Phibbonacci

PS: Getting to 5 mana in modern can be tough, depending on your local meta. Keep in mind that modern is a format that often sees turn 4 or less than turn 4 wins, so you might wanna rethink Gray Merchant, which I know probably hurts to hear since this deck revolves around him. That being said, you might wanna consider ways to 'cheat' some mana into your pool like Priest of Forgotten Gods, or Dark Ritual-esque effects (sadly Dark Ritual isn't legal in Modern). You're not always gonna get there with the Cabal Stronghold, so you might consider Crypt Ghast, which can also get you closer to a win con with its Extort effect.

Thanks Mephisto. The reason that Doomed Dissenter and Reassembling Skeleton are in here is because of the danger you speak of.
I've seen some great things happen in standard with Priest of Forgotten Gods. Being able to sac two Doomed Dissenters or Skeletons while having a Beetle out can potentially grow the Beetle +3/+3 (for free), and if I happen to have an Unearth or two in hand this is even better because I'd have double black to reanimate the Dissenters or Skeletons, which is some pretty nice synergy.
As for the Agent of the Fates, I'd have to completely restructure this deck around spells that could target him in order for heroic to go off, so I'm no to enthusiastic about that one, although I've made a note of him for other lists.
Thanks!

Yo Muktol!
I'm also building a similar deck in Modern. There are some pretty great 'new' toys that just got reprinted in Modern Horizons: Diabolic Edict, Carrion Feeder, Cabal Therapist, and Unearth. You know what's great about these cards...? They're super cheap right now! Not sure if these are things you'd want to include in your deck, but they really help with the sacrifice theme you've already got going on here.

I discovered the Izzet Guildmage/Training Grounds combo a while back, but I've never actually built the deck, the cards remain in my binder. A couple people have already mentioned that this deck needs more burn, which I definitely agree with. You have a 1 in 60 chance of pulling Banefire... so you should probably rethink your win con, or at least run a play set of Banefire. People have already mentioned Desperate Ritual, which could be awesome here, but I'm surprised no one mentioned it in conjunction with Lava Spike. You can Splice the Desperate Ritual onto Lava Spike and net RRR without even casting Desperate Ritual from hand, and if the Guildmage is active, you can copy it too!
Burn Options: Grapeshot, Forked Bolt, Shock, Twin Bolt, Cone of Flame, Arc Lightning, Stoke the Flames, etc... You're probably going to want to keep your burn spells under 3 CMC.
Also, if you do end up taking out some of your counters, you're gonna need a way to protect those guildmages. Since you're already in green with Manamorphose, I'd recommend Canopy Cover, or even Mizzium Skin (which I know is blue, :D).
There are also some pretty awesome creatures in UR that would work well in this deck: Bedlam Reveler, Guttersnipe, Grim Lavamancer, Delver of Secrets, Young Pyromancer, Cryptic Serpent, Kiln Fiend, and Monastery Swiftspear, just to name a few.
Keep it up! :D

I like what you're doing here. I can see that you've taken significant pains choosing each and every card. I especially like all the life total exchange stuff floating around in here, like Magus of the Mirror, Repay in Kind, Reverse the Sands, and Soul Conduit. I'm intrigued that things like Drain Life and even Corrupt didn't find a home in this deck. Do you find that you win games often with Near Death Experience? Are you able to consistently keep you life at or near zero and pull off a win con that way? I can definitely see how Repay in Kind would be helpful in that respect! Also the obvious Sanguine Bond/Exquisite Blood Combo can definitely win for sure, I've seen it done.

It's a good answer to most anything IMO. If you're lucky enough to drop a Beetle on turn 1 and 2, drop Priest on 3, create a 5/5 demon on turns 4 and up. It might not work well with this deck, but it's a budget option nevertheless. I just picked up a playset of Priests yesterday for 2$.

Furthermore, my only critique of the deck is the mana curve. I totally get that this is a budget project, but you're bunching up really hard on 3CMC. I also love that you added Bloodflow Connoisseur.

I love what you've done here... Vona's Hunger could potentially be divine. +1. I recently purchased some Innocent Blood, which unfortunately is only legal in Legacy and Vintage, but also has great synergy with Motician Beetle, Carrion Feeder, and Diabolic Edict. Rite of Consumption can be awesome when you've got a huge Beetle out there. Also, Skirsdag High Priest is really good in this kind of deck too. Cheers! :D

Mizzium Skin is a good way to solve this problem, especially since it has overload.

Since Traumatize is only a one-of, you're only going to be able to cast it on yourself for the win con once in a blue moon. I dig the deck though.

Also, you have no access to black mana to flashback Forbidden Alchemy, which, even though it's expensive, can still have a similar effect as Traumatize would.

How does this deck work? How do you set up the infinite burn combo?

Wow these are all great options. I especially dig Footsteps of the Goryo. Having the ability to return any of my creatures from the grave and force sac them at the end of turn could be huge. Question: Do the returned creatures (i.e. the ones returned with Footsteps), do they having summoning sickness? The text says return to play, but it doesn't say they have haste... Plus, it's sorcery speed, so I can only cast on my turn, which doesn't help by providing a blocker. It still could be a cool option, but for a 3 drop, I feel like something better could fit there, like a creature.

Disturbing Plot and Morbid Plunder could be awesome in this too, I just wish they were a bit cheaper CMC-wise. It might not matter since I have so much removal floating around and can control the board pretty efficient early on.

Also, after browsing through my black sorceries I found Ghoulcaller's Chant, which returns two Zombies from grave to hand. Being able to return a Nantuko Husk and a Fleshbag Marauder could be pretty great, plus I can still return one of all the other creatures too. I think I'm going to replace Vile Rebirth with Ghoulcaller's Chant, at least temporarily, to see how it works.

Thanks for the suggestions! I had a Grave Pact floating around at one time, but must've sold it. Skirsdag High Priest is an awesome suggestion. Definitely would replace the Carrier Thrall. Bitterblossom is a bit out of my current budget, but is definitely on my radar now for this deck. Thanks again! :D

Smallpox wasn't even a consideration, but now I'm thinking it could be a great way to control the board. I've run up against it tons of times in modern and had forgotten it had the sac ability in there. Cheers!

Cheers! I have been wanting to make a similar deck ever since the Skulk mechanic became a thing. I don't think you really need Behind the Scenes, since you're already running so many creatures with Skulk. I would cut it in favor of Skeleton Key instead if you plan on running creatures without Skulk in this deck. Also, Pale Rider really only work well if you have cards with Madness in your deck, since you'll be able to cast them at reduced cost. Alms of the Vein is a pretty awesome Madness card I would suggest.

Also, I think you need to hone your strategy when it comes to your spells. You've got discard, removal, and Behind the Scenes going on. Although it's nice to have a deck that does a bit of everything, you should just pick one and focus on it so that everything works well together. I think discard and Skulk could be a great combo, since you'd be emptying your opponents hands and they couldn't even block your creatures if they wanted to. In my opinion you should stick to Skulk creatures that only have 1 power, since you'll be able to slowly chip away at your opponents life total that way. Also, why would you really need removal like Doom Blade when your opponent won't be able to (hopefully) block your Skulking creatures? You should definitely keep them, but maybe only in the sideboard? Just something to think about.

Lastly, don't forget about protecting yourself from removal. Think about this: How would this deck fair if you happened to run up against another swamp player running Go For the Throat? A plains player running Path to Exile? A mountain player running Lightning Bolt. A forest player running Prey Upon? An island player running any kind of counter spell?

I see where you're going with this, I dig it. However, with only 16 creatures I foresee you having some problems with removal, especially since you're not running burn spells as an alternate win condition. I would suggest throwing in some more robust prowess creatures like Bedlam Reveler, which works wonders in Izzet decks. Also Cryptic Serpent is a boss too, and since you're running a lot of instants and sorceries casting Serpent for less than it's original CC won't be a problem. I would also suggest running Monastery Swiftspears as well, but if you wanna stick with the Cyclops I totally get it. Also, Spellheart Chimera is pretty sweet as well. Guttersnipe is a cool creature in Izzet too.

For alternate spells I would consider things like Voyage's End, Vapor Snag, Titan's Strength, Mizzium Skin, Temur Battle-Rage, and even Assault Strobe. The strength of Izzet IMO (I play Izzet Delver Burn in Modern) is in the insane variety of cheap and awesome 1CMC instants/sorceries you have available to you. This deck already is really strong, but I think it can get stronger. Also, don't forget about Mutagenic Growth, which you can still get away with dropping without paying 2 life by using it in conjunction with Manamorphose.

Also, fetchlands are really important in a Modern Izzet strategy. If you can't afford Scalding Tarns, you can still get away with running Flooded Strands with Steam Vents, even though you won't be able to grab those basic Mountains. Cheers Bro! :D Keep it up!

PS: Expedite and Slip Through Space work awesome in Izzet too, especially on Kiln Fiend, and you get the added draw, which is paramount to keeping your hand locked and loaded.

Love the deck, absolutely beautiful! :D Have you ever considered Bonds of Faith? as an alternative to your Pacifisms? It's a pretty versatile card for the same CMC, plus it doubles as a buff enchantment for your Guards, High Priests, and Guildmages. Obviously this deck isn't in standard anymore... I wonder if you run this, or a version of this in Modern? +1!

Nice deck. I would suggest Mizzium Skin over Glint, mainly because of the overload ability and the cheaper CMC. If you like the +0/+3, then you should keep it. Ultimately it's up to you, but Mizzium is way faster.

Nice deck. I would suggest Mizzium Skin over Glint, mainly because of the overload ability and the cheaper CMC. If you like the +0/+3, then you should keep it. Ultimately it's up to you, but Mizzium is way faster.

Intriguing. I think Marauder could be very effective, but where to slot it in is the question...

Oh wow... I didn't even realize... I see the light! That is an insane combo, I didn't even realize it could target itself! :D I can see the look on your opponents face when you pull that kind of shenanigan... poor guy...