Hunted Phantasm MTG Card

Hunted Phantasm - Ravnica: City of Guilds

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Spirit
Released	2005-10-07
Set symbol
Set name	Ravnica: City of Guilds
Set code	RAV
Power	4
Toughness	6
Number	55
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Justin Sweet

Key Takeaways

Hunted Phantasm excels in quickly developing board presence while maintaining card advantage.
Synergizes with instant-speed interaction, neutralizing its token-generation downside.
Requires careful mana balancing, particularly in multicolor decks, due to specific casting cost.

Text of card

Hunted Phantasm is unblockable. When Hunted Phantasm comes into play, put five 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens into play under target opponent's control.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hunted Phantasm grants an immediate presence on the board while allowing you to maintain a full hand. This is particularly effective in decks that leverage creatures for additional draws or effects.

Resource Acceleration: Despite not directly providing mana or treasure tokens, Hunted Phantasm can rapidly advance your board state due to its undercosted nature, enabling you to deploy threats or control pieces ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: While the Hunted Phantasm itself isn’t played at instant speed, it synergizes well with instant-speed removal or tricks. This allows you to mitigate the downside of giving opponents tokens by being prepared to respond instantly after the Hunted Phantasm hits the battlefield.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Hunted Phantasm doesn’t have a discard requirement itself, playing it could feed into your opponent’s discard strategies. As such, it might inadvertently strengthen your opponent’s position if they benefit from having more creatures to target.

Specific Mana Cost: Hunted Phantasm requires two blue mana to cast. This specificity can make it less flexible in multicolored decks that may struggle to produce the necessary blue mana consistently, especially in the early game when establishing a board presence is critical.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost of three, including two that must be blue, Hunted Phantasm might be seen as an investment with delayed payoff. Other creatures or spells in the same cost bracket could provide more immediate impact on the game without the drawback of giving an opponent creatures, even if they are just 1/1 tokens.

Reasons to Include Hunted Phantasm in Your Collection

Versatility: Hunted Phantasm offers unique advantages as an unblockable creature, making it a solid addition to decks that focus on player damage or utilize creatures that can’t be blocked. This capability ensures that it can fit into various blue-centric strategies, from aggressive tempo to cunning control decks.

Combo Potential: With its ability to put multiple creature tokens on the opponent’s battlefield, Hunted Phantasm serves as an asset for decks harnessing cards that capitalize on the number of creatures in play. Pairing this card with effects that punish opponents for amassing creatures or with spells that thrive off token generation can lead to devastating combos.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where combat can be decisive, the unblockability of Hunted Phantasm maintains its relevance. Furthermore, if token-related synergies or control strategies are prevalent, this card’s distinctive ability to skew the creature count can subtly tilt match-ups in your favor.

How to beat

Hunted Phantasm is a uniquely challenging card to overcome in MTG due to its combination of being unblockable and generating pesky 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens for your opponent. The key to defeating this troublesome spirit lies in leveraging its downside to your advantage. Employ strategies like creature control or token manipulation spells that can either remove the Goblins, turn them against your opponent, or use them for beneficial effects such as life gain or additional mana.

Consider spells such as Illness in the Ranks or Electrickery, which can diminish or eliminate the tokens, reducing the advantage that the Phantasm offers. A smart approach is to focus on spells that can bypass the unblockable nature of the Phantasm itself—think about using targeted removal like Doom Blade or board wipes like Wrath of God that don’t require blocking to deal with the creature. For those who favor an aggressive game plan, overwhelming the battlefield with larger creatures or boosting your damage output can prove effective as well, compensating for the damage that the Phantasm and its tokens can inflict.

Adapting your strategy when facing Hunted Phantasm can turn this ghostly nuisance into a source of opportunity. Mitigating the token-related downside while addressing the core threat directly can help secure your victory on the playing field.

Cards like Hunted Phantasm

Hunted Phantasm is a unique creature card in Magic: The Gathering that creates a noteworthy impact on the battlefield. Its resemblance is close to cards such as Invisible Stalker that also have an unblockable trait. However, Hunted Phantasm ups the ante with its ability to manifest numerous 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens under an opponent’s control. Unlike Invisible Stalker, Hunted Phantasm isn’t hexproof and presents a trade-off between immediate board presence and the risk of arming the opponent.

Similarly, Dowsing Dagger is another card that gives the opponent something in return for a benefit. It equips to a creature and has the potential to flip into a land producing three mana of any color if the equipped creature deals combat damage to a player. While not a creature itself, the card mirrors Hunted Phantasm’s theme of risk and reward. Phantom Ninja is a direct comparison in terms of being unblockable. Costing one mana less than the Phantasm, it’s a more subtle approach to creature advantage but without the downside of gifting the opponent tokens.

Each card brings its own flavor to the game, but Hunted Phantasm is certainly in a league of its own, commanding a strong presence with the potential to alter the tide of a game based on the unblockable characteristic and the strategic distribution of tokens.

Cards similar to Hunted Phantasm by color, type and mana cost

Volrath's Shapeshifter - MTG Card versions

Stronghold Biologist - MTG Card versions

Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions

Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - MTG Card versions

Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - MTG Card versions

Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - MTG Card versions

Svyelun of Sea and Sky - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hunted Phantasm MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica: City of Guilds, 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 Hunted Phantasm and other MTG cards: