[Developing] Izzet Ponza

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pektusman
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Post by pektusman » 4 years ago

Traditionally, land destruction decks in the format tend to be mono-black (Icequake, Choking Sands) or mono-green (Thermokarst, Mwonvuli Acid-Moss). Combining red's land destruction spells with blue's card draw/filtering, however, makes for a much more controlling build.
Version 1.1 (older versions can be found on MtG Sally)
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Izzet Ponza
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Version 1.2
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Izzet Ponza
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Version 1.3
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Izzet Ponza
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Current Build (01/24/2020)
Izzet Ponza
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*How to Play
Turns 1 to 3: The deck starts off like a run-of-the-mill UR control deck. Playing Sandstone Needle on turn one sets us up nicely for a second turn land destruction. When you don't have a turn two Stone Rain|Fourth Edition effect, Scour all Possibilities is there for the set up. Then there's Augur of Bolas|Magic 2013 for card filtering as well as slowing down weenies. You should have blown up at least 1 land during the first 3 turns, and worry about the creatures later.
Turns 4 to 6: With 14 land destruction spells, you should have no problem seeing 1 (or 2) in the mid game. A well-timed Fade Away clears creatures off the battlefield and Jilt and Fire / Ice is there to pick off whatever remains. Aftershock let's us choose whichever mode is needed at that time, and with over half of the deck being sorceries and instants, Pieces of the Puzzle acts as both card draw and selection.
Turns 7 onward: The singleton Archaeomancer|Magic 2013 acts as a recycler (specially tasty when bounced with Jilt!) of the most needed spell. And when you're certain that you've gained the upper hand, Flurry of Horns acts as the finisher (finishers?) of choice a la Izzet Puzzle Pieces.

*Deck Tricks
1) Targeting Augur of Bolas|Magic 2013 with Jilt is one the deck's value play: bounce Augur then deal two damage to an opposing critter, ready to be cast again.
2) As stated above, Archaeomancer|Magic 2013 can be also be bounced with Jilt to recycle spent spells.
3) Use the Ice part of Fire / Ice to tap an opposing player's land on their upkeep (acts as a 2 CMC "Stone Rain!).
4) Hold off on Pillage|Alliances if you're facing Affinity as it can be used to destroy their Myr Enforcers.

*Deck Strengths
Able to color screw decks with greedy mana bases as well as decks that operate on fewer than 20 lands. It can hold its own against other control and midrange decks (UB Control, Mono Black Control, Boros), albeit a 50-50 split. And with the deck having so few creatures, creature removal will be "dead" cards in their hand. But please, hold your excitement when you see a bounce land on the opposite side of the board. :grin: Will add more to this soon

*Deck Weaknesses
As with any control decks, Izzet Ponza has trouble with swarm-type strategies, Affinity, especially, as it can operate on very few lands. Also, Burn. The sideboard is geared towards these certain match-ups, bringing in Firebolts and the additional Jilt for Stompy and Elves and Dispel|Return to Ravnica is there to delay the dreaded Burn clock. Aura Flux and Curfew|Urza's Saga for Bogles and Heroic, Pyroblast for Delver and Skred, and Tormod's Crypt for graveyard-based decks round out the SB plan. Will add more to this soon
Last edited by pektusman 4 years ago, edited 2 times in total.

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pektusman
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Post by pektusman » 4 years ago

So I tested this at a small 12-man tourney, and here are the results:

Round 1 vs UB Control: 1-2
He managed to counter some of the land destruction spells early in game 1 (I was on the draw), and he drew answers upon answers (re: Accumulated Knowledge|Nemesis, Probe, Counterspell|Fourth Edition). Game 2 was a gimme as opponent mulliganed to 5 but still didn't have any land. He surprised me on game 3 with Striped Riverwinder and Exhume|Urza's Saga on turn 2, which he says was in his main all along, though not showing up on games 1 and 2.

Round 2 vs Tron: 1-2
This was supposed to be the dream matchup for these kinds of decks. Alas, it's not meant to be. Highlight of the game was a round 3, turn 4 Ulamog's Crusher|Rise of the Eldrazi, off a perfect Mine, Power Plant, Tower, Island 4-land turn.

Round 3 vs. Rakdos Exhume: 1-2
Again, another perfect matchup, me not worrying about the ponza spells being countered. Yet, again, match loss on the third round. I'll charge this one to experience as I managed to keep him on 1 land while I was up to 6. Misplay of the day was I didn't Capsize his solitary land on his upkeep, which allowed him to play another land, casting Exhume, and returning Ulamog's Crusher|Rise of the Eldrazi back (with Dragon Breath|Scourge to boot). And I sided out all the Jilts and Fade Aways for Pyroblast|Ice Age and Tormod's Crypt|Chronicles (which I didn't draw).

Round 4 vs. Affinity: 2-0
And just as I was beginning to think I'd be going home 0-4 (it's Affinity man, Affinity! I can't even destroy hecking Darksteel Citadel|Darksteel!), I got a win against an unwinnable matchup, I even referenced this as one of the deck's weaknesses. Maybe I just got lucky with timely Fade Aways and Pillages|Alliances.

Finished the day 1-3, (5-6 overall) so I'm kind of optimistic about the deck. This will remain sleeved for the time being. :grin: The one thing I'll try to tweak is adding Swirling Sandstorm in the main and switching the Jilt-Fire//Ice numbers (maybe removing Fire//Ice altogether and adding more copies of Capsize). Boreal Elemental also seems good as a Frost Titan|Magic 2011-esque threat that is hard to remove.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Any suggestions?

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Zombie Shakespeare
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Post by Zombie Shakespeare » 4 years ago

I like this deck in theory but it seems like it hits a clunky point around turn 3 or 4 where you are only able to deal with stuff mostly on a one-for-one basis and if your opponent is already ahead you just end up further behind.

Did you ever test Withdraw over Jilt? I noticed it was suggested in the original MTG Salvation thread. Undo might be another option as a one-of.

How often is Earth Rift's flashback ability relevant? Seems win-more. Aftershock seems like a little better albeit maybe not ideal vs fast aggro or burn.

Curfew might be a sideboard option if you encounter a lot of hexproof creatures in your meta.

Good luck!

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pektusman
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Post by pektusman » 4 years ago

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Zombie Shakespeare wrote:
4 years ago
I like this deck in theory but it seems like it hits a clunky point around turn 3 or 4 where you are only able to deal with stuff mostly on a one-for-one basis and if your opponent is already ahead you just end up further behind.

Did you ever test Withdraw over Jilt? I noticed it was suggested in the original MTG Salvation thread. Undo might be another option as a one-of.

How often is Earth Rift's flashback ability relevant? Seems win-more. Aftershock seems like a little better albeit maybe not ideal vs fast aggro or burn.

Curfew might be a sideboard option if you encounter a lot of hexproof creatures in your meta.

Good luck!
Thanks Mr. Shakespeare! I'll be gladly testing your suggestions and as such, I'll be editing the deck list above to reflect the changes. Also tweaking the mana base a bit so as to hit Withdraw's double U consistently.

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pektusman
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Post by pektusman » 4 years ago

Refined the deck list above after multiple playtests. The deck is running more smoothly now.

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