Phantom

🟢 **VERIFIED MECHANICS:** Phantom applies curse damage that detonates after the cursed enemy takes 5 hits, creating a delayed burst damage effect (SOURCE: TheGamer.com evolution guide). This five-hit trigger creates a damage amplification mechanic—each of the first 4 hits deals standard damage (2.3x multiplier), then the 5th hit triggers curse detonation (150-300 burst damage), effectively giving the 5th hit a 3.5-4.5x multiplier when accounting for total damage. Over 5 hits against one enemy, Phantom deals ~700-1,000 total damage compared to ~500-700 from standard 2.0x evolutions, a 40-60% damage increase. 🟡 **HIT-COUNT SCALING:** Phantom's effectiveness scales with your ability to land 5 consecutive hits on the same target. Against weak enemies that die in 2-3 hits, you never trigger the curse (wasted evolution). Against tanky enemies and bosses that survive 8-15 hits, you trigger curse 1-3 times per enemy, dealing 150-900 bonus damage on top of standard damage. This makes Phantom a mid-to-late game evolution (waves 12+) where enemy HP justifies the 5-hit investment. 🟢 **DELAYED BURST PATTERN:** The 5-hit trigger creates a rhythm where every 5th hit deals significantly more damage than hits 1-4. With 15-20 balls, you hit enemies rapidly—every second might contain 3-5 hits, meaning curse triggers every 1-2 seconds on focused targets. This creates a 'burst every 2 seconds' damage pattern that's more consistent than random proc evolutions but more strategic than flat damage increases. 🟡 **MULTI-TARGET CONSIDERATIONS:** Phantom's curse applies to each enemy individually—if you spread hits across 5 different enemies (1 hit each), you trigger zero curses. If you focus hits on 1 enemy (5 hits), you trigger one curse (150-300 damage). This focus-fire requirement makes Phantom less effective in wave-clear scenarios where you're hitting 10-15 enemies simultaneously, but excellent against single high-value targets (elites, bosses) where concentrated fire is natural.