Whispers of the Muse: Ed G’s ‘Izzet Gizmometry’

Peel From Reality/Mark of Eviction + Izzet Chronarch is a cute trick. Could be fun to put in some more enters-the-battlefield effects to play with that interaction. So, like, Steamcore Weird, whatnot.

It would probably help a lot to get rid of the crappy spells like Runeboggle, Frazzle, Rain of Embers, and Reroute and just put in generic better spells like Electrolyze. Some Izzet Signets for acceleration would probably be useful as well, to help with those replicate costs.

Also, interesting interaction: Izzet Guildmage can copy kickers. So, if you had something like Into the Roil or Burst Lightning or Jilt, that’s some synergy right there.

I found that, while not exactly related to Replicate, Flashback and Retrace are fun with izzet…

Also, if we are going an instant sorcery route (albeit withough Gelectrode and Dragonauts, and using something more original) then Nucklavee is a good one…

The problem with replicate however, is that really, it’s on some pretty inneficiant Mechanic. Gigadrowse is kind of a worse version of sleep (though perhaps more flexible) Pyromatic begs to be Fireball or Incinerate, etc…

I guess what I would do would be an infinite mana combo going off with Pyromatics.

This will be the first in a series of posts.

1. Initial Cuts

Gelectrode – gets to stay. Good combo potential.
Wee Dragonauts – gets to stay also.
Tibor and Lumia – get to stay for first round of cuts.
Izzet Chronarch – Those are just too expensive. Cut.
Izzet Guildmage -One of the better guildmages – he’ll stay.
Petrahydrox – is out. I don’t like it. He’s a horrible blocker.
Mark of Eviction – Stalling potential – stay.
Peel from Reality – I’d cut these – Unsummons are better.
Telling Time – Keep, keep, keep.
Train of Thought – these are good. Keep them.
Convolute – Are out.
Runeboggle – sucks so much… Cut.
Thunderheads – I love the Thunderheads combat trickery. Keep them.
Vaccumelt – See h.
Frazzle – Cut these, please. I’m frazzled that you left them in.
Repeal – Bad bounce. Cut.
Pyromatics – Bad burn. Cut.
Rain of Embers – There is more than this. Cut.
Reroute – I love this card, but I admit it’s crummy. This is good for planeswalkers. I would keep this card.
Leyline of Lightning – There are better spells. Cut.
Electrolyze – Great. Don’t cut. You might want to run some of the more standard burn spells, though.
Island – 13 Island if you’re only running basic land.
Mountain – Run 13 of these.
Nivix, Aerie of the Firemind – Cut!

I may or may not do a part two, as I’m usually busy…

By the way, here are the cards left –

Gelectrode
Wee Dragonauts
Tibor and Lumia
Izzet Guildmage
Mark of Eviction
Telling Time
Train of Thought
Thunderheads
Reroute
Electrolyze
Island
Mountain

Bit late to the game so I’m sure nobody will see this post, but just in case it helps…

I’d like to add my two cents as somebody who snagged one of these decks along with four Guildpact boosters and a Ravnica booster one week ago and made a fun side-project out of it. What I discovered is that played with a sufficiently mana-heavy strategy (something the Ravnica block makes easy with it’s lands and artifacts) the Replicate mechanic can make for a very powerful and versatile Tempo deck. It has so far successfully confounded (in casual play with various friends and family) a blue Lord of the Unreal illusions deck, a black aggro/discard deck, green-white horde and blue mill. Here’s the decklist I have been using:

— 24 Land (25 if you count an artifact) —
10 Mountain
10 Island
4 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Khalni Gem (Would be replaced with Izzet Signets in a heartbeat of course but just what I had out of a random booster and it seems to get the job done when played carefully)

— 20 Spells (2 multicolor, 9 Red, 9 Blue) —
2 Electrolyze (would be 4 if I had them!)

2 Burst Lightning (Like so much else about this deck, obviously Lightning Bolt would be the “better” card but the difference between 3 damage and that kicked 4 damage by mid-late game can be so huge that these have stayed in)
2 Flame Slash (These more then did the job I used them for but I have since swapped these for the 2 Pyromatics that originally came with the deck, it should become obvious why quickly)
2 Leyline of Lightning (Yes! With a deck this land-heavy, even if I don’t have a Replicate card in hand I’m still making the most of all my spare mana to nickel-and-dime the opponent’s health total. If I DO have a Replicate card, I can potentially stack 1 Mana=1 Damage effects on ALL of the replicated copies. Remember that they are each treated as a distinct spell that fill up the stack right above the original)
3 Fireball (It’s no Replicate spell BUT it works perfectly alongside them. Like the other spells in the deck it is definitely not as “mana-efficient” as a host of other options, but it’s the perfect mana-sink sorcery for a land heavy deck like this and it can be just as useful on turn three, or turn fifteen… or anywhere in between. The variability is just immense. In spite of that I would probably trade these on a one-for-one basis with Invoke the Fireminds if I had them)

2 Thunderheads (Probably on their way to depart the deck in exchange for, say, Gigadrowses if I can find them. Red’s instantaneous removal seems to work just as well or better as these for what they do while affording more options)
3 Train of Thought (Having Replicate on these is much better for this deck I believe, then the static effects of Telling Time or Preordain. I regularly double- and triple-replicate this card in order to make a hand out of nothing and utterly reverse the Card Advantage situation)
3 Repeal (Better then Unsummon for the purposes of this deck, due to that critical card draw to keep your CA-tempo game going and also the ability to target _any_ permanent and not just creatures!)
1 Into the Roil (Another booster draw and honestly the “better” card, although Repeal can easily be the cheaper option early-game and by late game I usually don’t notice the mana difference as much as you’d expect. If I need the Repeal, I can generally play it. This is going to leave in favor of a fourth Repeal in all likelihood)

— 15 Creatures (2 multicolored, 6 Red, 6 Blue) —
2 Petrahydrox (I’m biased by all the Blues and Blacks I’ve played against, but these guys have usually been incredible. They’re just a big dumb 3/3 body that make denial-based opponents scratch their heads. It can be hilarious how easily some decks will bounce them back to your hand though, so in the end they may have to go)
2 Gelectrodes (Oh my god yes, sure Replicate doesn’t play quite as nice with them as it might but that’s hardly a dealbreaker. With all of the Instants and Sorceries zipping about in this deck they can easily cause 3 or 4 damage a turn to all manner of juicy targets)

1 Plated Geopede (More if I had them. Considering the deck composition and Izzet Boilerworks/Khalni bouncing basic lands it’s a rare turn I’m not putting down lands)
2 Kiln Fiends (4 if I had them. Replicate is INSANE with these guys, they can crash in for 7 damage on a lazy off-turn if the opponent has had all his blockers zapped. Gigadrowse would be the perfect companion for them as well)
2 Molten Ravagers (a great Red tempo card in my opinion, these start out as big dumb cheap 0/4 blockers with a bite, but late game are a wonderful mana-sink to keep spare mountains busy and threaten much larger creatures)
1 Dragon Whelp (viewed from the perspective of this deck, it’s a flying Ravager with 2 Power built-in so it provides some stable damage even when all the mana is going towards sorceries. Even so I’d strongly consider letting it go)

1 Reckless Scholar (fits the Izzet theme perfectly! Oh also he cycles cards through your hand and provides a 2/1 body. More if I had them.)
2 Wind Zendikon (these are Enchantments that really belong in the Creature camp. After you get past the technicalities it is more or less a 2/2 blocker with flying for 1 mana (hastened if you play it right) and it provides immense help in the early-game tempo war. There are better options then this that won’t tie up your lands naturally but I’m still looking for them)
1 Soratami Cloudskater (works well with the land bounce theme)
1 Water Servant (a big blue counterpart to the Molten Ravagers with better Toughness potential but less limitless Power potential)
1 Tempest Owl (yet another variable effect card, an early game flying blocker and a late game poor man’s Sleep, this deck loves cards like this)

So yeah, not really a competitive deck by any stretch of the imagination I’m sure but it’s given a lot of powerful deck themes trouble. Why? As best as could be done with a limited card pool, I tried to ensure that each card is brimming with potential. It might not be cheap or elegantly efficient and it might involve having the occasional mana-clogged game where nothing much useful happens (hence all the card draw), but each sorcery or instant spell is as useful in the early, middle, or late game as can be possible. The strategy is one of card advantage and building up to overcharged variability spells. When it comes down to it, yes, a five times replicated Pyromatics is just as inefficient for the mana as it sounds. Same for Repeal and Train of Thought compared to other options. But they will always give just as much as you can put into them no matter what phase of the game it is. And of course Counter decks will have conniption fits trying to put down all of the Replicated spells clogging up the stack.

Things I want to work into the deck:
– Izzet Chronarch is certainly expensive but it _might_ be the better option then Call to Mind for this deck. Maybe if I added some Peel from Realities. Still not sure how to go about it, but that sort of effect would definitely be a welcome addition considering how well all of the spells scale with the length of the game.

– Izzet Signets, seriously. At this point I should probably trade down a pair of basic lands for each of these that I can find. But that’s the wonder of this deck, that drowning in lands is rarely a problem for more then a turn or two. All it takes is one Train of Thought and it’s off to the races again.

– Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind. Such a great card, I hope I can find it one of these days. He would be comboed with Reckless Scholars and Train of Thoughts for endless laughs, and his flavor text is always a fun topic of discussion.

– Gigadrowse. Gigadrowse + Kiln Fiend, all day every day. And consider that if Sleep would turn out to be the more mana-efficient option for napping attackers on any given turn then your removal has probably failed. Of course Sleep’s untap effect is another story but this deck is not really trying to be denial, it’s about a mid-game tempo attack strategy.

– Tibor and Lumia will make it in at some point once I’m satisfied with where the rest of the deck stands. They’re a great card that offer some sweep ability which will probably be needed against the infamous token-builder decks, but played without some consideration can dismantle the whole red zone and not in a good way.

– Negate. The red side of the deck has zapping creatures locked down and Repeal can delay some other things, but easy countering options for Sorceries and Instants is lacking and absolutely necessary. The trick will be balancing the need for saving mana to counter with the temptations of infinitely-replicated spells.

Things I don’t care to work into the deck:

– Izzet Guildmage is shrug-worthy at best in my opinion. All of my spells already more or less do what he does for cheaper. One of the worst-designed Guildmages in my opinion (relative to the rest of his guild’s cards), which is sad because I love the concept of the overall cycle and the art for him. If he just followed the theme of the other Guildmages and rather then trying to be all complex, offered simple card ability versions of a shock and a card draw, I’d be in love with him.

– Wee Dragonauts. I dunno, the flavor of having cute little fairy kite-fliers as your heavy hitters doesn’t particularly sing to me and Kiln Fiends are just cheaper. Plus, sometimes I simply won’t have the spells lying around. At that point it’s time for the Dragon Whelp and the Molten Ravagers to soak up my spare mana. I’m sure others will use these to their full potential though, I’m just interested in finding other ways.

– All of the various mana-efficient options to replace the Izzet spells. Replicate has a few wonderful rule echoes in things like the Kiln Fiends and so forth but more then that it allows for a very fun form of tempo play where each card can be scaled perfectly to match how much it needs to do for you in any given turn of play.

Anyway, that’s my perspective. It’s a fun, totally unique deck that AND it gives opponents trouble, what more could a Johnny like me ask for?