Standard - [THB] Izzet Tempo

38 18
19 20 0 21
Control

(this is an old version of the list. I've updated the list here which seems to be performing strictly better)

Deck guide here: https://youtu.be/MRO4q5JhKhY

Izzet the new mono U tempo?

The goal of tempo is obviously to control the pace of the game, and although we lost a lot of the greatest cards in rotation from mono blue tempo, we've gained a few others which might make this kind of strategy viable again.

We have fast, hard hitting cards which can become a threat if not dealth with like Lightning Stormkinimage, Brazen Borrowerimage and Brineborn Cutthroatimage, while also running way too much control, including Ionizeimage which also allows us to inflict hurt on their life total. Spectral Sailorimage, Chemister's Insightimage, and the scry trigger on Mischievous Chimeraimage helps us to keep up with card advantage and find the things we need to control the pace of the game.

It seems pretty good in my playtesting so far. Mishievous Chimera really surprised me - I thought no way it would fit in a Tier 1 or even Tier 2 deck, but this might be changing my mind.

image

The thing about Chimera is (much like an actual Chimera) it's a mashup of a lot of different things. On it's face, it seems not quite good enough to be aggro and not quite good enough to fit into a flash, control, or spells pay-off deck. However, when you are trying to do all of those things in the same deck, and when you also happen to have a flying subtheme, it turns out to be pretty dang good.

Its scry trigger kind of sort of does what Curious Obsessionimage used to do in mono blue tempo.

Aggro sub-theme?

A lot of these cards are fast, either with flash or with haste to allow them to inflict hurt shortly after they come down, along with 4 Shockimage that can either serve as control or could go face. With the correct sideboard strategy, it is possible to sideboard out some of the control for additional aggro for a surprise shift in strategy on game 2.

Potential for viable budget play

If you remove the Brazen Borrowerimage, this deck seems like a very viable competitive budget deck that could even squeeze in under $100, much like mono blue tempo. A possible substitute could be running Pteramanderimage, maybe even playing 4 copies and removing an island. Bonecrusher Giantimage is also a possible substitution to act as both control and a creature threat.

Sibeboard

I haven't playtested this much in best-of-3 and there's a lot of different approaches you might take to sideboarding this deck. One approach is to play into one of the sub themes of the deck (aggro, fliers, flash, or spells) to make your opponent feel like they are playing against a totally different deck in game 2. The sideboard I've listed above is more oriented toward Tempo and provides silver bullets for certain match-ups.

Lava Coilimage is exile/removal for bigger things

Mu Yanling, Sky Dancerimage is a huge tempo card that can provide a small amount of control while also generating threats if your opponent can't deal with her. She seems like a great fit for a tempo deck in certain matchups.

Mystical Disputeimage is for counterspell mirrors

Narset, Parter of Veilsimage is a silver bullet for Esper Control, Simic Ramp, or any deck that relies heavily on card draw

Flame Sweepimage is for Cavalcade, Knights, or other go-wide strategies

Feedback about ways to improve this deck are greatly appreciated :)

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2 comments

MrQirn
Thanks! I've been working on v2 because this one is a bit rough around the edges, frankly. I've removed Samut's Sprint (it really hasn't been pulling its weight), added Bonecrusher Giant, removed Essence Capture and Chemister's insight for Thassa's Intervention, running one additional island among a few other small tweaks thanks to some suggestions I got on reddit. So far it seems to be preforming strictly better. I'll post a v2 list to aetherhub later today (or as soon as I can finish tweaking)
Riskshocker
This deck looks great, gonna play it tonight. Thanks for brewing!
MrQirn
Last Updated: 02 Feb 2020
Created: 31 Jan 2020
5654 626 2

Mainboard - 60 cards (14 distinct)

Creature (19)
$6.488.96
$0.25€0.160.03
$0.24€0.110.03
$0.24€0.150.03
$0.20€0.120.03
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (20)
$0.20€0.090.03
$0.15€0.110.03
$0.23€0.160.03
$0.25€0.120.03
$0.50€0.410.02
$0.19€0.060.04
Land (21)
$1.490.07
$13.69€11.541.52
$0.540.04

Sideboard - 15 cards (5 distinct)

$0.25€0.080.03
$0.25€0.140.03
$0.48€0.430.05
$1.58€1.580.02
$1.00€0.730.03

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