** Under Construction as Dominaria Spoilers may change/add to deck **
With the spoiling of Dominaria it appears that there is finally Modern support for the best Tribe in all of Magic...WIZARDS !!
We already have many amazing Wizards to choose from...just a few include:
And this is by NO MEANS exhaustive...there are many many more Wizards that can be played. Also, Dominaria has given us even more (and in many cases better) Wizards (and Wizard-centric spells). These include:
Images will be added as spoiled
The sum of our options finally allow for a viable Wizards Tribal deck in Modern. This is the place for all of us who love Wizards and want to brew, play, and discuss our Wizard decks. If we are lucky, we may even bring the archetype to a Tier deck! Time will tell....
________
I haven't made the complete primer yet (as it will come with all spoilers and a few pages of discussion, deck lists, tuning, etc.); but I will do that shortly. I wanted to share a Izzet Wizards list I tested that was a ton of fun in testing. It looks like it could become a very competitive deck with the correct tuning. Here is the list:
It's really fun to play and plays much more like an aggressive/tempo deck. This is obviously a first draft, but it's really fun to play. I do know that the list is 61 cards. I am between 18 and 19 lands right now, but I normally just play the 19th land at 61 if I can't decide.
I'm really hoping they make something like this at common or uncommon:
Wizard's Illusion UR
Instant
Create two red and blue 1/2 Wizard tokens.
Is anyone else testing UR Wizards and would anyone want a separate Primer for Izzet Wizards? If so, I can make one. I didn't know if this would fall under the UR Delver heading because some lists may not include Delver.
I would actually play 4 Spellweaver Eternal and try to maximize Prowess, and remove Delver, since if it flips, it doesn't gain any triggers from Azeli. Storm Chaser, Azeli, Soul-Scar and Spellweaver should be more than enough creatures to fight through. Baral is a great addition as well.
I will go ahead and make a primer for the deck since there seems to be some interest in this deck. I will have it done early next week. Great ideas from ThorsHammer, Catherine Cook, and Underused cards. I will put multiple lists in the primer dealing with all of the cards.
Now to my deck choices.
Delver is just a great tempo one drop. I realize he loses the wizard type when he flips but that by that time would will likely have another wizard and we have a 3/2 flier. He is also one of my favorite cards so I feel naked without him :). I tried Ghitu Lavarunner to start, but he just didn't perform well. I have swiftspear in my jeskai prowess list and love it, but she isn't a wizard. I have been running a one of copy of Soul-Scar Mage in my jeskai prowess deck and he has really performed very well in the Jund heavy meta so I thought I would try him in this build. He has been very good thus far. He is especially good in our bad matchups. Another wizard that will definitely be in the sideboard is Grim Lavamancer.
Catherine Cook- I didn't even think of Baral as an option. I will definitely have to play around with him as well.
It's still very early in the decks life so it's super fun to test out different ideas. Thanks everyone for sharing.
List is very rough and untested, just a first draft.
Grim Lavamancer and Soul-Scar Mage have pretty sweet synergy together so if you're on the more aggro version I'd definately have a close look at them. And if you're looking to maximize Adeliz, don't forget about Manamorphose.
Love the list. I like the kinda of wild west feel this deck currently has. It's such a new deck that there are tons of things to test out. I love the plan of your deck. Let us know how it goes.
I did consider Manamorphose, but it didn't make the final cut. Like you said, we are in the very rough stage of building so the deck will likely change a lot in the near future. Starting in the rough stage is the most fun in my opinion.
I agree that this type of brewing is superfun, and there seems to be quite the potential in the archetype. Will be very interesting to see the rest of the set. Another card to remember is Stream of Unconsciousness which could be good in the prowess-heavy aggro-version.
Great call existenz. There is another one I play in my cube is Sage's Dousing. The new counter makes it somewhat obsolete. It could be a fun option in a more controlling version.
Will be posting a list of my own as soon as I have the time to put one together: I'm actually planning to build and run this deck IRL, so I definitely want to contribute to this topic as much as possible. Glad you liked my Baral idea btw, he just felt like a no-brainer in this kind of project really
That's awesome news Catherine Cook! It's always great to have active members who will have experience playing the deck. I am going to test the deck this evening with my playgroup (we can use proxies when testing new ideas). I will let you guys know how it goes. I will likely test against Jund, Boggles, and possibly hollow one because they are popular right now.
I agree completely. I think Naban, Dean of Iteration will be best in a Azorious or Esper list that is more control oriented. My favorite style is the delver tempo or aggro-control style decks. Big surprise I think there will be so many ways to build this style of deck that it will be hard to come to a consensus as to what the perfect best deck.
I am going to try adding a small black splash to my list to see if Dark Confidant can work well with the deck. In addition, this gives me access to Kolaghan's Command.
It's awesome to see all of the ideas flowing in this forum. I do think there will be several different wizard builds that will be competitive in modern. A aggro-control or tempo build and a more control oriented build. Time will tell. My testing has gone very well so far with the Aggro-control/prowess style build so I will post my testing notes as soon as I get some time. Keep those ideas coming everyone!
I agree. I'm waiting to see if there are any more wizard oriented common/uncommon cards before getting to in depth. I really hope there is some kind of wizard token creating spell.
I couldn’t agree more force of Ill. I think aggro-control or tempo is the way to go. Really take advantage of prowess. That’s where i started with the list as well. It remains to be seen if the list has enough power, but once we find a consensus beat list I bet we will have a very competitive Aggro-Control or tempo based list.
Im really interested in building a wizard deck in modern now.
So many ways to go with it.
UR aggro, UW tempo, Mono blue Devotion or even a control build.
Let me know how your testing goes guys. I need to know what's best lol.
What do you guys think about a Blue White Tempo version? cards im thinking about...
Naban
Harbinger of tides
Meddling Mage
Venser
Aether Vial
Cursecatcher
Aven Mindcensor
The idea is to get in chip shots early, while keeping your hand full with cantrips and chart a course. You should be able to get ahead enough to turn the corner with one of your 3 drops, or just reach with bolt snap bolt.
I went really hard into Aggro-Control instead of prowess or tempo. My maindeck is UR Breach, so I took that shell and made it more aggressive and Wizardy. The strength to this build is that it does not rely on synergy. It's designed to win with just a couple wizards in play, so all the wizards are wizards that are good on their own. V clique and Obstructionist dominate the skies, snapcaster is snapcaster, lava man gives me a lot of reach or removal, soul scar lets me bolt goyfs to death way more easily and prowess makes his tiny body actually worth something. Blood Moon is great in a deck like this since it doesn't hurt us, we can capitalize on the tempo, and it fits well in the curve. I also added JTMS as a curve topper since I had an extra slot and he is amazing in Blue Moon generally.
The one thing I would change is, it would be nice to squeeze some remands in.
Yeah it's definitely greedy, but I'm going to start with the full 8 just to see how it goes.
The counterspell only gets 1 mana cheaper, so I'm not too worried about not having a wizard for it 50% of the time, and then with the Wizard's Bolt, you have much higher variance - 3 mana bolt is not good - BUT, after you drop a blood moon, being perfectly efficient doesn't matter any more. I've had tons of games where I win off something dumb like Electrolyze into Snap Electrolyze, so I feel like I will actually burn people out by hard casting wizard's lightning. Also, your wizard only has to be on the field when you cast the card, in testing, firing off a few burn spells in response to removal has felt great.
Love the list War_Hero. I definitely think the aggro-control style fits this style of deck very well and it's the style of deck I like to play. I like playing Jace at the top end and I actually think he fits better in an aggro-control or tempo style deck than a control deck in some ways.
I'm gonna agree with you force of ill on Naban, Dean of Iteration. I just think it's one of those cards that is "win more". It will be awesome sometimes and terrible other times. Often in this style of deck where every card needs to be efficient we really can't have a card that can sometimes underwhelm. I like the Adeliz,the cinder wind style decks that focus more on prowess. I haven't had a ton of time to test, but I will shortly.
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With the spoiling of Dominaria it appears that there is finally Modern support for the best Tribe in all of Magic...WIZARDS !!
We already have many amazing Wizards to choose from...just a few include:
And this is by NO MEANS exhaustive...there are many many more Wizards that can be played. Also, Dominaria has given us even more (and in many cases better) Wizards (and Wizard-centric spells). These include:
The sum of our options finally allow for a viable Wizards Tribal deck in Modern. This is the place for all of us who love Wizards and want to brew, play, and discuss our Wizard decks. If we are lucky, we may even bring the archetype to a Tier deck! Time will tell....
________
I haven't made the complete primer yet (as it will come with all spoilers and a few pages of discussion, deck lists, tuning, etc.); but I will do that shortly. I wanted to share a Izzet Wizards list I tested that was a ton of fun in testing. It looks like it could become a very competitive deck with the correct tuning. Here is the list:
2 Soul-Scar Mage
2 Stormchaser Mage
3 Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Bedlam Reveler
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Wizard's Lightning
1 Electrolyze
3 Vapor Snag
2 Distortion Strike
2 Remand
2 Wizard's Retort
1 Spell Pierce
1 Echoing Truth
4 Opt
3 Serum Visions
1 Cryptic Command
2 Flooded Strand
2 Steam Vents
2 Sulfur Falls
4 Island
1 Mountain
4 Spirebluff Canal
It's really fun to play and plays much more like an aggressive/tempo deck. This is obviously a first draft, but it's really fun to play. I do know that the list is 61 cards. I am between 18 and 19 lands right now, but I normally just play the 19th land at 61 if I can't decide.
I'm really hoping they make something like this at common or uncommon:
Wizard's Illusion UR
Instant
Create two red and blue 1/2 Wizard tokens.
Is anyone else testing UR Wizards and would anyone want a separate Primer for Izzet Wizards? If so, I can make one. I didn't know if this would fall under the UR Delver heading because some lists may not include Delver.
Modern Tallowisp Spirits - A Modern Tallowisp Deck UW
Eldrazi Ninjas - Summoning Octopus Jutsu YYYYAAAHHHH!
STANDARD
Naban Wizards
Now to my deck choices.
Delver is just a great tempo one drop. I realize he loses the wizard type when he flips but that by that time would will likely have another wizard and we have a 3/2 flier. He is also one of my favorite cards so I feel naked without him :). I tried Ghitu Lavarunner to start, but he just didn't perform well. I have swiftspear in my jeskai prowess list and love it, but she isn't a wizard. I have been running a one of copy of Soul-Scar Mage in my jeskai prowess deck and he has really performed very well in the Jund heavy meta so I thought I would try him in this build. He has been very good thus far. He is especially good in our bad matchups. Another wizard that will definitely be in the sideboard is Grim Lavamancer.
Catherine Cook- I didn't even think of Baral as an option. I will definitely have to play around with him as well.
It's still very early in the decks life so it's super fun to test out different ideas. Thanks everyone for sharing.
Love the list. I like the kinda of wild west feel this deck currently has. It's such a new deck that there are tons of things to test out. I love the plan of your deck. Let us know how it goes.
I did consider Manamorphose, but it didn't make the final cut. Like you said, we are in the very rough stage of building so the deck will likely change a lot in the near future. Starting in the rough stage is the most fun in my opinion.
Great call existenz. There is another one I play in my cube is Sage's Dousing. The new counter makes it somewhat obsolete. It could be a fun option in a more controlling version.
I do want to hear/see other's Wizards decks and ideas though!
That's awesome news Catherine Cook! It's always great to have active members who will have experience playing the deck. I am going to test the deck this evening with my playgroup (we can use proxies when testing new ideas). I will let you guys know how it goes. I will likely test against Jund, Boggles, and possibly hollow one because they are popular right now.
I am going to try adding a small black splash to my list to see if Dark Confidant can work well with the deck. In addition, this gives me access to Kolaghan's Command.
With all of the wizards in the deck, we will have no problem countering most EVERYTHING...
Is there amodern card that pumps out wizard tokens?
I'm assuming the 'humans' manabase would be quite solid also.
This will be fun.
Seems like it's not bad. Along with the Master Wizard, wizards get +3/+2 and flying, plus you make a new wiz with each instant and sorcery cast.
I like the art too! Thoughts on how to best use this? Does it make the deck?
So many ways to go with it.
UR aggro, UW tempo, Mono blue Devotion or even a control build.
Let me know how your testing goes guys. I need to know what's best lol.
Naban
Harbinger of tides
Meddling Mage
Venser
Aether Vial
Cursecatcher
Aven Mindcensor
Siren Stormtamer is a decent 1-drop option.
4x Cursecatcher
3x Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
4x Delver of Secrets
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Enigma Drake
1x Vendillion Clique
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Vapor Snag
4x Remand
3x Wizard's Retort
4x Chart a Course
4x Opt
3x Stream of Unconsciousness
The idea is to get in chip shots early, while keeping your hand full with cantrips and chart a course. You should be able to get ahead enough to turn the corner with one of your 3 drops, or just reach with bolt snap bolt.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1019535#paper
I went really hard into Aggro-Control instead of prowess or tempo. My maindeck is UR Breach, so I took that shell and made it more aggressive and Wizardy. The strength to this build is that it does not rely on synergy. It's designed to win with just a couple wizards in play, so all the wizards are wizards that are good on their own. V clique and Obstructionist dominate the skies, snapcaster is snapcaster, lava man gives me a lot of reach or removal, soul scar lets me bolt goyfs to death way more easily and prowess makes his tiny body actually worth something. Blood Moon is great in a deck like this since it doesn't hurt us, we can capitalize on the tempo, and it fits well in the curve. I also added JTMS as a curve topper since I had an extra slot and he is amazing in Blue Moon generally.
The one thing I would change is, it would be nice to squeeze some remands in.
The counterspell only gets 1 mana cheaper, so I'm not too worried about not having a wizard for it 50% of the time, and then with the Wizard's Bolt, you have much higher variance - 3 mana bolt is not good - BUT, after you drop a blood moon, being perfectly efficient doesn't matter any more. I've had tons of games where I win off something dumb like Electrolyze into Snap Electrolyze, so I feel like I will actually burn people out by hard casting wizard's lightning. Also, your wizard only has to be on the field when you cast the card, in testing, firing off a few burn spells in response to removal has felt great.
I'm gonna agree with you force of ill on Naban, Dean of Iteration. I just think it's one of those cards that is "win more". It will be awesome sometimes and terrible other times. Often in this style of deck where every card needs to be efficient we really can't have a card that can sometimes underwhelm. I like the Adeliz,the cinder wind style decks that focus more on prowess. I haven't had a ton of time to test, but I will shortly.