Phantom

General overview

Phantom's kit is a smattering of elements borrowed from the other fast-redeploy operators at the time of his release, but his very high damage potential means he performs best when used as an assassin. What really sets him apart, though, is his clone, who functions as another fast-redeploy unit. The clone isn't a 1:1 replacement for an extra operator because its existence is tied to Phantom, and its redeploy timer works a bit differently. Once you get used to this, you'll find that the clone gives him unparalleled utility. He's more of a quality of life improvement than a core operator, but he makes so much of a difference that you'll wonder how you ever managed without him.

E2? Pretty much mandatory because of the significant reduction in clone redeployment time

Game modes

Phantom is an all-around useful unit, but he's especially helpful when you have limited team slots. He may not have enough damage for high-risk CC, but he can still find use as a meatshield or staller in some situations. He's also a decent midgame IS pick if you can spare the expense for him; he'll have a much easier time playing assassin there, and being able to take out two targets at once with one operator frees up a valuable team space.

Talents

Talent 1 - Phantom in the Mirror

E1 Can summon a clone with the same abilities as Phantom, but with its own redeployment time

E2 Can summon a stronger clone with the same abilities as Phantom, but with its own redeployment time

Yes, yes, the clone, we've all heard of it. I will add that the word "stronger" is doing a lot of work in the E2 talent, considering he gains 100 HP, 10 attack, and 10 defense from E1 level 80 to E2 level 1.

Talent 2 - Phantom Mastery

E2 Redeployment time of clone is reduced by 10 seconds

The clone has a redeployment cooldown of 45 seconds at E1 and 35 seconds at E2. Something that is worth noting is that, unlike with normal operators (and even other summons like Mon3tr), the redeployment cooldown on the clone starts ticking when he’s deployed rather than when he’s retreated. So, if you leave the clone out for 35 seconds or more, it can be redeployed instantly.

Skills

Skill 1 - Phantom of the Night

Skill effect: Upon deployment, gain 40%/50% physical dodge and a shield that can absorb Physical damage equal to 50%/80% max HP for 10 seconds

Overview: Inferior to Gravel in pretty much every conceivable way. The only situation where it might be worth using is if having two separate damage soaks is essential to your strategy, but... are you sure Gravel wouldn't be able to handle it by herself? Are you really sure? Also note that the effects here only apply to Physical damage.

Skill 2 - Bloody Opus

Skill effect: Upon deployment, immediately gains 9/10 charges of a stacking 16%/20% ATK buff (each attack consumes one charge)

Overview: This skill sets Phantom apart from the other members of his archetype by giving him ridiculously high damage. His clone can be used to take out an additional target while Phantom is busy with someone else, or you can let them both loose on the same enemy for double the damage. He can also stall enemies while doing a bit of chip damage, especially if you force someone to go through his clone first.

M3? M3 is worth it eventually, but I wouldn't rush to prioritize it. Level 7 works fine in a lot of cases. M1 and M2 barely do anything, so you need to go all the way here. Most notably, he gets the 10th buff stack at M3.

Skill 3 - Night Raid

Skill effect: Upon deployment, immediately deals 240%/300% physical damage to all nearby enemies, pushes them back slightly, and randomly inflicts one of the following statuses to all targets hit (slow, bind, stun) for 3/4.5 seconds

Note: The push has force 0

Overview: While a bit unreliable compared to Projekt Red, this skill offers potent crowd control if you're not too concerned with what kind of crowd control you're getting. The duration of the effect is long, and you get a respectable bit of damage along with it. As usual, his clone offers double the fun, and you can use it to "reroll" the RNG. Depending on the situation, the push could be inconsequential, very good, or very bad, so keep it in mind when you're putting him down near your gate.

M3? Mastery gains are pretty good, but hard to justify if you don't plan on using this skill more extensively than the occasional messing around.

Module - Miss Christine's Felt

Level 1: Refunds 80% of the current DP cost when retreated

Level 2: Redeployment time of clone is reduced by 14 seconds

Level 3: Redeployment time of clone is reduced by 16 seconds

Overview: This is a good module, and not just because it objectively has the best art of all modules past, present, and future. Between him and the clone, Phantom eats a ton of DP, so this really helps alleviate that strain (especially since it refunds based on current DP cost rather than the original). The upgrades are also worth considering if you use his clone a lot, though level 3 has diminishing returns compared to level 2.