Meta archetypes
Izzet Spells (Elusive Otter)
Izzet Spells (Elusive Otter): Blue · Red · Midrange · frequent instants and sorceries pumping creatures
5.9% of winning MTGO lists · 44 lists from 19 events · 9 Top 8s · 3 wins · 3 League 5-0s
Data as of 2026-10-16 · Every list MTGO published since 2026-10-02 (748 lists from 34 events)
How to play it
- A quality card every turn, trading removal for their key pieces
- Keep hands with both early plays and removal
- Be the defender against aggro, the attacker against control
- Two-for-one cards win long games
Core cards
average copies per list, lands excluded
| 4 | Slickshot Show-Off |
| 4 | Sleight of Hand |
| 4 | Elusive Otter |
| 3.9 | Pompous Battlemage |
| 3.9 | Opt |
| 3.4 | Flow State |
| 3.4 | Burst Lightning |
| 2 | Secret Identity |
| 1.7 | Wild Ride |
| 1.5 | Eddymurk Crab |
| 1.3 | Bounce Off |
| 1.2 | Impractical Joke |
| 0.6 | Vibrant Outburst |
| 0.6 | Spell Snare |
| 0.6 | Callous Sell-Sword |
| 0.6 | Ancestral Anger |
Typical list
the list closest to this archetype's average
Main
4 Burst Lightning
4 Elusive Otter
4 Flow State
4 Island
4 Opt
4 Pompous Battlemage
4 Riverpyre Verge
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Slickshot Show-Off
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Steam Vents
2 Bounce Off
2 Eddymurk Crab
2 Impractical Joke
2 Multiversal Passage
2 Secret Identity
1 Mountain
1 Spell Snare
1 Starting Town
1 Stock Up
1 Vibrant Outburst
1 Wild Ride
Sideboard2 Colorstorm Stallion
2 Fire Magic
2 Soul-Guide Lantern
2 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
2 Sunspine Lynx
1 Broadside Barrage
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Sear