Modern MtG — Izzet Tempo vs. Simic Infect
Channel: T1GlistenerElf
Date: 2021-08-27

"Ah, Dex… we meet again."

Genuinely, this is one of the, if not actually the, best players at TapStart Games. Not only that, but he's on one of my hardest matchups in Modern right now. Those two Flusterstorms that are in the mainboard? Yeah, he's one of the reasons why I run them, along with the two cascade decks and the control duo that also make their presence known.

To oversimplify things a bit, I have to dance around removal, like Lightning Bolt and Unholy Heat, and countermagic, like Flusterstorm and Counterspell (and Spell Pierce, if I remember correctly). Moreover, his simply being out of mana does not mean that the coast is clear, as he also runs a playset of Force of Negation. Because his most prominent threats (Dragon's Rage Channeler and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer) come down on turn one, and because I cannot remove them directly, he isn't forced to risk falling behind for not playing his mana-intensive threats, which is a saving grace for me against many non-flash control decks.

One minor weakness, though, is that his cantrips are at sorcery speed, which makes the beginning of the game slightly risky for him, as he could leave himself with less mana over which to fight a war on the stack. Another slight weakness is that DRC can be forced to attack, which means that it removes itself as a blocker in a deck that already isn't running that many creatures. Still, Izzet Tempo enjoys a critical mass of interaction and consistency in finding it, so the onus is on him or his deck to falter, then on me to capitalize on the opportunity.

Decklist time! Please note the two Flusterstorms in the mainboard, which replaced Snakeskin Veil.
Creatures (13)
4 Blighted Agent
4 Glistener Elf
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Spellskite
Instants (20)
2 Become Immense
4 Blossoming Defense
2 Flusterstorm
4 Might of Old Krosa
4 Mutagenic Growth
4 Vines of Vastwood
Sorcery (7)
3 Distortion Strike
4 Scale Up
Lands (20)
3 Breeding Pool
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Forest
4 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Pendelhaven
2 Waterlogged Grove
7 green fetchlands (currently 4 Misty Rainforests & 3 Verdant Catacombs)
Sideboard (15)
1 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Dissenter's Deliverance
1 Gaea's Blessing
1 Grafdigger's Cage
4 Nature's Claim
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Shapers' Sanctuary
3 Veil of Summer

To watch more Modern MtG gameplay, starting with the first match of this tournament, then please check out this playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyjRHC3Ffas&list=PLL5e2uQsROzk82kOMSeUmJUld3NPvj2yF&index=811
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Thanks to our patrons:
Kristopher Long (Tap Start Games, https://www.facebook.com/tapstartgames/)
Rukalin (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOVLCUCy89QrqZHCM7F6lnw)
Claire Farron (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpK-8bLIdL4av7j3JTNWncQ)
LinkXNess
Mason Smith
Spidizzler

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The outro is "Lotus - KA=YA" by DDBY from their album "Cafe de Touhou".
Information about the band can be found here (https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/DDBY) and on their Japanese website. (https://ddby.jp/category/cd-album/touhou/cafe/)
If you would like to purchase their albums, they can be found and downloaded at this link: (https://www.dlsite.com/home/fsr/=/keyword/%E3%82%AB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A7+SRI0000021998/order/release_d/from/maker_profile.series)
As you can hear, they're of really good quality, so please feel free to check them out and checkout with them.

The animated backgrounds came from AA VFX, a YouTube channel that makes free backgrounds for use in your videos all the time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0CupGyJtoI

Feel free to use my videos with appropriate credit being given.

Special thanks to TapStart Games for allowing me to film at their store.