Illusioner

Illusioner is a term used to describe a practitioner of illusion magic, typically in fantasy fiction and role-playing contexts. Derived from the word illusion and the agent suffix -er, an illusioner is usually depicted as a mage or trickster who manipulates perception—creating mirages, disguises, or decoys to confuse opponents or conceal true intentions.

In Minecraft, the Illusioner refers to a hostile illager variant that was conceived to wield illusion magic. In development builds and data files, it was described as a mob capable of creating illusory duplicates of itself to distract players and of employing other magical effects in combat. The Illusioner was never released in official updates for the game’s Java or Bedrock editions, so it does not appear in standard gameplay. It remains part of the game’s lore through datamined references and through fan communities and mods that reintroduce or simulate the mob. Conceptually, such a creature would rely on misdirection rather than brute force.

Outside of Minecraft, illusioners appear in various fantasy settings as a class or enemy type. In many games and stories, an illusioner challenges protagonists by manipulating what they perceive rather than directly harming them with physical attacks. The term is often used interchangeably with illusionist, though some works distinguish the mage’s public persona from practical applications of illusion magic.

See also: Illager, Illusion, Illusionist.