Izzet Blitz

Even though I currently don't play much in the way of Standard or Limited, I am a huge fan of Channel Fireball and regularly keep up with their articles and videos. Today on their site, Travis Woo posted a brand new deck entitled Izzet Blitz. Normally, this wouldn't be something I would pay much attention to, since even though it is built around Nivix Cyclops (a Common from Dragon's Maze), it is clearly a Standard deck.  However, a quick look at the actual decklist revealed something quite surprising. It turns out that the majority of the deck is made up of Commons - 24 out of a total of 40 cards, not including Lands. This is surprisingly high percentage. Let's take a quick look at Travis' decklist:

Izzet Blitz

A Standard deck by Travis Woo

Creatures 4 Snapcaster Mage 4 Guttersnipe 4 Nivix Cyclops 12 cards Other Spells 4 Artful Dodge 4 Faithless Looting 4 Pillar of Flame 4 Thought Scour 4 Boros Charm 4 Izzet Charm 4 Searing Spear 28 cards

Lands 3 Glacial Fortress 2 Hallowed Fountain 4 Steam Vents 4 Sulfur Falls 2 Clifftop Retreat 4 Sacred Foundry 1 Mountain 20 cards Sideboard 2 Faith's Shield 1 Think Twice 2 Electrickery 1 Harvest Pyre 1 Jace, Memory Adept 3 Boros Reckoner 1 Warleader's Helix 3 Ral Zarek 1 Moorland Haunt 15 cards

For more information about exactly how this deck works, I would encourage you to check out the full article. But for now, I want to briefly look at how this deck might be tweaked for Standard Pauper. Here are my initial thoughts, in no particular order:

1. Replacing Guttersnipe with Delver of Secrets seems like a no-brainer. While not quite as reliable, given the 28 spells in the deck, flipping Delver should be trivial.
2. Boros Charm doesn't have any parallel at Common, but according to the article it is primarily used either to protect your creatures or give the Nivix Cyclops double strike. Unfortunately, the latter is currently impossible in Standard Pauper. My initial choice then is to replace Boros Charm with Blue protection spells like Negate or Dispel.
3. Similarly, nothing in the format is as versatile as Izzet Charm. Since Travis mentions uses for all three modes, one could conceive of a mix of additional counters, burn spells like Brimstone Volley or Thunderbolt, or even another cheap Flashback card such as Geistflame, Think Twice, or Silent Departure.
4. Another playset of a single creature seems warranted, particularly one that gains some advantage from hitting an opponent for damage. Stealer of Secrets seems like a decent possibility, as does Heirs of Stromkirk. Alternatively, one could simply run the perennial favorite Frostburn Weird.
5. The original build splashes White not only for Boros Charm but also for Sideboard options. White cards that might be worth considering include Feeling of Dread, Keening Apparition, Beckon Apparition, or Smite.

Next time, I will continue my look at this deck and offer up a complete decklist for testing! But for now, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the deck and any potential improvements. Thanks for reading.