<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goldspan Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Goldspan Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.andrewkmar.com/">Andrew Mar</a></em></p>
<p>Welcome back to <em>60 to 100</em>, a series where I take beloved decks from 60-card formats and convert them to Commander.</p>
<p>I loved the first <em>Strixhaven</em> set, and it feels incredibly recent in my memory. When it was announced that we would be returning to Strixhaven with <em>Secrets of Strixhaven</em> this year, I was pleasantly surprised. It seemed a little early; after all, it was only a couple years ago. As it turns out, <em>Strixhaven: School of Mages</em> released in April 2021, with almost exactly five years between it and <em>Secrets of Strixhaven</em>. I feel like an ancient relic.</p>
<p>For this installment of <em>60 to </em><em>100</em>, I'm going to revisit my favorite deck from <em>Strixhaven</em>'s stint in Standard: <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/izzet">Izzet</a> (<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) Dragons. Let's have a look at the source material.</p>
<h2>The Source Material</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Izzet Dragons by Ross Merriam" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Instants]
*4 Frost Bite
*4 Magma Opus
*2 Mystical Dispute
*3 Saw It Coming
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*4 Bonecrusher Giant // Stomp
*3 Brazen Borrower // Petty Theft
*3 Galazeth Prismari
*4 Goldspan Dragon
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*4 Alrund&#039;s Epiphany
*3 Expressive Iteration
*1 Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*4 Fabled Passage
*4 Faceless Haven
*4 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
*5 Snow-Covered Island
*4 Snow-Covered Mountain
*4 Volatile Fjord
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goldspan Dragon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Alrund&#039;s Epiphany"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Magma Opus"></div></div>
<p>Izzet Dragons is the ultimate <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/spellslinger">Spellslinger</a> deck. The plan is fairly simple: fend off the opponent in the early game, run out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Treasure" href="#" target="_blank">Treasure</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-generating Dragons, and then begin slamming haymaker after haymaker with the abundance of mana those Dragons generate. In this case, those Dragons are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Galazeth Prismari" href="#" target="_blank">Galazeth Prismari</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goldspan Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Goldspan Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and the haymakers are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alrund&#039;s Epiphany" href="#" target="_blank">Alrund&#039;s Epiphany</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magma Opus" href="#" target="_blank">Magma Opus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<h2>Choosing a Commander</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Galazeth Prismari"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Galazeth Prismari" href="#" target="_blank">Galazeth Prismari</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the clear choice to helm this deck. He reminds me a lot of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cormela, Glamour Thief" href="#" target="_blank">Cormela, Glamour Thief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, in that Galazeth is a solid ramp spell that can easily be cast on turn three or four to set up a big, splashy instant or sorcery to cast on the next turn. The Treasure that he makes when he enters can ideally be used to protect him and ensure he survives the turn cycle.</p>
<p>On top of all that, who would be a better choice to represent an Izzet deck from <em>Strixhaven</em> Standard than the Prismari Elder Dragon himself?</p>
<h2>Key Cards for Izzet Dragons</h2>
<h3>Artifact Generation</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="April O&#039;Neil, Human Element"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Storm-Kiln Artist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goldspan Dragon"></div></div>
<p>The key to reaching a state where this deck can fire off huge spells one after the other is generating a lot of artifacts for Galazeth to tap for mana. In that way, he's a lot like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="April O&#039;Neil, Human Element" href="#" target="_blank">April O&#039;Neil, Human Element</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a new card that may very well be the best option for the kind of token generation this deck is looking for. Getting an artifact token off of every artifact, instant, or sorcery that <em>any</em> player casts is a big game. April is a superior play on turn three after a turn-two ramp spell than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Galazeth Prismari" href="#" target="_blank">Galazeth Prismari</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as even two or three triggers will set the stage for Galazeth to hit the board and get more immediate value.</p>
<p>Similarly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Storm-Kiln Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Storm-Kiln Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a perfect Treasure-generator for this strategy. Because the Treasures don't need to be sacrificed for mana with Galazeth Prismari in play, one-mana instants and sorceries are turned into zero-mana ramp spells. It's possible to squeeze additional value out of with the handful of copy-enablers that I'll get to later.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goldspan Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Goldspan Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the three Dragons in the 99, and just like in Standard, it is one of the best cards in the deck at producing copious amounts of mana. Getting a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Treasure" href="#" target="_blank">Treasure</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> token on attack is fantastic, as is gaining the option to sacrifice Treasures for two mana. The ability that ties it all together is Goldspan's ability to generate extra Treasures when targeted. Not only does it make opponents' removal spells feel awful, it also offers opportunities to turn my own spells into rituals by targeting Goldspan Dragon. When playing against Goldspan Dragon, there are few worse feelings than pointing a removal spell at it, giving the opponent a Treasure, and then getting blown out by an Essence Flux, stopping the removal spell and granting the opponent yet another Treasure.</p>
<h3>Haymakers</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soulfire Eruption"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mnemonic Deluge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rite of Replication"></div></div>
<p>There are 17 cards in the deck that cost six or more mana, along with a couple spells like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rite of Replication" href="#" target="_blank">Rite of Replication</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that can soak up similar amounts of mana. None of them serve mission-critical purposes beyond being good spells to cast after making a bunch of mana with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Galazeth Prismari" href="#" target="_blank">Galazeth Prismari</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and friends. With that said, let's look at a few of my favorites.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soulfire Eruption" href="#" target="_blank">Soulfire Eruption</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is my candidate for the biggest, splashiest spell a deck in these colors can cast. In a deck with an average mana value of around four, and in a deck that can copy spells with relative ease, this sorcery can be any combination of a board wipe, a burn spell, and a draw spell.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mnemonic Deluge" href="#" target="_blank">Mnemonic Deluge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another huge sorcery that acts as a solid recursion spell that gets a lot better in a deck with such a high density of high-mana-value spells. Sneakily, Mnemonic Deluge can also exile and copy an instant or sorcery from an opposing graveyard. With the right pod of opposing decks, Mnemonic Deluge could nab someone's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Breach the Multiverse" href="#" target="_blank">Breach the Multiverse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rite of Replication" href="#" target="_blank">Rite of Replication</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an incredibly flexible spell. A kicked Rite of Replication can very easily win a game, there are no shortage of creatures like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Terror of the Peaks" href="#" target="_blank">Terror of the Peaks</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that win the game on the spot when five copies hit the board all at once. My personal best Rite of Replication so far has been making five copies of my opponent's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blightsteel Colossus" href="#" target="_blank">Blightsteel Colossus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Galvanic Iteration"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cursed Recording"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ral, Storm Conduit"></div></div>
<p>What's better than one <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hit the Mother Lode" href="#" target="_blank">Hit the Mother Lode</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? Two, of course. When <em>Innistrad: Midnight Hunt</em> hit Standard, it gifted Izzet Dragons <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Galvanic Iteration" href="#" target="_blank">Galvanic Iteration</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It didn't take long for players to work out that the most effective way to close out a game of <em>Magic</em> is two copies of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alrund&#039;s Epiphany" href="#" target="_blank">Alrund&#039;s Epiphany</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magma Opus" href="#" target="_blank">Magma Opus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cursed Recording" href="#" target="_blank">Cursed Recording</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is my new favorite amplifier for the big-spells-focused Spellslinger archetype. A four-mana artifact that has a floor of being tapped for mana by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Galazeth Prismari" href="#" target="_blank">Galazeth Prismari</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and the ceiling of generating an extra nine mana of value off of copying <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soulfire Eruption" href="#" target="_blank">Soulfire Eruption</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. The "downside" of Cursed Recording is mostly a lie. In several months of regularly casting this artifact, I have never taken damage from it. It's trivially easy to point a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prismari Command" href="#" target="_blank">Prismari Command</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chaos Warp" href="#" target="_blank">Chaos Warp</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> at it when the time comes.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ral, Storm Conduit" href="#" target="_blank">Ral, Storm Conduit</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a planeswalker that serves the same purpose as Cursed Recording. Four mana is the most I'd ever want to pay to copy a spell, and Ral is a totally fine way to do it. Using his +2 ability to smooth out the deck's draws happens more often than I expected, and the fact that he enters at four loyalty and immediately upticks to six means that he rarely dies before getting value. On top of all that, Ral's passive ability can be a surprisingly effective way to chip away at opposing life totals.</p>
<h2>How Does This Izzet Dragons Deck Win the Game?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mizzix&#039;s Mastery"></div></div>
<p>Mizzix's Mastery is the ultimate finisher in a deck that will often have a graveyard with huge selection of expensive instants and sorceries in it by the later stages of the game. I've yet to actually have anyone allow me to resolve Mizzix's Mastery as paying the eight mana and placing it on the stack usually prompts everyone to concede. This is the Spellslinger version of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Craterhoof Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Craterhoof Behemoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</p>
<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hellkite Tyrant" href="#" target="_blank">Hellkite Tyrant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hellkite Tyrant" href="#" target="_blank">Hellkite Tyrant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a Dragon that's fairly easy to find thanks to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magda, Brazen Outlaw" href="#" target="_blank">Magda, Brazen Outlaw</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sarkhan&#039;s Triumph" href="#" target="_blank">Sarkhan&#039;s Triumph</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. While being a little more vulnerable to sorcery-speed removal than I'd like, this Dragon is very capable of ruining a fellow artifact player's day and winning the game afterwards. Due to the deck's absurd ability to generate artifact tokens, Hellkite Tyrant will often be able to win the game even without stealing anyone's artifacts.</p>
<h2>Izzet Dragons Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="60 to 100 - Izzet Dragons" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Galazeth Prismari
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Academy Manufactor
*1 April O&#039;Neil, Human Element
*1 Archmage Emeritus
*1 Cavern-Hoard Dragon
*1 Chrome Host Seedshark
*1 Donatello, the Brains
*1 Dragonologist
*1 Goldspan Dragon
*1 Hellkite Tyrant
*1 Magda, Brazen Outlaw
*1 Pinnacle Monk
*1 Sin Prodder
*1 Storm-Kiln Artist
*1 The Mechanist, Aerial Artisan
*1 Third Path Iconoclast
*1 Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Cursed Recording
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Howling Mine
*1 Izzet Signet
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Orb of Dragonkind
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Star Compass
*1 Talisman of Creativity
*1 Thought Vessel
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 Big Score
*1 Brainstorm
*1 Brainsurge
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Dig Through Time
*1 Draconic Lore
*1 Essence Flux
*1 Galvanic Iteration
*1 Magma Opus
*1 Memory Deluge
*1 Mental Journey
*1 Misdirection
*1 Prismari Command
*1 Redirect Lightning
*1 Rush of Inspiration
*1 Sarkhan&#039;s Triumph
*1 Stern Lesson
*1 Storm King&#039;s Thunder
*1 Sublime Epiphany
*1 Untimely Malfunction
*1 Whir of Invention
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Aminatou&#039;s Augury
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 Brass&#039;s Bounty
*1 Call Forth the Tempest
*1 Expressive Iteration
*1 Gitaxian Probe
*1 Hit the Mother Lode
*1 Insurrection
*1 Lórien Revealed
*1 Mizzium Mortars
*1 Mizzix&#039;s Mastery
*1 Mnemonic Deluge
*1 Ponder
*1 Rite of Replication
*1 Sea Gate Restoration
*1 Soulfire Eruption
*1 Stock Up
*1 Sundering Eruption
*1 Volcanic Vision
[/Sorceries]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Ral, Storm Conduit
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Archway of Innovation
*1 Arid Mesa
*1 Bloodstained Mire
*1 Cascade Bluffs
*1 Command Tower
*1 Fiery Islet
*1 Flooded Strand
*4 Island
*1 Mistrise Village
*1 Misty Rainforest
*3 Mountain
*1 Mystic Sanctuary
*1 Otawara, Soaring City
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Riverglide Pathway
*1 Riverpyre Verge
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Shivan Reef
*1 Steam Vents
*1 Stormcarved Coast
*1 Sulfur Falls
*1 Thundering Falls
*1 Training Center
*1 Treasure Vault
*1 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>This deck was a great outlet for my growing anticipation leading up to <em>Secrets of Strixhaven</em>. Where <em>Lorwyn Eclipsed</em> felt like it was targeting the players that have been around a little longer than I have, <em>Secrets of Strixhaven</em> seems to be aimed right at my generation of <em>Magic</em> players and I couldn't be more excited.</p>
<p>Going in, there were two drafts of this deck I had to pick between for this article. I firmly believe that this <a href="https://edhrec.com/guides/edhrec-guide-to-commander-brackets">Bracket</a> 2 (Core) or 3 (Upgraded) oriented version is much more fun than the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winter Orb" href="#" target="_blank">Winter Orb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, extra turns chaining variant I cooked up. I reasoned that most people that would be into that kind of deck would likely rather just be playing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> anyways.</p>


april oneil

Building Strixhaven Standard's Izzet Dragons in Commander

April O'Neil, Hacktivist Commander Deck Tech