Phantom Whelp
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pauper Legal
Pauper Duel Commander Legal
Pauper EDH Legal
Planar Constructed Legal
Planechase Legal
Premodern Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Phantom Whelp

Creature — Dog Illusion

When Phantom Whelp attacks or blocks, return it to its owner's hand at end of combat.

wallisface on The Greater Wave

2 years 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

9 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