Chainer, Dementia Master is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
All Nightmares get +1/+1., Pay 3 life: Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. That creature is black and is a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types. When Chainer leaves the battlefield, exile all Nightmares.
Complete guide
Chainer, Dementia Master is a powerful legend from the Torment expansion that acts as a premier reanimator tool for mono-black decks. By sacrificing your health, you can pull any creature from any graveyard directly into the fray as your own dark servant. However, be wary, for the bond Chainer shares with these Nightmares is fragile and temporary.
Lord of the Nightmares
Chainer provides a static +1/+1 buff to all Nightmares on the battlefield, including those he creates and those played by opponents. His activated ability costs three black mana and 3 life, allowing you to target a creature card in any graveyard. When that creature enters the battlefield, it loses its original colors and becomes mono-black, and it gains the Nightmare subtype in addition to its original types.
The Price of Loss
The most critical part of Chainer's design is his leaves-the-battlefield trigger. If Chainer is exiled, returned to your hand, or dies, his ability triggers and exiles every permanent on the battlefield with the Nightmare subtype. This includes creatures you reanimated with his ability and any other creatures that happen to be Nightmares. Note that because they are exiled, they do not 'die,' which prevents many on-death triggers from firing.
Timing and State
When you resolve Chainer's ability, the creature enters the battlefield already as a black Nightmare. There is no point in time where it is on the battlefield in its original color or without the Nightmare type. If you lose control of Chainer, you do not lose control of the creatures he reanimated; however, if Chainer leaves the battlefield later for any reason, those creatures will still be exiled regardless of who controls them.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumYou activate Chainer, Dementia Master to bring Solemn Simulacrum from your graveyard to the battlefield. The Simulacrum enters as a black Nightmare, its enter-the-battlefield ability triggers, and you fetch a land. Because it is a Nightmare, it receives a +1/+1 bonus from Chainer. If the Simulacrum dies, you draw a card; however, if Chainer leaves the battlefield, the Simulacrum is exiled and you will not get to draw a card.
Roaming ThroneIf you control Roaming Throne and chose 'Human' or 'Minion' as it entered, and then Chainer, Dementia Master leaves the battlefield, his exile trigger will fire twice. While this usually doesn't change the outcome for the first batch of Nightmares, it can be relevant if new Nightmares are created in response to the first trigger. Conversely, if you chose 'Nightmare' for the Throne, the Throne itself will be exiled by Chainer's trigger.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Chainer, Dementia Master
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
The creature put onto the battlefield by Chainer's activated ability is black only, not black in addition to its other colors. It is, however, a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types. As it enters the battlefield, it is already a black Nightmare (and perhaps some other creature types); it doesn't enter and then become a black Nightmare.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Chainer, Dementia Master + K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth + Gray Merchant of Asphodel + Dimir House Guard
- 1Activate Dimir House Guard by sacrificing Gray Merchant, regenerating it the next time it would die this turn.
- 2Activate Chainer by paying nine life, returning Gray Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 3Gray Merchant enters the battlefield, causing each opponent to lose life equal to your devotion to black and causing you to gain life equal to the amount of life lost this way.
- 4Repeat.
Chainer, Dementia Master + K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth + Gray Merchant of Asphodel + Viscera Seer
- 1Activate Viscera Seer by sacrificing Gray Merchant.
- 2Activate Chainer by paying 9 life due to K'rrik, returning Gray Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 3When Gray Merchant enters, it triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to your devotion to black and causing you to gain that much life.
- 4Repeat.
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth + Buried Alive + Reanimate + Chainer, Dementia Master
- 1Cast Buried Alive by paying
and two life, searching for Chainer, Viscera Seer, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel. - 2Cast Reanimate by paying 2 life.
- 3returning Chainer onto the battlefield and causing you to lose five life.
- 4Activate Chainer by paying nine life, returning Viscera Seer from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 5Activate Chainer by paying nine life, returning Gray Merchant of Asphodel from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 6Gray Merchant of Asphodel enters the battlefield, causing each opponent to lose life equal to your devotion to black and causing you to gain life equal to the amount of life lost this way.
- 7Activate Viscera Seer by sacrificing Gray Merchant of Asphodel, scrying 1.
- 8Repeat from step 5.
Chainer, Dementia Master + K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth + Gray Merchant of Asphodel + Carrion Feeder
- 1Activate Carrion Feeder by sacrificing Gray Merchant.
- 2Activate Chainer by paying 9 life due to K'rrik, returning Gray Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 3When Gray Merchant enters, it triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to your devotion to black and causing you to gain that much life.
- 4Repeat.
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth + Buried Alive + Animate Dead + Chainer, Dementia Master
- 1Cast Buried Alive by paying and two life, searching for Chainer, Viscera Seer, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel.
- 2Cast Animate Dead by paying
and two life. - 3Animate Dead enters the battlefield, returning Chainer onto the battlefield attached with Animate Dead.
- 4Activate Chainer by paying nine life, returning Viscera Seer from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 5Activate Chainer by paying nine life, returning Gray Merchant of Asphodel from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 6Gray Merchant of Asphodel enters the battlefield, causing each opponent to lose life equal to your devotion to black and causing you to gain life equal to the amount of life lost this way.
- 7Activate Viscera Seer by sacrificing Gray Merchant of Asphodel, scrying 1.
- 8Repeat from step 5.
Chainer, Dementia Master + K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth + Gray Merchant of Asphodel + Ashnod's Altar
- 1Activate Ashnod's Altar by sacrificing Gray Merchant.
- 2Activate Chainer by paying 9 life due to K'rrik, returning Gray Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 3When Gray Merchant enters, it triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to your devotion to black and causing you to gain that much life.
- 4Repeat.
Chainer, Dementia Master + K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth + Gray Merchant of Asphodel + Phyrexian Altar
- 1Activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing Gray Merchant.
- 2Activate Chainer by paying 9 life due to K'rrik, returning Gray Merchant from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 3When Gray Merchant enters, it triggers, causing each opponent to lose life equal to your devotion to black and causing you to gain that much life.
- 4Repeat.
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth + Buried Alive + Necromancy + Chainer, Dementia Master
- 1Cast Buried Alive by paying and two life, searching for Chainer, Viscera Seer, and Gray Merchant of Asphodel.
- 2Cast Necromancy by paying and two life.
- 3Necromancy enters the battlefield, returning Chainer onto the battlefield attached with Necromancy.
- 4Activate Chainer by paying nine life, returning Viscera Seer from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 5Activate Chainer by paying nine life, returning Gray Merchant of Asphodel from your graveyard to the battlefield as a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types.
- 6Gray Merchant of Asphodel enters the battlefield, causing each opponent to lose life equal to your devotion to black and causing you to gain life equal to the amount of life lost this way.
- 7Activate Viscera Seer by sacrificing Gray Merchant of Asphodel, scrying 1.
- 8Repeat from step 5.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Chainer, Dementia Master
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