Izzet Control Canadian Highlander

Canadian Highlander* Blue Moon Control UR (Izzet)

BobL

2 drop (25)

• 1x Abrade
• 1x Arc Trail
• 1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
• 1x Censor
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Daze
• 1x Flood of Recollection
• 1x Izzet Charm
• 1x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy  ^Flip
• 1x Lat-Nam's Legacy
• 1x Logic Knot
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mana Leak
• 1x Manamorphose
• 1x Merchant Scroll
• 1x Miscalculation
• 1x Mission Briefing
• 1x Mizzium Mortars
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Negate
• 1x Pyroclasm
• 1x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip
• 1x Snapcaster Mage
• 1x Thing in the Ice  ^Flip
• 1x Young Pyromancer

0 drop (38)

• 1x Ancestral Vision
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Ash Barrens
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cascade Bluffs
• 1x Desolate Lighthouse
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 14x Island
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 6x Mountain
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Spirebluff Canal
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Temple of Epiphany
• 1x Volcanic Island
• 1x Wandering Fumarole
• 1x Wooded Foothills

3 drop (8)

• 1x Beacon Bolt
• 1x Counterflux
• 1x Electrolyze
• 1x Forbid
• 1x Nimble Obstructionist
• 1x Spellseeker
• 1x True-Name Nemesis
• 1x Vendilion Clique

8 drop (4)

• 1x Bedlam Reveler
• 1x Dig Through Time
• 1x Platinum Emperion
• 1x Treasure Cruise

1 drop (16)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Condescend
• 1x Flame Slash
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Lightning Bolt
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Opt
• 1x Personal Tutor
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Portent
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Pteramander
• 1x Serum Visions
• 1x Sleight of Hand
• 1x Thought Scour

4 drop (5)

• 1x Fact or Fiction
• 1x Fire / Ice
• 1x Gifts Ungiven
• 1x Hieroglyphic Illumination
• 1x Madcap Experiment

5 drop (4)

• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Misdirection
• 1x Mystic Confluence
• 1x Ral, Izzet Viceroy

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Sideboard

6 drop (1)

• 1x Expansion / Explosion

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Izzet Control

Canadian Highlander

Izzet control for Canadian Highlander? Yes it is!

This deck is designed to be both fun and competitive in any Canadian Highlander meta (although it should be tuned for your meta). A collection of spells-matter threats allow us to present a fast clock when needed and support that clock with counterspell backup. Read on to learn how to sling spells like a pro.

What is CanLander?

Canlander (Canadian Highlander) is a 100 card singleton format that uses the Vintage banlist along with a points system (see below) to manage other powerful cards.

Besides using the "Sorrenson Mulligan" (mulliganing to 6 cards twice, and then to 5 cards twice, etc.; with a scry) it's just like any other game of Magic.

Canlander allows you to play virtually any card in the history of Magic, features an incredibly diverse metagame thanks to the points system, and the singleton nature of the format ensures that no two games are the same.

I highly recommended checking out https://canadianhighlander.wordpress.com/intro-to-format/ for more information about what really is an awesome format.

Points

Quick Explanation: Canadian Highlander uses the Vintage Banlist and a list of "points" to restrict the playing of other cards. Certain cards have a point value associated with them, and a single deck can only have cards that have point values totalling to 10 points or less. To learn more about the points list go to https://canadianhighlander.wordpress.com/rules-the-points-list-and-deck-construction/.

1 Dig Through Time

2 Gifts Ungiven

1 Mana Drain

1 Merchant Scroll

2 Mystical Tutor

1 Spellseeker

1 Treasure Cruise

1 True-Name Nemesis

This is a value points package that goes for a wide spread of points instead of putting all of its eggs (points) in just a few cards. Another possible (but expensive) approach is to eschew the tutors I included for the raw power of Ancestral Recall .

Card Choices

The rationale behind including cards is listed below. Note that some cards fall into multiple categories and are listed multiple times accordingly (for instance Muddle the Mixture really is both a tutor and a counterspell).

Cantrips

Cantrips are perfect for our deck which needs specific answers based on the matchup and has dead cards in certain matchups. Cantrips are our typical turn one play as they give us card selection and fill up our graveyard for delve spells.

Brainstorm ; Gitaxian Probe ; Opt ; Ponder ; Portent ; Serum Visions ; Sleight of Hand : Fairly standard cantrips. We are playing Opt and Serum Visions where other decks may not because we care even more about getting spells into our graveyard.

Thought Scour : While some lists don't include it, we play thought scour as the extra cards in our graveyard are necessary for things like delve spells and Beacon Bolt . You could also consider Mental Note if you wanted redundancy for this effect.

Manamorphose : This card may seem like a strange inclusion, but in a deck that cares about playing spells for cards like Young Pyromancer and wants to fill our graveyard we will take the "free" spell. It also hurts us very little since we can get rid of it as early as turn two, meaning it is not taking up a spot in our hand for very long.

Counterspells

The heart and soul of a control deck, these spells are at the core of what we are trying to do: stop our opponents.

Condescend : Can act like a Daze on turn 2 or an unconditional counter later in the game, while giving us a scry 2 to boot.

Censor : While the countering abilities of this card are limited, the ability to cycle for only one blue mana more than compensate. This means you can leave up this counterspell and just cycle if away if whatever they play cannot be countered.

Counterspell : The gold standard when it comes to counterspells.

Daze : While somewhat narrow, we need this protection for when we play something like a Baral, Chief of Compliance or Thing in the Ice   on turn two and cannot keep up mana for a counterspell.

Izzet Charm : We aren't playing Spell Pierce because the flexibility of izzet charm easily trumps it.

Logic Knot : One of the payoffs for playing so many cantrips is we fill our graveyard very easily, making Logic Knot effectively another copy of Counterspell .

Mana Drain : The best of the bunch, the tempo swings Mana Drain sets up are unreal.

Mana Leak : Easy to cast and always has a target early on and even has relevance later. Note that Baral, Chief of Compliance into mana leak on turn 3 is possible due to the colorless cost reduction whereas this will not work for something like Counterspell .

Miscalculation : See Censor . The ability to cycle is what saves this card.

Muddle the Mixture : While this can serve as a pseudo Negate in a pinch, what we really want is the ability to tutor and 2 cmc card (considering our deck is centered around the 2 drop slot).

Negate : What may initially seem narrow is actually a very versatile counter that hits anything from other counterspells to planeswalkers.

Complicate : The value this card presents is unreal. Best-case scenario your counter their spell and draw a card. Worst-case scenario you just cycle this away.

Counterflux : A pet card of mine, the fact that Counterflux is uncounterable is very relevant, and its overload cost sometimes comes up to stop things like Tendrils of Agony .

Forbid : During the late game when you have a full hand this card is brutal and ensure that you opponent never will cast a spell again. In the early game it is a fine counter that you can use to pitch cards that are not needed in the matchup. Also helps fill up the graveyard

Nimble Obstructionist : Stifle on a body and draws a card, Nimble Obstructionist really does it all. Don't forget that you can cycle it to "counter" fetchlands.

Mystic Confluence : A truely backbreaking counterspell that hoses control and creature-based decks alike. Our deck is built for efficiency, but we make room for Mystic Confluence because of its raw power.

Force of Will : A zero mana counterspell. Need I say more?

Card Draw

With all of our cantrips we are somewhat light on card draw, however we make room for some of the best Magic has to offer.

Ancestral Vision : Albeit slow, getting 3 cards for 0 mana is too good a rate to pass up.

Fact or Fiction : This is the best spell for pure value. Don't be afraid to tutor for Fof if you need to stock up on cards.

Hieroglyphic Illumination : A pseudo-Fof that has the added benefit of cycling. We run both this and Fof since Hieroglyphic Illumination can be cycled, meaning we are effectively only running one four-mana draw spell.

Mystic Confluence : As mentioned before, this card really does do it all.

Dig Through Time : and Treasure Cruise are two great payoffs for getting cards into our graveyard and some of the most busted draw spells in the game.

Removal

Sometimes counterspells aren't enough, and we need other options to deal with pesky creatures. In matchups where our removal is dead (like control mirrors or creatureless combo) our deck has a number of ways to loot or filter away the dead removal pieces, or else use the direct damage spells to burn our opponents.

Flame Slash : The ability to kill (almost) anything is what makes this card really shine.

Lightning Bolt : The versatile of Lightning Bolt is unmatched as it can be used to take out creatures, planeswalkers, or finish off opponents.

Abrade : Used to kill small creatures and it's necessary to have a tutorable way to deal with artifacts in the deck.

Arc Trail : Is a huge blowout against aggro decks or decks with mana dorks and can go to the dome as well.

Fire : Yet another card that cycles away. Don't be afraid to tap down an opponent's land during their upkeep.

Izzet Charm : This card really does it all, and killing a small creature is just one mode.

Mizzium Mortars : This is our "big" sweeper that has the nice benefit of also being spot removal. Don't be afraid to grab this with Personal Tutor , but note the heavy red requirement for the overload cost. Playing Hour of Devastation instead is a meta-call since Hour takes out bigger creatures and planeswalkers, but I prefer the flexibility of Mortars.

Pyroclasm : This is our small sweeper and is absolutely backbreaking against low-to-the-ground creature decks. You can swap it out for Sweltering Suns for a slightly bigger sweeper that also cycles, but the decks is not great at making double red mana so early on.

Beacon Bolt : This is the closest we get to unconditional removal and yet another payoff for getting spells in the graveyard. The fact that we can play this card twice (or play if from the graveyard if we mill it) makes it really shine.

Electrolyze : A pet card that will fall short some of the time but be a 3-for-1 other times. The risk is well worth it.

Enablers

These cards really help make our deck tick, either by filtering our draws our giving us unmatched utility.

Baral, Chief of Compliance : We aren't running any ramp so Baral's cost reduction is useful, and the looting is very relevant with all of our counterspells (allowing us to discard dead cards in the matchup). Baral into Mana Leak on turn 3 is a line to keep in mind.

Flood of Recollection ; Mission Briefing ; Snapcaster Mage : More payoffs for getting spells into the graveyard, these cards are great for allowing us to replay spells that are particularly good in certain matchups. Note that Flood is sorcery speed so don't use it on your opponent's turn to try and get back a counterspell.

Jace, Vryn's Prodigy  : Fills up our graveyard and flips into a walker that protects itself and can leverage our 'yard. Jace's ultimate can also win the game (eventually).

Lat-Nam's Legacy : As explained, we have many cards that are matchup dependent, so this card gives us a way to get rid of those without being at a card disadvantage.

Search for Azcanta  : Fills up our graveyard, is card selection, and will win the game when flipped. Be careful dropping this one turn two when you could leave up a counterspell instead.

Ral, Izzet Viceroy : The one walker in our deck (not counting Jace, Vryn's Prodigy  , Ral really shines in the control / midrange matchups where he is a card advantage machines, while holding his own against the fast creature decks by being a repeatable source of removal and "gaining" you life by drawing attacks to him.

Tutors

While not as reliant on its tutors as a combo deck, our deck uses the power of tutors to find the right cards for the right matchups. This often involves tutoring up sweepers against creature deck (card:pyroclam or Mizzium Mortars ) or counterspells against combo and control decks, but don't be afraid to go for the value tutor and grab Gifts Ungiven or Fact or Fiction in slow, grindy games.

Gamble : This is a potentially controversial choice, but with so many silver-bullet cards it's too good an opportunity to pass up.

Mystical Tutor : One of the best of the bunch as it can tutor virtually anything we want for cheap.

Personal Tutor : Since this was removed from the points list we have no problem running it as it lets us search for sweepers like Pyroclasm or Mizzium Mortars , card draw in card:Treaure Cruise or a finisher in Madcap Experiment .

Merchant Scroll : The fact that this tutors straight to our hand is nice and the fact that it can only get blue spells is not too big a drawback in a deck that is primarily blue. Note that this can get removal in the form of Izzet Charm or Electrolyze even though the spells are only "half" blue, but is often used just to get Gifts Ungiven for the value.

Muddle the Mixture : Serves both as a Negate and a way to tutor for 2 drops which are the biggest portion of our deck.

Spellseeker : A nice little new addition that tutors both instants and sorceries right to our hand.

card:Gifts Unigven A very powerful tutor that relies on redundancy in our deck to make sure we get the cards that we want. Note that cards like Beacon Bolt that can be cast from the graveyard are especially potent with Gifts Ungiven .

Threats

Although we are a control deck, we like to be able to close out the game fairly fast so we give no time for our opponents to beat us with a lucky topdeck.

Pteramander : A 2-mana 5/5 flyer that profits off our graveyard synergies.

Thing in the Ice  : Sometimes dropping and early Thing in the Ice   and then flipping it an wiping all of your opponent's creatures is an easy way to steal free wins.

Young Pyromancer : Possibly the best threat in the deck, Young PZ presents a fast clock and can create an endless stream of chump blockers if needed.

True-Name Nemesis : A huge pain for almost every deck to deal with, you can be sure that True-Name Nemesis will close out almost any game assuming it resolves. Note that it can be stopped by being countered, killed by forcing it to be sacrificed, destoryed without being targetted (by something like Wrath of God ), or killed by something that does damage that is not preventable, killed by -1/-1 counters.

Madcap Experiment and Platinum Emperion : This cute little combo can be tutored for with Personal Tutor and will force a concession from some decks that cannot deal with the Emperion. Note that, because Emperion ETBs before you take the damage, you will lose no life from Madcap Experiment .

Bedlam Reveler : Often comes down for just 2 mana, presents a fast clock due to prowess, and is a good way to refill in the late game. It is worth noting that these are not the only ways we have of finishing the game. Things like Snapcaster Mage or Wandering Fumarole can definitely do the trick.

Lands

We are running 37 lands in total, but it is really "closer"to 39 if you take into account all of our cantrips. The lovely folks over at the North 100 podcast suggest 40 mana sources for a control deck in Canadian Highlander, so I feel our land count is fairly comfortable.

Cascade Bluffs ; Shivan Reef ; Spirebluff Canal ; Steam Vents ; Sulfur Falls ; Volcanic Island : Just your normal izzet dual lands. It's notable that izzet gets relatively few dual lands in comparison to some of the other color combinations, so we run all that we can. And yes you should play if you have it.

Arid Mesa ; Bloodstained Mire ; Flooded Strand ; Misty Rainforest ; Polluted Delta ; Scalding Tarn ; Wooded Foothills : We are running all fetchlands that can fetch either islands or mountains. You are generally using these to get Volcanic Island or Steam Vents unless playing around Blood Moon or other nonbasic land hate.

Temple of Epiphany : As mentioned above, izzet is somewhat lacking in duals so we need all the help we can get. As a control deck, the scry is especially valuable as it helps us dig for an answer or avoid cards that are only good in certain machups (for instance we can scry to the bottom sweepers when we are playing the control mirror match).

Desolate Lighthouse : Allows us to dig for answers and play a slightly higher land count since we have more ways to discard extra lands. Particularly good in grindy games and fills up our graveyard.

Ash Barrens : Okay this might require some explaining. You can think of Ash Barrens like a cantrip that only gets lands. As you can see, this deck runs a plethora of cantrips so we don't mind having one more. Also, izzet is lacking duals so the extra color fixing is nice. Plus, with 13 one drops (counting ash barrens) we are only 28% likely to draw two one drops on turn one (based on a hypergeometric calculator) which means that (assuming we draw at least one untapped land in our opening hand) ash barrens is essentially "free" since we won't have anything else to do on turn one. Landcycling is also at instant speed which is an added plus.

Wandering Fumarole : Another U/R dual and a way to close the game. Such creature lands are fairly common finishers among control decks.

18 Island ; 10 Mountain : We play lots of islands because we have more blue spells than red spells and need double blue on turn two for things like Counterspell and Mana Drain . Note: Fetchlands (and volcanic island) are getting more and more expensive so you can totally just replace them with basics. If you remove the 7 fetches and Volcanic Island just add in 4 Island and 4 Mountain .

Miscellaneous

Vendilion Clique : A discard spell (an effect that blue and red generally lack) that can also close out a game. Note that you can use this on yourself to cycle away a card if you want.

##Wrapup I hope you enjoyed one of my very favorite decks from a super fun format. Maybe you were even inspired to build a Canlander deck of your own! Like all lists, this deck is a work in progress and I would be overjoyed to hear any and all of your feedback below! ##Thanks! Note: Tappedout.net lists the deck as not being Canadian Highlander legal. This is only because Personal Tutor was recently removed from the points list, and is now worth 0 points. I assure you the deck is now legal.

Date added	5 years
Last updated	5 years
Exclude colors	G
Card Score	7 / 10
Legality	This deck is Canadian Highlander legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 35 - 1 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 21 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.61
Tokens	Elemental 1/1 R, Emblem Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, Emblem Ral, Izzet Viceroy
Folders	CanLander, Highlander decks