Another option is Garruk Wildspeaker - his +1 untaps up to two lands and can really generate a ton of mana in a deck with cloudpost!! Because he has been reprinted plenty of times I think he may be budget enough as a 2 of maybe...and if you end up playing any small creatures he can also turn into an alternate win condition thanks to his overrun ability. They're a bit weak but even Ley druid and Krosan Restorer may give you a little extra help.
Final suggestion: I remember many years ago Ben Bleweiss (sp?) running a "budget" post deck in his old Wizards column that made some huge wurms with Wurmcalling - buy it back and play it again the next turn!
Well, someone beat me to Coiling Oracle but there are still a ton of casual and fun cards to hit off her including other 2 mana card drawing creatures like Elvish Visionary or Wall of Blossoms or mana accelerators, or so many good bounce spells to clear a path for some attackers ... you really can include this in so many decks so easily!
This is actually one of my favorite cards from the set - so much so I pre-ordered some just to be sure I had them ASAP to try out! I don't play tourneys where I don't think he'll really make much of an impact (maybe 1-2 out of the sideboard?) but I sure cannot wait to try him out in my new 'kitchen table' Izzet deck! I think the real key will be using him in a deck with a ton of mana so he can be played and perhaps protected for a few turns with open counter mana, etc. In some cases I hope that he will eat a removal spell so Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius may have a slightly better chance to survive!
Well, color me disappointed by the intro packs again!! I really think they need to make the decks better to appeal to more established players too - would 2 decent rares per deck really be asking too much? Or, even better, how about they lose the limited fodder at least and make a truly "playable" deck...25 lands where most are basic are not necessary in any of these decks I don't think. And my final complaint: Why M13 booster packs?? Give me the goof stuff and I will buy one or two a set - I promise Wizards!!
I also like the prior suggestions for better mana bases (again - would a second guildgate kill Wizards?) and for better themed cards like the Charms which belong in every pre-con here.
Like anyone else I have my issues with great rare removal...but here are my favorite things about Return to Ravnica:
1. I have many original shock lands...but I need more and I am hoping they will be cheaper to acquire!
2. Izzet was my favorite guild the first time around and got all sorts of goodies to play including Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius, overload mechanic in general, and some fun new cards like Mercurial Chemister and Epic Experiment which give a deck designer tons of ideas!
3. Chromatic Lantern is seriously awesome and I think may be found in multiple formats before too long - great card!!
4. Azorius ended up better than I thought...
5. Knowing Gatecrash spoilers are only months away - bring on Simic, Boros, and Orzhov!
The Charm is good but I was definitely hoping for something more - a return creature to your hand option maybe instead of one of those abilities? Selesnya got the token making ability on their charm so I can understand why Golgari didn't get that option.
On the Dragon - awesome!! I don't play tournaments so I can dream a bit bigger for playing this as an extra dragon finisher with the new Niv-Mizzet (he attacks and gets you an extra 6/6 too) or Nicol Bolas planeswalker - hey, you want to ramp to 8 already, right?
Thanks for posting this - set is almost done! Gotta go order my Izzet T-shirt now...
I think you certainly have enough fog effects already but I would switch one of them to Angelsong so you can cycle it to draw a card on occassion. Also, if Akroma is your win condition you may want some more ramp cards to get you there: Have you considered Overgrown Battlement? They are still extremely defensive and may result in acting like pseudo-fogs in the early game plus if you add any other wall that can block, draw you a card, etc. it also increases Battlements effectiveness (Wall of Blossoms, Wall of Omens, etc.).
On a slightly different note you may want some Wrath of God effects (Day of Judgment, Martial Coup, etc.) to really control your opponents even better than a fog may be able to.
Anyways, just a few thoughts for your deck. Good Luck!
You can actually ramp up a UR deck fairly easily and cheaply without trying to include green lands and cards (though I do respect your desire to build a three color deck - I love splashing extra colors):
First off I'd start with 4 Izzet Signet (very cheap $1 or less for 4) or [one of my personal favorite cards] Mind Stone (but this one is $1 each and I'm not sure you want to buy that). Then, you can still play Noxious Revival for its Phyrexian mana cost if you still want more retrieval spells outside what you have. Archaeomancer from M13 is also really cheap and adds a decent body for blue. Final suggestion for a stall type deck: Sleep has been reprinted multiple times and could be easily attained for cheap ($1 for 4, I'd think)
I'm working on new some new Grixis colored lists too - I really like yours.
I was also considering some other win condition and decided to play 1-2 Army of the Damned (and am also considering adding one Chandra the Firebrand for extra kicks). I don't play too seriously in tournaments but I thought with all of the good color fixing/mana-ramping thanks to Chromatic Lantern (and Gilded Lotus if you're into that) the Army of the Damned may be quite playable...just precede it or follow it up with a Cyclonic Rift (which I think should be a 4 of) or Mizzium Mortars to clear the path for the win!
As far card draw, the new card Thoughtflare may deserve some consideration as a 1 or 2-of but also may be too slow even...I just don't like Desperate Ravings much.
A Side:
Lost Technology
Artifact
3
Transform: Flip this card over if you have 3 or more riggers under your control
Riggers cost 2 less to cast
B Side:
Mobile Factory
Artifact- Equipment
MultiEquip 3: Pay 3 for each creature you're going to equip this to. May be no more than 3 creatures. Creatures equipped this way must attack and block together.
If one or more creatures are equipped to mobile factory, those creatures have Haste and Protection from Red.
If two or more creatures are equipped to mobile factory, those creatures have Trample and Protection from Green.
If three creatures are equipped to mobile factory, those creatures are Riggers in addition to their other creature types and gain "tap 3 creatures equipped to Mobile Factory: assemble a 0/1 Contraption and put it onto the battlefield."
If there are no longer any creatures equipped to Mobile Factory, transform this card (flip it over)
Love the idea! Probably a rules no-no...but maybe we're casual enough to make it work! Another thought is a creature to planeswalker transform card (I think a number of people were hopeful this card would be created in Dark Ascension, but alas).
Voting (in a PM of course) for Butcher Orgg and Bargaining Table for our Clan Sig.
First off, happy that the clan is off to a great start!
Secondly, I too remember the good old days playing a 70 card mono-white deck that could never beat a lightning bolt, Preacher was my favorite card and I was afraid to cast my one-and-only Wrath of God because it may kill my Tundra Wolves or White Knight. And Fallen Empires...yikes! (Looking back the only good thing about Fallen Empires was the various art available for different cards)
Thirdly, as for what art to pair with Kitchen Finks: My first thought was Melira, Sylvok Outcast as she not only combos with the Finks perfectly, but also represents our clan - we're just a bit different...However, since she has seen some competitive play in Modern I'll vote for the little known Mercadian Masques card Bargaining Table. The art isn't terrible (especially if we put Finks on one side, Table in the center, and then flip the Finks art for the other side as well or put a third card, of course!), the name works well with our clan name, and finally the flavor text is tremendous for a casual Magic game: "Although it looks like a game, business around the table is deadly serious."
Here's to more continued Kitchen Table Finks discussions!!
The first one to pop in my head is Underworld Dreams and cards like Arcane Denial and Vex. You have a "hard" counter for their spells and they have a tough decision whether to draw cards and lose life or just accept the counter!
Final suggestion: I remember many years ago Ben Bleweiss (sp?) running a "budget" post deck in his old Wizards column that made some huge wurms with Wurmcalling - buy it back and play it again the next turn!
I also like the prior suggestions for better mana bases (again - would a second guildgate kill Wizards?) and for better themed cards like the Charms which belong in every pre-con here.
1. I have many original shock lands...but I need more and I am hoping they will be cheaper to acquire!
2. Izzet was my favorite guild the first time around and got all sorts of goodies to play including Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius, overload mechanic in general, and some fun new cards like Mercurial Chemister and Epic Experiment which give a deck designer tons of ideas!
3. Chromatic Lantern is seriously awesome and I think may be found in multiple formats before too long - great card!!
4. Azorius ended up better than I thought...
5. Knowing Gatecrash spoilers are only months away - bring on Simic, Boros, and Orzhov!
On the Dragon - awesome!! I don't play tournaments so I can dream a bit bigger for playing this as an extra dragon finisher with the new Niv-Mizzet (he attacks and gets you an extra 6/6 too) or Nicol Bolas planeswalker - hey, you want to ramp to 8 already, right?
Thanks for posting this - set is almost done! Gotta go order my Izzet T-shirt now...
On a slightly different note you may want some Wrath of God effects (Day of Judgment, Martial Coup, etc.) to really control your opponents even better than a fog may be able to.
Anyways, just a few thoughts for your deck. Good Luck!
First off I'd start with 4 Izzet Signet (very cheap $1 or less for 4) or [one of my personal favorite cards] Mind Stone (but this one is $1 each and I'm not sure you want to buy that). Then, you can still play Noxious Revival for its Phyrexian mana cost if you still want more retrieval spells outside what you have. Archaeomancer from M13 is also really cheap and adds a decent body for blue. Final suggestion for a stall type deck: Sleep has been reprinted multiple times and could be easily attained for cheap ($1 for 4, I'd think)
I was also considering some other win condition and decided to play 1-2 Army of the Damned (and am also considering adding one Chandra the Firebrand for extra kicks). I don't play too seriously in tournaments but I thought with all of the good color fixing/mana-ramping thanks to Chromatic Lantern (and Gilded Lotus if you're into that) the Army of the Damned may be quite playable...just precede it or follow it up with a Cyclonic Rift (which I think should be a 4 of) or Mizzium Mortars to clear the path for the win!
As far card draw, the new card Thoughtflare may deserve some consideration as a 1 or 2-of but also may be too slow even...I just don't like Desperate Ravings much.
Good Luck with your deck!
Thank you Gaea's Regent!!
Love the idea! Probably a rules no-no...but maybe we're casual enough to make it work! Another thought is a creature to planeswalker transform card (I think a number of people were hopeful this card would be created in Dark Ascension, but alas).
Voting (in a PM of course) for Butcher Orgg and Bargaining Table for our Clan Sig.
Secondly, I too remember the good old days playing a 70 card mono-white deck that could never beat a lightning bolt, Preacher was my favorite card and I was afraid to cast my one-and-only Wrath of God because it may kill my Tundra Wolves or White Knight. And Fallen Empires...yikes! (Looking back the only good thing about Fallen Empires was the various art available for different cards)
Thirdly, as for what art to pair with Kitchen Finks: My first thought was Melira, Sylvok Outcast as she not only combos with the Finks perfectly, but also represents our clan - we're just a bit different...However, since she has seen some competitive play in Modern I'll vote for the little known Mercadian Masques card Bargaining Table. The art isn't terrible (especially if we put Finks on one side, Table in the center, and then flip the Finks art for the other side as well or put a third card, of course!), the name works well with our clan name, and finally the flavor text is tremendous for a casual Magic game: "Although it looks like a game, business around the table is deadly serious."
Here's to more continued Kitchen Table Finks discussions!!