Chimeric Sphere MTG Card


Chimeric Sphere - Weatherlight
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact
Released1997-06-09
Set symbol
Set nameWeatherlight
Set codeWTH
Number148
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byColin MacNeil

Key Takeaways

  1. Chimeric Sphere’s instant speed animation offers players surprise blocks and flexible resource management.
  2. Its dual role as an artifact and creature adapts to varying board states, enhancing strategic plays.
  3. While versatile, the Sphere’s high mana cost and specific activation requirements may limit its use.

Text of card

: Until end of turn, Chimeric Sphere is a 2/1 artifact creature with flying. : Until end of turn, Chimeric Sphere is a 3/2 artifact creature without flying.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Chimeric Sphere offers a unique ability to shield itself from sorcery-speed removal by temporarily becoming a creature. This flexibility can maintain card advantage by forcing your opponent to use removal ineffectively or hold back their spells.

Resource Acceleration: Although it doesn’t directly ramp, the Sphere’s versatility in switching between a non-creature artifact and creature helps manage resources efficiently. It adapts to the pace of the game, allowing you to accelerate your board presence when needed without committing to a creature that might be removed.

Instant Speed: The option to animate Chimeric Sphere at instant speed can be tactical, enabling surprise blocks or giving you the flexibility to decide how to use your mana during an opponent’s turn. This can lead to advantageous trades or preserving your life total while developing your game plan.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Chimeric Sphere necessitates the setting aside of another artifact card, potentially depleting your hand and weakening your board presence.

Specific Mana Cost: The activation of Chimeric Sphere’s abilities requires a blend of generic and specific mana, which may not seamlessly fit into every deck’s mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The utility of Chimeric Sphere might be overshadowed by other artifacts or cards that provide more versatile or cost-effective defensive options.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Chimeric Sphere offers flexibility in game play, as it can morph into a flying creature to evade ground-based defenses or become a more robust blocker when necessary. Its adaptability can fit seamlessly into a variety of decks that seek to exploit diverse board states.

Combo Potential: This card can play a key role in artifact synergy decks. Being able to toggle between creature and artifact states, Chimeric Sphere can trigger effects of cards that care about either type entering the battlefield or changing status. This multifaceted nature opens up a spectrum of strategic plays.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to be both an artifact and a creature, Chimeric Sphere remains relevant in metas that are heavy on artifact interaction or where evasion is crucial. It serves as a utility card that can adapt to the shifting demands of competitive play, providing subtle yet impactful advantages.


How to beat

Chimeric Sphere presents a unique challenge on the battlefield, with its ability to become a creature with a formidable defense at a moment’s notice. Defeating this card requires strategic planning and thoughtful counterplay. One efficient tactic involves the use of removal spells that can target artifacts, such as Disenchant or Naturalize. These ensure that the Chimeric Sphere is dealt with before it can morph into a creature and create a blockade. It’s also beneficial to keep in mind that Chimeric Sphere’s transformation depends on its owner’s resources; managing to keep their mana tapped through pressure or during their upkeep can prevent the sphere from becoming a creature at all.

Alternatively, combat tricks that weaken or neutralize creatures, like Pacifism or Narcolepsy, can turn the tide by ensuring the Sphere’s ineffectiveness even after its transformation. Barring such interventions, maintaining a flexible and aggressive strategy can pressure an opponent into using resources for Chimeric Sphere when they might otherwise be needed elsewhere, ultimately tipping the scales in your favor during a game of Magic: The Gathering.


Cards like Chimeric Sphere

Chimeric Sphere offers MTG enthusiasts a unique toolkit with its multifaceted capabilities. This artifact resonates with the flexible nature of cards like Chimeric Staff, which also allows players to convert their resources into a sizeable creature during either play or defense. While Chimeric Sphere can become a flying creature, defending from aerial assaults, or a trample creature pushing damage through defenders, Chimeric Staff scales its creature size with mana investment.

Analogous in adaptability is Ratchet Bomb, another artifact that can be tailored to the evolving board state. Although it does not morph into a creature, it serves as a multi-purpose removal tool that can precisely manage the swaying tides of battlefield advantage. Where Chimeric Sphere provides a repeatable creature transformation, Ratchet Bomb delivers a one-time sweep, potentially reshaping the game’s outcome.

In the realm of MTG versatile artifacts, Chimeric Sphere stands out for its dual-mode utility and regular operability. Despite not offering the scalability of Chimeric Staff or the board-clearing power of Ratchet Bomb, it’s a consistent tool that can fulfill multiple roles in the game, catering to strategic flexibility and dynamic gameplay tactics.

Chimeric Staff - MTG Card versions
Ratchet Bomb - MTG Card versions
Chimeric Staff - Urza's Saga (USG)
Ratchet Bomb - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)

Cards similar to Chimeric Sphere by color, type and mana cost

Celestial Prism - MTG Card versions
Runed Arch - MTG Card versions
Clay Pigeon - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Jalum Tome - MTG Card versions
Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
Training Drone - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions
Alloy Myr - MTG Card versions
Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Manalith - MTG Card versions
Celestial Prism - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Runed Arch - Ice Age (ICE)
Clay Pigeon - Unglued (UGL)
Ashnod's Altar - The Brothers' War Retro Artifacts (BRR)
Jalum Tome - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Patchwork Gnomes - Odyssey (ODY)
The Stasis Coffin - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Captain's Hook - Rivals of Ixalan Promos (PRIX)
Spellweaver Helix - Mirrodin (MRD)
Scale of Chiss-Goria - Mirrodin (MRD)
Lightning Coils - Mirrodin (MRD)
Loxodon Warhammer - Tenth Edition (10E)
Sword of Feast and Famine - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Training Drone - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Pristine Talisman - New Phyrexia Promos (PNPH)
Alloy Myr - Jumpstart (JMP)
Guardians of Meletis - Magic Origins (ORI)
Vedalken Shackles - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Herald's Horn - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Manalith - Hour of Devastation (HOU)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Chimeric Sphere MTG card by a specific set like Weatherlight, 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 Chimeric Sphere and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Chimeric Sphere has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2008-04-01 If the first ability is activated and resolves, then the second ability is activated and resolves, Chimeric Sphere will be a 3/2 creature. It won’t have flying.
2008-08-01 A noncreature permanent that turns into a creature can attack, and its abilities can be activated, only if its controller has continuously controlled that permanent since the beginning of their most recent turn. It doesn’t matter how long the permanent has been a creature.

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