Phantom Wurm MTG Card
2006-10-06 - Number 211
2021-03-19 - Number 224
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Wurm Spirit |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 0 |
Key Takeaways
- Phantom Wurm provides persistent board presence, returning from the graveyard under certain conditions.
- Exhibits resourcefulness by conserving mana and cards, complementing other strategic plays.
- Its ability counters common removal tactics, allowing for adaptive reactions during gameplay.
Text of card
Phantom Wurm comes into play with four +1/+1 counters on it. If damage would be dealt to Phantom Wurm, prevent that damage. Remove a +1/+1 counter from Phantom Wurm.
It died with the forest, yet both linger on in twisted form.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Despite Phantom Wurm not directly drawing cards, its ability to return from the graveyard to the battlefield under certain conditions makes it a recurring threat. This persistence ensures that your hand stays fuller, as you won’t have to draw into additional creatures as often, and you maintain pressure on your opponent without depleting your resources.
Resource Acceleration: While Phantom Wurm itself may not accelerate your resources, the fact that it can consistently come back from the graveyard means you’re effectively conserving the mana and cards that would be spent on casting new creatures. This efficiency allows you to focus your resources on other game-winning strategies or spells that can turn the tide in your favor.
Instant Speed: The inherent ability of Phantom Wurm to dodge removal spells due to its phantom mechanic means you’re more likely to have a creature stick on the board even through an opponent’s turn, effectively working as if it had instant speed capabilities. This aspect grants reactive gameplay opportunities, keeping your opponents guessing and wary of eliminating your Wurm, as it can simply reappear when its condition is met.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Phantom Wurm may make you feel the pain of having fewer cards in hand. This hurdle is felt every time you endeavor to use its abilities, potentially placing you at a disadvantage, especially if you’re managing limited hand resources or attempting to maintain card advantage over your opponent.
Specific Mana Cost: Phantom Wurm requires a precise combination of mana colors to cast. This can be quite restrictive, as it dictates a commitment to green mana within your deck. This requirement might not synergize well with multicolor deck strategies, limiting the flexibility of your gameplay.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment to summon Phantom Wurm is steep. When you reach the point of being able to cast it, you might find that other creatures or spells could provide you with a better power-to-cost ratio, or offer immediate board impact which the Wurm lacks, thus potentially reducing the overall efficiency of your deck performance.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Phantom Wurm can slide into a variety of green deck builds. With its inherent resilience to being targeted due to the phantom ability, it’s a sturdy creature that offers consistent board presence in long games.
Combo Potential: As a creature that easily evades single-target removal, Phantom Wurm synergizes well with deck themes focused on creature longevity and counter manipulation, enhancing strategies that capitalize on permanence.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment crowded with spot removal, Phantom Wurm shines by providing a reliable threat that demands an answer. It can pivot games in your favor, especially in matchups where opponents rely heavily on targeted spells.
How to beat
Phantom Wurm is a unique creature card that poses a distinct challenge on the battlefield. With a sturdy presence thanks to its Phantom ability, which prevents damage and removes +1/+1 counters, overcoming it requires strategic maneuvers. The key lies in bypassing its damage prevention by leveraging effects that don’t deal damage, such as those that decrease toughness or place -1/-1 counters, effectively circumventing its protective layer.
Utilizing cards with abilities such as Deathtouch can prove effective, as only a single point of damage is sufficient to dispatch the Wurm, regardless of its size. Moreover, spells that target the player, forcing them to sacrifice a creature, can also provide a clean solution to your Phantom Wurm dilemma. As always, direct exile spells or ones that change the characteristics of the creature, such as “Turn to Frog”, can mitigate the threat without engaging in combat.
At the end of the day, while Phantom Wurm boasts resilience, a well-prepared deck with a variety of creature removal tactics can maintain control over this spectral adversary. Keeping your deck versatile and ready for such threats is key in building a solid strategy in the game.
Cards like Phantom Wurm
Phantom Wurm is a unique creature card in the trading card game Magic: The Gathering, reminiscent of other elusive beings of the battlefield. A close comparison can be drawn with Thorn Elemental, a creature that shares the option to deal its damage directly to the player as if it weren’t blocked. While Thorn Elemental can assure damage delivery, Phantom Wurm brings its incorporeal resilience to the table, capable of avoiding all damage with its vanishing counters.
Another similar card is Invisible Stalker, which, like Phantom Wurm, is difficult to remove due to hexproof and unblockable traits. However, the Stalker’s potent combination of evasiveness and permanency contrasts with Phantom Wurm’s larger size but finite survivability due to its vanishing mechanic. Scaled Wurm, simple in its colossal power and toughness, also shares Phantom Wurm’s green color identity and serves as a straightforward measure of brute force, lacking the Wurm’s evasive and damage prevention qualities.
Thus, while these cards share certain thematic similarities, each serves distinctly diverse roles. Phantom Wurm, with its significant resilience and formidable presence, finds its niche within Magic: The Gathering as a card that combines power with protective mechanics, offering a tactical advantage in creature longevity.
Cards similar to Phantom Wurm by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Phantom Wurm MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral and Time Spiral Remastered, 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 Phantom Wurm 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
Printings
The Phantom Wurm Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2006-10-06 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Alan Pollack.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006-10-06 | Time Spiral | TSP | 211 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Alan Pollack | |
| 2 | 2021-03-19 | Time Spiral Remastered | TSR | 224 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Alan Pollack |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Phantom Wurm has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Phantom Wurm card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-03-19 | If Phantom Wurm is dealt damage by multiple sources at once (most likely because it was blocked by multiple creatures in combat), all of that damage is prevented and you remove only one counter from it. |
| 2021-03-19 | If an effect raises Phantom Wurm’s toughness so that it remains on the battlefield without any +1/+1 counters on it, Phantom Wurm’s ability prevents all damage that would be dealt to it even though you can’t remove a +1/+1 counter from it. |
| 2021-03-19 | If damage that can’t be prevented is be dealt to Phantom Wurm, you still remove a counter even though the damage is dealt. |
