Izzet Spellementals wins by chaining cheap cantrips (Opt, Sleight of Hand, Flow State) into Hearth Elemental and Eddymurk Crab. Flashfreeze counters their red or green spells for two mana, hitting Hearth Elemental, Prismari Charm, and Burst Lightning cleanly. Negate and Disdainful Stroke pick off Traumatic Critique and their bigger payoffs; Disdainful Stroke also snags Eddymurk Crab and Sunderflock. Emeritus of Ideation is too slow and dies to their tempo plan, and Demolition Field is weak since they run a low-impact manabase with Riverpyre Verge/Spirebluff Canal/Steam Vents that isn't worth attacking.

UR Aggro is a tempo-burn deck leaning on Slickshot Show-Off, Drake Hatcher, and Burst Lightning to close games fast. Flashfreeze is a premium two-mana answer to their entirely red spells like Burst Lightning, Slickshot Show-Off, and Wild Ride, while Beza, the Bounding Spring blocks well and gains 4 life against an opponent racing our life total. Card selection spells like Three Steps Ahead and Consult the Star Charts are too slow against this speed, so we prioritize proactive life gain and cheap interaction instead.

Dimir Midrange is full of expensive value engines and removal like Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Cecil, Dark Knight, and Enduring Curiosity. Disdainful Stroke stops Enduring Curiosity while Negate counters bombs like Kaito and We Say Thee Nay! before they take over the game, while Wan Shi Tong is a huge flying threat that also punishes any fetch effects. Erode is weak since giving them a basic land isn't worth it against cheap threats (and noncreature enchantments need Get Lost/Seam Rip instead), and Pinnacle Starcage whiffs on most of their higher-cost card advantage creatures, so both come out for hard counters.