One of my more recent decks (created around February 2025), I built it from the ground up around the Polymorph effect.
It actually started out as an
Arjun, the Shifting Flame
deck, but after two test games, I realized that while a wheel in the command zone is nice, the deck really wanted enablers for the strategy, and casting Arjun just didn't feel good. That lead to me looking on EDHREC for any Izzet commanders that
offered a consistent polymorph target and better ramp. I considered Ovika, Enigma Goliath and
The Locust God
for their ability to make tokens, but ultimately they cost too much mana.
I settled on
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
and Malcolm, Keen Eyed Navigator -
they nicely meet both criteria. I'm usually not one for Partner commanders, but this strategy is so card negative and mana-intensive that the power-boost was necessary to make it function in the first place.
Izzet Polymorph excels in achieving fun variance. Every Creature in the 99 (well, 98 because Partners) is selected to be a good polymorph target, which is a significant deckbuilding restriction. No small utility creatures for us!
This restriction gives consistency in good hits - It always feels great to roll the polymorph dice and hit Magmatic Force
or Drakuseth, Maw of Flames,
and I get a lot of double-takes at Blast-Furnace Hellkite
because it sure does give Double Strike to all creatures attacking my opponents. This deck can present single player-killing threats as soon as turn 3, though it's more typically by turn 5. It does not do well against boardwipes (a theme in my decks - I love my permanents), and it has a couple
light locks (Magmatic Force keeping the board clear of small creatures, Stormtide Leviathan
fogging opponents' boards while all my fliers attack in),
but no game-ending combos. Generally you'll be killing opponents by punching in with big beefy creatures and burn. It's almost certainly a Bracket 2 deck.
Other notable includes are effects that put cards from the hand back into the library (e.g. See Beyond), because drawing 9-mana creatures is worse than cheating them out.
Cards have also been included for coming with a token while having a primary effect (e.g. Saruman's Trickery) - this deck is so card negative, having a density of desired effects per card is essential.
I really enjoy this deck, it's great to play with big scary creatures in a unique way, while not being a dedicated ramp deck.
and Malcolm, Keen Eyed Navigator
effect.
It actually started out as an
Arjun, the Shifting Flame
deck, but after two test games, I realized that while a wheel in the command zone is nice, the deck really wanted enablers for the strategy, and casting Arjun just didn't feel good. That lead to me looking on EDHREC for any Izzet commanders that
offered a consistent polymorph target and better ramp. I considered Ovika, Enigma Goliath
and
The Locust God
for their ability to make tokens, but ultimately they cost too much mana.
or Drakuseth, Maw of Flames
,
and I get a lot of double-takes at Blast-Furnace Hellkite
because it sure does give Double Strike to all creatures attacking my opponents. This deck can present single player-killing threats as soon as turn 3, though it's more typically by turn 5. It does not do well against boardwipes (a theme in my decks - I love my permanents), and it has a couple
light locks (Magmatic Force keeping the board clear of small creatures, Stormtide Leviathan
fogging opponents' boards while all my fliers attack in),
but no game-ending combos. Generally you'll be killing opponents by punching in with big beefy creatures and burn. It's almost certainly a Bracket 2 deck.
), because drawing 9-mana creatures is worse than cheating them out.
Cards have also been included for coming with a token while having a primary effect (e.g. Saruman's Trickery
) - this deck is so card negative, having a density of desired effects per card is essential.