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Main » Articles » Variations on Izzet in MAT Standard

Variations on Izzet in MAT Standard

Mike Likes
Posted on June 1, 2023
 Reddit

*Editor's Note: Fable of the Mirror-Breaker was banned in Standard after this article was submitted.

Hello everyone. On Ravnica, the Izzet League is the Blue-Red guild that is in charge of Ravnica's civic works. They take care of roadways, sewers, and water supply systems, to name just a few. However, being both Blue and Red, they are both intellectual and impulsive. If a new idea is thought of, they're quick to put it to the test. I typically enjoy Izzet decks because they can be a combination of both aggression and control. With so many tools available to these colors, it should come as no surprise that I have quite a few different builds this week for you in Izzet colors. Let's get started.

Izzet Aggro

We'll get started by taking a look at an aggressive deck that gets started with impressive threats on the first turn. Let's take a look at the deck.

Izzet Aggro | MAT Standard | CaptainFissa, aetherhub.com user

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Monastery Swiftspear
No matter what type of mana you're able to produce on your first turn, you'll be able to start off with a terrific threat. If you start off with Red mana, you can cast Monastery Swiftspear. Since it has haste, you can begin attacking right away. If you start with Blue mana, you can cast Delver of Secrets. With a bit of luck, you can start attacking with a 3/2 on the next turn.

The rest of the creatures in this deck all have a mana value of two. This allows you to continue putting out threats while still having mana available to cast noncreature spells. One of my favorite creatures in this deck is Smoldering Egg // Ashmouth Dragon. Once you're able to spend a minimum of seven mana on instant or sorcery spells, you can transform Smoldering Egg into Ashmouth Dragon. This is both an evasive threat as well as a source of continuous ongoing direct damage.

Izzet Midrange

Next, we'll take a look at a midrange deck featuring a playset of a single creature. Let's take a look at it.

Izzet Midrange | MAT Standard | MTGA-Assistant-Meta, aetherhub.com user

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Haughty Djinn
Haughty Djinn has been a major piece of Mono-Blue decks for quite some time. Not only is it quite a threat that gets bigger and bigger with every instant and sorcery that you cast, but it also makes those spells easier to cast. Having 4 toughness makes it difficult to destroy, so you can get quite a lot of value from those instant and sorcery spells.

As I write this, the banlist has yet to be updated, so I don't know if Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki has been banned. If it hasn't, make sure to enjoy the value that this enchantment brings. Once it transforms into Reflection of Kiki-Jiki, you'll be able to copy the Goblin creature token that creates Treasure tokens when it attacks. This gives you additional mana for your other spells, which will grow the power of your Haughty Djinns.

Izzet Control

The next deck I have for you is a control deck that features both direct damage and planeswalkers as the route to victory. Let's take a look at the deck.

Izzet Control | MAT Standard | SlothMtg, aetherhub.com user

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Ertai's Scorn
Fires of Victory
Burn Down the House

As a control deck, this deck packs quite a few counterspells that you can use to thwart your opponent's plans. Negate answers any noncreature spell your opponent casts. Disdainful Stroke counters any spell with mana value four or more. Syncopate and Ertai's Scorn are able to counter any spell. These should help you control your opponent's side of the battlefield, but there might be times that your opponent is able to get some creatures into play.

Luckily this deck includes spells that deal direct damage. Fires of Victory, Flame-Blessed Bolt, Brotherhood's End, and Burn Down the House are all spells that you can use to destroy your opponent's creatures and planeswalkers. If you happen to have a copy of Chandra, Hope's Beacon in play, the benefits of casting these spells will be doubled.

Izzet Turns

The next deck I have for you might end up being invalid due to the most recent ban, but if not, it can be a lot of fun taking extra turns. Let's check it out.

Izzet Turns | MAT Standard | HelloGoodGame, aetherhub.com user

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Invasion of Segovia // Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia

This deck really gets going once you've cast Invasion of Segovia // Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia. Once it transforms into Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia, your noncreature spells will have convoke. That means that any creature you have in play will be able to help cast your noncreature spells. While there aren't many creatures in this deck, the creature tokens created with Fable of the Mirror-Breaker and Saheeli, Filigree Master can be used.

Alchemist's Gambit allows you to take an extra turn after this one, where damage is unable to be prevented. If it's cast for its regular mana value, you will lose the game at the beginning of that next turn's end step, but by casting it for its cleave value, you'll skip that clause. If this spell is copied by Chandra, Hope's Beacon's static ability, the copy will copy everything about the spell, giving you an additional extra turn with no drawback if Alchemist's Gambit was cast for its cleave cost.

Izzet Chandra Burn

The final deck I have for you this week includes numerous spells that can deal direct damage to your opponent. Let's take a look at it.

Izzet Chandra Burn | MAT Standard | Sonio, aetherhub.com user

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Chandra, Hope's Beacon
Chandra, Hope's Beacon has a static ability that copies any instant or sorcery spell that you cast. By using this ability to copy your direct damage spells that can target any target, you can hasten your opponent's demise. Light Up the Night, Play with Fire, and Lightning Strike will all deal direct damage to any target, so you'll want to use these spells to reduce your opponent's life total as quickly as possible. You can also get extra value by casting Burn Down the House, creating six 1/1 Devil creature tokens.

To finish things off, you can create quite a few tokens if you have a copy of Chrome Host Seedshark in play. You also have a single copy of Blue Sun's Twilight in this deck, which you can use to take control of your opponent's best creature. You can also possibly create a token copy of this creature if you have enough mana. Being defeated by your own creature can be quite a crushing blow.

Wrapping Up

Since I'm not yet sure of what cards will ultimately be banned in Standard, I don't know how many of these will be playable. That's why I've provided you with an extra deck or two this week, so there will be some Izzet deck that is playable. I find Izzet decks to be some of the most fun decks to play, so I'm looking forward to giving these decks a try.

What do you think of these decks? 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

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TAGS articles, standard, constructed, analysis, decklist, izzet, mike likes, blue-red, mat standard, 06012023

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