can make for a very distinct feeling of card disadvantage. But as long as you remember the old adage about putting all your eggs in one basket, you should be fine. However, spot removal with the low number of Chimeras and their stacking nature will always be the downside.

However, instead of arguing if they are good or bad though, let's look at how to play them. To play Chimeras, you need to remember a few things to maximize efficiency:

1. They cost four mana.
2. They are artifacts.
3. They are built to die.

So taking those three things into consideration, I'll share with you the most vanilla Chimera deck I can come up with. Nothing crazy special here, just lots of fusion amongst the cards. Since Chimeras haven't really been touched since they came out years ago, we can empower them in all sorts of new ways.

This deck is a very simple artifact driven deck. The synergy of the cards works together to get the Chimera's into full on Lego mode. That means, the method of attack will be to stack Chimeras into one massive creature and wail away with it Voltron style. Aether Vial's purpose will be to get to four counters and hold there so any Chimera can be dropped for a simple tap, while Serum Tank, Shard, and Soul Foundry keep card advantage and recursion, coming non-stop. It is this synergy that makes the deck happen.

The all-star is a brilliant addition - Silent Arbiter. With Arbiter in play it turns into a one on one battle. In all reality, there are very few creatures that can handle a Chimera that's stacked four high. That's the beauty of Chimeras, unchecked they grow into a massive creature that are virtually unrivaled. The downside is, that you have to build up a Chimera, and losing it is like losing your whole army. If you lose your star Chimera, it's going to take a lot of work to build it back up again. Cards as simple as Otherworldly Journey and Boomerang are as deadly to a Chimera as a Rend Flesh.

Now, let's face it, you can't really do that much different with Chimeras. When you play the Chimeras you play for the exact same ending every time - a big monster Chimera breathing fire down your opponent's neck. The only thing you can really vary is how you get to that point. To show you an entirely different approach, I will add some color to the deck and break out the powerhouse artificer Mishra.

So the deck works virtually the same, the biggest change here, is pulling in color cards and utilizing some of the big bang tricks color brings in. Shrapnel Blast is a great finisher and Void is great for dropping out the fast attackers like Goblins and Elves. You can put in whatever spells you like to supplement this deck and it'll work, because Mishra and the Chimeras are the driving force. With double the Chimera for the same price, you're effectively halving your Chimera build time.

Now, earlier in the article I mentioned that a lot of the representations of Chimeras are in artifacts that become creatures. I won't be talking about them that much, as they're all very pretty generic and straightforward in usage, but let's at least get ourselves a pretty little card line-up:

Chimeric Coils, Chimeric Egg, Chimeric Idol, Chimeric Sphere, Chimeric Staff.

If you look back into the archives of Magic history, you will eventually find a deck called Chimera that utilizes the Chimeric artifacts at the tourney level.  In lieu of trying to improve that deck, I want to show you something new and fun that my friend plays. Of course I robbed the deck of it's nougat center and put in Chimeras, but the concept is still the same. Using the Druids you will generate insane amounts of mana as early as turn three and four. With this mana acceleration, massive cost cards become easily playable early in the game. So without further ado:

When Cali first showed me this deck I laughed at him. Then I noticed we won almost every tribal two-headed giant we played together. Cali, using this deck and me, using a Golem, Fox, or Solider tribe. What makes this deck work is the fact that it generates an insane amount of mana almost every single time. I've seen Tidespout Tyrants come out on turn three and I've seen twelve Snakes pop out a basket put on a Coat of Arms and kill a player on turn five. Of course I removed the Basket and the Coat to make room for the Chimeric fun, but the concept is still the same. Big toys for a big cost, early on.

To play this, you will spend the first three turns using the support druids to bring out the Stone-Seeders which work hand in hand with the Simic Growth Chamber's to produce an insane amount of mana. Tidespouts shut an opponent out, while the Chimeric cards can be turned easily into massive monstrosities. With Primal Fury and Chimeric artifacts in play, the game should be over fast. Of course, Pyroclasm and Assassins are deadly to this deck, but every deck has it's weaknesses.

When it's all said and done, why did I talk about creatures long removed from the face of the game? Well, lets face it the name of the series is called Irrational Loves. I do wish that there were more Chimeras and my newest dream would be to see them return in Time Spiral. To me the Chimeras are an interesting and unique creature concept, much like Slivers and Licids, that could have received a much better treatment. Ultimately, I also think that they should create some non-artifact versions that encapsulate the beasts. However, those are just my feelings and opinions...share your opinion in this thread.

And just in case you want some more Chimeras to play with, here's a fantasy set me and Michael Zeora created for you to print out and play with. It's still in progress and they are a few things to perfect, but it ripe for your review!

Toodles.

-Cashew-

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Articles Spotlights from 2007:
Lorwyn Theme Week Intro & Schedule of Events
Blink And Bounce: Timing is Key
Going Blind: XCB Metagaming - A Prolonged Conclusion.
The Science of Magic: Genetic Engineering, Part Two.
Shifting Lineaments: Casual Metagaming (Pt. 2).
The Dungeon Of Malefict: Pure Evil!
Land Week Introduction & Schedule.
Combofusion: Legends Timeshifted.
One Card to Rule Them All: Coastal Piracy
Irrational Love: Chimeras. The Lego's of Magic.