Ideas for this Blue/Red deck?

Modern Deck Help forum

Posted on April 26, 2017, noon by matthewingram

First off I've only ever played casually, but with this deck I would like to have it somewhat viable if I were to take it somewhere...

I want to make a deck that uses a lot of instants and sorceries. When looking at cards I saw a lot of Blue/Red cards I thought were cool such as Winterflame Swerve and Double Negative. Also really love the art for Enigma Drake. Other cards I've checked out are Goblin Electromancer and Hypersonic Dragon

So I think the best idea might be to use a bunch of burn and counters. I don't really have a feel for how a deck like this would work out or what else it needs in the deck. I do really like dragons and I know there are several cards that benefit from having dragons such as Draconic Roar and Silumgar's Scorn. But I assume that a deck like this would need some card draw and more specific stuff like Skullcrack

I was hoping that you guys might be able to give me some of the crucial cards that come to mind when thinking of a deck like this. Any must have creatures or spells? Any mechanics that you think would fit in this deck? Oh and if I were to use Hypersonic Dragon how would I best take advantage of the flash ability?

rothgar13 says... #2

If you want a big blue-red deck that can use Dragons or other big things to finish your opponent, I would try Blue Moon. That's a control deck that's using cards like Blood Moon, Cryptic Command, Lightning Bolt, and Mana Leak to control the early game, then finishing people off with big things. Stormbreath Dragon would be a pretty good finisher in that case, because it's very hard to kill.

If you're thinking of going a bit faster, I would recommend a Delver deck. The namesake creature is Delver of Secrets  Flip, and he can put a hurting on people if they don't deal with him. This deck would have lots of burn and counters and tempo plays like Vapor Snag, potentially Enigma Drake, and one of Bedlam Reveler or Cryptic Serpent as its top-end.

I will warn that there are a couple of expensive cards that are required to make this deck work well - Snapcaster Mage is a must have for competitive play, and there's no real way to get around that. Scalding Tarn and Steam Vents would also be very good, though they're not as critical in a 2-color manabase a lot of the time. Hope this was helpful.

April 26, 2017 12:30 p.m.

Hardhitta7 says... #3

In most of my fast Izzet decks I use Shivan Reef because I don't have the money to spend on more expensive lands. But like you I only play casually.

You can check out my Izzmatic deck if you want some ideas for counter/burn. It isn't Modern legal but can be by replacing a few cards like Counterspell and Ponder and Preordain. You could also drop the Ral Zarek for some Bedlam Reveler or Cryptic Serpent.

Whatever you decide to build, the sideboard is very important in Modern, something most people don't bother with in casual. And it can be quite expensive with things like Blood Moon.

Either way good luck and Glory to the Firemind!

Edit: everything rothgar13 said is spot on as well!

April 26, 2017 2:36 p.m. Edited.

xyr0s says... #4

Probably the deck you are looking for is more like UR prowess. And while the deck rothgar13 recommends (blue moon) is a strong deck, it is loaded with some of the most expensive cards in modern, with no real options for budget substitutes. You don't get to play many counterspells in UR prowess - you need to play your spells during your own turn to trigger prowess, and counterspells mainly goes in your opponents turn. Uses cards like Stormchaser Mage and Monastery Swiftspear, and (if you feel janky) also Runechanter's Pike.

Sorry to say, but a card like Winterflame is not being played in modern, because it's underpowered compared to what else you can do (in the case of winterflame, you could Lightning Bolt instead with 2 mana to spare).

April 26, 2017 5:11 p.m.

matthewingram says... #5

Wow guys I really appreciate the help! Here is a rough idea for the deck http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/27-04-17-izzet-counterburn/ I'm worried about draw. There are cards that draw but also discard and I feel like I might run out of cards in hand pretty quickly with all of the cheap instants... or maybe I am overestimating the speed in which I will be using them. Can you guys think of any way of addressing this issue? Also in general if you see any glaring holes in the deck let me know because I still haven't played with it.

April 27, 2017 1:51 a.m.

Hardhitta7 says... #6

This makes it easier for people to look at your deck, izzet counter/burn.

April 27, 2017 10:35 a.m.

Xica says... #7

Turn / Burn > Winterflame - the latter reminds me of my days of thinkering with Midnight Charm, its not bad, but it is not good enough

May 4, 2017 7:04 a.m.

Please login to comment