Hardy: "Is what Gandalf?"
Laurel: "No, Izzet Gandalf?"
Hardy: "I don't know, is it?"
Laurel: "That's what I'm asking you!"
Hardy: "What is it you're talking about?"
Laurel: "...wh...mmmm mmmm" <starts chewing on hat>
An Izzet spell slinger is a dragon I've chased for many years, well ever since Ravnica first came out. There are literally tons that work very well. I have just never pulled one off that I designed, and the ones I read about I'm like "ehhhh, nah." I've just never liked anything I saw. Then, of all sets, Lord of the Rings finally let me catch a dragon I thought I'd never see again. Sometimes, the clouds part, or in my case, the dunce gets lucky! Of the 14 LotR decks I made or mod'd, this is the one I'm happiest with.
This deck attacks in three ways. First, "The Ring tempts you" plays off of Gandalf to draw stupid numbers of cards and replace spells. With 28 cards that tempt you, Gandalf on the table spells immediate trouble. That, and Flame of Anor loves the Graybeard, too. Second, Fiery Inscription and Erebor Flamesmith punishes in the same manner as Guttersnipe but without an "evil" creature invading the deck theme. Last, your ring bearer and tempting gets additional damage triggers online fast while filtering unneeded cards or extra lands, which is evil when sneaking through unblockable and then going huge with Dreadful as the Storm. A 1/1 that gets through and can turn into 15 net damage with spells triggering their own damage and drawing cards is pure fun. Creature numbers are fairly balanced with spells so that I can pin the ears back and go for a blitz as needed, too, or replace ring bearers since Gandalf draws understandable heat as the centerpiece, he can't actually BE the ring bearer, or else sometimes I don't get a lot of Inscription triggers. I actually ended up with more creatures than I thought I would, but it just seems to work better this way. It works well in 1v1, 2HG, and high-life. Shut one of the attack vectors down, and it can pull out a win with the other two is something I have proven out already. I love it.
Got a dragon you've been chasing for years, and how did you catch it? Share it here!
Izzet Gandalf?
Decklist
Creatures
Enchantments
Approximate Total Cost:
