The Desert Phantom

The Desert Phantom is the bottom path tier 5 Desperado. Its signature effect: any Bloon that fully pops within about 4.5 seconds of being hit by shotgun shrapnel explodes, dealing 5 fire damage (+15 to Ceramics) to up to 3 nearby Bloons. On a packed lane, one pop sets off a chain of explosions.

The attacks are all upgraded from Avenger:

• Pistol damage rises from 18 to 50, with +50 to Ceramics, and it attacks twice as fast.
• Shotgun pellets deal 10 damage plus 40 more to MOAB-class Bloons, with much stronger knockback on both regular Bloons and blimps.
• Shrapnel deals 3 damage and sets Bloons on fire for 10 damage (+10 to blimps) every 1.5 seconds for 9 seconds.

When to buy it

The Desert Phantom is a late-game damage tower that keeps pushing groups of blimps back while chewing through dense Bloon waves. It is at its best on maps with a single lane where explosions chain easily, such as Bloody Puddles, and worst on maps where it constantly switches between lanes, such as Ouch.

Tips:

• Target First to trigger as many explosions as possible.
• Attack speed and pierce buffs, such as Stronger Stimulant and Primary Training, improve its cleanup a lot.
• It cannot reliably pop Lead layers without triggering explosions first, so bring a Monkey Intelligence Bureau for consistent DDT damage.
• Dan D'Monke is the best hero partner: he can trigger the Nomad life-loss effect and reposition it to another lane.

2-0-5 is preferred for general damage and single-target damage. 0-2-5 is better when you cannot keep Quickdraw's distance bonus or have no other Camo detection.

Weaknesses

Its BAD damage is poor for the price, because explosions only happen when Bloons are fully popped. Bounty Hunter is the best answer, since marked Bloons take double damage from every Desperado.

Is it worth it?

On single-lane maps with buffs, yes, it is a strong cleanup and blimp-control tier 5, and it is also used for cleanup in Races. On spread-out maps or against BADs it falls behind towers like The Bloon Solver for cleanup or dedicated blimp killers for the final rounds of CHIMPS.

Frequently asked questions

Can The Desert Phantom pop Lead Bloons?

Not reliably on its own. Use a Monkey Intelligence Bureau or other Lead support for DDTs.

What is the best crosspath for The Desert Phantom?

2-0-5 in most cases, 0-2-5 if you need built-in Camo detection.

How much does The Desert Phantom cost?

$31,000 on Medium. Prices for every difficulty are at the top of the page.