Phantasmal Fiend MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Illusion
Power 1
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers dual modes for offense and defense without extra mana costs for strategic in-game adaptability.
  2. Instant speed ability activation allows for surprise tactics and disruption of opponent strategies.
  3. Discard requirement for ability use can pose a challenge in resource management for the player.

Text of card

o B: +1/-1 until end of turn o1o U: Switch Phantasmal Fiend's power and toughness until end of turn. Effects that alter Phantasmal Fiend's power alter its toughness instead, and vice versa.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Phantasmal Fiend offers strategic versatility for players looking to manipulate their cards. Whether it’s maneuvering around your opponent’s tactics or finding the right time to scale up your own strategy, this card can become a key component in maintaining superiority throughout the duel.

Resource Acceleration: The ability to switch between offensive and defensive mode without additional mana costs provides a dynamic on-the-fly adaptability. This can lead to a form of indirect resource acceleration, as it frees up mana usually concocted for switching states or casting additional spells.

Instant Speed: With the flexibility of activating its abilities at instant speed, Phantasmal Fiend can unbalance your opponent’s plans. Being able to alter its power without signaling your intentions beforehand allows a cunning player to capitalize on an opponent’s missteps, making it a formidable trick to have up your sleeve.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One considerable downside of Phantasmal Fiend is the obligation to discard a card to use its ability. This can deplete your hand and leave you at a disadvantage, particularly when you’re already struggling to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Phantasmal Fiend requires a precise combination of mana to cast — one generic, two black, and one blue mana. This specific cost can make it challenging to fit into a multicolored deck, potentially stifling its versatility and reducing its chances of play in broader deck configurations.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Phantasmal Fiend may be viewed as relatively expensive for its baseline stats and impact on the game. Considering the creature’s power level and abilities, players might opt for alternative creatures or spells that provide greater value or have less stringent activation conditions.


Reasons to Include Phantasmal Fiend in Your Collection

Versatility: Phantasmal Fiend showcases flexibility by being able to switch from a threatening attacker to a defensive creature with its ability. This attribute makes it suitable for various deck strategies, helping players adjust to changing board states easily.

Combo Potential: Its ability to change power and toughness based on the color of mana spent allows for interesting combo possibilities. Players can craft strategies around these adjustments, potentially exploiting synergies with other cards that benefit from creatures’ power or toughness alterations.

Meta-Relevance: In some game environments, adaptability can be key to success. Phantasmal Fiend’s capability to morph based on the demands of the game can provide an edge against decks that are less dynamic, giving you a tool that is reactive to the shifting tides of play.


How to beat Phantasmal Fiend

Phantasmal Fiend plays a dual role on the battlefield, flexing between aggressive and defensive positions. Harnessing the power to switch from a 1/5 to a 4/1 creature, it can adapt to the tide of the game. This transformability is useful, but it can also be Phantasmal Fiend’s downfall. Its strength lies in controlling its form, yet that’s where you can apply pressure. Focusing your strategy on spell versatility and removal options is critical. Cards that force a creature to tap or spells that deal damage regardless of a creature’s toughness can dispatch the Fiend before it becomes a 4/1 threat. Additionally, cards that limit a player’s ability to pay life or mana for activation costs can also cripple the Fiend’s versatility on the field.

Control decks equipped with counter spells and direct removal can manage the Fiend effectively, maintaining the upper hand by dictating the flow of the game. Preventive tactics, such as negating its transformation with instant-speed responses, ensure that Phantasmal Fiend never gets to flex its strategic might. Apply these approaches to keep this adaptable adversary in check and your path to victory clear.


Cards like Phantasmal Fiend

Phantasmal Fiend stands as an intriguing option among creature cards with a focus on flexibility. It echoes the abilities of cards like Wall of Air that also provide a defensive flying creature with a toughness of three. Where Phantasmal Fiend diverges is its ability to switch from defensive to offensive with its strength-boosting ability, not unlike the adaptability found in Dimir Cutpurse that balances attack with card advantage.

Looking into Drifting Shade, we find a creature card with a pay-to-strengthen mechanic akin to Phantasmal Fiend but with an exclusive focus on boosting its power. Phantasmal Fiend offers a unique twist, allowing the manipulation of both power and toughness, providing a more versatile strategy. Additionally, the likes of Mortivore share the premise of a flexible strength, but gather that power through a different method – the size of graveyards – whereas Phantasmal Fiend is entirely in the player’s control turn by turn.

To summarize, Phantasmal Fiend’s duality in defense and offense carves a niche for itself among MTG creature cards. It doesn’t strictly outshine its cohorts but proposes a distinct route for players who value immediate board impact coupled with strategic versatility in their game.

Wall of Air - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Dimir Cutpurse - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Drifting Shade - Magic 2012 (M12)
Mortivore - Odyssey (ODY)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Phantasmal Fiend MTG card by a specific set like Alliances and Alliances, 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 Phantasmal Fiend and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Phantasmal Fiend Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 1996-06-10 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by Scott Kirschner.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11996-06-10AlliancesALL 57b1993normalblackScott Kirschner
21996-06-10AlliancesALL 57a1993normalblackScott Kirschner
32001-12-01DeckmastersDKM 8b1997normalwhiteScott Kirschner
42001-12-01DeckmastersDKM 8a1997normalwhiteScott Kirschner
52006-07-21Coldsnap Theme DecksCST 57a2003normalblackScott Kirschner
62008-09-22Masters Edition IIME2 1081997normalblackScott Kirschner

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Phantasmal Fiend has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Phantasmal Fiend card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2005-11-01 Note that the wording “Effects that alter the creature’s power alter its toughness instead, and vice versa, this turn” has been removed.
2008-10-01 Effects that switch power and toughness are always applied last when determining a creature’s power and toughness, even if other power/toughness-changing effects are created later in the turn. For example, if you activate Phantasmal Fiend’s first ability, it will become 2/4. Then if you activate its second ability, it will become 4/2. Then if you activate its first ability again, it will become 3/3.
2013-04-15 Effects that switch power and toughness apply after all other effects that change power and/or toughness, regardless of which effect was created first.
2013-04-15 Switching a creature’s power and toughness twice (or any even number of times) effectively returns the creature to the power and toughness it had before any switches.

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