One of the most interesting design decisions in MTG Avatar was definitely the choice to print a bunch of Lessons without featuring the Learn mechanic. This choice was controversial, yet it did allow Wizards of the Coast to print a high density of efficient and flavorful Lessons spells without worrying about repercussions in Standard.
In doing so, however, Wizards opened the door for archetypes in older formats to incorporate Learn spells in order to maximize all the strong new Lessons in their sideboards. Of course, Learn spells may not be a natural fit for most decks, but there’s one archetype in Modern that can make pretty good use of the mechanic at a lower cost.
Academic Dispute in Modern Prowess
Thanks to the printing of Cori-Steel Cutter, Izzet Prowess has emerged a top tier archetype in Modern with a well-established maindeck. Since the release of MTG Avatar, however, some players have had success adding Academic Dispute in the mix in place of some flex slots like Expressive Iteration.
As an individual card, Academic Dispute isn’t anywhere near as powerful as Iteration. Nonetheless, against creature decks, the upside of forcing an opposing creature to chump block one of your big Prowess threats has a lot of value. All it takes is your opponent casting a small creature without Haste like Guide of Souls, and Dispute can lead to some massive swings in your favor. Additionally, you can even use Dispute as a way to give one of your own creatures Reach in a pinch, which can help you ambush opposing copies of Dragon’s Rage Channeler.
Even in games where you don’t get to blow your opponent out, though, Dispute serves as a versatile and efficient value play thanks to the Learn ability. Think of this card as a one-mana tutor of sorts that occasionally two-for-ones your opponent with its actual effect.
Against fast creature decks like Boros Energy, grabbing Firebending Lesson can remove a powerful threat. Meanwhile, Octopus Form gives you a decent source of protection for your Prowess threats versus Dimir Midrange and other removal-heavy strategies. This decklist even opts to splash green for Origin of Metalbending, which has a lot of value as an answer to Urza’s Saga or Leyline of the Guildpact. Having access to a bunch of strong but narrow effects in game one goes a long way in improving your position.
Additionally, Dispute does a good job fueling Cutter, since resolving it ensures you’ll be able to play two spells in one turn. Still, while these upsides make the Learn package a strong consideration for the archetype, there are some weaknesses to adding these cards to your deck.
Tradeoffs
Right off the bat, one of the things that you need to think about when deciding whether to play Academic Dispute is whether it’s worth giving up a bunch of sideboard slots. This decklist runs six cheap Lessons in the sideboard to give yourself maximum flexibility with Dispute, but this comes at the cost of having only nine “real” sideboard cards to bring in for various matchups. For example, you won’t find any copies of Spell Pierce here, which definitely makes the Ruby Storm matchup worse, especially considering there are no good one-mana counterspells to search for with Dispute.
Beyond sideboard considerations, you may also find yourself in awkward positions when it comes to simply resolving Dispute. In order to cast the instant at all, you need a legal target. Furthermore, if that target dies with Dispute on the stack, you don’t get to Learn at all! Against control shells with free removal spells like Solitude and very few creatures of their own, you risk getting blown out.
Given how popular creature decks like Boros Energy are in the current metagame, however, Dispute certainly has a lot going in its favor. Make sure to keep this intriguing tech on your radar moving forward, since it wouldn’t be surprising if it catches steam.
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