Annoying Illusions

Ok, I guess this is the best place to put this question.  I have a friend who's recently started playing, of all things, an illusion deck.  At first it was extremely weak, and now I'm having difficulty beating it.  I myself enjoy a standard weenie deck, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to beat a deck like this. 

His deck is of course mono blue with some control.  By turn 2 he usually has a Lord of the Unreal, and by the next turn he usually copies this with a Phantasmal Image. 

At this point, I could Obliviion Ring his Lord of the Unreal, but his copy remains on the field, and is untargetable because it is also an illusion.  Next move there's usually a Phantasmal Dragon out, and he begins to copy those.

I know that nothing is unbeatable in magic, in standard at least, but with my white deck, the best thing I can do for control is my Grand Abolisher, and I can't even tap his illusions that are multiplying like crazy with my Gideon's Lawkeeper.  Basically, the only way I am able to win, is if I am able to block his dragons with my flying creatures, and pray for a Phyrexian Rebirth to wipe the field, or hope for my Gideon's Avengers to be out when I taunt with Gideon Jura.  I guess the real problem is that with his Lord of the Unreal all of his illusions are stronger. 

Any advice on this is much appreciated.

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Three words: Day of Judgment.

Lol I am running a few of those.  Just really annoying when, I don't have my Grand Abolisher out yet, and he counters.  It probably is about the only thing though.  I just hate wiping mine too.  Maybe I'll run a token deck and get Elspeth Tirel to win it for me.

What format are you playing?  Standard?  You know you could run Stave Off and give his Lord pro blue when he tries to copy it.

Edit:  scratch that, the copying effect doesnt target

Yea it's standard.  That would have been a great idea.  Maybe something along those lines could work.  It's just so annoying when he copies the lord and he has instant 4/4 illusion that cant be targeted.

I agree.  You could Dispense Justice, or block 'n buff with Mighty Leap or Moment of Heroism.  Or just equip the living daylights out of your dudes.

Just some possibilities: how about putting in a Worldslayer to intimidate the hell out of him with an element of "if I'm going down, you're going with me!"
Or even a Mindslaver to control the controller. Cast one of his creatures then counter his own creature or even just cast his spells at his Illusions, resulting in their sacrifice. ✊

I've done the equipping to an extent, but I think that Mindslayer would work perfectly, he doesn't really have all that many spells, but I could rid his copies of the Lord of the Unreal from normal combat, then use my Gideon's Lawkeeper to deal with other illusions.  Worldslayer isn't a bad idea either, especially since I have lots of Spirit Mantle to prevent him blocking the attack.

Build an illusion Deck yourself and kick his Ass with it or Else you could use Sword Of Mind And Body

Oops! Hallow-San means Sword of Body and Mind not Sword of Fire and Ice. 😜

Sword of Body and Mind sounds like quite the idea.  I think I got one of those around here somewhere lol.

Sounds like your playing casual, my advice is to play red. It is the easiest color to play outside of competition, and it is so much faster and instantaneous than white. Just blow up any illusions that hit the field

Red is pretty easy to play, but my friend and I are trying to keep it in standard rules with our favorite decks.  I usually traded off my good reds for other cards leaving me with not awesome cards, especially since lightning bolt is not legal anymore in standard lol.

I would try to defeat the illusions deck with a kill creatures deck with cards like doom blade and greths verdict.

Playing Illusions myself, although the deck as a whole has some strong combos (Lord + Image mainly) it's real weakness is directly after he has played the Lord. Be that early in the game or further in. If he drops it turn 2 then he will have no mana available for a counter and is your opportunity to deal with it.

If you get the start, focus on making sure you get your land drops and keep in hand an Oblivion Ring or Fiend Hunter if possible so that you can exile immediately after he drops. This will keep him on the back foot and also allow you to use cheap spells like Stave Off as removal.

If he gets the start though then you have a tougher job as he could get the image off before you have enough land to do anything. You could consider running a few Dismember in your deck. This would allow you to instantly deal with his Lord on turn 2.

Either just focus on dealing with the Lord early on and you will be fine.

Some other points to remember. ANY spell which 'targets' an Illusion will kill it, even if it is a positive effect, something people forget. Also, as stated earlier, ample use of Day of Judgement can shift things, perhaps followed directly after his turn (if he lays) with a Timely Reinforcements.

Not a strategy by a long shot, but food for thought nonetheless