For quite some time, Mono-Red Madness and Mono-Blue Terror have remained Pauper’s best archetypes. Despite having clear targets on their backs, these decks have kept adapting to the hate thrown their way.
Now, players are even experimenting by fusing the archetypes together! Following a recent Magic Online Pauper League 5-0, Izzet Madness may have some unique promise.
Blending Two Dominant Decks
As is typical for red Madness shells,
Sneaky Snacker
Sneaky Snacker
Flying
When you draw your third card in a turn, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
is the main engine behind this dual archetype. The goal is to use tools like
Faithless Looting
Faithless Looting
Draw two cards, then discard two cards.
Flashback {2}{R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
to put Sneaky Snacker in the graveyard, then follow up with card draw spells to bring it back. By dipping into blue, you get to play a ton of cards that make Sneaky Snacker more consistent.
Brainstorm
Brainstorm
Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.
is by far the strongest tool in this department. Not only does it resurrect Snacker for one mana, but it also puts copies of Snacker or
Deep Analysis
Deep Analysis
Target player draws two cards.
Flashback—{1}{U}, Pay 3 life. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
from your hand on top of your library to Mill with
Thought Scour
Thought Scour
Target player mills two cards.
Draw a card.
. Of course, even without Brainstorm in the mix, combining multiple copies of Thought Scour and/or
Manamorphose
Manamorphose
Add two mana in any combination of colors.
Draw a card.
will trigger the Faerie’s return.
Given this deck’s high spell density and how easily it dumps spells into its graveyard,
Tolarian Terror
Tolarian Terror
This spell costs {1} less to cast for each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard.
Ward {2} (Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays {2}.)
is a natural fit as another solid finisher. Its Ward ability makes it a nuisance to deal with, especially for red decks relying on burn spells as removal.
At the same time, this deck’s slew of cheap spells also makes
Guttersnipe
Guttersnipe
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, this creature deals 2 damage to each opponent.
a reliable source of damage outside of combat. With a few copies of
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target.
and
Lava Dart
Lava Dart
Lava Dart deals 1 damage to any target.
Flashback—Sacrifice a Mountain. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
, you may be able to win in one shot before your opponent’s removal spells even matter.
Trading Consistency for Versatility
While it may seem very strange at first glance to mix two ideas together that are both successful on their own, doing so shores up some major weaknesses. As consistent and robust as Mono-Blue Terror is, for example, the newly legal Baleful Strix is a major issue for it, and Lava Dart fixes it easily. The red removal is also a huge boon versus Elves, which have been on the rise to combat Esper Affinity.
On the other hand, red decks can struggle staving off pressure from Affinity’s big threats like
Myr Enforcer
Myr Enforcer
Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs {1} less to cast for each artifact you control.)
, which Tolarian Terror fixes. Even if Terror isn’t enough to cross the finish line on its own, it can buy you time to set up a Guttersnipe kill.
As valuable as these benefits are, though, the biggest bonus of the Izzet route is playing a range of sideboard cards. Having access to
Blue Elemental Blast
Blue Elemental Blast
Choose one —
• Counter target red spell.
• Destroy target red permanent.
and
Hydroblast
Hydroblast
Choose one —
• Counter target spell if it's red.
• Destroy target permanent if it's red.
lets you prevent opposing Guttersnipes from ever resolving, giving you a nice edge in Red Madness pseudo-mirror. In fact, one red Madness player just made top 4 of a Challenge splashing blue for only blasts, Deep Analysis, and
Annul
Annul
Counter target artifact or enchantment spell.
, showcasing blue’s value for the archetype.
Of course, playing two colors isn’t free in the slightest. With commons as the only legal card type in Pauper, your mana base isn’t very consistent, especially since you still need a high Mountain count for Lava Dart. Relying on tapped lands costs you speed, which can make it harder to race other combo decks like Golgari Spy.
As a result, it remains unclear whether Izzet Madness will keep delivering results or prove a flash in the pan, but the potential is massive. If you’re a Pauper fan, this emerging deck will be one to watch in the coming weeks.
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