Vodalian Illusionist

Phasing was Weatherlight's headline mechanic, and this merfolk is the one built to weaponize it on demand. Most early phasing lived on creatures that vanished from combat on their own schedule, a defensive blink the controller didn't fully steer. The activated ability here flips that logic: it puts the timing in your hands and points it at any creature, yours or an opponent's. That dual axis is the whole design. Tapped to phase out your own attacker, it sidesteps removal and blockers before damage resolves, then returns untapped on your next turn. Pointed at an enemy creature, it works as temporary removal that strips a blocker from combat or pulls a threat off the board for a full turn cycle, all at instant speed. The double-blue activation and the tap symbol set the limits: one use per turn, and a color commitment that locks the card into dedicated blue builds. Phasing never became evergreen; it surfaced in scattered later sets but largely stayed a Weatherlight-era curiosity. What endures is the idea this card crystallized: a repeatable, targeted way to make a creature briefly cease to exist, neither tapped down nor destroyed, with the timing dictated by the player working the wizard rather than the phasing creature's own clock.