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Pauper: Izzet Terror - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

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Izzet Terror is a more control-oriented variant of Tolarian Terror lists that runs cards like Cast into the Fire to prey on the best Pauper decks, making it an effective Meta Call for the format.

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traducido por Romeu

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revisado por Tabata Marques

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Índice

  1. > The Decklist
    1. Maindeck
    2. Sideboard
  2. > Sideboard Guide
    1. Kuldotha Red
    2. Grixis Affinity
    3. Jund Broodscale
    4. Mono Blue Terror
    5. Faeries
  3. > Wrapping Up

As we enter 2025, Pauper's path for the year still seems very uncertain. With a Metagame that has remained stable since the release of Modern Horizons 3, the format may need another push so that new strategies can emerge and gain space in the competitive scene.

In the meantime, players are betting on meta calls to obtain good results: the inclusion of specific cards in a list and/or a certain interaction that allows them to have an edge against the main strategies. This is the case of Izzet Terror, a more Control-oriented variant of Tolarian Terror decks, which runs cards like Cast into the Fire in the maindeck to counter the strategies of Affinity and Kuldotha Red, two of the best decks in the format today.

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The Decklist

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This is the most common version of Izzet Terror today. Although some lists try to follow a more Tempo-oriented plan, the Mono Blue variant does a better job of pressuring the opponent without making any concessions in the mana base, so here we follow a line more focused on Control, with sweepers, cheap removals and some four-drops as complementary threats.

The biggest attraction of this archetype today is the way it behaves well in the Meta Call category against three of the four best decks in the format today with its complement of cheap removals, Counterspell and a threat capable of closing games early, in addition to the possibility of including Cast into the Fire in the maindeck without major concessions and with the potential to adapt to very abrupt changes in the Metagame due to the extensive pool of efficient cards in the Magic Symbol UMagic Symbol R colors.

Maindeck

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The win conditions.

Tolarian Terror is our main threat to win games. It can cost up to Magic Symbol U, protects itself and creates a four-turn clock on the board that demands immediate response from the opponent, or an endless stream of blockers - which tends to be our nightmare in some games.

Murmuring Mystic has a high mana value and is easy to destroy with Snuff Out or even Pyroblast, but since we have a more Control-oriented list, it is common to use it only when we have already exhausted the opponent's resources, leaving the way open to start creating an army of tokens with it.

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One of the biggest problems with Izzet Terror compared to other Pauper decks is that we don't have constant sources of card advantage. Cards like Deadly Dispute or Thoughtcast are not useful to us, and we don't want to rely on the combination of Ninja of the Deep Hours and Fairies because it messes up our strategy with Tolarian Terror.

The best option, in this case, are creatures with a mechanic that has almost been forgotten in the format: Monarch, which generates an extra draw every turn in which we retain this game state by not taking combat damage. It doesn't seem like the ideal card for the current Metagame, and I've been considering other options for these slots, but they are the "best we have" for now.

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The removals.

There is a lot of division between lists that prefer Lightning Bolt, or another one-mana red removal, in this slot. I went with Galvanic Discharge because this list is very focused on answering the best decks in the Pauper metagame today, and while the first Discharge deals with the same creatures that Lightning Bolt would, the second can always deal with Myr Enforcer, Tolarian Terror, and Writhing Chrysalis without difficulty.

Skred is our default removal and gets better as the game goes on. It's slow on the draw against Kuldotha Red if it starts the game with Goblin Tomb Raider and another two-toughness creature the next turn, but it's the best red removal we have against the other creatures today.

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Cast into the Fire is the absolute Meta Call. In addition to dealing with Affinity's Modern Horizons 2 lands, its damage mode also allows you to deal with Faeries and two Kuldotha Rebirth tokens with a single card, and has other possible interactions against Cleansing Wildfire archetypes, or against some creatures from White Weenie and Elves.

Breath Weapon is our sweeper against Aggro and go-wide strategies, and our best option in this category in Pauper today. Maybe Fiery Cannonade deserves a slot so it doesn't destroy Crimson Fleet Commodore, but the situations where this combination occurs are too rare to be worth the trade.

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Our answer for the stack package.

Counterspell is a Pauper classic, one of the best blue cards in the format, and needs no introduction. There are games where taking a copy of it in the Side-out is an option when we want cheaper interactions.

Spell Pierce handles a lot of the format's current one-drops, like Blood Fountain or Kuldotha Rebirth for relatively little cost, and also helps secure a response against removal and/or Counterspell from decks like Mono Blue Terror or Faeries.

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Our cantrips.

Izzet Terror relies heavily on the interaction between Brainstorm and Ponder to find the cards it needs, with Brainstorm digging deeper while Ponder helps shuffle useless cards on top.

This interaction is also possible with Lorien Revealed, which besides being another source of card advantage, also operates as four “extra” lands and counts as one more spell in the graveyard for Tolarian Terror.

Preordain and Tune the Narrative are flexible cantrips and I consider swapping Tune the Narrative for a second copy of Preordain to improve interactions with Brainstorm, given that its extra energy, as a one-of, doesn’t help our game plan as much.

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In addition to the basic lands (9-3 seems like the ideal number to avoid running out of red mana sources without messing up a Counterspell on the second turn), Volatile Fjord and Perilous Landscape are our dual choices for a deck that needs snow lands for its board interaction. It's worth remembering that Lorien Revealed can search for Volatile Fjord, increasing our consistency of access to red mana in the game.

Sideboard

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Hydroblast is more essential in the Pauper Metagame today than its red brother, being a key piece against Kuldotha Red and Gruul Ramp, in addition to having some applications against Affinity that can, depending on how the opponent's list is built, be worth slots in Games 2 and 3.

Pyroblast, however, is still important to deal with blue decks like Mono Blue Terror and Faeries, in addition to being a flexible card against a dozen strategies in the Metagame today.

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Gorilla Shaman has a specific target in mind: Affinity. With four Cast into the Fire in the maindeck, two copies of it guarantee the possibility of removing all, or most, of the opponent's mana sources, guaranteeing a quick victory if we can protect it for long enough.

Annul is a universal answer against artifacts and enchantments, and is essential against both Affinity and Broodscale Combo, as well as in games against Bogles.

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Dispel is a universal answer for many games and may even deserve one of the maindeck slots instead of Tune the Narrative. It is one of our main answers against removals and/or effects that try to protect the Broodscale Combo, such as Tamiyo’s Safekeeping.

Relic of Progenitus is an important card for the mirror and also for games where the opponent relies heavily on cards in the graveyard and/or interactions with the graveyard to work, such as Dredge, Reanimator, and is even worth a few slots in occasional games where Ghostly Flicker and/or Ephemerate show up with Mnemonic Wall or Archaeomancer.

Sideboard Guide

Kuldotha Red

IN

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OUT

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Grixis Affinity

IN

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OUT

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Jund Broodscale

IN

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OUT

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Mono Blue Terror

IN

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OUT

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Faeries

IN

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OUT

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Wrapping Up

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!