Izzet League

Ravnica's Physical Scientists and Engineers

The Izzet League are charged with attending to Ravnican civic works, including water supply systems, sewers, heating systems, boilers, and roadways. In addition to carrying out these functions, the Izzet members — obsessive, keen, and creative intellectuals, who often have short attention spans — are known to perform magical experiments with reckless abandon and sometimes with spectacular but severe results. Unlike the other guilds, the Izzet do not openly strive for hegemony of the city and the plane. Instead, integral to the Izzet League, a guild of masters of both theoretical and applied science and spellcraft, is the passionate seeking of, and thirst for, knowledge. Combined with their drive for discovery and child-like curiosity, the brilliant but capricious and whimsical Izzet Magewrights jump to and from ideas as they see fit, discarding old ideas for new ones that attract their attention. In this regard, they can be likened to ambivalent or benevolent mad and absent-minded scientists/professors.

The Izzet League is one of the few guilds whose Parun, the dracogenius Niv-Mizzet, remains its guildmaster, just as the guild continues to fulfill its original mission (even as its experiments go far beyond the guild's original mandate). Similarly to the Cult of Rakdos, most of the Izzet League seems to be drawn to its eccentric and charismatic guildmaster and seem to revere his great feats. Because of this, the League has gained recognition as a cult of personality.

Izzet Spells

Blockbuster Blustersquall Bolt Bend Bond of Insight Crackling Perimeter Cyclonic Rift Dynacharge Electrickery Essense Backlash Flickerform Gravitic Punch Homing Lightning Inescapable Blaze Ionize Leap of Flame Mimeofacture Mind Moil Mind Static Mizzium Skin Parallectric Feedback Peel From Reality Possibility Storm Precision Bolt Psychic Possession Quasiduplicate Quench Quicken Rain of Embers Reroute Risk Factor Role Reversal Runeboggle Scatter Arc Schismotivate Seal of Intellect Seal of Fire Shattering Spree Sonic Assault Spell Rupture Spell Snare Stitch In Time Street Spasm Sure Strike Syncopate Teleportal Thought Flair Thousand-Year Storm Thunderheads Vacuumelt Weapon Surge

Structure

Guildmaster

Niv-Mizzet, the original and current guildmaster of the Izzet League, is a fifteen-thousand year old, vain, temperamental, super-intelligent dragon. As he directs experiments throughout the guild, he values results over success, accepting and even anticipating that Izzet experiments will end in gloriously unpredictable ways. However, the dragon rarely concerns himself with the day to day running of the guild, preferring to craft long range plans and let underlings implement the details. He's a "big picture" kind of guy.

Hierarchy

Overseeing the daily operations of the guild is the purview of the Izmundi, a board of directors that assembles teams from among the rank and file of the Izzet League to carry out research according to Niv-Mizzet's directions and vision. The Izmagnus is a smaller board within the Izmundi with only five to seven members (some members keep their identities a secret) who serve as the dracogenius's closest advisors. One known member of the Izmagnus is a Goblin by the name of Mizzix. Starting at the bottom as an attendant, Mizzix quickly earned herself a place at her own magical forge with a squadron of attendants. Through a combination of natural talent, calculated political moves, and fortunate accidents, Mizzix has gradually risen from attendant, to research lead, to a spot on the Izmundi and eventually the Izmagnus. The Izzet League is organized into units designated as Laboratories that specialize in certain fields of research. Though they all operate under the general guidance of the Izmundi, each laboratory is typically left alone to conduct its research. New fields of study emerge all the time, but the more established laboratories - each populated by hundreds of mages and their attendants - include the following:

Laboratory of Pyrology

With an emphasis on fire, heat, and explosions, this lab features a prominent facility in the Guildhall Nivix and is one of the larger laboratories of the entire League. Most of the well known pieces of Izzet weaponry come from this famous lab.
Laboratory of Storms and Electricity

Focusing primarily on controlling the weather as well as containing and conducting electrical energy, it's headquarters is in a spire atop Nivix in a special facility often referred to as the Lightning Rod.
Laboratory of Metallurgy

Research into smelting and forging, most often using the magical metal known as Mizzium, happens in this lab. They work in congruence with other labs to make the pieces for their devices. In the 10th District, they operate out of a small outpost in the Smelting Quarter.
Laboratory of Alchemy

The magical science of transmuting one substance into another is studied fervently in this lab. Although they are a smaller laboratory in comparison to the others, these researchers are in charge of making sure the entire League never runs out of needed materials.
Laboratory of Orientation

This lab is concerned with teleportation and spatial recombination. They are a relatively new lab, recently celebrating their hundred year anniversary, and their discoveries aren't usually well known among the general populace. The few outposts this lab does have seem to disappear and reappear from time to time.
Laboratory of Mimeography

This is the newest of all the main Izzet laboratories, only having a few decades under their belt. The study of Mimicry and Duplication are slow and complex, so the teams in this lab rarely have new results to share, but few can deny how fascinating the field is regardless.
Laboratory of Continuism

With an emphasis on temporal manipulation, this lab works tirelessly to unravel the mysteries of time and space. Admittedly, although this is one of the earliest labs ever founded, they have yet to make any large scale advances.
Laboratory of Arcane Geometry

This well known lab conducts research into counter magics and the redirection of energy. Being one of the more accessible laboratories within the League, they actually have a small presence in the completely guild-neutral Prism University.
Laboratory of Gravitational Inversion

This is a lab that conducts research on means of flight and maintains a workshop near Augustin Station in the 10th District. Their research usually manifests in the form of personal gear or small vehicles that grant their user the ability to slalom through the spires of Ravnica far above its streets.
Laboratory of Plasma-Dermatology

This strange lab places an emphasis on the combining of opposing elements, with the purpose of creating Weirds, paradoxical elemental creatures that contain the essence of two volatile and usually opposing forces within themselves.

Izzet Laboratories function in a constant state of high energy that propels researchers from one experiment to the next. Some grand-scale experiments draw on the researches of an entire lab, while others are a lone visionary's labor of love. When commissioned by the Izmagnus or the Firemind himself, special research teams consisting of members from many different Izzet laboratories are formed, usually to take on specialty project of great importance.

Recruitment

Most Izzet recruits begin their careers as attendants. In the service of a more powerful mage, a crew of up to forty attendants engages in tasks such as recording and organizing information (sometimes under dangerous circumstances), acquiring rare items, or completing experiments (always under dangerous circumstances). Goblins seem to relish this sort of work, while other folk seek promotion into a new position as soon as possible.

For someone who is a spell caster, such as a sorcerer or a wizard, the easiest way up and out of this position is by proving aptitude or skill with magic, not necessarily control over it. Once their magical ability has been recognized, they are usually transferred to the Laboratory that could benefit the most off of their aptitude. There are mages with such particular magical abilities and inclinations that their prowess doesn't fit in with any of the existing Laboratories; these mages are usually assigned to independent research, a process that sometimes results in the creation of new Laboratories. Others with aptitude beyond that of an attendant but not quite fitting the niche in any Laboratories or as an independent researcher will usually have their talents put to work as a functionary, a go-between for various Lab leaders and the Izmundi. Even without magical prowess, an extremely smart and cunning Izzet member can move to a higher position as a coordinator charged with synchronizing efforts in various laboratories, a position that can easily lead to a spot on the Izmundi.

Although the work of the Izzet League is largely focused on magic and research, a more martial-minded citizen can still have a role to play in the guild. Usually, these kinds of people serve as guards that protect Laboratories and inventions; however, the most elite of these Izzet members are also chosen as bodyguards for the Izmundi or the Izmagnus and are given powerful inventions to assist in protecting their charges.

Regardless of your exact role within the League, everyone is expected to contribute to research in some way. That contribution might involve participating in tests, whether as an assistant, a researcher, or a subject. The soldiers of the Izzet serve this purpose by protecting the Laboratories they are assigned to and providing manual labor such as lifting heavy pieces of machinery into place. Everyones contribution matters, even if the Izzet know that some matter more than others.

Guildless Conscription

Once there is a plan in motion, whether designed by a Laboratory, the Izmundi, an independent researcher, or the Guildmaster himself, the Izzet conscript everyday Ravnican citizens to help construct whatever it is, provided its safe enough to afford insurance for the workers. This type of conscription is most commonly used on city works projects and can last months to years. Some Guildless Ravnican citizens work their whole lives on and off of Izzet worksites because of how frequent the conscription work is, especially in District 10.

Public Agenda

The Izzet are obsessive experimenters, combining a keen creative intellect with a short attention span. The original mandate of the Izzet League was to provide solutions for public works projects (sewers, boilers, and roadways), but their increasingly far-fetched experiments satisfy only their insatiable curiosity. Sometimes their experiments yield useful technological advancements; other times they produce unintended mana geysers, spatial rifts, arcane portals, or huge explosions - all of which can be useful in their own way.

The League's most grandiose experiments typically concern public works projects and elemental experimentation. These efforts use a methodology that relies on unexpected outcomes: all results are informative, even if they completely defy expectations. For example, an experiment that begins as the creation of a "hyper-mana focusing lens" might be renamed as a "scram-range teleportal" once the researchers discover more properties of what they have fashioned. Then, after a few goblin volunteers vanish inside of it, the apparatus gains the designation of "universal refuse disintegrator" - until the goblins are eventually discovered alive, having been teleported far from the workshop. This sort of adjustment is par for the course in Izzet experiments; the "fiddle and find out" method is favored over any process of systematic scientific research.

The goals of the Izzet are both easy and impossible to grasp. They constantly thirst for knowledge, cherish intellect, and speculate about the secrets of the multiverse. It brings to its scientific pursuits a flaming passion that turns its search for knowledge into an insatiable hunger, makes its cold intellect brilliantly fruitful, and widens its speculation into a search for connections between widely disparate objects or concepts. It is manic in its expressions of creative energy, shifting from careful analysis to intuitive leap seemingly for no reason, always thinking outside the proverbial box. As the Izzet see it, unpredictable action, far from being antithetical to methodical research, has experimental value. In the words of one researcher, "The only action worth taking is one with an unknown outcome."

History

Recent Past

Over one hundred years ago, the Izzet played a small part in quelling the rise of a Nephilim Cult. The Cult of Yore had managed to resurrect one of the great and terrifying Nephilim in the Utvara Reclamation Zone, an area that is said to be an ancient dragon hunting ground and home to the Firemind's first lair.

While an unknown factor has caused most of the air in Utvara to be toxic to humans, a small settlement of the city still exists among what is mostly rubble. The toxic air is counteracted by a mighty tree grown by the Selesnya Conclave that converts the toxic atmosphere to a livable though its natural process of germination. The settlement that thrives beneath the tree is primarily Orzhov in population and ownership, but there was also a massive facility known as the Cauldron, a metal foundry and forge that the Izzet operated out of.

In addition to being toxic to humans, the air in the Utvara Reclamation Zone is extremely conducive to dragon-kind. The air contains nutrients that their lungs need to thrive. Although dragon-kind can be found attacking all parts of the city, they usually retreat to an area such as Utvara to lair. As such, a vast manner of Hellkites and Drakes (both forms of Lesser Dragon) prowl the ruins of this area. Besides being an area rich in precious minerals and compounds, the Izzet often used Utvara as a testing ground for the weapons they smithed in the Cauldron.

The Cult of Yore resurrected a mighty Nephilim in Utvara with the intent of letting it feed on dragon corpses and growing stronger. Although Niv-Mizzet himself participated in the battle to slay it and foil the cult's plans, it wasn't before it smashed the Cauldron into rubble, forcing the Izzet to leave the area temporarily.

Current Events

With the absence of the Guildpact and as Ravnica descends into further turmoil, the Izzet have further intensified their frenetic research, though now their efforts are mainly directed toward one outcome: the development of Super Weapons. The suspicion that festers in the mind of the draconic guildmaster urges him to push his guilds research toward increasingly dangerous and volatile experimentation.

For the rest of the guild members, the search for bigger and better weapons is mainly an opportunity to engage in all sorts of wild research while abandoning all outward pretense of safety or reason. Much of the guild's laboratory space has been converted into testing grounds that are capable of withstanding great discharges of magical energy.

Though many speculate that Niv-Mizzet is just a conceited old lizard with no real concern for the populace of Ravnica, any self respecting Izzet member ranked high enough to know, would tell you that the search for Super Weapons is to protect the League, its members, and the city itself from the other guilds should conflicts boil over in the absence of the The Guildpact.

Enemies and Allies

The Izzet have difficulty relating to the concerns of other guilds. The closest affinity they feel for another guild is their respect for the scientific minds of the Simic Combine - but from the Izzet viewpoint, even the Simic efforts lack passion. Conversely, the Izzet can appreciate the passion of the Boros, Gruul and the Cult of Rakdos, but they don't agree with the goals that those passions are set towards.

The Izzet have a reputation for unprovoked aggression, spurred by the ambition of Niv-Mizzet. Members of the League usually believe that the ancient dragon has a good reason for everything he does. As far as most members are concerned, if they are sent to test a new weapon against a suspected Dimir safe house, a Gruul camp, or a deceptively peaceful Selesnya conclave, those must surely be dangerous foes of the Izzet. Members of the League are bound to to oppose the Dimir when they steal laboratory research, the Gruul when they smash delicate equipment, and the Boros and Azorius whenever they decide that a certain project or experiment presents a danger to the city or breaks some obscure law.

Sometimes members of other guilds can help advance Izzet research, intentionally or otherwise. The Izzet are intelligent enough to recognize their weaknesses, and adventuresome souls from other guilds can offset those weaknesses. The healing spells of Boros Clerics can be invaluable aid, and if a Cyclops isn't available to lend its brute strength to the work, a Selesnya Centaur can fill the need nicely

The Izzet View on Other Guilds

To the intellect of the Izzet, the members of Ravnica's other guilds seem slow, dull, and utterly lacking in the spirit of scientific inquiry and experimentation.

Azorius Senate: "The Azorius create regulations for everything, including freedom. What dull, shackled lives they lead."
Boros Legion: "All too often when we're on the verge of setting off a little explosion or a spell that tears a hole in reality, the Boros show up to spoil the fun."
House Dimir: "The less we see of the Dimir, the more we know they are monitoring us."
Golgari Swarm: "They keep to themselves and clean up our messes. As long as they stay out of sight, it's hard to view them as a threat."
Gruul Clans: "They are even better at wrecking our laboratories than we are!"
Orzhov Syndicate: "Progress means taking risks. But when you gamble with the Orzhov, you always wager more than coin."
Cult of Rakdos: "Steer clear of these senseless riot-fiends. Their enthusiasm is best appreciated from a distance."
Selesnya Conclave: "These zealots run with beasts and worship figments of the past. They would be wiser to embrace the wonders of the future."
Simic Combine: "The Simic are inventive, but their creations are bereft of soul and fire. They tinker with life but lack the inspiration to breathe true spirit into their inventions."