THS:Spellheart Chimera

[Saya]

Creature — Chimera 1UR
Flying, trample
Demonheart Chimera's power is equal to the number of instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard.
?/3



This guy is the 2013 version of Cognivore!

Sorry.The card's correct name was SPELLheart chimera.

[AmbivalentDuck]

Seems better in something like Legacy RUG than here in Vintage.

[MaximumCDawg]

Wow, that's... not terrible.  3 mana is a lot, but it seems reasonable for this dork to surpass clique and delver in the air early in the game.

[d8dk32]

I think it's quite a bit better than Cognivore. The cost is low enough, and the creature seems like it could easily be strong enough. I don't think it fits perfectly into any existing decks though. But that doesn't really mean much. Seems like a cool card to me. Could be fun to brew something up with. Wouldn't surprise me if it saw a reasonable amount of Legacy play.

[BC]

It's a good card.  Best in the set so far.

[vaughnbros]

I wish it was haste instead of trample, but this should be fringe playable. 

[AmbivalentDuck]

It's a good card.  Best in the set so far.

Better than Oath's new toy?

[BC]

It's a good card.  Best in the set so far.

Better than Oath's new toy?

Which one is Oath's new toy?  That Angel of Despair thing?  Yeah, that thing won't see play.  If you Oath and hit anything except Griselbrand, you did it wrong.

[DubDub]

He means this one.

I think Swan's Song will see more play, but won't fundamentally change an existing deck, Oath, whereas Demonheart might give a better chance to some currently-fringe strategies.

[AmbivalentDuck]

whereas Demonheart might give a better chance to some currently-fringe strategies.

Strongly disagree: this is a Young Pyromancer variant. You play spells, it gets bigger. Unlike Pyromancer, it counts spells you played before it hit the board, but doesn't swarm the board with permanents.

This competes for the same slots in the same decks.

[MaximumCDawg]

The more I look at this thing, the more I see the love child of Tarmogoyf (playable), Cognivore (not playable) and Angel (playable).  He seems very, very good.  

In fact, I daresay he is another candidate as an Oath target.  "What?" you say?  Well, when you Oath, if you have two of him in your deck, you are likely to bin a third of the sorceries and instants left in your deck.  He probably won't kill in one swing, but as a consoliation prize, your Oath target is totally hard-castable; something no other target can boast.

[BC]

He means this one.

Ah yes, Swan Song.  That's a decent card.  Incrementally better counterspell in some situations.  Not terribly exciting, but ok.

[d8dk32]

Time to build a Theros-heavy Oath deck. I'll call it Theroath. Load it up with this guys, Swan Songs, throw in Read the Bones for a draw engine, maybe Wheel of Fortune to get some more cards in the grave and refill my hand.

Actually, using this guy as an Oath target could work really well. It's not a problem to Oath out more than one if you want, since he's not legendary. He can be very big, and the fact that he can be hardcast is sick. That alone makes him worth considering in my mind. I might play 3 in a deck, since it'll probably still be pretty big when it comes out, and it would let you Oath out 2 and keep one safe in your deck. And you could find one to hardcast easily if you wanted. Might try it it out.

[Samoht]

Time to build a Theros-heavy Oath deck. I'll call it Theroath. Load it up with this guys, Swan Songs, throw in Read the Bones for a draw engine, maybe Wheel of Fortune to get some more cards in the grave and refill my hand.

Actually, using this guy as an Oath target could work really well. It's not a problem to Oath out more than one if you want, since he's not legendary. He can be very big, and the fact that he can be hardcast is sick. That alone makes him worth considering in my mind. I might play 3 in a deck, since it'll probably still be pretty big when it comes out, and it would let you Oath out 2 and keep one safe in your deck. And you could find one to hardcast easily if you wanted. Might try it it out.

Also pitches to FoW

[msg67183]

You can also play Swan Song to give them the token to activate Oath or to protect Chimera from Bolt, STP, etc. Plus play Dragon Breath to give your Flying Trampler Haste. Seems good!

[d8dk32]

It's a bit sad that it dies to Bolt, but I doubt it'll be a serious problem since you can just Oath up another, bigger one. They'd need a constant stream of bolts or else they'd lose.

[Nefarias]

You can also play Swan Song to give them the token to activate Oath or to protect Chimera from Bolt, STP, etc. Plus play Dragon Breath to give your Flying Trampler Haste. Seems good!

This wouldn't trigger Dragon Breath. I mean, I guess you could cast it, but I doubt that's what you meant.

[hvndr3d y34r h3x]

This thing is a dude with a big front number and evasion. That's not good enough to oath out anymore. I'd play tyrant long befor I play this in oath, and he's mostly unplayable righty now.

I wouldn't play this over Pyromancer in a gush deck.

Maybe I'd play this in a ur wasteland deck that needs a finisher. I'll test it at least

[vaughnbros]

You can also play Swan Song to give them the token to activate Oath or to protect Chimera from Bolt, STP, etc. Plus play Dragon Breath to give your Flying Trampler Haste. Seems good!

This wouldn't trigger Dragon Breath. I mean, I guess you could cast it, but I doubt that's what you meant.

I'm pretty sure it does (as long as its power is great enough). Tarmogoyf for example in other zones has the same power/toughness as though he is in play.

Oath seems like a bit of a stretch for this guy.  On average he's a 7/3 flying, trample when oathed into.  There are far better oath targets.  He is more resilient to cage, but I'm not sure that makes him worth it.

[d8dk32]

This thing is a dude with a big front number and evasion. That's not good enough to oath out anymore. I'd play tyrant long befor I play this in oath, and he's mostly unplayable righty now.

I wouldn't play this over Pyromancer in a gush deck.

Maybe I'd play this in a ur wasteland deck that needs a finisher. I'll test it at least

I wouldn't play it in a gush deck at all. But I do think it's at least worth testing. I think an Oath deck with this would be designed with him in mind rather than just slapping him in a typical Oath list. I don't know how much difference exactly that would entail, but I'm going to mess around with the idea at least and see if it's worthwhile. At any rate it gives me something new to brew with.

He is more resilient to cage, but I'm not sure that makes him worth it.

And actually I think resilience to cage (I assume you mean that he can be hardcast easily) is pretty valuable, since Cage is probably the most commonly played grave/Oath hate these days.

[Nefarias]

You can also play Swan Song to give them the token to activate Oath or to protect Chimera from Bolt, STP, etc. Plus play Dragon Breath to give your Flying Trampler Haste. Seems good!

This wouldn't trigger Dragon Breath. I mean, I guess you could cast it, but I doubt that's what you meant.

I'm pretty sure it does (as long as its power is great enough). Tarmogoyf for example in other zones has the same power/toughness as though he is in play.

Oath seems like a bit of a stretch for this guy.  On average he's a 7/3 flying, trample when oathed into.  There are far better oath targets.  He is more resilient to cage, but I'm not sure that makes him worth it.

[d8dk32]

You know, I genuinely thought it was power and not cmc as well. Oh well. It's probably not needed anyway.

[Protoaddict]

Or you can Dragons breath Emrakul and have them lose 6 in play cards and be immune to most removal.

This dude has no place in oath, he has every place in a r/u pyromancer deck, except he is outclassed by pyromancer. Maybe a 1 of because he survives Pyroclasm?

[Saya]

Demonheart chimera has a simple advantage in Oath:you can cast it easily.

[Dr_Tongue]

I'm eyeballing the card as well and love the fact that it has Trample. Something one of my other favorite pet decks finisher's didn't have although the casting cost and toughness is exactly the same. Yup he reminds me of the Wee Dragonaut and I think he'd rock in a Y. Pyromancer type deck as alot of the spells in Vintage are Instants/Sorceries (Force/Missteps/Drains/Card Draw/Tutors/etc).

The fact that he is neutered by Dredge hate is a bummer, but it's already boltable or a REB target. It's no Tinker>Bot next turn win but has to be dealt with quickly as I imagine it can be a clock in the right deck.

I see it listed as Spellheart Chimera and not Demonheart, am I incorrect?

Steam Augury seems interesting as well. A new FoF? EoT SA!

[xouman]

I cannot see this creature being played in oath. It does not attack when it comes into play, and takes at least 2 attacks to kill the opponent. It dies to bolt, swords, dismember, reb. Just like laboratory maniac, but slower.

I can see it being played, but in another deck. Wasn't  runechanter's pike well played in some formats no so long ago? well, it brings it automatically. this creature would be played, probably not a lot in vintage, but in other formats it would be great.

[StanleyAugust]

Seems pretty good with Intuition/AK

[wiley]

I see this as the lorescale quatl of the set.  People will try to break it, someone might find a home for it for a short while and then it will disappear forever.

[xouman]

I loved lorescale coatl. It would be totally playable if Jace was not a vintage staple.

Chimera is worse in some aspects, but it pass the jace test, as tarmogoyf. If chimera had haste/flash instead trample it would be quite better...

[MaximumCDawg]

I see this as the lorescale quatl of the set.  People will try to break it, someone might find a home for it for a short while and then it will disappear forever.

No sir.  Coatl never took off because it was printed too late.  It does the same kind of thing that Quiron Dryad (and Vinelasher Kudzu, lol) are capable of doing -- it gets huge over time.  The problem is, we have such better options in Vintage nowadays, and people are so much more prepared for creatures, that it's just not possible to rely on building up one creature over multiple turns for an alpha strike.  Coatl gets a second hit because Dryad does a pretty good Coatl impression, and costs less.  Had Coatl existed in Invasion, it would have been absurd and a format staple.

This guy is totally different.  He is huge the moment he comes down and does NOT require you to build a deck around him or feed him to get him huge.  In that respect, he's just like Tarmogoyf; he will typically be a 4/3 for 3 when you cast him, I'd wager, and I would estimate he'd easily get up to 10/3 range in most games.  

That alone does not mean he's going to make a big splash.  Yard hate is a thing, and he DOES cost as much as a Trygon Predator.  Still, he's much, MUCH better than Coatl.

I loved lorescale coatl. It would be totally playable if Jace was not a vintage staple.

Chimera is worse in some aspects, but it pass the jace test, as tarmogoyf. If chimera had haste/flash instead trample it would be quite better...

Flash is good, but I actually like the Trample on this guy.  How many fliers in Vintage have butts?  I mean, the biggest you are likely to see (barring certain artifact creatures) is an Angel with 4 toughness.  Usually you will be facing 1 toughness fliers.  Chimera punches through them like cardboard to deliver the finishing blow.