Looking for some feedback on this deck that I whipped up, it would be for occasional FNM/casual play. I'm wondering if it's even worth spending the money on the Snapcasters and Ral Zarek if it won't be competitive. It would be awesome to able to play Izzet in Standard again at least semi-competitively.

Also you can probably ignore the sideboard, I didn't really put much thought into it. :)

Thanks in advance!

http://deckbox.org/sets/371941

I've made some edits to this deck to make it a little faster and not so reliant on counters. Still looking for advice or opinions! :D

A few thoughts.

First, before you go dropping the cash on Snapcaster Mages, I would suggest snagging the shock lands you would need to fill this out. Sure, there are more of them, but they're cheaper and won't rotate as soon as the Snappys. That aside, Snapcaster does see play beyond standard, so they should hold their value if you do get them and want to unload them closer to rotation.

Second, I'm not really seeing a clear win-con here. Nivix Cyclops and Fluxcharger will likely be underwhelming for the most part. The cyclops will end up being stuck back as a defender a LOT of the time and once Fluxcharger flips his power and toughness, he'll be easy pickings for almost any removal spell. I would suggest upping your count of Aetherlings to 2 or 3 and have them as your primary win-con.

Third, obviously the more Ral Zareks you have in the deck, the more likely you will be able to hit him and be effective. He actually pairs remarkably well with Tamiyo, Gilded Lotus, and Izzet Staticaster. Any of those options should create some clear plays.

Keep us posted if you figure something out, as we'd all like to see the Izzet actually get somewhere in standard play.

Thanks for the feedback, it's appreciated.

I do plan on getting the shock lands as funds permit since they are useful in multiple decks.

I agree with you about the Nivix Cyclops, I though it would perform better than it does, but since most of my instants are counters it just doesn't do much. I'm not sure if there is a slam dunk replacement for the 3 drop slot, but I'm thinking I may try out Guttersnipe.

The Fluxcharger is a little harder to figure out what to swap out with. Hypersonic Dragon would give me much more consistent damage but costs 5 CMC. Ascended Lawmage is the same cost and has Hexproof which is nice, but still not a monster damage dealer. Not 100% sure what to put at the 4CMC slot, Skymark Roc maybe? Dunno.

I added another Aetherling to my deck and it's basically a game-ender if you have 7 mana on the board.

I'm going to test this more and see what happens, I'll post back if I see some success.

ZebN wrote:Thanks for the feedback, it's appreciated.

Not a problem, that's what the forum here is for.

ZebN wrote:I do plan on getting the shock lands as funds permit since they are useful in multiple decks.

Trust me when I say that they'll be worth it. They're standard legal until the RTR block rotates so you will get a LOT more use out of them than you will Snapcasters and such that will rotate out once Theros hits.

ZebN wrote:I agree with you about the Nivix Cyclops, I though it would perform better than it does, but since most of my instants are counters it just doesn't do much. I'm not sure if there is a slam dunk replacement for the 3 drop slot, but I'm thinking I may try out Guttersnipe.

I've also found Guttersnipe to under-perform given that it's only a 2/2. The obvious answer given your colors would be Boros Reckoner but if you're not wanting to drop $40 on them, perhaps Lyev Skyknight could be useful? Skyknight Legionnaire offers a comparable alternative - a bit less power though and no detain. Warmind Infantry could also prove useful if you're attacking with enough to hit battalion. But, given the basic feel of Izzet decks more generally, Turn//Burn is a GREAT choice here.

ZebN wrote:The Fluxcharger is a little harder to figure out what to swap out with. Hypersonic Dragon would give me much more consistent damage but costs 5 CMC. Ascended Lawmage is the same cost and has Hexproof which is nice, but still not a monster damage dealer. Not 100% sure what to put at the 4CMC slot, Skymark Roc maybe? Dunno.

The question is really what you're wanting to achieve with the four drop. If you're going a bit more creature heavy, Firemane Avenger can be REALLY nice, delivering three damage with evasion, taking out a threat, AND gaining three life. If you're just looking for a big beater, Bloodfray Giant is a decent option, giving you a 5/4 trampler. But more realistically, the four spot is already spoken for with Ral Zarek (of whom you'll want several copies) and potentially Jace, AOT (perhaps 2/2 split between the two walkers).

ZebN wrote:I added another Aetherling to my deck and it's basically a game-ender if you have 7 mana on the board.

This is typically what you're going to want out of a six drop (although you could technically consider it a seven drop since you'll want to have one extra to protect it EVERY time you cast it).

My suggestion would be to focus on getting to the Aetherlings; but don't limit yourself to just the one option for victory. Hypersonic Dragon is, in many ways, a poor man's Thundermaw Hellkite and can put some serious pressure on the enemy while also opening up some other options with the sorcery acceleration (for instance letting you cast Supreme Verdict at instant speed).

I think you'll also find that nivmagus and judge's familiar don't do well in a competitive FNM environment. They're easily removable. A lot of "American" decks run resto angel and some run geist of saint traft. Restos and geists are expensive though. The deputy is a cheap (not quite as good) alternative to resto.

a lot of American decks run reckoner and a blasphemous act or 2 for the surprise 13 damage. Aurelia, and Angel of Serenity should be considered too as a possible 1 of card for winning.

Also, I don't think dragon shift is a card. You probably won't have enough creatures on board to make overload worth while. I think azorious charm in place of this is much better.

Also, in the current format, sphinx's revelation is kind of a must. IMO. If not your deck will be lacking a lot of resiliency. You need at least a couple.

So after falling on my face repeatedly with this deck I put it away for a while in favor of my reliable Orzhov deck. Recently I got the itch to play Izzet again so I pulled this out and just gutted white out of it and removed most of the counterspells. It immediately got fun to play and is much more offensive/burn focused. It's not going to win any major tournaments, and I have yet to try it out at FNM but it has tested pretty well against my friend's FNM decks, and most importantly I find it really fun to play.

Here's the cut I'm the most happy with: http://deckbox.org/sets/422594

It's still missing a few spells here and there, but I am going to purchase those and the Steam Vents and then try it out at FNM. I'll let you guys know how it does! :D

looks okay. with M14 coming out soon, you might look for some cards like quicken chandra's phonix and the new chandra, young pyromancer will be good too.

Not sold on the nivmagus, cyclops or dragon. Here's why.

When you exile cards with nivmagus, you don't get the resolution of the spell. It just fizzles and gives him counters. He's not hexproof and very susceptible to removal. TBH he's a pretty bad card. if you want this kind of pump effect, get some runechanters pikes.

I see the logic behind the cyclops, but he's easily chumped and you won't always have a spell to enable him to attack. I would prefer boros reckoner here, if you could splash a couple white lands to help make him easier to cast. Chandra's phonix will even be better in a couple weeks. Or anything with flying/evasion.

The dragon is big, but Ætherling is really your finisher here. letting you cast sorcories as instants just isn't good enough. You can put in almost anything else imo.

Your missing some sweepers. Mizzium mortars is a must.
More thing twice and turn/burn... such good cards.
turn a couple of the dissipates into syncopates. Syncopate is surprisingly flexible especially when they tap out to play something.
see if you can get a jace, architect of thought. He'd be really good in this deck.

I still like the idea of splashing white... it's a much better package. Look up the American deck that won SCG Dallas a while back. A friend of mine net-decked it and it does pretty good. Lands are expensive. But it's something to work towards.

elpablo wrote: When you exile cards with nivmagus, you don't get the resolution of the spell. It just fizzles and gives him counters. He's not hexproof and very susceptible to removal. TBH he's a pretty bad card. if you want this kind of pump effect, get some runechanters pikes.

Yeah, honestly the reason he's there is that he's a 1 mana 1/2 and I can chump with him, and even take some dudes out. I hardly ever use his ability to pump him but he can slow down some early game creature rush. I agree he's not great but I'm not going to spend a ton of money on Vexing Devils just have them rotate out. I will probably replace him with Young Pyromancer when the time comes. He costs 1 more but should do quite a bit more work.

elpablo wrote: I see the logic behind the cyclops, but he's easily chumped and you won't always have a spell to enable him to attack. I would prefer boros reckoner here, if you could splash a couple white lands to help make him easier to cast. Chandra's phonix will even be better in a couple weeks. Or anything with flying/evasion.

Nivix Cyclops has actually performed surprisingly well, especially in the early game if I'm burning one or two of their creatures to create an empty board for me to swing into. Boros Reckoner is obviously head and shoulders above this guy but 3 are out of my price range (I'm a cheap ass). :)

elpablo wrote: The dragon is big, but Ætherling is really your finisher here. letting you cast sorcories as instants just isn't good enough. You can put in almost anything else imo.

Agreed, Aetherling is my finisher, no doubt. Hypersonic Dragon does put some nice pressure on them though and it's nice to swing for 4 in the air the turn he comes out.

elpablo wrote: Your missing some sweepers. Mizzium mortars is a must.
More thing twice and turn/burn... such good cards.
turn a couple of the dissipates into syncopates. Syncopate is surprisingly flexible especially when they tap out to play something.
see if you can get a jace, architect of thought. He'd be really good in this deck.

Completely agree on the sweepers. Mizzium Mortars looks really good but I'm worried about the 3R in the casting cost. I have one Blasphemous Act but that's going away soon. Amazingly Cyclonic Rift (overloaded) has worked really well as a 1 way sweeper.

The other cards I agree with, I will find a place for those as well.

Excited to see where this goes, thanks for the advice!

I hardly ever use his ability

If you can say this about a card, it needs to be something else. 2 more augers would just be flat out better then. Until pyromancer comes out.

I wouldn't worry about the triple red for mizzium. You need it and it'll work out fine. Cyclonic rift is a "sweeper" not a SWEEPER. It does get the creatures off the board, but in a world of come into play effects cyclonic rift just doesn't have what it takes. Granted there are some things mortars just won't kill and rift may do in a pinch here.

I'd still rather see the white come in, for azorious charm and supreme verdict and sphinx's revelation. Without a way to regain life you're kind of at the mercy of the 20 you start with and can't make any spectacular come backs. $$ being a factor does suck, but remember verdict and revelation will be good for the next 15 months in standard? Seems like a good time to pick them up.

I would suggest looking up Travis Woo's Izzet Blitz deck. It looks like a lot of fun to play and it's been doing quite well, go figure. You can see a writeup about it here: http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/woo-brews-izzet-blitz/

That deck seems good in an aggessive meta. Woos brews are always fringe. I liked the unexpected results brew :)

I think for the value of the cards in it id hedge close to a uwx control. It hink it'd be more stable in various meta games than the brew listed. However, this looks like it might be fun though.

So I used this at FNM on Friday, and went 3-1 with it. The match I lost I did win one game and it ended up going down to the wire with him having only 4 life left when he pulled a Blasphemous Act/Boros Reckoner combo to finish me off. Some notes:

This thing is ridiculously fun to play, even when I lost I still had fun and there was never a game that I got completely dominated. The deck is also fairly versatile, while it's not fast by any means it can hang with an aggro rush with cheap removals and then get really strong midgame.

As expected Aetherling dominated if I was able to get it on the board but Epic Experiment was a surprise win condition in two games as well. An overloaded Cyclonic Rift is just devastating and kills token decks dead.

Nivmagus Elemental is out - he's really just a chump blocker with an ability that will most likely never be used.

Ral Zarek is fun and provides a nice tempo swing as he can untap mana spent to play him right away. Only problem with him is that if you don't have a way to protect him he will be removed fairly quickly.

I love this crazy deck, I'm going to roll with this for a while!

Glad you had fun. What was your final decklist like? and with the changes?

elpablo wrote:What was your final decklist like?

Here's what I ran on Friday:

2 Nivmagus Elemental
2 Augur of Bolas
3 Guttersnipe
3 Nivix Cyclops
3 Hypersonic Dragon
2 Aetherling

1 Ral Zarek

2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Izzet Charm
1 Negate
4 Searing Spear
2 Think Twice
3 Dissipate
2 Turn // Burn

3 Pillar of Flame
1 Epic Experiment

1 Desolate Lighthouse
9 Island
3 Izzet Guildgate
7 Mountain
4 Steam Vents

elpablo wrote:and with the changes?

And here's my edits:

3 Augur of Bolas
3 Guttersnipe
3 Nivix Cyclops
3 Hypersonic Dragon
2 Aetherling

1 Ral Zarek

1 Syncopate
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Izzet Charm
1 Negate
4 Searing Spear
2 Think Twice
2 Dissipate
2 Turn // Burn

3 Pillar of Flame
2 Epic Experiment

1 Desolate Lighthouse
9 Island
3 Izzet Guildgate
7 Mountain
4 Steam Vents

Here's my (somewhat) final sideboard, still have to buy some of this stuff:

2 Mizzium Mortars
1 Negate
3 Skullcrack
1 Dissipate
4 Flames of the Firebrand
1 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
2 Thunderous Wrath
1 Blasphemous Act

I would probably sideboard a Dragon and put the extra Negate in if I was playing another spell heavy deck. Once I get the Mortars I will swap at least one with a Searing Spear.