We all know someone will break this card eventually
Cathaldus
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(6 votes)
This card looks fantastic. It evades all sorcery creature removal (ie, the vast, vast majority of sweepers), is fetchable with Trinket Mage, is cheap to turn into a creature and is scaled in size to boot?
Hell, yeah! Sign me up! This card was MADE for multiplayer!
This on a Prototype Portal for great silliness. Good if you need artifacts to leave the field
SorianSadaskan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Hexmage will ruin everything.
Kimris
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Prototype portal will not work for this card. Because X = 0 for converted mana cost, it comes into play with no charge counters. But that aside, this is a very good card, casual or competitive, because the X can be paid with 1 mana. well, control/proliferate Blue has a decent chance with the counter spells from Zendikar.
Shabroky
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
If I make this a creature, then give it a +1/+1 counter, say with Steel Overseer, does it retain the counter after my turn ends?
Doom_Pie
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@Kimris
Prototype Portal will work for this card in the manner ZuesAscendant was implying. This card does not need any charge counters to stay on the battlefield -- you can even play it from your hand as a convenient 0 drop should the occassion arise. If you activate Chimeric's ability to turn itself into a creature, however, then it will go to the graveyard as a state-based action for having 0 toughness due to a lack of charge counters.
Hopefully this was what ZuesAscendant was referring too when they mentioned "artifacts leaving the field."
@Shabroky
Chimeric Mass will indeed retain the +1/+1 counter after your turn ends. For an example of a card that works similar to this, and has specific rulings stating that the counters remain, just take a look at Raging Ravine.
majinara
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Interesting card. Still, I like chimeric staff more, which comes into play with always the same mana cost, but you can then keep changing it whenever you want and use it as a mana sink. With the staff you can do tricks like "you want to steal it? I activate it with x = 0", or "I turn it into a 1/1 and attack. You block with your 3/3? I turn it into a 4/4" and so on. Lot's of funny stuff.
Also, in slow formats, I'd probably prefer riptide replicator over this. I mean, it also gives you access to creatures with a size depending on the amount of mana you spent when casting the artifact. The replicator however also messes with creature types, colors, can create multiple ones...
2.5/5
one_eyed
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
here's a thought, say you have it out as a creature, say a 4/4. then use rite of replication on it....what happens?
Paradise mantle on the palladium myr + voltaic key + voltiac construct + contagion engine = over 9000 monster.
toss on leonin abunas in for protection and gruul war plow for trample. then it doesn't matter how much of a swarm they have. they all go squish and you win.
nimzo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I want five...
MasterBlaster74
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(3 votes)
@ph1005
this does nothing with Electropotence. The only time this card 'enters the battlefield' is when you cast it. Once the Chimeric Mass is in play it does not keep 'entering the battlefield' it just 'becomes' a X/X creature.
still a handy and versatile card.
commandoman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
cast for 0 with tempered steel for a 2-2 critter. lots of laughs low mana consumption.
Jokergius
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@Zeus Ascendant: It wouldn't work with Prototype Portal since it should come INTO play with X +1/+1 counters for however many you pay for X. But since you're paying 0 for the Portal's ability, it come with no counters on it. But if you do get a +1/+1 counter on it when you play it from your hand, then proliferate will work
@Ph1005: It does not deal damage with Electropotence since it comes in as an artifact, not a creature.
Diachronos
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@froenx: That won't work the way you think it will. Paradise Mantle doesn't stack with other {T} abilities; you'll have to choose whether you're adding 1 of any color or 2 colorless.
If you want a combo like that, you only need 2 Myr Galvanizers and a Palladium Myr, which lets you get infinite mana.
GrimjawxRULES
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Pretty nasty with Energy Chamber, but on the other hand, pretty much anything that uses charge counters is nasty with Energy Chamber.
Evermint
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Someone with more layer knowledge than me, clarify this: This guy can reset his P/T by paying another 1. So, say, after being bolted once during the Declare Attackers step, the owner can pay 1 to reset his toughness for the Declare Blockers step to block some lesser creature to save itself from death.
Eyeless
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I've got a question. How does this card react to infect? Lets say if its a 5/5 and gets hit by a 3/3 creature with infect. It gets the -1/-1 counters and becomes a 2/2 right? Then you can use its ability again to make it a 5/5 even though it still has the counters on it, right? So what happens when it gets hit by a 6/6 creature with infect? Can you still use the ability to beef its toughness up again?
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
We should have gotten back Coretapper. He would break the crap out of this.
Donnovan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Rosheen Meanderer helps
Eric1618
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Because the converted mana cost is X, you can fetch it with both trinket mage AND treasure mage. That is very good with Shape Anew, and its new buddy Blightsteel Colossus.
Asceric
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
@Eric You cannot search for this via Treasure Mage. When determining the Converted Mana Cost (CMC) of a card, all values of X are determined to be 0. Thus, this cards CMC is 0, and still searchable via trinket mage.
@Jokergius It actually could work prototype portal, you would just need to find a way to get charge counters onto it after it came into play, such as via Energy Chamber
@Eyeless It doesn't work exactly like that. What you are referring to is the ability to always change it's state based power/toughness back to the number of charge counters on Chimeric Mass. This is useful when something like Diminish is used on it (as is referenced in the rulings). Both Chimeric Mass' ability and Diminish set it's base power/toughness. Cards like Giant Growth and +1/+1 (or -1/-1) counters alter this base power and toughness and are applied afterwards. Thus, in the example you presented, paying the 1 to reset its power/toughness would do nothing as the -1/-1 counters are taken into account afterwards. Also, you could not save chimeric mass from going to the Graveyard if it had 5 charge counters and was a 5/5 creature and was blocked by a 6/6 infect, unless you found a way to increase its toughness above 6 until the end of the turn. But the -1/-1 counters would stay on it and the next time you activated Chimeric Mass it would go to the graveyard unless it had more than 6 charge counters on it.
Lyoncet
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I'd say this deserves at least a 1-of in your standard artifact ramp deck just on the merit of being an easily fetched very versatile and often very short clock by turn 4+. If you just can't seem to get that Blightsteel Colossus or a Fabricate to tutor it out, or your Steel Overseer ramp going, but you have a few Everflowing Chalice and a Trinket Mage, you've got yourself an easy, flexible fallback. And with proliferate, Vedalken Infuser, and Everflowing Chalice all tournament legal at the moment, pumping this guy to lethal levels is pathetically easy.
ayefightbears
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
If you ask me, every even partially blue deck in standard should include one of these and 3-4 copies of Trinket Mage.
ARandomMop
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Core Tapper 2 x Mana Myr 2 x Myr Galvanizer Commence infinite mana combo.
This is SO going in a Myr deck.
SeiberTross
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Really flexible. Theres some really fun prototype decks with this guy in them.
Amazing! Great no matter where you are in the game! 0 mana metalcraft fodder at worst, plus it's rather above the curve P/T wise when you get above 4 or so...all in all, an amazing card, with awesome art!
5/5
Sterling_Archer
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Criminally underrated. Evades Journey to Nowhere, Go for the Throat, Day of Judgement, Black Sun'z Zenith, Slagstorm etc, can get stronger with proliferate, tutorable with Trinket Mage. I love this card.
Endlessor
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Is @ HuntedWumpusMustDie right by saying that you can attack with it the turn it enters the battlefield if you activated it? I usually tought that like Glilnt Hawk Idol, even if it's not a creature the turn a permanent enters the BTF, if it becomes a creature that same turn, it has summoning sickness. Can an experienced player fixed that for us please?
sniper_ix
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
To clarify, ALL animated permanents have summoning sickness.
AnOldWolf
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@Endlessor
302.6. A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol or the untap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since his or her most recent turn began. A creature can’t attack unless it has been under its controller’s control continuously since his or her most recent turn began. This rule is informally called the “summoning sickness” rule.
Glint Hawk Idol Rulings: 1/1/2011 If Glint Hawk Idol becomes a creature before you begin a turn with it under your control, it will be affected by "summoning sickness."
Unless the Chimeric Mass (creature or not) has been in your control continuously since the beginning of your turn (i.e. you cast it last turn or earlier) it will have summoning sickness when you activate it.
Aside from all the other aforementioned uses, this is a beautiful Kuldotha Red card. Drop it for free on turn 1, OR drop it with a counter or two later (if you have nothing better to do with your mana). Just awesome.
Splizer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I desperately want to try and make this card a must-answer awesome beater. Kessig Wolf Run? Would that do it?
HuntedWumpusMustDie
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
play it for 1 mana, stick it in a deck with proliferate, and you'll see what a bargain this thing can be.
DoragonShinzui
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Such delicious versitility! Either free metalcraft fodder, or a very expertly scaled creature. Add in an innate resistance to sorcery speed removal, and you have a fun and functional bonanza of a card.
Trygon_Predator
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mono- ramp? Infinite mana combos? ... Gilder Bairn? There's definitely ways to break this that my mind cannot conceive of.
Edward_Mass
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Quite possibly the best "animatable" permanent. Easily gives every Gideon a run for his money AND is accessable to every color, not to mention the searchability noted elsewhere. If your Deck Wraths repeatably and you still wanna hit your opponent for loads, this is for you.
djflo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This + Salvaging Station gives infinite artifact ETB and artifact creature LTB effects.
Play Mass for 0, activate it, Mass goes to the GY, Salvaging Station untaps if it isn't already, tap to use the Station's ability, Mass comes back with no counters again, repeat.
If you were playing competitive EDH you might pair this with the double Sharuum combo (via Phyrexian Metamorph or Shaping Steel) - it causes all the same triggers so you get double use out of your engines.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I wish they were +1/+1 counters and it became a 0/0 creature. It would cut down on rules text and have more interactions with things that care about +1/+1 counters.
Comments (45)
Hell, yeah! Sign me up! This card was MADE for multiplayer!
But that aside, this is a very good card, casual or competitive, because the X can be paid with 1 mana. well, control/proliferate Blue has a decent chance with the counter spells from Zendikar.
Prototype Portal will work for this card in the manner ZuesAscendant was implying. This card does not need any charge counters to stay on the battlefield -- you can even play it from your hand as a convenient 0 drop should the occassion arise. If you activate Chimeric's ability to turn itself into a creature, however, then it will go to the graveyard as a state-based action for having 0 toughness due to a lack of charge counters.
Hopefully this was what ZuesAscendant was referring too when they mentioned "artifacts leaving the field."
@Shabroky
Chimeric Mass will indeed retain the +1/+1 counter after your turn ends. For an example of a card that works similar to this, and has specific rulings stating that the counters remain, just take a look at Raging Ravine.
Still, I like chimeric staff more, which comes into play with always the same mana cost, but you can then keep changing it whenever you want and use it as a mana sink. With the staff you can do tricks like "you want to steal it? I activate it with x = 0", or "I turn it into a 1/1 and attack. You block with your 3/3? I turn it into a 4/4" and so on. Lot's of funny stuff.
Also, in slow formats, I'd probably prefer riptide replicator over this. I mean, it also gives you access to creatures with a size depending on the amount of mana you spent when casting the artifact. The replicator however also messes with creature types, colors, can create multiple ones...
2.5/5
toss on leonin abunas in for protection and gruul war plow for trample. then it doesn't matter how much of a swarm they have. they all go squish and you win.
this does nothing with Electropotence. The only time this card 'enters the battlefield' is when you cast it. Once the Chimeric Mass is in play it does not keep 'entering the battlefield' it just 'becomes' a X/X creature.
still a handy and versatile card.
@Ph1005: It does not deal damage with Electropotence since it comes in as an artifact, not a creature.
That won't work the way you think it will. Paradise Mantle doesn't stack with other {T} abilities; you'll have to choose whether you're adding 1 of any color or 2 colorless.
If you want a combo like that, you only need 2 Myr Galvanizers and a Palladium Myr, which lets you get infinite mana.
This guy can reset his P/T by paying another 1. So, say, after being bolted once during the Declare Attackers step, the owner can pay 1 to reset his toughness for the Declare Blockers step to block some lesser creature to save itself from death.
You cannot search for this via Treasure Mage. When determining the Converted Mana Cost (CMC) of a card, all values of X are determined to be 0. Thus, this cards CMC is 0, and still searchable via trinket mage.
@Jokergius
It actually could work prototype portal, you would just need to find a way to get charge counters onto it after it came into play, such as via Energy Chamber
@Eyeless
It doesn't work exactly like that. What you are referring to is the ability to always change it's state based power/toughness back to the number of charge counters on Chimeric Mass. This is useful when something like Diminish is used on it (as is referenced in the rulings). Both Chimeric Mass' ability and Diminish set it's base power/toughness. Cards like Giant Growth and +1/+1 (or -1/-1) counters alter this base power and toughness and are applied afterwards. Thus, in the example you presented, paying the 1 to reset its power/toughness would do nothing as the -1/-1 counters are taken into account afterwards. Also, you could not save chimeric mass from going to the Graveyard if it had 5 charge counters and was a 5/5 creature and was blocked by a 6/6 infect, unless you found a way to increase its toughness above 6 until the end of the turn. But the -1/-1 counters would stay on it and the next time you activated Chimeric Mass it would go to the graveyard unless it had more than 6 charge counters on it.
2 x Mana Myr
2 x Myr Galvanizer
Commence infinite mana combo.
This is SO going in a Myr deck.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/deck/694
5/5
302.6. A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol or the untap symbol in its activation cost can’t
be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since his or her
most recent turn began. A creature can’t attack unless it has been under its controller’s control
continuously since his or her most recent turn began. This rule is informally called the “summoning
sickness” rule.
Glint Hawk Idol Rulings:
1/1/2011 If Glint Hawk Idol becomes a creature before you begin a turn with it under your control, it will be affected by "summoning sickness."
Unless the Chimeric Mass (creature or not) has been in your control continuously since the beginning of your turn (i.e. you cast it last turn or earlier) it will have summoning sickness when you activate it.
Play Mass for 0, activate it, Mass goes to the GY, Salvaging Station untaps if it isn't already, tap to use the Station's ability, Mass comes back with no counters again, repeat.
There's a lot to combo this with. The best are probably -
the classic Disciple of the Vault or the more recent Blood Artist to drain the opponent's life;
Glassdust Hulk or Arcbound Crusher for infinite/infinite creatures;
River Kelpie to draw your deck;
Pawn of Ulamog for infinite Eldrazi Spawn tokens and hence mana
Grave Pact or Martyr's Bond to wipe the opponent's board of creatures (and artifacts with the latter).
If you were playing competitive EDH you might pair this with the double Sharuum combo (via Phyrexian Metamorph or Shaping Steel) - it causes all the same triggers so you get double use out of your engines.
Good creature, especially next to pox decks.