commander · Mizzix of the Izmagnus
Seize Control (C15).
An Izzet spellslinger deck from Commander 2015, led by Mizzix of the Izmagnus, earn experience counters by casting instants and sorceries with higher mana values than your counter count, then reduce all your spell costs by that amount.
The Commander
Seize Control is Commander 2015's Izzet spellslinger deck and Mizzix is the most powerful experience counter commander from the set. Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery with mana value greater than your current experience counter count, you gain an experience counter. Instants and sorceries cost one less to cast for each experience counter you have. Get to five experience counters and every seven-mana spell costs two mana. Get to eight and everything is nearly free.
Mizzix of the Izmagnus creates a self-reinforcing discount loop. Cheap spells get experience counters. More counters make expensive spells cheap. Cheap expensive spells get more counters. The deck is built to chain spells through this discount engine and win with high-impact instants and sorceries that are normally too expensive to cast in multiples. Mizzix's Mastery is the deck's signature finisher: cast it for free off enough counters and replay your entire graveyard.
Key Cards
Mizzix's Mastery
Overload: exile all instants and sorceries in your graveyard and cast each of their copies for free. With Mizzix's experience counter discount, this spell often costs zero to two mana. In a graveyard stocked with draw spells, copy spells, and damage sources, Mizzix's Mastery overload resolves the entire sequence in one turn. Chain Reiterate copies, recast Guttersnipe triggers, and replay the damage chain that already depleted opponents' life totals once. This is the deck's single most game-ending card.
Guttersnipe
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery, each opponent takes two damage. In a deck casting ten to fifteen instants and sorceries per game, Guttersnipe deals twenty to thirty damage to each opponent as a side effect of normal gameplay. Combine with Mizzix's Mastery replaying your entire graveyard and the triggered damage becomes lethal in one end-step chain. Opponents must answer Guttersnipe immediately or lose to the damage accumulation.
Reiterate
Copy target instant or sorcery. Buyback for three mana. Copy the best spell of the turn and return Reiterate to your hand for three mana. With Mizzix's experience discounts reducing costs, copying a large draw spell or Guttersnipe trigger for effectively one or two mana while keeping Reiterate is devastating. Cast Mizzix's Mastery, Reiterate it, and replay your graveyard twice in the same turn for the same mana. Reiterate doubles every high-impact turn.
Young Pyromancer
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery, create a 1/1 red Elemental token. In a deck casting five to seven spells a turn at peak, Young Pyromancer creates five to seven blockers and attackers as a side effect. These tokens don't require mana beyond the spells you're already casting. Against aggressive decks, they absorb combat damage. Against control decks, they pressure the board while the spell chain continues. Young Pyromancer is the free body generation that keeps you safe while building the experience counter track.
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Play with the top card of your library revealed. You may cast instants and sorceries from the top of your library. When you cast from your library, copy the spell. Melek turns the top of your library into instant-speed free casts and copies every one. In a deck with Mizzix reducing costs, Melek casts the next spell in your library for the discounted price and then copies it for free. Two spells for the price of one every turn, indefinitely.
How to Play
Cast spells aggressively in the early turns to build experience counters. Start with low-mana instants and sorceries, each one advancing the counter track. Once Mizzix has four or five experience counters, the deck's seven and eight-mana spells become affordable. The key sequence is reaching seven counters. At that point most spells in the deck cost one or two mana, and casting three or four a turn becomes routine. Guttersnipe converts that spell volume into damage, Young Pyromancer converts it into board presence, and Mizzix's Mastery closes the game by replaying the entire graveyard chain. Win by assembling the Mizzix's Mastery overload with Guttersnipe in play: the damage from replaying the graveyard is lethal before opponents can respond.
