Lorwyn Eclipsed cards haven’t been tournament legal for very long, but we’re already starting to see them have a major impact in Standard. A variety of well-established top tier archetypes including Sultai Reanimator and Dimir Midrange have quickly adopted new tools.
If that weren’t enough, some brand-new strategies have begun to emerge and showcase early success. At the Regional Championship this weekend in Portland, a unique Izzet Elementals shell boasted an 8-1 day one record. Beating up on Izzet Lessons decks in its path, this deck has a lot going in its favor.
Fast Starts and Versatility
Like most typal decks, Izzet Elementals features a multitude of creatures that all share the same type. The goal is to maximize a few specific payoffs that reward you for staying on theme.
The payoff that holds the deck together is Flamebraider, a simple design that is extremely effective. Being able to cast any five-drop Evoke Elemental on turn three lets you keep up with faster green-based strategies. While Flamebraider is vulnerable to removal, most Badgermole Cub decks are light on interaction, and the explosive burst Flamebraider brings to the table makes it easier to keep pace.
For added consistency, a full playset of Ashling, Rekindled also makes an appearance as a ramp element. While transforming it into Ashling, Rimebound won’t help you cast a five-drop right away, you can still cast Roaming Throne ahead of schedule.
From there, in order to take full advantage of your acceleration, four copies of Vibrance and Wistfulness each make an appearance. Both cards are extremely flexible and have powerful enters triggers that Roaming Throne can double up on. Thanks to the presence of Cavern of Souls and Eclipsed Realms, you’ll often have the requisite colors of mana to get full value.
Cementing Your Advantage
In grindy matchups, simply generating value with Roaming Throne and Evoke Elementals will often pull you far enough ahead on resources that you’ll be able to close games. Against the fast green creature decks of the format, though, sometimes simply jamming big creatures won’t be enough to get you over the hump. After all, Ourboroid out of Simic Cub is capable of overwhelming your haymakers.
Luckily, Sunderflock is the perfect card to put the nail in the coffin against creature strategies. In some games, simply resolving Sunderflock as your last card will enable a lethal attack out of nowhere. Other times, you can just use it as a strong tempo play with the intention of playing another later in the game. Bouncing Sunderflock with Deceit is always an option just to get a reset. The only downside is that you do need to stick one of your beefier Elementals before you can reliably cast Sunderflock, but Roaming Throne’s Ward ability helps alleviate this issue.
In games where you don’t draw Sunderflock, a well-timed Ashling’s Command can also decimate your opponent’s battlefield. Coupled with the playset of Pyroclasm out of the sideboard, you should have no problem keeping small creatures in check.
An Interesting Position
Izzet Elementals may be a new, unrefined archetype, but it lines up well against numerous top-tier Standard strategies. The pilot of the deck, Jake Koenig, managed to win all five matches they played versus Izzet Lessons, showcasing how well-suited Izzet Elementals is to win grindy games. Thanks to Wistfulness and Chomping Changeling out of the sideboard, Izzet players will struggle to ever stick Monument to Endurance or Artist’s Talent. Yet, at the same time, the multitude of mini board wipes gives Izzet Elementals a fair shot versus Simic Cub and Mono-Red Aggro.
Where Izzet Elementals can run into issues is against combo decks that can end games out of nowhere. Sultai Reanimator, for example, can undo all the progress you make by simply casting Superior Spider-Man with Bringer of the Last Gift in the graveyard. Bant Airbending and Landfall can also cause problems thanks to their explosive combo potential.
Given how early it is in Lorwyn Eclipsed Standard, it’s still hard to gauge just how much long-term success Izzet Elementals will have. Nonetheless, Izzet Elementals has a lot of strengths, and it’s nice to see a major Lorwyn creature type give rise to a new deck.
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