I'm testing some Experimental Frenzy. I've really liked the curve of my 8 cantrip shell, and this is another way to use that curve (without the cantrips obviously).
What I could use some help with though, is wanting to minimize my land count. Assuming I have 4 Mox Opals and 4 Springleaf Drums, do any other artifacts come to mind as cards that can substitute for lands? Paradise Mantle perhaps? The goal is to try and reduce the land count a bit while still having a good supply of mana so that there are more cards I can play off the top.
List?
Haven't fully committed yet. I picked up some Frenzy's on MTGO but I've been playing them in Jund there. I won't be able to play them in Affinity until our next Modern FNM which is Oct 12 (though there's a chance I head to SCG Columbus this weekend and play them, I haven't yet decided).
This is what my list is looking like right now, I'm still thinking about things.
4 mana for a draw engine that doesn't necessarily win the game is a tough sell for me. That drawback may be a real problem from time to time too. If you want cards with a wincon tacked on I'd prefer Karn or Tezzeret.
On a side note, what do people think of affinity versus the hardened scales version. I think our version is still more explosive. Even if hardened scales seems more resilient, it doesn't seem like it does much without Hardened Scales. Pretty sure traditional affinity is generally still better, but I could be wrong.
Some thoughts: I never really liked Galvanic Blast that much. Affinity is pretty swingy, you're either smashing for 10+ damage a turn or doing nothing, Galvanic Blast wont do much too often that it doesn't make my list, its basically a card with too low of a floor. I prefer Thoughtcast because it gives you fuel versus decks that want to trade resources 1 for 1 and allows you to keep hands with a bunch of enablers to dig for wincons and lands, its basically never a completely dead card. They get traded out for sideboard stuff usually in G2 and G3.
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas has always given me good results, its great against grindy decks that want to trade 1 for 1 and is a very relevant wincon. Planeswalkers are very hard for some decks to deal with. People are runing Karn, but I think Tezzeret is so much better. The mana has never really been an issue for me. Having said that its often boarded out against decks that want to race.
I'm not married to the sideboard, but I think its pretty solid.
I get that you're not going for that sort of thing, but the problem is that this is the most consistent thing this commander can do. The rest involve hoping to God that people won't kill Mizzix, or casting one underwhelming spell per round. It's a great commander if your meta is light on removal, though.
The deck is vulnerable if mizzix dies too much its true, the counter suite is mostly reserved for protecting her. But tis' the plight of over-reliance on commanders. You mostly have no choice with this type of deck (otherwise you might be better off playing something else.). Only other thing I've considered outside of the counters is Lightning Greaves.
So, I've got this new trend I've been doing with decks that I've been adding sidedecks (such as wish boards and contraption decks) to kind of gets some play variations and have more options. there's often rules for wish boards with a 10 card limit.
Actually, Turnabout has been on my radar. That and Mana Geyser and High Tide ( I just don't like that they only produce one color of mana.)
That reminds me, I actually had a debate about which was better for the finisher combo, Reset or Reality Spasm. I though Reset, just because it is more possible to combo off without Mizzix in play. What's your take on that? I could play both, but space is getting so tight...
Sorry for the above multi-post. There was an issue when posting and it did it a few times... There seems to be an issue editing/deleting posts.
I have a similar list, mine primarily wins with X burn spells, and I find the biggest issue is the colour hungry nature of the deck. Ramp/Excel is the biggest area of improvement to be able to work into your spells on curve which has proven to be tough in Izzet.
Agreed, how do you mitigate this problem in your deck? I try to avoid colorless sources, unless they are really broken a la Sol Ring or Riptide Laboratory.
The main win cons are:
- The Combo: Firemind's Foresight into Reiterate, Reset and Whispers of the Muse. This combo works on your opponents upkeep, tap all of your mana, then cast reset. With Reset on the stack, copy it with reiterate paying for the buyback. Let reiterate resolve (thus untapping all of your land) and copy reset again with reiterate. Repeat this process for infinite mana. Then draw your deck with whispers of the muse, drawing Comet Storm. Proceed to kill the table with comet storm and infinite mana. It requires 9 mana without Mizzix, but only 5 mana with Mizzix and 4 counters.
The thing about temporal trespass is its not a 3 mana time walk, if it was, everyone would play it. It requires you to significantly fuel your graveyard, in colors that like abusing their graveyard. Compare that card to straight Time Warp, which may deal less damage when revealed, but is infinitely more castable.
Consign is basically an un-Overloaded Cyclonic Rift;
I don't think that's a selling point....bouncing non-creature permanents don't really deal with them and Oblivion is more or less a blank. Not too mention un-overloaded cyclonic rift is not what makes it good.
As for alternate cost Cards, you can't tell me that Force of Will isn't a good Card.. Let alone in THIS Deck. ESPECIALLY when the Mana Curve and Land count is as low as it is, we don't have the Mana to cast things without alternative costs.. Cards like Commandeer and Snuff Out put in A LOT of work in the Deck.
I'm not saying all of them are bad, of course FOW is one of the best cards you could be playing, I'm just saying don't add all the alternative costs or delve cards just for the sake of adding more damage. Straight up good cards will always trump that, even if they do a bit less damage.
As for Emerge I know you can sac Yuriko for that effect, I just think it isn't worth it personally..
Just my 2 cents, but I don't think you have nearly enough mana sources, I'd play at least another 4 lands. Especially considering how mana intensive ninjutsu tends to be.
Personally I don't think cramming the alternative cost cards and split cards are really that great. Limiting yourself to those cards to max out damage I find is less efficient than playing good cards and getting the incidental extra damage. Mostly glaring at Consign//Oblivion, Treasure Cruise and Temporal Trespass.
I get what you want to do with the emerge (get a cost reduction from ninjutsu and then the reduction from emerge). I really don't think I want to be sacking ninjas though. Yuriko makes each one of them super valuable.
Deck runs perfectly, like a well oiled machine, only change I've made is swapping Jazal Goldmane with Leonin Warleader Jazal was just a random efficient dude, but his ability is seldom useful.
The Warleader gives me more cats without casting more creatures andthey have lifelink on top of it, which is pretty sweet.
4 mana for a draw engine that doesn't necessarily win the game is a tough sell for me. That drawback may be a real problem from time to time too. If you want cards with a wincon tacked on I'd prefer Karn or Tezzeret.
On a side note, what do people think of affinity versus the hardened scales version. I think our version is still more explosive. Even if hardened scales seems more resilient, it doesn't seem like it does much without Hardened Scales. Pretty sure traditional affinity is generally still better, but I could be wrong.
Here's what I'm thinking of going with for my return to the ring.
4x Ornithopter
3x Memnite
3x Vault Skirge
1x Hope of Ghirapur
4x Signal Pest
3x Steel Overseer
4x Arcbound Ravager
4x Master of Etherium
Non-Creatures
2x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
4x Cranial Plating
4x Thoughtcast
4x Mox Opal
4x Springleaf Drum
3x Blinkmoth Nexus
4x Inkmoth Nexus
3x Spire of Industry
1x Glimmervoid
1x Island
4x Darksteel Citadel
3x Etched Champion
2x Thoughtseize
2x Ancient Grudge
2x Whipflare
2x Ghirapur Aether-Grid
2x Rest in Peace
2x Damping Sphere
Some thoughts: I never really liked Galvanic Blast that much. Affinity is pretty swingy, you're either smashing for 10+ damage a turn or doing nothing, Galvanic Blast wont do much too often that it doesn't make my list, its basically a card with too low of a floor. I prefer Thoughtcast because it gives you fuel versus decks that want to trade resources 1 for 1 and allows you to keep hands with a bunch of enablers to dig for wincons and lands, its basically never a completely dead card. They get traded out for sideboard stuff usually in G2 and G3.
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas has always given me good results, its great against grindy decks that want to trade 1 for 1 and is a very relevant wincon. Planeswalkers are very hard for some decks to deal with. People are runing Karn, but I think Tezzeret is so much better. The mana has never really been an issue for me. Having said that its often boarded out against decks that want to race.
I'm not married to the sideboard, but I think its pretty solid.
Big overall of deck in OP.
Most games end with Firemind's Foresight combo, althought there's a few other ways of winning such as wins via Insurrection, Swarm Intelligence, Rite of Replication, Bribery or Sphinx Bone-Wand.
The deck is vulnerable if mizzix dies too much its true, the counter suite is mostly reserved for protecting her. But tis' the plight of over-reliance on commanders. You mostly have no choice with this type of deck (otherwise you might be better off playing something else.). Only other thing I've considered outside of the counters is Lightning Greaves.
Thats fine, in most playgroups I haven't had an issue, whenever I do I just swap them for something in my wish board. Usually card draw and a sweeper.
For this deck I decided there's no reason to not add Living Wish and Glittering Wish. If a play group is highly against it, I can swap out the wishes for Nacatl War-Pride and Oreskos Explorer.
Currently my Wish Board looks like this:
Updating OP
Also potentially insane (if allowed in your local meta) is Split Screen
That reminds me, I actually had a debate about which was better for the finisher combo, Reset or Reality Spasm. I though Reset, just because it is more possible to combo off without Mizzix in play. What's your take on that? I could play both, but space is getting so tight...
1x Hypnotic Siren
1x Siren Stormtamer
1x Jace's Phantasm
1x Ornithopter
1x Masterful Ninja
1x Baleful Strix
1x Augury Owl
1x Thalakos Seer
1x Skullsnatcher
1x Dimir Infiltrator
1x Cloud of Faeries
1x Cadaver Imp
1x Steady-Handed Mook
1x Throat Slitter
1x Mistblade Shinobi
1x Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
1x Walker of the Secret Ways
1x Glen Elandra Archmage
1x Ravenous Chupacabra
1x Overt Operative
1x Sakashima's Student
1x Ninja of the Deep Hours
1x Shriekmaw
1x Mulldrifter
1x Higure, the Still Wind
1x Okiba-Gang Shinobi
1x Deadeye Navigator
1x Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
1x Sun Quan, Lord of Wu
1x Silent-Blade Oni
1x Chancellor of the Spires
1x Reiver Demon
Non Creatures
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Imperial Seal
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Brainstorm
1x Ponder
1x Swan Song
1x Sol Ring
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Lim-Dul's Vault
1x Scroll Rack
1x Bitterblossom
1x Dimir Signet
1x Talisman of Dominance
1x Dowsing Dagger
1x Cover of Darkness
1x Sword of the Animist
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Arcane Adaptation
1x Equilibrium
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Snuff Out
1x Kindred Discovery
1x Conspiracy
1x Force of Will
1x Rivers' Rebuke
1x Curtains' Call
1x Kindred Dominance
1x Temporal Mastery
Lands
1x Volrath's Stronghold
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Rogue's Passage
1x Mutavault
1x Shizo, Deaths Storehouse
1x Tolaria West
1x Myriad Landscape
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Polluted Delta
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Flooded Strand
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Marsh Flats
1x Underground Sea
1x Watery Grave
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Darkwater Catacombs
1x Fetid Pools
1x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Temple of Deceit
1x Dimir Aqueduct
1x Sunken Hollow
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Command Tower
6x Swamp
6x Island
1x Arms Depot
1x Dispatch Dispensary
1x Faerie Aerie
1x Gift Horse
1x Gnomeball Machine
1x Guest List
1x Optical Optimizer
1x Pet Project
1x Rapid Prototyper
1x Record Store
1x Refibrillator
1x Thud-for-Duds
1x Hard-Hat Area
1x Top-Secret Tunnel
1x Widget Contraption
Sick meme bro.
Agreed, how do you mitigate this problem in your deck? I try to avoid colorless sources, unless they are really broken a la Sol Ring or Riptide Laboratory.
This deck plays both Burning Wish and Cunning Wish as super flex cards.
The main win cons are:
- The Combo: Firemind's Foresight into Reiterate, Reset and Whispers of the Muse. This combo works on your opponents upkeep, tap all of your mana, then cast reset. With Reset on the stack, copy it with reiterate paying for the buyback. Let reiterate resolve (thus untapping all of your land) and copy reset again with reiterate. Repeat this process for infinite mana. Then draw your deck with whispers of the muse, drawing Comet Storm. Proceed to kill the table with comet storm and infinite mana. It requires 9 mana without Mizzix, but only 5 mana with Mizzix and 4 counters.
- Rise from the tides or token producer army
- Bribery Win Con (stealing a Blightsteel colossus or Eldrazi or something)
- Kicked Rite of replication finish
- Insurrection finish
- Late game lock down with something like Swarm Intelligence and Capsize
Without Further Ado, Here's my decklist.
1x Maze of Ith
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Volcanic Island
1x Steam vents
1x Shivan Reef
1x Command Tower
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Spirebluff Canal
1x Temple of Epiphany
1x Wandering Fumarole
1x Cascade Bluffs
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Swiftwater Cliffs
1x Izzet Guildgate
1x Highland Lake
1x Flooded Strand
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Polluted Delta
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Arid Mesa
1x Wooded Foothills
7x Island
7x Mountain
Instants and Sorceries
1x Swan Song
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Gamble
1x Preordain
1x Ponder
1x Pongify
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Whispers of the Muse
1x Mystic Speculation
1x Merchant Scroll
1x Burning Wish
1x Reality Shift
1x Turn // Burn
1x Shattering Pulse
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Reset
1x Unwind
1x Forbid
1x Capsize
1x Chaos Warp
1x Tezzeret's Gambit
1x Reiterate
1x Cunning Wish
1x Intuition
1x Rewind
1x Mystic Retrieval
1x Deep Analysis
1x Rite of Replication
1x Bribery
1x Devastation Tide
1x Petals of Insight
1x Force of Will
1x Misdirection
1x Coastal Breach
1x Rise from the Tides
1x Firemind's Foresight
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Scour from Existence
1x All is Dust
1x Commandeer
1x Curse of the Swine
1x Starstorm
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Pull from Tomorrow
Others
1x Sol Ring
1x Wayfarer's Bauble
1x Izzet Signet
1x Coldsteel Heart
1x Sky Diamond
1x Fire Diamond
1x Young Pyromancer
1x Mizzix of the Izmagnus
1x Primal Amulet
1x Archaeomancer
1x Talrand, Sky Summoner
1x Docent of Perfection
1x Metallurgic Summonings
1x Swarm Intelligence
1x Sphinx-Bone Wand
Wish Board
1x Rolling Earthquake
1x Past in Flames
1x Recurring Insight
1x Fanning the Flames
1x Insurrection
1x Spell Burst
1x Arcane Denial
1x Evacuation
1x Stroke of Genius
1x Dominate
I don't think that's a selling point....bouncing non-creature permanents don't really deal with them and Oblivion is more or less a blank. Not too mention un-overloaded cyclonic rift is not what makes it good.
I'm not saying all of them are bad, of course FOW is one of the best cards you could be playing, I'm just saying don't add all the alternative costs or delve cards just for the sake of adding more damage. Straight up good cards will always trump that, even if they do a bit less damage.
As for Emerge I know you can sac Yuriko for that effect, I just think it isn't worth it personally..
Anyways, just like I said, just my 2 cents...
Personally I don't think cramming the alternative cost cards and split cards are really that great. Limiting yourself to those cards to max out damage I find is less efficient than playing good cards and getting the incidental extra damage. Mostly glaring at Consign//Oblivion, Treasure Cruise and Temporal Trespass.
I get what you want to do with the emerge (get a cost reduction from ninjutsu and then the reduction from emerge). I really don't think I want to be sacking ninjas though. Yuriko makes each one of them super valuable.
I'm also open to adding stuff if its extremely good that I might of missed.
Here's the decklist:
1x Hypnotic Siren
1x Siren Stormtamer
1x Blurry Beeble
1x Jace's Phantasm
1x Ornithopter
1x Masterful Ninja
1x Baleful Strix
1x Augury Owl
1x Dimir Infiltrator
1x Thalakos Seer
1x Skullsnatcher
1x Cloud of Faeries
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Cadaver Imp
1x Mistblade Shinobi
1x Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
1x Walker of Secret Ways
1x Spellseeker
1x Throat Slitter
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Ravenous Chupacabra
1x Sakashima's Student
1x Ninja of the Deep Hours
1x Hostage Taker
1x Shriekmaw
1x Mulldrifter
1x Higure, the Still Wind
1x Okiba-Gang Shinobi
1x Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
1x Silent-Blade Oni
1x Sun Quan, Lord of Wu
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Imperial Seal
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Brainstorm
1x Ponder
1x Swan Song
1x Sol Ring
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Personal Tutor
1x Preordain
1x Chrome Mox
1x Force of Will
1x Snuff Out
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Lim-Dul's Vault
1x Scroll Rack
1x Bitterblossom
1x Dimir Signet
1x Talisman of Dominance
1x Dowsing Dagger
1x Sword of the Animist
1x Cover of Darkness
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Arcane Adaptation
1x Equilibrium
1x Kindred Discovery
1x Conspiracy
1x Curtains' Call
1x River's Rebuke
1x Temporal Mastery
Lands
1x Volrath's Stronghold
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Rogue's Passage
1x Mutavault
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1x Myriad Landscape
1x Tolaria West
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Polluted Delta
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Flooded Strand
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Marsh Flats
1x Underground Sea
1x Watery Grave
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Command Tower
1x Fetid Pools
1x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Temple of Deceit
1x Dimir Aqueduct
1x Sunken Hollow
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Blinkmoth Nexus
5x Swamp
5x Island
Deck runs perfectly, like a well oiled machine, only change I've made is swapping Jazal Goldmane with Leonin Warleader Jazal was just a random efficient dude, but his ability is seldom useful.
The Warleader gives me more cats without casting more creatures andthey have lifelink on top of it, which is pretty sweet.
Updated OP.