A-Phantom Carriage MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Spirit |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Released | 2021-09-24 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Innistrad: Midnight Hunt |
| Set code | MID |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 4 |
| Number | A-70 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Igor Kieryluk |
Key Takeaways
- Card selection on entry fosters control, granting strategic edge by preparing the hand or graveyard for future plays.
- Resource efficiency can be achieved through the carriage’s ability to cast spells from the graveyard at potentially reduced costs.
- Instant-speed interactions via graveyard setup make A-Phantom Carriage a formidable tool for responsive and adaptable strategies.
Text of card
Flying When Phantom Carriage enters the battlefield, you may search your library for a card with flashback or disturb, put it into your graveyard, then shuffle.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: When A-Phantom Carriage enters the battlefield, its unique abilities enable you to search your deck for a specific card type, ensuring you have the right tools at the right time to establish control over the game. This selective search mechanism can significantly increase your card quality advantage over opponents.
Resource Acceleration: A-Phantom Carriage’s effect may allow you to put a card with an alternative cost or with flashback directly into your graveyard. This effectively reduces the cost of casting that spell later on, thereby accelerating your resource utilization and potential to overwhelm your adversary.
Instant Speed: Although A-Phantom Carriage itself may not be cast at instant speed, its ability to interact with cards that can be cast from the graveyard at instant speed adds another layer of strategy to your game. By setting up your graveyard with instant-speed spells, you effectively widen your range of responses and tricks to use on your opponent’s turn, keeping them guessing and on the defensive.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Playing A-Phantom Carriage requires you to discard a card, which can deplete your hand. This could be a setback when your hand is already dwindling or when every card counts for your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of A-Phantom Carriage is exacting, demanding a precise combination of mana types. This can restrict deck-building options, not fitting easily into any scheme without the necessary mana support.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value that may be considered steep for its effects, A-Phantom Carriage faces stiff competition from other cards in the same mana range that potentially yield greater impact or versatility on the battlefield.
Reasons to Include A Phantom Carriage in Your Collection
Versatility: A Phantom Carriage offers a valuable addition to blue-based control or graveyard-centric decks. Its ability to search for a card in the library and put it into the graveyard can set up future plays or activate synergistic abilities of other cards in play.
Combo Potential: Its inherent ability to fetch instant or sorcery cards allows for strategic combinations that can swing the game in your favor. Coupled with spells that capitalize on cards being in the graveyard, A Phantom Carriage can be a key piece in executing potent combos.
Meta-Relevance: Given its strategic utility in decks that manipulate the graveyard and its capability to block most flying creatures, the carriage has its niche in a meta where aerial threats or strategy revolving around the graveyard are prevalent. This makes the card a smart tech choice in fluctuating metas.
How to beat
A-Phantom Carriage is a unique MTG card that brings a spectral twist to the battlefield. Typically, you’d encounter such a card in a control or midrange deck, leveraging its ability to retrieve other key cards from the graveyard. To effectively counter this eerie vehicle, strategic removal spells are your best option. Reflect on including instant-speed removal in your deck to disrupt the Carriage before its abilities can be activated.
Consider spells like Path to Exile or Assassin’s Trophy for swift and decisive exile effects, preventing any graveyard shenanigans. It’s worth noting that A-Phantom Carriage’s vulnerability lies in its requirement to become crewed before it can swing into action. Therefore, creature control cards can serve as another line of defense by keeping potential crew members off the board or by deterring activation with cards creating tap effects.
Lastly, graveyard hate cards like Leyline of the Void or Rest in Peace can nullify the Carriage’s secondary utility, rendering its strength considerably diminished. When you plan around these strategies, A-Phantom Carriage’s intimidating presence on the magic field becomes a spectral shadow of its former self, ensuring your victory is not a mere apparition.
Cards like A-Phantom Carriage
A-Phantom Carriage is an intriguing spectral presence within the realm of Magic: The Gathering. This spirit vehicle bears resemblances to other creature cards that are known for their eerie entrances onto the battlefield. Comparable to Pilgrim’s Eye, the A-Phantom Carriage also offers utility effects upon entry, specifically fetching a specific card type from your deck, albeit A-Phantom Carriage often targets an eerier variety of card.
Mnemonic Wall is another card that echoes the functionality of retrieving spells from the graveyard, but A-Phantom Carriage is differentiated by its ability to impact the board with its creature presence. On the other hand, there’s also the Tower Geist, a spirit with a similar spectral theme and a penchant for providing card advantage, albeit in a less targeted manner than the A-Phantom Carriage’s focused search.
Overall, while A-Phantom Carriage may not redefine its category, what sets it apart is the combination of ghostly card advantage with solid board presence, positioned neatly within the spirit archetype and strategies revolving around the afterlife. Its transparent synergy with the graveyard and haunting entrance makes it a solid choice for deckbuilders seeking a spectral steed.
Cards similar to A-Phantom Carriage by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase A-Phantom Carriage MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the A-Phantom Carriage and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where A-Phantom Carriage has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |