Phantasmal Sphere
Creature — Illusion
Flying
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then sacrifice this creature unless you pay 
for each +1/+1 counter on it.
When this creature leaves the battlefield, target opponent creates an X/X blue Orb creature token with flying, where X is the number of +1/+1 counters on this creature.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Alliances
- Price
- $0.51
- EDHREC rank
- #29411
Phantasmal Sphere puts a growing flying threat on board for two mana — but every upkeep it eats a blue mana or hands your opponent a free creature, which means tapping out has real consequences. It's a niche card that rewards dedicated blue-heavy builds and punishes everything else.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Phantasmal Sphere is a liability more often than not — the upkeep cost scales painfully across a long multiplayer game, and handing any opponent a free creature when you can't pay is a political disaster. Legacy and Vintage have the raw speed to close games before the cumulative cost bites, but Phantasmal Sphere doesn't see play there either; the payoff simply isn't competitive enough against available alternatives. Oathbreaker's shorter game length makes the upkeep less punishing, and a dedicated mono-blue build can manage the tax, but it still rarely makes the cut.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.51 bulk tier
At $0.51, Phantasmal Sphere sits squarely in bulk territory — it's a buyout-proof inclusion that costs almost nothing to try. Don't expect that price to move; demand is low and supply from older printings is sufficient to keep it there.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.