Is EDH too expensive for you? Wanna play a fun deck that doesn't cost a fortune? Then allow me to introduce you to....Poor Man's EDH. For under $75 you can own a cool, powerful, and fun EDH deck that isn't too limited. Let's not kid ourselves: Old Niv-Mizzet is a popular commander. I know I've sat my fair share of commander games with at least one Firemind player, and it's always a treat surprisingly. Sadly, most of the best Izzet cards cost two arms and a leg....but done right, you can get a budget version of it with tons of fun options! Enjoy!
The Izzet League exist solely due to it's leader, the dragon genius Niv-Mizzet. He has sit many years (some say centuries, even eons...) up high in Nivix, constantly thinking and experimenting as part of some grand design. Now, Ravnica's skies find the Firemind occupying them as he flies off with you on his latest experiment: testing the power of knowledge! The Izzet League is all about spells, and your deck is filled with them. Your core cards of your deck are your instants and sorceries, utilizing a variety of these spells to baffle your opponents to defeat! You have plenty of options with this deck, from counterspells to burn spells, but some of your best are your Overload cards. Overload lets you cast the spell for an overload cost to replace target with each in the text! This means cards like Blustersquall can tap a single creature you don't control...or each of them! It gives you a versatility that no other player has, the ability to hit all of the board...of some of it. It's perfect for a spellsliner of the Izzet, which is right where you fit in!
Your creatures may not be the star of the Firemind's deck, but that doesn't mean they don't pack a punch! Most of your creatures benefit your instants and sorceries in some way, by bringing them back to your hand or getting a boost someway! Spellheart Chimera is a fine example, as a flying creature whose power is equal to the number of instants and sorceries in your graveyard! Some of your creatures don't involve instants and sorceries, but just beat down the competition. Frost Titan is an all star in blue EDH, at a cheap price with a powerful set of abilities and 6/6 to boot, and Spellbound Dragon makes an impact too, drawing cards and pumping up when he attacks! Your most interesting creature, however, is Ludevic's Test Subject. It starts a measly 0/3, but you slowly build up hatchling counters on it a bit of mana. When you get enough...it turns into a 13/13 trample abomination! This little egg can tend to be the target of mana spells, but if you combine it with Swiftfoot Boots (which gives it hexproof and haste) your Subject becomes a time bomb, just waiting to go off and cause havoc!
Niv-Mizzet himself isn't just a commander, but a creature in the deck (Thanks to the legend rule, you can have both on the field at the same time due to their different names!) with a noticeable presence. Niv-Mizzet is a 4/4 flier (and a 5/5 flier in Dracogenius) thats helps deal damage and pick up cards. This is already by itself a powerful addition to the deck, but this ability is more than meets the eye. Both the Firemind and Dracogenius deal damage and get card draw, but have very different wording. Dracogenius picks you up a card whenever he deals damage, and Firemind deals damage when you draw a card. The 5/5 Dracogenius is a great addition to the deck, but what makes the Firemind the commander is his unique combo that Dracogenius can't do. With Curiosity enchanted to the commander, it draws you cards when the enchanted creature does damage, meaning you can just tap Niv-Mizzet and kill someone (maybe even everyone) with commander damage! It's a powerful combo that gives you just another angle to attack from, and yet another is Ral Zarek, the first Planeswalker to enter Poor Man's EDH. He's a powerful card that taps and untaps permanents, deals damage, and can get you up to five extra turns! With all these ideas to pick from, and so many different ways to use them, the battle should be a fairly simple equation to solve, and with Niv-Mizzet on your side, you can solve any problem with the greatest of ease!