I agree with that, but those threats are colorless. I can’t think of a better Izzet payoff than Niv.
My cube is 405, with 35 lands 31 of which are color fixing with lots of Mana Rocks. And Izzet leans heavily into spells Matter. I don’t feel like Niv is compeating for the same slot as with Ugin or Emrakul.
I encourage you to play test him. If you have the mana support, he is excellent.
Actually, I love playing him in standard, and so I tried him in the cube, and my players love him, and they have not had any problems casting him on curve. My Cube is 405, cards with a full set of duals, shocks, fetches, a city of brass, and a couple of fixing artifacts.
I mean, he is not splash-able, but izzet decks in my cube play him easily.
My cube is 405, with 35 lands 31 of which are color fixing with lots of Mana Rocks. And Izzet leans heavily into spells Matter. I don’t feel like Niv is compeating for the same slot as with Ugin or Emrakul.
I encourage you to play test him. If you have the mana support, he is excellent.
When cast, he is going to hit the board. Worst case, is he removed immediately, and you draw a card, and deal a damage.
If they don’t remove him almost instantly, you win. I have tested him a quite bit in standard and now in cube, He is not going anywhere.
Basically, if you untap with Niv-papa on the board, the game is over.
I mean, he is not splash-able, but izzet decks in my cube play him easily.