Izzet Charm - BOO!

So, we recently talked about how we were playing Selesnya Charm, as a effect that was actively worth at least two mana in each of it's modes, and each of it's modes are useful in multiple scenarios.

Then, we have Izzet Charm.

Mode 1: Spell Pierce

So, my first reaction to this is that Spell Pierce costs 1.

That really seems like about all that needs to be said about this mode for Izzet Charm.  Spell Pierce is easy to leave up, hard to play around, useful in multiples.  It saves you mana over your opponent if they pay, and is likely to net you 2-4 mana when it works out.

Basically, Spell Pierce is a tempo play, in that you trade 1:1, but net a bunch of mana, and didn't have to impact your own game plan.  Make spell pierce cost U1, and it becomes more of an "even" trade, and we should not be in the buisiness of making even trades.

Mode 2: (Half of) Electrostatic Bolt

The simple fact of the "2 damage to a creature" mode of Izzet charm is that they don't make spells this bad.  Electrostatic Bolt was good because it was killing Myr Enforcers, something Izzet Charm doesn't exactly do.  Flame Slash, Searing Spear, Pillar of Flame, Thunderbolt, Devil's Play, and I'm sure several other cards seem directly superior to this mode even in standard Magic, much less historical precedents for spells that can only deal damage to creatures. 

2 creature damage is just not worth UR these days.  It is barely worth R.  We are paying quite a bit for this to be an instant, compared to Flame Slash(no longer in standard), Pillar of Flame, and co.

Mode 3: Careful Study

Or alternatively, it's standard strictly-better, Faithless Looting.  Faithless Looting is an incredible card.

What do we get out of Izzet charm?  The ability to spend twice as much mana, of two colors, and not be able to flash it back (the thing that makes Faithless Looting worth playing).

We get instant speed out of the deal, but at the two-mana level, Wild Guess is strictly better... (2 for 2, vs 2 for 3, single color, etc)

Conclusion:

The problem with all the modes of Izzet Charm is that the effects they provide are (incredibly) narrow, and typically worth around one or less mana.

Charm-spell-pierce is inferior to "Negate", and doesn't hold it's power late game, or allow us to progress our plan while denying your opponent.

Charm-ESB doesn't kill anything that costs more than it, doesn't threaten planeswalkers in any way, doesn't deal with the plethora of 3-toughness, or, undying creatures, or the like that plague this standard format.

Charm-Loot is just worse than Faithless Looting.

Put together, you have an effect that would probably be too good at 1 mana, but very bad at 2.  1x Faithless Looting, 1x Pillar of Flame, 1x Negate seems way better than playing 3x Izzet Charm.  The spells you'd be playing instead of Izzet Charm in this list are arguably more versatile and powerful than Izzet Charm itself.

That's a bad sign for us UR mages...