Izzet Control Bo1

Standard UR (Izzet)

Shadow77

Instant (22)

• 3x Chemister's Insight
• 1x Dive Down
• 2x Expansion / Explosion
• 4x Fiery Cannonade
• 3x Opt
• 2x Shivan Fire
• 4x Sinister Sabotage
• 2x Syncopate
• 1x Unwind

Land (25)

• 9x Island
• 1x Izzet Guildgate
• 7x Mountain
• 4x Steam Vents
• 4x Sulfur Falls

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Ral, Izzet Viceroy

Creature (4)

• 1x Crackling Drake
• 3x Niv-Mizzet, Parun

Sorcery (6)

• 2x Beacon Bolt
• 4x Lava Coil

Enchantment (2)

• 2x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip

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This is a spicy Izzet deck I threw together on Arena that I've been tuning quite a bit. When I first built it, I didn't initially think it would turn out very good, but it's happily proven me wrong! But perhaps most importantly, it's an absolute blast to play! This deck is designed to be used in the Best of One format on Arena, without sideboards. I might make a Best of Three version that includes a sideboard in the future. With all that said, let's get into the deck!

One Drops

1x Dive Down

Dive Down : This is in here to protect your Niv-Mizzet, Parun or even your one Crackling Drake if you so choose. Generally speaking, you don't want to play Niv-Mizzet unless you have at least one spell you can play to protect him from your opponent's inevitable removal spell. So this card essentially allows you to play one of your Niv's on turn 7 and be sure that you at least get some value out of him. You also don't want too many Dive Down s in here because you don't have that many creatures. One seems to be the sweet spot to me.

3x Opt

Opt : While it might seem like Opt is out of place here, I can assure you it isn't. Opt gives you something to do on turn one, gives just enough card advantage to smooth out the early game, and helps fill up your graveyard for cards like Beacon Bolt , Ral, Izzet Viceroy , and Search for Azcanta  . It also pairs extremely well with Niv-Mizzet, Parun , allowing to draw two cards, scry 1, and deal one damage for the low price of one mana! Seems like a pretty good deal if you ask me!

2x Shivan Fire

Shivan Fire : This card is in here to help deal with the plethora of pesky low drop creatures running around in standard before they get out of hand. It's better than Shock in this deck because even though it might not be able to target your opponent, it has late game relevance with being able to pay an additional four mana to do 4 damage to a creature instead of 2, which is usually enough to deal with most threats. Being able to instant speed kill an opponent's Resplendent Angel after they've paid the six mana to activate it's ability is just a feeling that's out of this world.

Two Drops

2x Search for Azcanta

Search for Azcanta  : This card is a powerhouse, but all the more so in a deck like this one. It gives you important card selection, helps fill up your graveyard with more spells for Beacon Bolt and Ral, Izzet Viceroy and when it flips, allows you to constantly dig through your deck to find spells to protect Niv-Mizzet, Parun , or anything else you might need. If left unchecked, it can, and often times will just when you the game with the incredible utility it provides.

4x Lava Coil

Lava Coil : One of the best removal spells in the format, Lava Coil is hands down a four of in this deck. It kills pretty much anything you need it to, while also preventing death triggers due to it's handy exile effect. It sucks that it's a sorcery, but it's power and utility more than make up for it.

Three Drops

4x Sinister Sabotage

Sinister Sabotage : And there it is, the obligatory four of counter spell that nearly every control deck has. I chose Sinister Sabotage over Ionize because the Surveil 1 is much better for this deck than dealing 2 to your opponent. A counter spell that helps smooth out your draws and fill your graveyard? Sign me up!

1x Unwind

Unwind : This card acts as a little insurance policy for our Niv-Mizzet, Parun while also giving us a way to counter any of the noncreature spells in the format. I chose this over Negate because I feel like the ability to untap three lands is worth the extra one mana. Negate would allow you to safely drop Niv on turn 8 though, which is certainly a relevant argument for it over Unwind . Trust me though, you haven't lived until you counter your opponent's Vivien Reid , and then cast Chemister's Insight on the same turn!

4x Fiery Cannonade

Fiery Cannonade : Cannonade is a card you must have four copies of in the main deck for obvious reasons. A big weakness this deck has is getting rolled over in the early game by aggro decks that spew out an absurd amount of creatures super early. One cannonade is usually enough to swing things back in our favor, and prevent us from dying extremely quickly. It's worth noting that often times when your opponent sees that you're playing blue red, they assume you don't have any sweepers and will often over extend, only to get completely blown out. This card also pairs quite nicely with Expansion / Explosion if you find that your opponent's creatures are too big to die to the cannonade, or you could just cast two!

2x Beacon Bolt

Beacon Bolt : Beacon Bolt gives this deck reach that red often time struggles with: the inability to kill creatures that are 4 toughness or greater. Just in case being able to kill virtually any creature your opponent plays wasn't good enough for you, it also has jump-start, allowing you to cast it multiple times, or throw it in the graveyard and still be able to cast it again later! It does take some time before it reaches it's full potential however, and it's often virtually useless in the early game until you've cast at least a few spells. Don't get me wrong though, the card is definitely an over performer in this deck.

Four Drops

3x Chemister's Insight

Chemister's Insight : Talk about card advantage. Chemister's Insight allows us to refill our hand, not once, but twice and pairs nicely with Niv-Mizzet, Parun in the late game, allowing us to draw three cards and deal three damage. Insight is also an instant, allowing us to hold up mana for a counter spell or removal spell, and draw cards if our opponent doesn't play something we need to answer right away. Not much else to say about this one, except that drawing cards is really, really good.

1x Crackling Drake

Crackling Drake : Drake is a really good blocker that also replaces himself when he hits the table. If you already have control over the board however, he can turn into a monstrous attacker, capable of killing your opponent very quickly if left undisturbed. He can also serve as removal bait, or as a way to end the game should your opponent cast Ixalan's Binding on your Niv-Mizzet, Parun . Generally though be very wary of Ixalan's Binding , as this deck dosn't have a way to deal with enchantments once they hit the field. If you think your opponent might have one, don't play your Niv, unless you can protect him.

Five Drops

1x Ral, Izzet Viceroy

Ral, Izzet Viceroy : Ral serves a very important role in this deck. He gives you card advantage with his plus one, while also filling your graveyard, can Beacon Bolt something with his minus three, and his ultimate is just dumb, like most good planeswalkers. If you're getting faced down by an aggro deck and need to buy a little time, he can also heroically fall on his sword to help preserve your life total, while usually taking one creature down with him. That Ral, what a guy!

Six Drops

3x Niv-Mizzet, Parun

Niv-Mizzet, Parun : And here we come to the card that this entire deck revolves around, the big lizard with wings himself: Niv-Mizzet, Parun . This guy is a beast, and if you get to untap with him, you're pretty much guaranteed to win the game. The trick though, is making sure he lives through that first turn that he's on the board. As I discussed earlier, you don't usually want to play Niv unless you can protect him, or you have another one in your hand to back him up with. And again, if you think your opponent has Ixalan's Binding don't play your Niv until you bait it out with Ral, or Drake, or have a fistful of protection for the big guy. Something else most people forget: Niv-Mizzet, Parun explicitly says that he can't be countered! Feel free to play it against a control player with three blue mana up! Also, if he does get killed, which usually the first one will even with a protection spell, the value he generates from spells being cast is usually enough to bounce back and play another. Once the second one lands it's usually just GG. By the way did I mention that you need to protect him? Because you need to protect him.

X Drops

2x Syncopate

Syncopate : Syncopate is a versatile counter spell that can counter things early, or punish an opponent for tapping out. It also exiles the spell that was countered, which is very relevant versus Mono Red, Sultai Midrange, Esper Control and even Mono Blue. It's also one more thing you can use to protect Niv-Mizzet, Parun , if you need to. Just be aware that it isn't a catch all like Sinister Sabotage is.

2x Expansion / Explosion

Expansion / Explosion : This brings us to the last card of the list, and boy, is this one a doozy. While not quite as insane as Temur Reclamation can make this card be, it is still extremely good in this deck. Both halves are relevant too which is an added bonus. Expansion can copy any other spell in the deck, allowing you to draw more cards, cast another removal spell, or even copy an opponent's removal spell to use on their stuff! Explosion is an excellent late game finisher made even more potent when Niv-Mizzet, Parun is on the battlefield, as he'll draw you one additional card, and give you double the pings! Just remember not to tap out casting it though unless you're sure your opponent can't kill Niv or they don't have a counter spell. Otherwise, that's a real feel bad moment. Explosion is also good enough even if you only cast it for an X of 2 or 3 too; you don't have to save it to do an extreme amount of damage in one go. If you cast for an X of 3, kill an opponent's creature and draw three cards, that's dang good on it's own. You need to remember that you can't copy Explosion with Expansion, because the CMC of Expansion / Explosion is at the very least 6 (it counts both halves of the card if it's a split card). Other than that, the card is right at home, and definitely a force to be reckoned with!

Thanks for checking out the deck, I hope you have as much fun with it as I do! Feel free to leave any suggestions or feedback to help make this deck better!

Date added	5 years
Last updated	5 years
Exclude colors	WBG
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	1 - 0 Mythic Rares 15 - 0 Rares 14 - 0 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.97
Tokens	Emblem Ral, Izzet Viceroy