Mythic Deck Tech: Izzet Phoenix (56% Winrate): Part 1

 

Do You Hear The Crackle Of The Mythic Lightning?

Any time I make Mythic, I want to share with you the deck that got me there. This time, however, it’ll double as a deck tech for how to play one of the most powerful and well-known decks in Bof1 Historic.

What was the deck I used?

Izzet Phoenix.

 

I wrote an article on this very deck way back when a version of it was in Standard. That nostalgia made me try out the new version. That and I love the ludicrous turns you can pull off with it. So, from that place of love, I’ll break down how to play this deck (in Bof1) for optimal wins, and then go over my specific card choices in the next article.

Deck
1 Chart a Course (XLN) 48
2 Sulfur Falls (DAR) 247
4 Arclight Phoenix (GRN) 91
4 Steam Vents (GRN) 257
3 Finale of Promise (WAR) 127
2 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244
1 Blitz of the Thunder-Raptor (IKO) 109
4 Sprite Dragon (IKO) 211
2 Stormwing Entity (M21) 73
4 Pillar of Flame (JMP) 355
2 Young Pyromancer (JMP) 372
3 Riverglide Pathway (ZNR) 264
2 Island (KLR) 290
3 Mountain (KLR) 298
4 Spirebluff Canal (KLR) 286
4 Expressive Iteration (STX) 186
1 Prismari Command (STX) 214
4 Brainstorm (STA) 13
4 Opt (STA) 19
4 Faithless Looting (STA) 38
2 Shock (STA) 44

Gameplan:

I took a long time to learn this, but once I got it, the deck just wrecked people. Some would assume Izzet Phoenix is a combo deck. The combo simply being getting back multiple Arclights in a single turn by chaining cheap spells. And, well, yes, that’s something you want to do often, it’s not the main thing you need to focus on when playing. No, Izzet Phoenix is a hyper-aggro deck, one that can kill just as fast as RDW.

This is mostly because of Sprite Dragon. The deck should be named after it more than Arclight. Arclight is the finishing move—the winning punch. It’s the result of playing a lot of spells on turn three or four. But before that, you need to focus on setting up for that to be lethal. And the best way to do that is to play Sprite Dragon. Barring that, Stormwing Entity, or a certain creature I’ll cover later, form the initial salvo of damage. If your opponent cannot respond to an early threat, they will almost always die to the bombardment.

 

Mythic Rank Comes Fast If You Win Games Fast

This is so important that you should rarely be playing any instants or sorceries when you don’t have these cards on the board or a Phoenix to revive. Sure, Shock/Pillar if you must protect yourself or stop a combo, and Brainstorm/Opt/Expressive Iteration if you need to dig for threats (or lands). But, if you are doing that, you’re on the back foot and need to regain some tempo soon.

An ideal game is to lead with a Sprite on turn two, then chain spells into one or two Phoenixes on turn three, then win on turn four or five. Most opponents are not prepared to handle you constantly keeping the pressure and hitting their life total.

So, with that in mind, what exact card choices got me to Mythic 98%? What do you fill the admittedly low flex slots with to make this deck sing? Well, come back Wednesday to see.

 

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