Hello everyone. A few weeks ago, I looked at a trio of Izzet decks that were new to Standard with the release of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. Since the time that article came out, Izzet has been iterated upon and new decks have been formed. Since I'm a big fan of Izzet decks, I'll be taking a look at three new Izzet decks that have all gone 5-0 in a Magic Online League. Let's get started.

Izzet Dragons

We'll get started with an Izzet Dragons deck that plays a full playset of one of my favorite cards, Goldspan Dragon. Let's take a look at the deck.

Izzet Dragons | NEO Standard | O_DANIELAKOS, 5-0) MTGO

• Creatures (6)
• 2 Hullbreaker Horror
• 4 Goldspan Dragon

• Instants (26)
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Memory Deluge
• 1 Negate
• 1 Prismari Command
• 1 Saw It Coming
• 2 Behold the Multiverse
• 2 Cinderclasm
• 2 Fading Hope
• 3 Unexpected Windfall
• 4 Dragon's Fire
• 4 Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins
• 4 Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Crush the Weak
• 2 Burn Down the House
• 3 Expressive Iteration

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Battle of Frost and Fire

• Artifacts (1)
• 1 The Celestus

• Lands (20)
• 3 Island
• 3 Mountain
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 2 Field of Ruin
• 2 Hall of Storm Giants
• 4 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
• 4 Stormcarved Coast

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Malevolent Hermit // Benevolent Geist
• 3 Smoldering Egg // Ashmouth Dragon
• 1 Cinderclasm
• 1 Fading Hope
• 1 Flame-Blessed Bolt
• 1 Memory Deluge
• 2 Burning Hands
• 2 Disdainful Stroke
• 2 Test of Talents

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The plan for this deck is to use instant and sorcery spells to keep your opponent's side of the battlefield in check until you can bring out your threats. Once Goldspan Dragon is in play, you can then focus on finding and casting a copy of Hullbreaker Horror. Once you have this Kraken Horror in play, you can continue countering your opponent's threats and cast spells to manage the battlefield, enabling you to return your opponent's nonland permanents back to their hand. Doing this enough should allow your team to attack, unimpeded enough to deal lethal damage.

This deck consists primarily of cards that were legal prior to the release of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. The two exceptions to this are a pair of legendary land cards. Both Otawara, Soaring City and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance have channel abilities that you might want to consider using before you commit to playing these as your land drop for the turn. While there will be times that you'll need to play these as lands, the fact that you can reliably create Treasure tokens allows this deck to thrive with less actual lands in play than a typical control deck needs.

Izzet Tempo

Next, I have a deck that wants to utilize its mana each turn in order to keep the pressure squarely on your opponent. Let's take a look at it.

Izzet Tempo | NEO Standard | EXPOSITO, 5-0 MTGO

• Creatures (16)
• 4 Ascendant Spirit
• 4 Delver of Secrets // Insectile Abberation
• 4 Magmatic Channeler
• 4 Thermo-Alchemist

• Instants (17)
• 2 Behold the Multiverse
• 3 Saw It Coming
• 4 Consider
• 4 Frost Bite
• 4 Play with Fire

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Expressive Iteration

• Lands (23)
• 8 Snow-Covered Mountain
• 11 Snow-Covered Island
• 4 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Test of Talents
• 2 Burning Hands
• 2 Cathartic Pyre
• 2 Disdainful Stroke
• 2 Fading Hope
• 2 Negate
• 2 Crush the Weak
• 2 Thundering Rebuke

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Delver of Secrets has been a linchpin in decks since the original Innistrad set came out many years ago. In a deck like this, where you're likely to draw an instant or sorcery card within the first couple of turns, you'll be able to transform this Human Wizard into Insectile Aberration fairly easily. That will allow you to attack for three points of damage every turn while remaining relatively difficult to block thanks to having flying.

Ascendant Spirit is another creature in this deck that can eventually gain flying. While it starts off as a 1/1 Spirit, you can eventually pay enough mana to turn Ascendant Spirit into a 6/6 (or even more) Spirit Warrior Angel that will be able to draw you additional cards when it deals combat damage to your opponent. One thing to note is that you can activate Ascendant Spirit's final ability repeatedly, which will add a pair of +1/+1 counters to it and an additional card will be drawn when it deals combat damage to your opponent. This is a great way to be able to use all of your mana each turn.

Rounding out the creatures in this deck are Magmatic Channeler and Thermo-Alchemist. This dynamic duo works well together, as you'll be able to tap Thermo-Alchemist prior to playing an instant or sorcery spell to deal a point of damage to your opponent. Once you cast that spell, you will untap Thermo-Alchemist, allowing you to repeat the process multiple times each turn. Don't forget to tap Thermo-Alchemist at the end of your opponent's turn for an extra point of damage. Those instants and sorceries you've been casting will allow Magmatic Channeler to quickly become a formidable threat on the battlefield by becoming a 4/4.

Mostly Izzet (Jeskai) Control

The final deck I have for you is technically a Jeskai deck, because two cards in the deck require White mana. However, it's mostly an Izzet deck, so I'm including it in my discussion. Let's check it out.

Mostly Izzet (Jeskai) Control | NEO Standard | THERETURNED, 5-0 MTGO

• Creatures (8)
• 4 Goldspan Dragon
• 4 Hinata, Dawn-Crowned

• Instants (23)
• 1 Demon Bolt
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Galvanic Iteration
• 1 Valorous Stance
• 2 Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins
• 3 Abrade
• 3 Prismari Command
• 3 Unexpected Windfall
• 4 Magma Opus
• 4 Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave

• Sorceries (6)
• 2 Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass
• 4 Expressive Iteration

• Artifacts (1)
• 1 The Celestus

• Lands (22)
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Hall of Storm Giants
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Deserted Beach
• 2 Sundown Pass
• 3 Hengegate Pathway // Mistgate Pathway
• 4 Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway
• 4 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
• 4 Stormcarved Coast

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Malevolent Hermit // Benevolent Geist
• 2 Smoldering Egg // Ashmouth Dragon
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Fading Hope
• 1 Heated Debate
• 1 Test of Talents
• 1 Valorous Stance
• 2 Burning Hands
• 2 Cinderclasm
• 2 Negate

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The White mana in this deck is for two cards. One of those is Hinata, Dawn-Crowned. This legendary Kirin Spirit is as big as Goldspan Dragon is, and while it lacks haste, it can often be a more effective attacker. That's because of trample, which allows it to deal damage even if blocked by a smaller creature. However, attacking is not the primary reason to cast Hinata. It's best used when you can take advantage of its ability to reduce the casting cost of spells that target things. Abrade can now be cast for a single Red mana. Disdainful Stroke can counter a spell for a single Blue mana. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

The White mana in this deck is also used to cast Valorous Stance. This instant spell allows you to give indestructible to one of your creatures until the end of the turn. By playing it in response to an opponent's removal spell, you'll basically counter that spell while also likely ruining their plans for attacking later in the turn. You can also cast this spell aggressively, attacking into the threat of a larger blocker. Cast Valorous Stance and your creature becomes indestructible, while your opponent's creature takes damage by blocking. Finish that creature off with a burn spell and eliminate a larger threat.

Wrapping Up

The Izzet color combination allows a deck to be a combination of aggressive and defensive. I think that's why I like this color combination a lot. I still have access to deal direct damage to my opponent, achieving a victory even when the battlefield is congested. But I also have the means of stopping my opponent from playing major threats. This color combination allows me to have the most influence over each player's side of the battlefield, which I find enjoyable.

What do you think of these decks? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below. Also, feel free to share this article with your friends anywhere on social media. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in Standard. I'll see you then!

-Mike Likes