Phantom Whelp

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wallisface on The Greater Wave

1 year ago

Some thoughts

• your deck is currently at 59 cards, you’ll want to make it to 60 for whatever format you’re playing.

• the deck is currently tagged under the modern format, but you’ve got 4 cards that aren’t modern legal here, in Phantom Whelp, Sword Coast Serpent, Day of the Dragons, Diplomatic Immunity.

• ideally you should be aiming for your deck to mostly be playsets (4-ofs). Currently you’re playing everything exclusively as a 1-of or 2-of, which will just mean your deck is super inconsistent and unreliable. Depending how casual you play, this might not matter - but as it stands it will be very hard for the deck to present a coherent plan.

• mana curves are important, and i think this one is off here. You have almost nothing to do turn-1, which will mean you’re almost always starting a turn behind your opponent. But added to this, you also have very few turn-2 options… there’s going to be a lot of games where your opponent basically starts 2-turns ahead of you!

• added to the above, most decks struggle to run a lot of high mana cards, with the majority of decks just having a single playset (4 cards) costing 4-or-more mana. You’ve got a whopping 18 cards in this range, which feels waaay too many, and will lead to some really slow plays.

MrAptronym on Illusory Specialist

8 years ago

I think you could cut down on the creatures and add a few more lands.

You seem to have a jace theme but 4 Jace planeswalkers feels like a bit overkill? Personally I don't like to keep more than 2 of one planeswalker type in my deck, but if you aren't running into any issues with them sitting in your hand, its fine. I would probably take out Jace's Sanctum though as it only contributes to 1/10th of your deck.

While your commander functions well with illusions, its a shame she encourages auras which don't. A couple could be useful in protecting her and doubling her draw: Eel Umbra, Crab Umbra, Pemmin's Aura, Diplomatic Immunity even Call to the Kindred (you have 16 wizards currently, or could throw it on an illusion that wouldn't die).

I feel like you are missing a bunch of decent illusions. Phantasmal Image is excellent. Cloud Dragon is a decent flier. Phantom Warrior is just a 2/2 but a very consistent attacker. Nivix Barrier is a solid wall and combat trick combo. Veiling Oddity can open you up for a big attack, even if it is slow.

Now, none of those are gems, but they are a step above the likes of Dream Prowler or Phantom Whelp