Daybreak Chimera MTG Card

Reduces cost with white devotion, improving resource management for white-centric decks. Flexibility to cast other spells due to freed-up mana enhances strategic depth. Requires specific mana setup, which can limit multicolored deck integration.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Chimera
Abilities	Flying
Released	2020-01-24
Set symbol
Set name	Theros Beyond Death
Set code	THB
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	10
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Lars Grant-West

Text of card

This spell costs less to cast, where X is your devotion to white. (Each in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to white.) Flying

Cards like Daybreak Chimera

Daybreak Chimera is a distinctive creature within the Magic: The Gathering collection. It shares a space with cards like Aven Sunstriker for its flying ability, giving players an aerial advantage during combat. However, what sets Daybreak Chimera apart is its potential for a reduced casting cost in decks focusing on white mana symbols. Aven Sunstriker doesn’t offer this cost efficiency, though it does come with double strike, which the Chimera lacks.

Considering the cost reduction aspect, Herald of Dromoka is a creature that also benefits from specific deck compositions, reducing the cost of other creature spells with a particular focus on the Warrior tribe. The Herald and the Chimera diverge in purpose, but both emphasize the importance of synergetic deck building. Another comparable card is Griffin Aerie, which, like Daybreak Chimera, rewards you for having a higher life total, a common theme in white deck strategies.

In sum, Daybreak Chimera’s blend of aerial threat and cost efficiency cements its place as a valuable option for players seeking to optimize their white decks. With the ability to swift into the battlefield early in the game, this card can quickly shift the tide of a match in the player’s favor.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Daybreak Chimera can be a considerable force on the battlefield, providing an advantage not through drawing cards but by offering a strong flying creature at potentially reduced cost. This enables players to maintain pressure on opponents while dedicating resources elsewhere.

Resource Acceleration: Thanks to its cost reduction ability, which is based on your devotion to white, Daybreak Chimera can be cast for less mana, effectively accelerating your resources. This can allow you to deploy other threats or hold mana for reactive plays much sooner than usual.

Instant Speed: While Daybreak Chimera itself isn’t an instant, its reduced cost in the presence of white mana symbols opens up opportunities to cast other instant-speed spells within the same turn. This could enhance your board presence while keeping options open to respond to opponents’ actions.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Daybreak Chimera doesn’t directly mandate discarding cards, but its requirement for an untapped creature to reduce the casting cost can feel like a trade-off. If you can’t meet this condition, it’s as if you’re discarding the potential for a more efficient play.

Specific Mana Cost: Daybreak Chimera’s mana cost is heavily reliant on white mana sources, necessitating at least two white mana to cast. This can restrict deck-building options, especially for multicolored decks that may not consistently generate the required colors early on.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Daybreak Chimera offers a respectable body for its mana, the initial three white mana cost is steep without an established board presence. Other creatures or spells at similar or lower costs may provide equal or greater utility without such restrictive conditions.

Reasons to Include Daybreak Chimera in Your Collection

Versatility: Daybreak Chimera offers a cost-efficient flying creature with significant power, making it a suitable fit for White deck builds that can utilize this card early in the game through its devotion to white cost-reduction mechanism.

Combo Potential: The card’s synergy with enchantments and other cards that reward you for devotion allows for powerful combos in both aggressive and defensive strategies, providing opportunities to swing games in your favor with well-timed plays.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where flyers can dominate and early tempo plays are crucial, Daybreak Chimera can be a valuable asset in your lineup, contributing to board presence while navigating through your opponent’s defenses.

How to beat

Daybreak Chimera is an intriguing creature from the Theros Beyond Death set that presents a challenging aspect for MTG players due to its cost-reduction mechanic linked to devotion to white. At a base mana cost of five, its true potency emerges when you have a strong devotion aligned, potentially allowing you to summon the Chimera for a mere two white mana. Notably, with Flying and a solid 3/3 stats, it can dominate the aerial battlefield.

To counter Daybreak Chimera, removal spells are a clear necessity. Since the Chimera relies on your white devotion, reducing your white permanents can strip the cost advantage away, making it less of a threat. Direct removal spells like Murder or Doom Blade can bypass the combat stage, eliminating the Chimera before it can make an impact. Players can also turn to board wipes like Shatter the Sky or Day of Judgment to not only deal with the Chimera but also reset the board and further disrupt devotion-based strategies. Counterspells are always an option if the timing is right, countering Daybreak Chimera on cast and preventing it from hitting the board altogether.

A tactical approach is not only recommended but required to outplay a card like Daybreak Chimera. Understanding the importance of timing and carefully selecting your spells can turn the tide and keep the skies clear of this celestial threat.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Daybreak Chimera MTG card by a specific set like Theros Beyond Death, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Daybreak Chimera and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Daybreak Chimera has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Daybreak Chimera card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2020-01-24	Colorless and generic mana symbols (, , , , , and so on) in mana costs of permanents you control don’t count toward your devotion to any color.
2020-01-24	Hybrid mana symbols, monocolored hybrid mana symbols, and Phyrexian mana symbols do count toward your devotion to their color(s).
2020-01-24	If an activated ability or triggered ability has an effect that depends on your devotion to a color, you count the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents you control as the ability resolves. The permanent with that ability will be counted if it’s still on the battlefield at that time.
2020-01-24	If you put an Aura on an opponent’s permanent, you still control the Aura, and mana symbols in its mana cost count towards your devotion.
2020-01-24	Mana symbols in the text boxes of permanents you control don’t count toward your devotion to any color.
2020-01-24	Once you announce that you’re casting a spell, no player may take actions until the spell has been paid for. Notably, opponents can’t try to change by how much Daybreak Chimera’s cost is reduced.
2020-01-24	The cost reduction ability reduces only the generic mana in Daybreak Chimera’s cost. The colored mana must still be paid.
2020-01-24	To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you’re paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions (such as that of Daybreak Chimera). The converted mana cost of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was.