I think Wizards redefining of the color pie and taking things out of certain colors is to make sure that the colors all play differently which is a good thing. I mean what reason, within the color pie does blue have to have direct damage?
I agree with other colors having the opportunity to interact on the stack. I could see something like:
~ RR
Instant
Target spell resolves.
being a thing. It flavorfully represents Reds hastiness and impatience and expands Reds color pie, something that Wizards has been trying to do and I hope they don't just plan to limit that expansion to "things other colors get to do but temporary."
As for rules I disagree with I'm not sure there are any real rules that I have a problem with. I have a problem with the way the seem to treat certain color combinations. For instance RTR block really took a lot of fun from the design and flavor of RU because they made the Izzet shift to fit their new creatures are just as good as spells paradigm. Spell-slinging became a means to an end instead of the end itself unlike the Izzet of the original Ravnica block. I guess it might actually be creature equality paradigm that bothers me. I like my permanents to bolster my spells rather than the other way around. I mean I'm a powerful mage trying to kill an opposing mage I should be the focal point of my battle.
You might have been looking at Keranos by mistake. Zegana is still pretty solid with him since it's likely that a build she would be in would have Kruphix already active anyway.
I think Bant Super Friends and plain old control will have this at least as a one of. If it shows up great! If not nothing of great value is lost.
Pharika wont grant deathtouch since we already have a green and a black card that does exactly that in this block. If she did I would repeal all the good things I've said about Ethan Fleischer and all copies of Pharika I acquired would end up on top of the pile of ashes that used to be Goblin Test Pilot. Mass regen is certainly a possibility but with Golgari Charm still around I'm not sure. I know Wizards doesn't like regen very much. She wont interact with the graveyard though. She's GB not Golgari.
Athreos however will interact with the graveyard. I don't think it will be taxing or draining. Again he's WB not Orzhov.
Going with the templates we've gotten from the other JOU Gods:
Pharika, God of Affliction 2BG
God stuff...
Whenever a creature you control is dealt damage for the first time in a turn regenerate it.
Creatures you don't control get -1/-1
5/6
Athreos, God of Passage 2WB
God stuff...
Creatures in all graveyards cannot be targeted by the effect of other cards.
At the beginning of your upkeep you may shuffle target creature in your graveyard into your library.
3/8
After seeing Kruphix I don't think anything I could predict would be on target though. The gods seem to be unpredictable and fickle; mysterious and ever-sought-after.
Lucky Charms is still easier than this to pull off and no one has used it since PT Gatecrash. It's a neat interaction, like most infinite combos, but hardly competitive.
He's not even the strongest of the three we've seen from this set. He's good but you're overestimating the power of something that does a whole lot of nothing on its own. Also where are you getting that Zegana is drawing you 7 cards in that scenario of yours?
Counter/Burn is a little out of my experience since I'm not a big fan of the counter-spells. But if that's what you want then go for it. I would also recommend Young Pyromancer and Chandra's Phoenix. I would also suggest testing Satyr Firedancer. In my experience, unless you really rely on and can protect a Guttersnipe or two, your burn really needs to go for the face but if you have to spend it all on keeping your opponents creatures down then you're going to end up losing.
Some tips:
-Don't be afraid to use your life total. I know when you're new it's tempting to try and prevent every little bit of damage. I mean losing all your life is how you lose the game right? But there are no style points in magic. As long as you're at 1 you're still in it.
-If your opponent has a creature with more toughness then any 1 spell you have can deal, ignore it. As above I know it can be scary because ignoring that guy ca get you killed but it's better to let that guy get a hit or two rather than two-for-one yourself. I learned this the hard way against Advent of the Wurm tokens.
-Do everything you can to keep your hand full. Opportunity is great, a poor man's Rev. I'm not against Divination since it's cheap card advantage. Quicken is definitely bad though. I'm personally really hoping for a good cantrip(1 mana card with a small effect and "draw a card") in the next core set.
Without more input from you I can't think of anything else to give you except best wishes my fellow Izzet League Member.
As someone who took the pre-rotation Nivix Blitz to a respectable 3-1 at an FNM I can definitely say you should pull those Frostburn Weirds for Nivix Cyclops and find some room for Armed // Dangerous and Teleportal. That combination, particularly with a Guttersnipe in play, can win out of nowhere. I'd say some if not all of the Syncopates can come out as well as Dissolve. Go for cheap counters, particularly Negate since you really want your creatures to stick around so stopping removal is vital. Steam Augury seems fun at first but it's just to expensive. Max out your cheap draw and cheap burn as well as the synergy cards.
My namesake deck is based around the abuse of Guttersnipe. Trust me.
Loving the art on Kruphix and Athreos! Gotta have them when JOU launches. Not so fond of the art of Keranos. Just seems rather bland compared to all the others in the Pantheon.
Also, about that Ajani & Elspeth art... Are all Leonin that size normally, or is Ajani just massive? If they're all like that, then Leonin are quite a bit scarier than I used to think...
Well Human tokens are generally 1/1 and Cat tokens are generally 2/2.
I don't think the caryatids or the wraths are necessarily your problem. Jace as a win is unlikely as I'm certainly not letting hum ult. A one of Mind Grind is just not going to be enough. By the time you get to one that's big enough to win you're already dead or dead on board. Might I suggest Chromanticore? Blood Baron? Underworld Cerberus? Elspeth? Something that is a solid "I win" instead of "If I cast this next turn it might be enough to get me there."
I agree with other colors having the opportunity to interact on the stack. I could see something like:
~ RR
Instant
Target spell resolves.
being a thing. It flavorfully represents Reds hastiness and impatience and expands Reds color pie, something that Wizards has been trying to do and I hope they don't just plan to limit that expansion to "things other colors get to do but temporary."
As for rules I disagree with I'm not sure there are any real rules that I have a problem with. I have a problem with the way the seem to treat certain color combinations. For instance RTR block really took a lot of fun from the design and flavor of RU because they made the Izzet shift to fit their new creatures are just as good as spells paradigm. Spell-slinging became a means to an end instead of the end itself unlike the Izzet of the original Ravnica block. I guess it might actually be creature equality paradigm that bothers me. I like my permanents to bolster my spells rather than the other way around. I mean I'm a powerful mage trying to kill an opposing mage I should be the focal point of my battle.
I think Bant Super Friends and plain old control will have this at least as a one of. If it shows up great! If not nothing of great value is lost.
Athreos however will interact with the graveyard. I don't think it will be taxing or draining. Again he's WB not Orzhov.
Going with the templates we've gotten from the other JOU Gods:
Pharika, God of Affliction 2BG
God stuff...
Whenever a creature you control is dealt damage for the first time in a turn regenerate it.
Creatures you don't control get -1/-1
5/6
Athreos, God of Passage 2WB
God stuff...
Creatures in all graveyards cannot be targeted by the effect of other cards.
At the beginning of your upkeep you may shuffle target creature in your graveyard into your library.
3/8
After seeing Kruphix I don't think anything I could predict would be on target though. The gods seem to be unpredictable and fickle; mysterious and ever-sought-after.
He's not even the strongest of the three we've seen from this set. He's good but you're overestimating the power of something that does a whole lot of nothing on its own. Also where are you getting that Zegana is drawing you 7 cards in that scenario of yours?
Some tips:
-Don't be afraid to use your life total. I know when you're new it's tempting to try and prevent every little bit of damage. I mean losing all your life is how you lose the game right? But there are no style points in magic. As long as you're at 1 you're still in it.
-If your opponent has a creature with more toughness then any 1 spell you have can deal, ignore it. As above I know it can be scary because ignoring that guy ca get you killed but it's better to let that guy get a hit or two rather than two-for-one yourself. I learned this the hard way against Advent of the Wurm tokens.
-Do everything you can to keep your hand full. Opportunity is great, a poor man's Rev. I'm not against Divination since it's cheap card advantage. Quicken is definitely bad though. I'm personally really hoping for a good cantrip(1 mana card with a small effect and "draw a card") in the next core set.
Without more input from you I can't think of anything else to give you except best wishes my fellow Izzet League Member.
My namesake deck is based around the abuse of Guttersnipe. Trust me.
And home of bear wrestling philosophers.