MTG Salvation

I wanted to construct an Ilusions deck for quite some time and after toying a bit with a Mono-Blue version of the deck I came to a conclusion that splashing Black can make the deck stronger and eliminate some of it's weaknesses.

Here is the deck:



Some card choice I need help with:

1. I'm unsure that a counterspell like Countersquall fits this deck and consider adding more removal+discard instead (like Duress and more Smother).

2.Should Illusionary Servant (which isn't as good as Illusory Angel, right ?) be replaced with Adaptive Automaton (more lord effects) or Kira, Great Glass-Spinner (removal protection for the non-sac illusions and Lord of the Unreal).

3. Is Smother the best removal I can run in this deck besides Dismember (which is not a 4-of because of the life-loss) ?
I considered Grasp of Darkness and Victim of Night but the double black mana cost turned me off, and Go For the Throat was dismissed because it doesn't hit Affinity creatures.
*Maybe Agony Warp can be an option that can 2-for-1 in certain situations ? or bounce like Vapor Snag ?

4. The deck suffers quite a bit from self-inflicted damage with: Fetches, Shocks, Dark Confidant, Dismember (this is the reason I picked Inquisition of Kozilek over Thoughtseize for the MB), anything I can play to mitigate it ?

Gossamer Phantasm probably belongs in the deck. countersquall is a sb card. I would shave sunken ruins, a mutavault, and a darkslick shore for three islands. Looks to me like you really want to be playing merfolk...lol

I thought about Gossamer Phantasm but it seems so inefficient with only 2/1 for 2cmc (and the sac' close)
even creatures like Jace's Phantasm (which will never be 5/5) or Dream Stalker which I don't really like seem better.

Do you think that I don't have enough blue mana sources ?

I consider replacing 4x Countersquall with: 1x Duress, 1x Inquisition of Kozilek and 2x Smother (or some other removal).

Illusions is much "cooler" than Merfolk and I want to play something different.

I've made some changes to the deck:

-3x Illusionary Servant,
1x Adaptive Automaton, 1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner and +1x Illusory Angel

-4x Countersquall,
+1x Duress, +1x Inquisition of Kozilek, +1x Smother and +1x Bile Blight

Here is the updated version:

The first thing I would remove is Illusory Angel unless you add Gitaxian Probe. The problem is that a 4/4 for 3 is only good if you can play it on curve. Illusory Angel requires you to cast another spell in the same turn before you can cast it. That means you can only play it AFTER hitting 4 mana, which defeats the purpose of it cost 3, and only AFTER you cast Phantasmal Bear, Inquisition of Kozilek, or Dismemeber paying 4 life. That's just not good. You'd be better off with Phantasmal Dragon at that point. Its got a better body and can be cast as soon as you have four mana regardless of whether you have another spell in hand or not.

Second, Kira Great Glass Spinner won't protect your Illusions. Her ability counters the spell but doesn't stop them from being targeted. It doesn't matter if you counter the spell, the Illusions sac ability still triggers. If you are looking for something to stop them from being targeted then try Monastery Siege. It prevents your opponent from even casting the spell unless they pay 2 more for it. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is a similar effect but hurts you too.

I think Illusory Servant is probably fine. I think Adaptive Automaton is a good addition.

With 13 1-drops (and 2x Dismember) I think that I can reliably cast Illusory Angel even without Æther Vial on 3 (which is the main way to play it).

Only Phantasmal Bear and Phantasmal Image have the sac' close and don't benefit from Kira, Great Glass-Spinner's ability, 16 other creatures can be protected.

What do you think about replacing Dark Confidant with Snapcaster Mage ?
Does it fit the deck better ? (it also means less life-loss)

Quote from D90Dennis14 »

With 13 1-drops (and 2x Dismember) I think that I can reliably cast Illusory Angel even without Æther Vial on 3 (which is the main way to play it).

Only Phantasmal Bear and Phantasmal Image have the sac' close and don't benefit from Kira, Great Glass-Spinner's ability, 16 other creatures can be protected.

Even with a turn 1 AEther Vial, you still can't put down an Illusory Angel on turn 3. Dismember still won't let you put down Illusory Angel until turn 4. I'm not sold on it.

I'm ok with playing it on turn 4 as the alternatives (Illusionary Servant and Illusory Demon) don't seem any better.

As a possible solution to the life-loss in the deck I thought about adding some Vault Skirge, is it a good idea for this deck ?

What about Frost Walker? It doesn't really fit the illusion sub-type theme, but it is a 4/1 for 1U.

As for Vault Skirge it seems like a poor choice. You will not be buffing it like Affinity would so a 1/1 flying lifelinker doesn't seem enticing.

Not being an Illusion and having no evasion makes Frost Walker not good for this deck.

Vault Skirge is probably not the best solution here, but what about Basilisk Collar or Vampire Nighthawk (or maybe Liliana, Heretical Healer) ?

I would probably go with Vampire Nighthawk and take out Duress.

I'll also add 2x Victim of Night to have some more versatile removal, probably instead of 1x Smother and 1x Bile Blight (probably should go to the SB against Elves and tokens).
Is it a good idea ?

Here is the updated list after the recent changes:


1. Any other cards that can work well in this deck and improve it ?
Maybe Creeping Tar Pit ?

2. Is Black the most effective splash color for this deck or I can do better with another color ?

Is it a good idea to splash Green to add Abrupt Decay (instead of 2x Smother+2x Victim of Night) and Tarmogoyf
(instead of: 1x Adaptive Automaton, 1x Vampire Nighthawk and maybe instead of some Dark Confidants as well) ?

Here is how a G/U/B version would look like:



1. What do you think ? Is it better than the U/B version ?

2. Any changes I should make to the manabase to improve consistency ?

3. I added Monastery Siege to cycle through my library faster while getting rid of exess Æther Vials and Lands (or to protect my creatures) and feed Tarmogoyf.
Does it justify the spot in the mainboard ? Should I add a second one ?

Vexing Sphinx can serve a similar function (to the Khans' mode) and be a solid threat/beater, should I use him instead ?

Theoretically, if I were to tool an illusions deck, Id want to start at 4 Phantasmal Image, 4 Lord of the Unreal. Then I'd wanna go down 2 different avenues for that deck right there, protection and support. Since all the creatures I'm playing will "pop" when someone targets them (Ive beaten the deck by using my wolfrun to kill off everything.) That means the minute they cast something, it doesnt matter, my guys die. SO dicard really is the best shot you have.

Id play into that... Id be a tempo deck (12-16 creatures) and ALOT of discard and stuff like Monastery Siege to prevent even casting stuff. Probably vapor snags and dismember for removal.

Actually only Phantasmal Image and Phantasmal Bear have the sacrifice clause in my deck so I'm not that worried about it.

So do you suggest dropping the Æther Vial (Merfolk like) approach with a critical mass of (mostly) 2-drop creatures and the Aggro shell ?

What will the deck you suggest look like ?

Quote from D90Dennis14 »

Here is the updated list after the recent changes:

D90Dennis14's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Land (20) 1x Swamp 4x Darkslick Shores 2x Island 4x Mutavault 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 4x Polluted Delta 4x Watery Grave	Sorcery (4) 4x Inquisition of Kozilek Creature (26) 1x Adaptive Automaton 3x Dark Confidant 4x Illusory Angel 1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 4x Krovikan Mist 4x Lord of the Unreal 4x Phantasmal Bear 4x Phantasmal Image 1x Vampire Nighthawk	Instant (6) 2x Smother 2x Dismember 2x Victim of Night Artifact (4) 4x Æther Vial

How can this deck be improved to be more competitive ? (I plan to play it on MTGO)

The obvious changes seem to :

1. To include 2x Monastery Siege in the mainboard, instead of 1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner (probably will go to the sideboard) and 1x Vampire Nighthawk (I still need lifegain in the deck, what about Sun Droplet ?).

2. Replace the 2x Smother and 2x Victim of Night, probably with 2x Go for the Throat and 2x Disfigure (or Vapor Snag ?).


Some other ideas I wanted to ask about:

1. Will Tragic Slip be good for this deck as compared to Disfigure ?
What about Vapor Snag ? (Will it be better here ?)

2. How is Stitched Drake as a possible 3-drop for this deck ?
It is probably reasonable to get a creature in the GY during the first couple of turns and although it's not an Illusion it seems easier to cast than Illusory Angel and harder to kill than Illusionary Servant.

Another 3-drop option I thought about is Vexing Sphinx which is a big evasive beater ahead of curve which replaces itself and can cycle unnecessary Vials and Lands.

Are these two worth including ?

3. Dream Stalker seems like a good option with A.Vial, is it worth considering ?

I think talking about what specific problems you want to solve would be helpful. I'm not seeing where the black splash is so terribly helpful. Yes, you hand hate. Yes, you have kill spells. However, illusions are a curve up aggro deck no matter how you slice it. Without twin in the format and to a lesser importance (but still beneficial to you), bloom titan not really being such a threat either now, I don't think the mainboard spot removal is all that vital, especially when you consider that you're supposed to be the aggressor most of the time. The hand hate doesn't nab board wipes from hands and if you can outgun them, why not just do that instead? That seems to fit better with the deck concept. I don't see what black is offering that you've added that outweighs the significantly less painful white splash for mirror entity.

White also gives you path to exile as necessary for removal if you really need it, better sb tech in stony silence, and is generally easier on the mana base because 2W or 1W is way easier on you than BB. It looks to me like the black inclusion is just taping over problems and weakening the main concept of the deck. I think white lets you accomplish these goals much better while still staying on the offensive. The more you add cards that aren't punching them in the face, the less your deck will do the curve up aggro midrange thing it is supposed to do. There more non-illusion cards you end up playing, the less justified you are to be sticking with illusions at all. Might as well not play those illusion dependent creatures like lord of the unreal (which you're playing without his best friend, mirror entity) and krovikan mist.

The idea behind the Black splash was to add card draw via Dark Confidant and Discard against Control/Combo decks and also removal.

If I add White I can play 4x Path to Exile instead of 2x Dismember and 2x Go For the Throat and 2x Vapor Snag instead of 2x Disfigure.

What can replace Bob and IoK ?

Maybe Hindering Light and Return to the Ranks ?
Or Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Kira, Great Glass-Spinner ?


Here is a possible W/U list:



What do you think ?

Building the deck more like Fae might work out better. How about something like:

I think that trying to go for a Merfolk-like build (with some hatebears) suits this tribe better.
And playing without Æther Vial and Mutavault doesn't make much sense to me.
Playing lots of counters in an aggro deck that wants to tap out for threats seems counterintuitive to me, especially since the creatures don't have Flash (like Fae).

The main think the deck is missing (apart from another lord or one more good 1/2-drop) is evasion like Merfolk's Islandwalk.
In the W/U version Bathe in Light might be an option and otherwise there is Ruthless Invasion which is a bit slow and sorcery speed...

I might actually test Bathe in Light as it seems to have some real potential in this deck.
It can replace Kira, Great Glass-Spinner which can move to the SB.

Has anyone tested an Illusions list and has some new cards to suggest ?

Here is the updated list I'm running at the moment:

What about Fathom seer?

It's not aggressive enough and morphing it can be good in the late game but useless early on.

Quote from D90Dennis14 »

Has anyone tested an Illusions list and has some new cards to suggest ?

Here is the updated list I'm running at the moment:

D90Dennis14's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Creature (26) 4x Phantasmal Bear 4x Jace's Phantasm 4x Krovikan Mist 4x Phantasmal Image 4x Lord of the Unreal 2x Adaptive Automaton 3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 1x Mirror Entity Artifact (4) 4x Æther Vial	Instant (10) 4x Path to Exile 4x Vapor Snag 2x Bathe in Light Land (20) 4x Flooded Strand 4x Hallowed Fountain 3x Island 4x Mutavault 1x Plains 4x Seachrome Coast	Sideboard (15) 2x Meddling Mage 2x Phyrexian Revoker 2x Unified Will 2x Monastery Siege 2x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 1x Disenchant 2x Detention Sphere 2x Rest in Peace