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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Phantom Creatures
Judgment - The Crew looks at all 6 Phantom Creatures

Pojo's Average Rating -
Constructed: See Below (9 Reviews)
Limited: See Below (9 Reviews)
Reviewed May 31, 2002

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

Click here to see all our 
Card of the Day Reviews 


Fletcher
Peatross

Phantoms will bring back WW. Phantoms might even see play in Extended. Throw an enchantment on it and you've now got a damage-proof creature. Throw out Glorious Anthem and you've now got an army of damage-proof creatures. I like these cards, even if most of them die rather easily if they are blocked a few times.

In Limited they are much less powerful and range from 2-4 in Power. 

In Constructed they are more worthwhile and range from 2-4 in Power, with more towards 4.


Judge Bill

Let’s take these from best to worst:

1) Phantom Nishoba

A very large body, it will take 7 packets of damage if you kill it that way. And if it goes through 7 combats, you will gain 28 life. A large life swing, and a very large body.

Constructed: 4

Limited: 4.8

2) Phantom Centaur

… but just barely over #3. This is because of the Protection from Black and the bigger body (5/3 vs 2/2 when they come on line). The protection from black stands to be a big this in the current format.

Constructed: 3.8

Limited: 3

3) Phantom Nomad

A bear that has to be killed twice. We also get initial power and toughness equal to the casting cost. I think this may see quite a bit of play in constructed.

Constructed: 3.9

Limited: 2.5

4) Phantom Nantuko

The ability of adding a +1/+1 counter stands to make this one get out of hand. Really quick.

However, this ability is much better in limited than constructed.

Constructed: 2.2

Limited: 4

5) Phantom Tiger

The ability to have a 3/2 on the third turn (or sooner) makes this one better than the last one I have to review. However, I think there are many more green creatures I’d rather play in this slot.

Constructed: 2

Limited: 2.2

6) Phantom Flock

This creature costs at least one, and maybe 2 too much mana for my liking. Yes, it flies, so you should probably play it in limited, but I don’t see it getting any play in constructed, as there are many more creatures I’d rather have for 5 mana.

Constructed: 1

Limited: 3

Doc Mackerel 

Phantoms

The Phantom creatures are going to add a lot of depth to combat. They're great battling against opposing fatties, but really bad against small amounts of damage like Fire and Progigal Sorcerer. The 2 cards that will receive most attention are Phantom Nishoba and Phantom Nantuko. The rest are primarily the same, but with varying costs and generic abilities slapped on. 

Phantom Centaur is the best of the rest, beginning life as a 5/3 with protection from Black for 2GG.

Phantom Nantuko is going to be a very tricky little creature. It comes out with 2 lives, and every turn you can give it an extra life, or attack with its trample ability. A dangerous weapon in the hands of a tactician. 

Phantom Nishoba is the Timmy of the Phantom critters, kicking off with 7 lives plus a shed-load of abilities. However, he goes down to a bounce or death spell just as easily as the rest.

Phantom Centaur - 4.5

Phantom Flock - 3.5

Phantom Nantuko - 4.5

Phantom Nishoba - 4

Phantom Nomad - 3.5

Phantom Tiger - 3

John Hornberg

With the exception of 2 of the Phantom Creatures, none of them are all that great.

The best one in my opinion is clearly without a doubt Phantom Centaur. In any of these creatures see play, this one is the one, being a 5/3 for I think 4, and having Protection from Black on top of that. A 4 in both formats.

Phantom Nantuko is probably the next best one, and while he probably will be pretty good, I really don't like him. He doesn't die unless forced out by creature destruction, that's for sure. A 3 in constructed, because he is Phantom Nomad + Divine Sacrament, without the Sacrament. In limited, he is okay, but I refuse to rank something that I cannot rank fairly, or accurately.

Phantom Nishoba is really good, just costs way too much. 7 mana only makes decks in multiples of one unless it's like Roar of the Wurm, where there is another, cheaper way to put that lug into play. Until then, he will be ignored. He kicks ass in draft, a 1st pick everytime regardless of colors, but not really amazing in constructed. In constructed, this guy gets a 2.5, because he's fun, but not cost effective. A 5+ in limited, take him no matter what. Don't ask questions.

Phantom Nomad is okay. A 2/2 for 2 is always nice, and adds an I foresee the the element of the indestructible blocker becoming fun with this guy in white weenie, which I see making a comeback in a sense, actually. I give this guy a 3, because he is kind of what White Weenie needed right now. We'll have to wait and see.

Phantom Tiger and Phantom Flock can be ignored in constructed. There are better creatures for decks. Phantom Tiger, though, is clearly the worst of his kind, being a 2/2 for 3 mana. BOth get 1.5, because while one is worse than the other, they will both see no play. In limited, Phantom Tiger gets a resounding 2, because he is a creature, and Phantom FLock gets a 4 because it flies, and cost the same as Windreader.


Rob
Lawing

The Phantoms are all excellent creatures, particularly when they have an enchantment on them which boosts there toughness. Once the enchantment is on they are virtually unkillable until it is removed. Since these guys are all green or white or both the enchantment stuff is easy to get in either constructed or limited. I think they are all very playable with the Nishoba being close to broken. My only complaint is that I see no reason they should be only in green or white. Let's all demand phantom goblins, djinns, and specters for the next release.
 
Ratings (Based on all creatures collectively)
Constructed- 3
Limited- 4


DeQuan
Watson

Ok, I think the jury is still out on the phantom creatures.  I think that the Phantom Nomad can be intersting in a white weenie style deck.  I also think that the Phantom Centaur is going to see a little bit of play.  Other than that, I'm not a huge fan of them for constructed play.

In limited it's worth to take them, depending on which ones you pull.  The Nishoba is hard to deal with, and the Tiger is fun.  If you can enchant them with something that gives them bonuses like Arcane Teachings, then they are even harder to kill.

Constructed (Phantom Centaur and Phantom Nomad) : 3.6
Constructed (all others) : 2.7
Limited: 3


Mason
Peatross

Phantom creatures

At first I thought these guys were shitty, because I didn't read the card properly. I thought they would just die the first time they took enough damage - I was assuming they were like creatures that got weaker according to the amount of damage they took. I was wrong - they only lose one counter a turn. That's pretty hoss. The other hoss thing to do is enchant these guys. Slap a Seton's Desire on one of them, and you've got a unstoppable killing machine. There aren't enough Banish effects in the set to take care of it - you've created a nightmare for your opponent.

Limited Rating: 4+
Constructed Rating: 3+ (Especially the Centaur)


Aaron
Teare

Limited ****
Constructed ***

Phantom Creatures are excellent in limited play as they are all well fairly costed creatures that hang around much longer than the average creature.  While durable, be sure to look out for the bane of Phantom Creatures... TIM!  In a stalemate... any Tim or re-usable source of damage will rip through a Phantom Army in a heartbeat.

In constructed Phantom Creatures are all alittle tame IMO... with the exception of Phantom Cenataur.  The pro black is unnecessary but appreciated all the same.  The beauty of the Centaur lies in his 5 offense for only 4 mana... and his ability to trade with other big creatures and live to fight another day! 


John B
Turpish

Phantom Nishoba costs too much to go into anything other than Reanimator, and that deck has better things to get.

2

Phantom Nomad is a 2/2 for 2, and on a creature this size I'd have to say the Phantom mechanic is more of a negative than a postive, especially without trample. However, if you played a bunch of toughness-enhancing effects any low-cost Phantom would be cool. Too bad he's the only one.

2.5

Phantom Tiger runs into essentially the same problems as Phantom Nomad without having the bonus of being white or being low-cost (and therefore lending itself well to Glorious Anthem, etc).

2

Phantom Centaur is pretty good. Some people compare it to Blastoderm, and to this I must strongly disagree. Comparisons aside, it has 5 power for 4 mana. That is very important. Also, it has Protection from Black. While that ability isn't nearly as important as the power-cost ratio, it could help out from time to time.

4

Phantom Flock just costs way too much.

1.75

Phantom Monster is pretty good, but there's no reason to use him when you could use Possessed Aven (unless blue is a splash, in which case you probably have access to even better creatures). Hey, you said ALL Phantom creatures.

1.5

Phantom Nantuko could possibly be used in block, but probably won't. The main thing holding this guy back is the fact that to make him grow you must forsake attacking. You could theoretically use him in control, block and end of turn grow, and that's why I say he's a possiblity, but honestly isn't Squirrel Nest better?

2

Phantom Warrior... just kidding.

 

 

 

 

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