Duelist Nexus introduced us to the Chimera/illusion cards, resulting in one of the most versatile engines that we have seen in a while. The cards can fit into so many different strategies, and they give various decks another dimension, an additional angle. Time to take a closer look!
At first the engine went underrated, and all the cards remained very cheap. However, it proved to be popular with the players and skyrocketed in price as a result. The goal of this engine is to generate a lot of card advantage, using Chimera to get rid of a random card in your opponent's hand, while setting up a few interruptions during your opponent's turn.
The Engine in a Nutshell
Some more go in the extra deck. But the main package consists of the following cards:
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3
3
2–3
3
2–3
1
This is not a small engine by any means as you will have to dedicate fourteen to fifteen cards in your main deck to it. However, opening on or results in one-card combos that make you end your turn with the opponent losing a random card from their hand, protection that resides in your graveyard, and a follow-up fusion during your opponent's turn. Not too bad for starting things off with a single card, if you ask me.
Mirror Swordknight is a level four illusion monster with 1,900 attack that cannot destroy monsters or be destroyed by battle. It has another on-field effect where you can tribute it to special summon any monster that mentions from your deck to the field, except for itself. It also comes with a graveyard effect that activates when—not if—your opponent activates a monster effect while you control : It can banish itself from your graveyard to negate that effect. Cornfield Coatl, on the other hand, can discard itself to add any monster that mentions Chimera Fusion. Its graveyard effect is almost the same as Mirror Swordknight's, but it negates and destroys cards and effects that target cards you control, as long as you have Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast on the field.
On summon, grabs you a level five fiend monster such as or Chimera Fusion. Once you use Gazelle for a fusion summon, you can add any illusion monster to your hand. Berfomet has two effects: When summoned, it can add a level four beast monster as well as Chimera Fusion. When it is used as fusion material, you can revive any illusion monster from your graveyard.
Then, we have Chimera Fusion, a quickplay spell card that can only be used during the main phase. It can fusion summon any monster, using materials from either the hand or field, as long as you are using either a beast or fiend monster. If Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast is on your field or graveyard, you can add Chimera Fusion back to your hand, or banish it to summon the original and from your deck or graveyard.
is the only expensive card in the engine. It is treated as Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast on the field and graveyard. When summoned, it discards a random card from your opponent's hand at the end of turn (with the effect itself activating on summon). Lastly, during your opponent's turn, can be banished from the graveyard to revive a beast, fiend, or illusion monster in your graveyard.
The final monster is . It is treated as Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast on the field and graveyard as well, and it can attack monsters a number of times equal to the number of materials used for its summon; so the minimum would be two monsters. However, since it is an illusion monster, it cannot destroy monsters by battle, even though it has a massive 3,100 attack points. Any monster it battles gets its attack reset to zero and its effect permanently negated.
Where Does the Engine Fit In?
Well, the short answer is: Everywhere you can find the space. The more detailed answer is that there are a couple of strategies that specifically benefit from it. For example, you could play a simplified lineup of Branded along with this engine. Not only do you get the threat of and the card advantage with all the searches, along with the discard of your opponent's hand and graveyard protection. You will also be setting up or potentially even .
Other than Branded, you can also play it with Dark World as can search , and can help trigger the effects of your Dark World monsters. Furthermore, the Chimera package can be played with Runick, the goal being out-resourcing your opponent while very patiently waiting for the chance to finish off the game.
You could even use the engine in combination with Tri-Brigade and Plunder Patroll. Interestingly, players started teching a single copy of since Gazelle can search it, which ends up putting more pressure on your opponent, especially if their deck is full of monsters with 1,400 attack or less. Another cool thing about the engine is that Chimera Fusion is almost generic as long as you use a beast or fiend monster as material. Therefore, if you play a small Shaddoll package, use it to summon as the engine has Berfomet as a dark monster.
Overall, the engine has a lot of potential and will only get better with the introduction of new illusion monsters and more Chimera cards. Seeing how generic and strong it is, players will definitely try to find more creative ways to utilize it.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, not of Cardmarket.
