Advice on consistent Izzet Standard

Deck Help forum

Posted on May 31, 2013, 12:30 p.m. by ConanTheBirdman

I would like some input on my new standard deck. I love consistency and this has been doing me pretty well so far. I'd just like to see what i could possibly do to refine my game for tournies. Thanks! http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/izzet-consistent-enough/

djd2488 says... #2

As a former Izzet lover, my top suggestion would be to go HARD in one direction, either burn or control. There's sadly just no place in Standard (competitively, that is) for a hybrid Izzet deck because you end up too vulnerable to the popular strategies (Reanimator, blitz, Esper control, etc)

I had a deck similar to this one, and yes, sometimes you get lucky and get to cast all of your Skullcrack s or Searing Spear s with a Guttersnipe out on the board. But most of the time you find yourself burning through counterspells just to keep Guttersnipe alive, and then suddenly you're unable to help yourself against your opponent's finishers. If you choose not to keep Guttersnipe around, then it's very difficult to win purely with burn spells.

If you go hard control, then at least you buy yourself time and can set up for finishers like Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius or AEtherling .

If you go hard burn (extremely heavy on instants/sorceries), you can make the best use of Nivix Cyclops , Guttersnipe , and some X spells like Devil's Play to help spread out your damage. I liked using Nivmagus Elemental as well in case your own spells get countered, because you simply exile them and still pump all of your creatures.

My other suggestion would be to make the switch to Grixis like I did.

<3 Grixis

May 31, 2013 1:13 p.m.