One of Pauper's most traditional and resilient archetypes, Izzet Faeries combines pressure, card advantage, and efficient interaction to compete in long games without giving up tempo plays capable of carrying the match. It constantly switches between the roles of aggressor and controller, punishing opponents who stumble in reading its plays correctly, making it a historical pillar of Pauper that has lost relevance in recent years.
The Decklist
The Faeries core comes from the historic synergy between Spellstutter Sprite and Ninja of the Deep Hours, which remains one of the format's pillars to this day. In 2017, the rise of Stompy with Burning-Tree Emissary led the archetype to adopt a 
splash for Skred and Lightning Bolt.
Today, however, Pauper's mana efficiency is much higher than in that era, so we aim to maximize our list's Tempo without sacrificing the flexibility of a second color. Where traditional Izzet versions rely on Augur of Bolas and Monarch cards, we focus on using as many cheap spells as possible and capitalizing fully on Ninjutsu synergies with Faerie Miscreant and Moon-Circuit Hacker.
Although still about half a turn or a turn slower than Mono Blue variants, we gain flexibility with removal against Aggro and essential sideboard pieces like Pyroblast and Cast into the Fire.
It's worth noting this list was built to maximize slots and mana costs, being an option more geared toward handling popular decks in Leagues or local tournaments with an intuitive list for beginners. All sideboard slots are flexible, and we can even include various one-ofs or two-ofs if preferred — it just seems more pertinent today to handle matchups we have a real chance of winning with universal answers than to chase that 51% win rate in a more unfavorable game.
Maindeck
The heart of Izzet Faeries lies in its base of cheap, evasive creatures, which fulfill multiple roles throughout the match and offer various synergies.
Faerie Miscreant provides card advantage with multiple copies without compromising our mana efficiency, and it's a perfect target for Ninjutsu in the early turns.
Faerie Seer offers immediate filtering and has excellent synergy with Brainstorm, facilitating the removal of useless cards from hand and the search for necessary answers.
Besides being a stack interaction, Spellstutter Sprite pressures the opponent and scales as the game progresses. With other Faeries, it punishes low-cost spells and maintains favorable tempo, especially against decks reliant on specific sequences or spells.
Ninja of the Deep Hours remains one of the format's greatest sources of card advantage. When protected by counters and removal, it quickly dominates games, forcing opponents into unfavorable trades.
Moon-Circuit Hacker functions as an additional functional copy of Ninja of the Deep Hours, with the advantage of not requiring two mana to be played. In longer games, it works as hand filtering and a cheap way to reuse our Faeries' ETB effects.
Lightning Bolt is irreplaceable. It removes practically any early-game threat in the format and still offers reach to close out games—a relevant point considering our clock is relatively slow.
Skred complements Bolt as removal that grows with the game. In long games, especially against Midrange decks, it becomes a one-for-one answer against Writhing Chrysalis and Tolarian Terror.
Brainstorm benefits from our multiple shuffle or "put cards from top to bottom" effects, allowing us to dig deeper for the right answers without getting "stuck" with a bad topdeck.
Lorien Revealed stabilizes our mana base in the early turns and provides staying power in the late-game. In attrition matches, it becomes our primary source of card advantage, where we usually have at least two copies in the deck after fixing our mana.
Counterspell is the best stack interaction in the format and solves any problem for two mana. There are some matchups where it's too slow, but it's indispensable in most games.
Spell Pierce protects more aggressive lines of play, especially in the early turns or in matches where the opponent relies on specific non-creature spells. It also forces uncomfortable plays in the mid-to-late game when the opponent tries to sequence multiple removals in the same turn to handle our board.
The mana base utilizes Perilous Landscape and Lorien Revealed to add consistency, with no flexible slots, as we need a high number of snow lands for Skred.
Sideboard
Relic of Progenitus is essential against graveyard-dependent decks like Mono Blue Terror and Spy Combo and is also a decent card against Affinity or Jund Wildfire for its ability to "negate" Blood Fountain while drawing a card.
Hydroblast and Pyroblast are extremely efficient answers in Pauper and perhaps the best sideboard pieces in the current Metagame, handling a wide range of threats for one mana while also functioning as protection.
Cast into the Fire is essential against Affinity and go wide archetypes like Faeries and Elves, offering a way to get a Time Walk against Affinity while also functioning as a two-for-one in other matchups.
Sideboard Guide
Mono Blue Terror
IN
OUT
Lightning Bolt loses utility even against lists using Delver of Secrets as we have better ways to deal with it, and our game plan involves delaying the opponent's threats as long as possible until Skred can handle them. We have the advantage that there are few cards in the opponent's sideboard that respond well to our go-wide plan.
Mono Red Rally
IN
OUT
They have the advantage in the race and often use effective side-ins against us, so preserve Hydroblast for removals while using Skred and Cast into the Fire to handle the board. One-for-one trades while blocking may be necessary, but remember their threat density is higher.
Madness Burn
IN
OUT
Our focus must be to minimize the opponent's damage output, but we have serious problems if the opponent reanimates multiple Sneaky Snackers, so Relic of Progenitus helps keep that line in check. Prioritize using Lightning Bolt on creatures that cause ping damage if necessary, but they will be essential for closing the game.
Grixis Affinity
IN
OUT
Relic of Progenitus could be an interesting choice, but if we need to play around Blood Fountain, we're already losing. Use Cast into the Fire as land destruction early and then focus on depriving the opponent of threats. If we can maintain the advantage in the first few turns, Counterspell and Spell Pierce will do the work of protecting the board.
Jund Wildfire
IN
OUT
Not too different from Affinity, except Cast into the Fire isn't as effective as Hydroblast, which delays Cleansing Wildfire and spot answers from the sideboard. Writhing Chrysalis is our worst enemy, but we can easily handle it if we delay the opponent until we reach five or six lands for Skred.
Elves
IN
OUT
We need to prevent the opponent from going off and dominating the game. Moon-Circuit Hacker can only attack once in this game and always ends up losing to a blocker afterward, so we remove it and focus on a disruptive plan with our flying creatures.
Faeries
IN
OUT
In the mirror, we need to assume the Control posture and focus exclusively on mana efficiency to the point where Counterspell becomes too slow and Spell Pierce is too conditional. Ninja of the Deep Hours is the piece we want to keep on board and connect with every turn, so don't be afraid to trade a Faerie or two — especially Faerie Seer — with the opponent's X/2 creatures if it means extracting a favorable trade with Cast into the Fire.
Caw-Gates
IN
OUT
This is one of the worst matchups. A single attack from a creature with Lifelink plus Basilisk Gate is enough to invalidate our advance, and Caw-Gates attacks from too many angles for us to have a consistent sideboard plan: we need Pyroblast for Counterspells, Hydroblast for Breath Weapon, Relic of Progenitus to avoid losing two turns to Prismatic Strands, and we still depend on Cast into the Fire to handle Squadron Hawk and Sacred Cat.
Spy Combo
IN
OUT
Another relatively poor matchup. Dig deep for the graveyard hate and try to have more than one in play at all times while advancing your clock, or your opponent will close the combo at any moment.
Azorius Familiars
IN
OUT
We need to prevent the value snowball at all costs. Removal should prioritize cost reducers and cards that gain life for the opponent, and Pyroblast should prevent stack interaction or stop Murmuring Mystic from resolving.
Wrapping Up
That's all for today!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!
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