So, I've really liked the Illusion tribe ever since I first saw them. However, most of the regular competitive illusion decks are pretty expensive, with a play set of Phantasmal Images costing around 40 dollars on it's own. So, I was thinking of ways to make the deck without using them, but still trying to keep it semi-competitive. I think Grand Architect is a must, as well as Lord of the Unreal. With Grand Architect, I feel like running Steel Hellkite becomes viable, as he's cheap, and can remove problem permanents when he deals damage, without even forcing you to tap out! I think a 3-4x of the Architect and a 2-3x of the Hellkite is probably fine.
I think we still need the Lord of the Unreals as a 4 of, and then we just add some of the standard illusion package into it, that should give us some creatures to start...
I guess that Your Mileage May Vary with the Dragons, but I feel that without Phantasmal Image, we kind of want as many Illusions as we can get.
So that's my creature base so far. From here I could splash a color like Black or White, or I can just stay Mono Blue. Either way, I think Ponder, Negate, and Mana Leak are all good spells worth using here. What do you guys think?
I guess that Your Mileage May Vary with the Dragons, but I feel that without Phantasmal Image, we kind of want as many Illusions as we can get.
You actually have it backwords... without the images you want as few illusions as possible, and while lord is cool he doesnt offer nearly enough without the images...
BUT if you have grand architect you could play a deck around him but still include bears as his drawback isnt as bad beacuse he is only one cost and many of the spells that could target him would kill him anyway
As far as the 'high-end' decks out there go, I actually don't think Delver Illusions is too bad - you could probably buy most, if not all of it for the cost of Solar Flare's mana base (minus the SCMs, ofc). That's besides the point though, I guess.
For what you've got, I'd say add some non-illusion commons to it: Delvers, Aether Adepts, even... Also maybe some Spined Thopters / Porcelain Legionnaires, as in the event deck. Unfortunately, pure Illusions is a sure road to failure - pure builds were the reason why the archetype was so ignomious in the past, imo. Even with Images copying LotU, a pure Illusions deck is pretty easily threatened by a simple Gideon's Lawkeeper or Avacyn's Priest, which is pretty fail.
The best *budget* Illusions deck right now is probably the Illusionary Might event deck, tbh. While it lacks 4 LotU, GA and Image, it runs super smooth, which is the key ingredient needed for a tempo deck. It also comes with cheap rares like Steel Hellkite and Precursor Golem which, although kind of big, can still get the job done well enough. Plus, plays exactly like a bigger version of the Delver deck, so in the right playing field, you can get a very similar kind of feel using it. I was actually pleasantly surprised to realize this after changing over to the Delver build from the Titan build I'd originally evolved my event deck into.
Illusions won't work without Image. That card is much of the reason Illusions is competitive. I would make something like grand architect or a budget mono-U delver deck if you wanted to play something quick and blue
I think we still need the Lord of the Unreals as a 4 of, and then we just add some of the standard illusion package into it, that should give us some creatures to start...
3 Grand Architect
4 Lord of the Unreal
4 Phantasmal Bear
4 Phantasm Dragon
I guess that Your Mileage May Vary with the Dragons, but I feel that without Phantasmal Image, we kind of want as many Illusions as we can get.
So that's my creature base so far. From here I could splash a color like Black or White, or I can just stay Mono Blue. Either way, I think Ponder, Negate, and Mana Leak are all good spells worth using here. What do you guys think?
You actually have it backwords... without the images you want as few illusions as possible, and while lord is cool he doesnt offer nearly enough without the images...
BUT if you have grand architect you could play a deck around him but still include bears as his drawback isnt as bad beacuse he is only one cost and many of the spells that could target him would kill him anyway
For what you've got, I'd say add some non-illusion commons to it: Delvers, Aether Adepts, even... Also maybe some Spined Thopters / Porcelain Legionnaires, as in the event deck. Unfortunately, pure Illusions is a sure road to failure - pure builds were the reason why the archetype was so ignomious in the past, imo. Even with Images copying LotU, a pure Illusions deck is pretty easily threatened by a simple Gideon's Lawkeeper or Avacyn's Priest, which is pretty fail.
The best *budget* Illusions deck right now is probably the Illusionary Might event deck, tbh. While it lacks 4 LotU, GA and Image, it runs super smooth, which is the key ingredient needed for a tempo deck. It also comes with cheap rares like Steel Hellkite and Precursor Golem which, although kind of big, can still get the job done well enough. Plus, plays exactly like a bigger version of the Delver deck, so in the right playing field, you can get a very similar kind of feel using it. I was actually pleasantly surprised to realize this after changing over to the Delver build from the Titan build I'd originally evolved my event deck into.
Standard:
GU Prophet
Legacy:
WBU Shared Fate
Trades