Izzet Spellementals is a tempo-combo deck that uses Sunderflock and Hearth Elemental as its primary threats, backed by a suite of cheap interaction like Traumatic Critique and Burst Lightning. Your sweepers (Day of Black Sun, Deadly Cover-Up) are largely inefficient here since their threats are fast and their burn can close before you stabilize, so trim those in favor of countermagic. Flashfreeze and Disdainful Stroke answer their key payoffs cleanly, while the additional Duress copies let you strip Spell Pierce or Winternight Stories before resolving your own threats. Keep Deceit and Requiting Hex as your primary card advantage engine — the game often comes down to who runs out of resources first, and Dimir's card quality edges out Izzet in a longer exchange.

UR Aggro wins by deploying Llanowar Elves and Spider Manifestation early and riding threats like Outcaster Trailblazer to power out big spells and bury you in card advantage, so your priority is disrupting that engine before it gets rolling. Flashfreeze serves as hard interaction for their red and green spells including Michelangelo's Technique and Devastating Onslaught, while Disdainful Stroke counters their higher-mana threats. The additional Duress sorceries from the sideboard let you pick apart their hand in the early turns, stripping key noncreature spells or counters before they matter. Qarsi Revenant provides a lifelink body that helps offset their aggressive reach while also threatening to generate additional pressure. Cut slow options like Deadly Cover-Up, Strategic Betrayal, and Emeritus of Ideation along with Winternight Stories, as these are too slow to matter in a race where you need to be interacting at every turn.

This is a grindy attrition mirror where hand disruption takes center stage — the additional Duress copies and Strategic Betrayal let you strip their key threats and card advantage spells before they resolve. Disdainful Stroke is well-positioned to answer their Day of Black Sun, Insatiable Avarice, and any post-board Quantum Riddler they bring in. Note that their two Cavern of Souls will make creature-targeting counterspells such as Annul unreliable against their Superior Spider-Man and Doomsday Excruciator, so lean on discard and removal rather than counter magic for creature interaction. Shoot the Sheriff and Intimidation Tactics are trimmed as their impact is limited in a matchup that rarely goes wide or involves the combat step in a meaningful way. The game will typically be decided by whoever resolves a must-answer threat like Doomsday Excruciator through opposing disruption first.