Brass-Talon Chimera MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact Creature — Chimera
Abilities	First strike
Released	1997-02-03
Set symbol
Set name	Visions
Set code	VIS
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	142
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mike Dringenberg

Key Takeaways

Brass-Talon Chimera excels in artifact decks, offering card advantage and combo potential through recurring abilities.
This Chimera’s mana cost demands a well-tuned deck but enables instant combat enhancements.
It can be vulnerable to targeted removal spells, demanding strategic play to maximize its potential.

Text of card

First strike Brass-Talon Chimera counts as a Chimera. Sacrifice Brass-Talon Chimera: Put a +2/+2 counter on target Chimera and that Chimera gains first strike permanently.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Brass-Talon Chimera offers a unique advantage in that it can be a key part of a combo engine in artifact-centric decks. Its ability to sacrifice itself to enhance another creature can be repeatedly exploited with recursion strategies, effectively providing card advantage as you reuse the Chimera’s abilities.

Resource Acceleration: For MTG players looking to amplify their game momentum, Brass-Talon Chimera can be a goldmine. Integrating it into a deck focused on artifacts can expedite your game plan, as the Chimera can be both an enabler and beneficiary of artifact synergies, potentially accelerating your resource development over the course of a match.

Instant Speed: Although Brass-Talon Chimera itself doesn’t act at instant speed, its ability to instantly beef up another creature during combat can catch opponents off guard. This allows savvy players to create favorable blocks or attacks in response to an opponent’s actions, manipulating the battle in their favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When playing Brass-Talon Chimera, a key downside is its ability triggering through the discard of another artifact. This can become a drawback during gameplay, particularly when your hand is running low on artifacts or when every card in hand is vital for your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring one red and two other colors of mana, this card comes with a mana cost that needs a well-tuned mana base. This can pose a limitation for the card’s inclusion, especially if you are running a multi-colored deck which may not consistently produce the required colors in the early to mid-game stages.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cast cost of three, Brass-Talon Chimera stands on the higher side compared to other creatures with similar stats or abilities. This could potentially slow down the pace of your gameplay, as investing three mana into this single creature can prevent you from deploying other spells or creatures during crucial turns.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Brass-Talon Chimera offers flexibility in deck building, seamlessly fitting into artifact-centric strategies or as an enhancer for creature-focused decks.

Combo Potential: With its ability to transfer plus counters upon death, it pairs well with other creatures and artifacts that benefit from, or create, additional counters, scaling up the potential for powerful synergies.

Meta-Relevance: Given its robustness in various metas, this Chimera can be a formidable contender, especially in environments where artifact creatures are prevalent or in metas that favor modular mechanics.

How to beat

Brass-Talon Chimera is a unique creature card that presents an interesting challenge on the battlefield. This artifact creature comes with vigilance, allowing it to be both an offensive and defensive asset. Navigating around this card requires a strategy that can handle such versatility. The first step is to focus on removal spells that can target artifacts. Cards like Naturalize or Shatter can be key to dismantling the Chimera before it becomes a bigger threat.

Alternatively, engaging in combat with the Chimera demands creatures that can overpower it or bypass its defenses entirely. Flying creatures or those with unblockable abilities tend to shine in these scenarios. If the Brass-Talon Chimera is part of a larger artifact synergy within your opponent’s deck, consider using cards that limit artifact activations, like Stony Silence, to cut off the combo potential. Strategic planning and the right removal can help you triumph over this vigilant Chimera.

Finally, if you’re playing in a format where the Chimera sees play, make sure to have sideboard options ready. Being prepared is half the battle and with the right sideboard cards, you’ll find that Brass-Talon Chimera is much less daunting to face.

Cards like Brass-Talon Chimera

Brass-Talon Chimera presents a unique angle in the sphere of artifact creatures within Magic: The Gathering. It holds echoes to its family members, like Iron-Belly Chimera, which also boasts the ability to modify and enhance gameplay through sacrificing itself for a greater benefit. However, Brass-Talon Chimera distinguishes itself with its particular focus on attack rather than Iron-Belly’s defensive posture.

Examining Lead-Belly Chimera, a third kin in this sequence, highlights a different set of strategies; this card prioritizes resource accumulation by boosting your mana pool upon departure from the field. Yet Brass-Talon Chimera, with its emphasis on offense, allows for a more aggressive playstyle. Similarly, Tin-Wing Chimera from the same lineage rounds out the suite with its aerial enhancement capabilities, offering versatility in flying attacks compared to Brass-Talon’s ground-based prowess.

All considered, Brass-Talon Chimera holds its own within the Chimera suite thanks to its offensive trait. While it shares the sacrificial synergies with its counterparts, its unique leaning into bolstering creature attacks makes it a formidable piece in artifact-focused MTG decks aiming for an aggressive edge.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Brass-Talon Chimera MTG card by a specific set like Visions, 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 Brass-Talon Chimera and other MTG cards: