Izzet Busted? Probably!
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 37 | 54 COMMENTS | 7975 VIEWS | IN 20 FOLDERS
Focusing the deck —Dec. 29, 2015
This deck has been insane in the few 1v1 and 3-player games I've had, but this was against some less tuned decks. In trying to make this deck as competitive as possible, I would like some opinions from people who play in competitive metas. I have to goldfish this list more than I get to play it right now, so I'd like some more informed people to discuss some things:
- Do I have the right balance of cards in each role? I have the deck tagged, so if you use the custom categories view you'll see where the cards fall into main categories for me, which should make the analysis easier.
- What's the best playstyle with this type of deck? I know this deck has a lot of the tools for competitive success, but I'm coming from a more grindy-aggro-control meta that doesn't really play fast combo/locks. So far I've mostly been able to drop Mizzix and combo out same turn or turn after she drops, which has been in the T5-T7 range, with the occasional T4 win. But really, should I be playing safer trying to hold my countermagic or protection for the turn I drop Mizzix, or should I just balls out go for it when things look clear? I'd like to get in the right playstyle for when I start bringing this deck out.
- Am I running the right counterspells? Force of Will will be added soon, but any other good ones I'm missing here?
- How can I make this deck faster? I just added the legal moxen so that should help, and obviously Mana Crypt (hopefully soon) would as well. What about things like Lotus Petal and Simian Spirit Guide? Those are cards I haven't really used, so I don't have a sense for how well the one-off, one-mana ramp plays. Now that I mention it, maybe Lotus Petal is better than Mox Opal, since it will be usable more often when drawn. T4 is the earliest I was able for this to go off before I added the legal moxen. Do you think these changes are enough to "go off" before competitive metas have established part of their win condition but are likely tapped out, like T2/T3?
I'm also resetting comments to clear the slate for this discussion (hopefully), so sorry to those who commented today :(
Rite of Replication doesn't do too much most of the time but 6 guttersnipes is pretty funny. Up yours oloro
December 19, 2015 7:47 p.m.
Two thoughts:
- No Personal Tutor or Preordain?
- Pact of Negation doesn't seem that great to me here if only because it doesn't have a CMC, so it can't take advantage of Mizzix of the Izmagnus. It won't get you an extra counter and it won't have its cost reduced...
December 19, 2015 8:59 p.m.
Oh also, I forgot... I love miracles with Mizzix. More specifically, Reforge the Soul. If you draw into it, it still counts as a 5 CMC spell as far as getting you an experience counter, but it costs way less. Even if you don't draw into it, it's not too hard to cast it at roughly Wheel of Fortune cost.
December 19, 2015 9:06 p.m.
FeralKitten says... #5
@Mtg_mill - I'm purposely low on creatures to maximize the possibility of getting spells that will get to the combo pieces, whatever path that may take. Talrand, The Sky Summoner was previously in the deck but him as a win condition takes a whole turn (though sometimes you can go off EOT before yours), and often just sat in my hand while I was racking up experience counters. Having said that, both Talrand and Hypersonic Dragon are solid suggestions for other Mizzix builds.
@UVAFoozle - Rite of Replication is awesome, and my initial build paired it with Dualcaster Mage for some infinite token/copy spell shenanigans, but overall the spell is too inconsistent for me because there's no guarantee you'll have a relevant target. This is another card I agree would be good in other Mizzix builds though.
@saj0219 - Thank you for the Personal Tutor suggestion, I knew I was missing something. There's no Preordain or Reforge the Soul because I'm having trouble cutting cards at this point. Pact of Negation is primarily in here to protect yourself on the turn you're going off with a combo, which is exactly what it did today on a game-winning turn.
Thank you all for the comments and suggestions!
December 20, 2015 12:02 a.m.
dragonsjet2 says... #6
why no FoW? seems much much better than that negate
December 20, 2015 1:31 p.m.
FeralKitten says... #7
It is dragonsjet2, but this is a paper deck and it's not in my budget right now. Force of Will, Mana Crypt and Volcanic Island are the big three on that list. Maybe I'll add something to the description about that, given those are significant upgrades for those with access to the cards.
December 20, 2015 1:42 p.m.
dragonsjet2 says... #8
I actually thought Mana Crypt was banned, good to know that its not
December 20, 2015 2:23 p.m.
Nightdragon779 says... #9
+1 to get you to ten up votes, I hate the feeling of being almost there, but not quite :)
December 20, 2015 5:32 p.m.
notdraftthendie says... #10
No Pyretic Ritual? That card seems very good for this strategy.
December 20, 2015 9:09 p.m.
FeralKitten says... #11
@Nightdragon779 - You are a fine person, thanks!
@notdraftthendie - I agree, it's a fine backup to the Desperate Ritual in the deck. Any suggestions as to swaps for Pyretic Ritual?
December 20, 2015 9:28 p.m.
notdraftthendie says... #13
@FeralKitten I think Negate doesn't seem great, as it's not that important to the deck's win condition and you already have a bunch of better counterspells.
December 21, 2015 7:46 a.m.
grasshopper021 says... #14
I would put Treasure Cruise in here because it almost always gives you an experience counter for 1 mana
December 24, 2015 4:37 p.m.
NomadArtificer says... #15
@atm0220 You cast Desperate Ritual and chain Reiterate, paying the buyback cost with Mizzix to copy Desperate Ritual. Reiterate resolves first and returns to your hand and a copy of Desperate Ritual is created. then you chain Reiterate to the copy of Desperate Ritual, buying it back again. Repeating this process over and over again netting you 1 red mana each time. Though both Mizzix has to be on the field and you need at least 4 experience counters to do this.
BlueMageBrandon says... #1
These might not be the best suggestions but Hypersonic Dragon and Talrand, Sky Summoner.
December 19, 2015 6:47 p.m.