Izzet Possible to Play Izzet Without Spell-Slingizzeting?

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shantotto, Tactician Magician" href="#" target="_blank">Shantotto, Tactician Magician</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/jsraphael" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joshua Raphael</a></em></p>
<p>Well, this is about the most up to date I've ever been in terms of new releases. As of the day I'm writing this, May 7th, the commander I'm doing a deck tech for hasn't even made it's way into the EDHREC database. But <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shantotto, Tactician Magician" href="#" target="_blank">Shantotto, Tactician Magician</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is just too interesting to not write about immediately. She's just been spoiled for the new Final Fantasy Set, and while I don't know a single thing about Final Fantasy, I do know a good deckbuilding challenge when I see one. So lets dive right into this weird spellslinger commander.</p>
<h2>Shantotto, Tactician Magician</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shantotto, Tactician Magician"></div></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast that spell. If X is 4 or greater, draw a card.</em></p>
<p>Ok, so I've done more than a few spellslinger commanders on this series. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balmor, Battlemage Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Balmor, Battlemage Captain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Adeliz, the Cinder Wind" href="#" target="_blank">Adeliz, the Cinder Wind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Third Path Iconoclast" href="#" target="_blank">Third Path Iconoclast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, they're all blue-red commanders that care about casting noncreature spells. It's a pretty basic formula. All you need for those decks is a bunch of cheap instants and sorceries that can draw cards or buff your team or whatever is helpful. Then you get a bunch of creatures like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kessig Flamebreather" href="#" target="_blank">Kessig Flamebreather</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that'll ping your opponents whenever you cast one of those spells. It's a pretty tried and true formula, but I've built it a few too many times at this point. I've gotten quite bored of the whole game plan, and I need a challenge.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Balmor, Battlemage Captain"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Third Path Iconoclast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kessig Flamebreather"></div></div>
<h2>How Is Shantotto Different From Other Izzet Spellslinger Decks?</h2>
<p>So that's why I was elated when my editor recommended that I check out Shantotto. Yes, at the surface level, it's just another Izzet spellslinger commander. But there's a bit more to it than that. Rather than request the usual one-drop suspects of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opt" href="#" target="_blank">Opt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Preordain" href="#" target="_blank">Preordain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Serum Visions" href="#" target="_blank">Serum Visions</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and all those other crummy cantrips, Shantotto wants us to play spells with mana value four or greater. That's certainly a big difference from what other commanders want.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Opt"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Preordain"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Serum Visions"></div></div>
<p>Shanotto doesn't technically require us to play big spells, but we draw a card whenever we do, and I'm certainly not one to turn down card advantage. Other than that, the only thing she does is get bigger when we play spells. But, man does she get a lot bigger. So let's build a deck around big noncreature spells and one big creature. I think that's pretty doable, and even if it's not, I'm sure it'll be interesting.</p>
<p>As with any big mana deck, the question is: how much? How big can our average mana value get before it becomes unmanageable? Well, there's a pretty clear minimum we have to follow. If we want to take advantage of our commander's ability throughout the game, we need to be drawing a four-drop every three cards or so. Because otherwise, our commander's ability is just gonna be a random bonus that occurs every once in a while. It would be like playing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm" href="#" target="_blank">Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and only cloning a Dragon every other turn. We've got a cool commander, let's use it.</p>
<h2>Big Pauper Spells for Shantotto</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, there's a slight problem. I'm not sure if there are enough great four-drops to play in Pauper. Yeah, you've got <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unexpected Windfall" href="#" target="_blank">Unexpected Windfall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pirate&#039;s Pillage" href="#" target="_blank">Pirate&#039;s Pillage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Big Score" href="#" target="_blank">Big Score</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which are all fantastic, but I don't think there are 30+ four drops that are worth playing. I certainly don't want to play <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Airborne Aid" href="#" target="_blank">Airborne Aid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> just to draw a card. There are a decent number of good cards though, so let's check those out first before giving up.</p>
<p>We've got plenty of card draw, from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Behold the Multiverse" href="#" target="_blank">Behold the Multiverse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deep Analysis" href="#" target="_blank">Deep Analysis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Even <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tamiyo&#039;s Epiphany" href="#" target="_blank">Tamiyo&#039;s Epiphany</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is worthwhile here. Then there's some red aggression in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin War Party" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin War Party</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hazardous Blast" href="#" target="_blank">Hazardous Blast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Empty the Warrens" href="#" target="_blank">Empty the Warrens</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Are Goblins particularly useful to us? Nah, but every deck needs chump blockers, and we'd rather create them with noncreature spells.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Unexpected Windfall"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Behold the Multiverse"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin War Party"></div></div>
<p>After that, we have to reach into five-mana spells. Luckily, there are a few that are great inclusions even if our commander didn't ask for it. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lórien Revealed" href="#" target="_blank">Lórien Revealed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is just a handy card to have, early and late game. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temporal Fissure" href="#" target="_blank">Temporal Fissure</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can decimate a board state. And <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Geyser" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Geyser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> just makes a ridiculous amount of mana. Then, even more expensive than those is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Treasure Cruise" href="#" target="_blank">Treasure Cruise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Eight Mana? How could that possibly be worth it? Oh, hold up, it's got delve. Basically, it's castable for just a single mana. And it'll still trigger our commander! Right?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lórien Revealed"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mana Geyser"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Treasure Cruise"></div></div>
<h2>This Commander Got Nerfed</h2>
<p>Well, actually, there's something unusual about our commander that I've concealed. I said that Shantotto checks the mana value of your cards when deciding what X is, but actually, she checks how much mana is spent. That means that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Treasure Cruise" href="#" target="_blank">Treasure Cruise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doesn't give Shantotto +8/+0, it gives Shantotto +1/+0 if you delve away all the generic mana. That's super disappointing, especially considering that Shantotto is one of the first commanders to be worded like this. I'm sure it was a balancing decision, but honestly the result of it is that Shantotto is extremely underpowered.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Treasure Cruise"></div></div>
<p>This is the reason that I haven't been including cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Meeting of Minds" href="#" target="_blank">Meeting of Minds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Normally, for a commander that checks mana value, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Meeting of Minds" href="#" target="_blank">Meeting of Minds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would be great because it can be cast for less than its advertised cost, but still trigger an ability. But here, if we don't pay any mana, we don't get any value. This is also the reason that I'm not including <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Electromancer" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Electromancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, despite it being one of the best spellslinger staples of all time. If it reduces a four-cost card to three mana, we just don't get the card draw from Shantotto.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Meeting of Minds"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin Electromancer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mocking Sprite"></div></div>
<p>The most I can do to patch this deck up is add a ton of ramp and some stuff to make Shantotto unblockable, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Artful Dodge" href="#" target="_blank">Artful Dodge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Maybe we'll also add <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temur Battle Rage" href="#" target="_blank">Temur Battle Rage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into the mix, because double strike on our commander sounds pretty intimidating. But I think that's about all I can do. Unfortunately, all we have right now is a deck with an absurdly high average mana value, and a pretty lousy payoff for it. I know I made a comparison to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm" href="#" target="_blank">Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> earlier in this article, but anyone with eyes can see that drawing a card for casting a four-mana spell is not the same as making a copy of a Dragon for two mana.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Firemind Vessel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Artful Dodge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Temur Battle Rage"></div></div>
<h2>Shantotto Pauper Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pauper Commander - Shantotto, the Radical Lady" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Shantotto, Tactician Magician
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Abrade
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Behold the Multiverse
*1 Big Score
*1 Brainstorm
*1 Choking Tethers
*1 Counterspell
*1 Fling
*1 Foil
*1 Frantic Firebolt
*1 Frantic Search
*1 Into the Roil
*1 Izzet Charm
*1 Lightning Bolt
*1 Mizzium Skin
*1 Negate
*1 Psychotic Fury
*1 Raking Claws
*1 Resculpt
*1 Rewind
*1 Shadow Rift
*1 Siege Smash
*1 Teach by Example
*1 Temur Battle Rage
*1 Trip Up
*1 Unexpected Windfall
*1 Unfathomable Truths
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Brass Knuckles
*1 Everflowing Chalice
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Firemind Vessel
*1 Hulldrifter
*1 Izzet Signet
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Neurok Stealthsuit
*1 Sisay&#039;s Ring
*1 Thought Vessel
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Artful Dodge
*1 Assault Strobe
*1 Daring Discovery
*1 Deep Analysis
*1 Distortion Strike
*1 Empty the Warrens
*1 Faithless Looting
*1 Goblin War Party
*1 Hazardous Blast
*1 Lórien Revealed
*1 Mana Geyser
*1 Pirate&#039;s Pillage
*1 Tamiyo&#039;s Epiphany
*1 Temporal Fissure
*1 Treason of Isengard
*1 Treasure Cruise
[/Sorceries]
[Creatures]
*1 Apprentice Wizard
*1 Goblin Electromancer
*1 Guttersnipe
*1 Kiln Fiend
*1 Mocking Sprite
*1 Murmuring Mystic
*1 Nivix Cyclops
[/Creatures]
[Lands]
*1 Command Tower
*19 Island
*18 Mountain
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p>I'm not gonna lie, this deck is hilariously bad. A lack of good four-drops wasn't even my biggest problem, because trying to take advantage of the four mana clause was just a terrible idea when the payoff is so bad. I think this deck would be better off if you just played a bunch of one-drops, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balmor, Battlemage Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Balmor, Battlemage Captain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. But then you should just play Balmor.</p>
<p>The one thing that could've saved this deck would've been <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Electromancer" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Electromancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but the wording of Shantotto makes that card actively detrimental. I understand why the card is phrased like that, and it'll probably make some future legend much less abusable. But here, it just makes the commander mediocre.</p>


izzet spellslinger

Izzet Possible to Play Izzet Without Spell-Slingizzeting?

Does Shantotto Work as a Pauper Commander?