Okay, I'm thinking of removing 1x Cruise for either a Helix or Fallout MD. I can't decide one which one though...
Lightning Helix seems better for the main-deck. It's more in line with the basic plan - kill them quickly - and why burn yourself if it isn't absolutely necessary?
Volcanic Fallout is a very fine side-board card and if you play very often against Zoo or Affinity or BW tokens, it might be useful main-deck, but Helix is usually going to be the better card.
I totally agree, but I sadly don't have access to Fetches as of yet. The only one I have is a windswept heath, and I'm not sure a single fetch will make any difference. Marsh Flats will be a future investment.
As long as you stay BW, you can make do with any fetch that works for Plains. You'll only want to fetch one Godless Shrine per game and you shouldn't be playing any Swamps. Play one if you absolutely have to, but you want nearly every land to make W.
If Leylines are out of my budget, can I run CoP: Red in their place? What about Ivory Mask (same effect but you have to hardcast it)?
You don't need permission; just give it a try. What's the worst thing that can happen? You're out a buck or a buck-fifty and you lose a game of Magic.
Seriously though, there's probably a reason even Beta edition Circle of Protection: Red is fairly affordable.
Four-mana solutions such as Ivory Mask are dubious; you can lose on turn-four pretty easily.
Creatures that provide some life when entering the battlefield are a good option. Creatures that have lifelink or that gain life some other way are also good choices. Kor Firewalker is enjoying a surge in popularity these days as a Burn hate bear. He's also dirt-cheap. Kitchen Finks are always popular and also not terribly costly.
I could never warm up to Faithless Looting but Dangerous Wager was a personal favorite when it was standard legal. Pitching an empty hand was never a draw back.
Kor Firewalker is a good man, but I am of the opinion that Knight of Meadowgrain and Fiendslayer Paladin are sufficient for the Burn match-up. I would certainly want four each of those guys in the main-deck before I reached for a Firewalker or Lil' Kim or Forge-tender or any other non-Knight solution. By the way, has anyone seen my fourth copy of Fiendslayer?
I loved Silverblade when he was Standard legal, but I haven't quite summoned the courage to try him in Modern. He has "Bolt Me" written on him even more clearly than Mirran Crusader but Silverblade won't win any match-ups by himself as Crusader can. One has to admit that dropping Silverblade with Light from Within in play and soul-bonding the Paladin to one of your Pro-R guys or Fiendslayer is lights out for Burn. That might be worth the price of admission by itself, but I see too much B and G to give up Crusader.
I do want to give Light from Within a go; I thought about it several times, I just haven't done it yet.
I run Judge Unworthy in my MW Knights deck. Combined with all your knights having First Strike, this card can be pretty sick.
Wouldn't Sunlance be better most of the time? I run nothing over three-casting-cost and a good deal under. I do get that scrying is a thing, but Sunlance doesn't care what the creature is doing.
Speaking of Vexing Devil, ever since Khans came out he's fallen out of favor for Monastery Swiftspear and no pun intended that card is on fire right now. Which makes me want to put sideboard spots for en-Vec as well...
Sigarda, Host of Herons looks like a good replacement for Linvala as well might devote one spot on the SB too.
Edit: Just saw this spoiled card. Noooo my vials!
I have three Fiendslayers main-deck and two en-Vec side-board (did I already say that?), but I see Burn every time I play. I also frequently see mono-B. I posted a report a short while ago about one evening's FNM matches.
Containment Priest poses no worry for Modern; it'll be Commander and Legacy only. Vintage too, but who cares?
. . . some play with Auriok Champion. U can do that and can work, but if u have other options that can hit/hate other kind of decks, is the best choice
If I were to take BW tokens to my local game store, I might just main-deck Lil' Kim. She's a brick wall to every creature Burn plays and she has game against B too. Not only does she hate hard on the BR creatures, with all of the tokens that should be hitting the board, she's a nightmare. She should is certainly foremost among Burn hate for BW tokens.
You're right I think I may just switch out en-Vec for Fiendslayer Paladin, and as a burn player, I wouldn't worry too much about Grim Lavamancer he's too slow for a lot of burn players so I wouldn't expect to face him unless it's a budget burn deck.
Brave the Elements I'll slot it in where Crusader was, so it'll be 3 of.
Disenchant I actually don't have any but I have literally 4+ playsets of Naturalize
Grim is controversial, but it isn't a budget question; I've played him in RWB Burn for as long as I've played it. Burn doesn't get any less "budget" than Scalding Tarn and Arid Mesa. Still, he's not a card you'll see in every Burn deck. Moreover, with first strike, Fiendslayer is very nearly as good against red creatures as en-Vec. The only exception that might matter is Vexing Devil. I suppose one might occasionally see the odd Keldon Marauders. Still, on balance, Fiendslayer seems like the right call.
A turn-two Meadowgrain followed by a turn-three Fiendslayer is a Burn player's worst nightmare.
Crusader is a good man if there are mono-G, mono-B, or BG decks about. He can just beat them all by his lonesome. Still, with KotR, there doesn't seem to be room for him. You might want to think about a few side-board slots for him.
Disenchant is by no means a money card; even Alpha and Beta versions are quite affordable. But you can't give Naturalize away so it may not be worth even the very small investment. I personally don't run either but I play in a strange environment.
Hey all, been checking this primer for a while now and learning a lot from everyone, I decided to put together my deck. So far it's got decent results in casual play I even managed to pull off a 9/9 Reliquary once.
Wowsers, that's a bunch of three-drops. I'm not sure I'd want to clump quite that much. It's tough because there are so many good three-drop knights. Crusader can be useless or he can just win all by himself. The popularity of Burn these days has certainly raised the stock of some of the other guys as well.
Fiendslayer Paladin is sometimes better than en-Vec; Lifelink is pretty good. He's vulnerable to a few things, such as Grim Lavamancer, but the Lifelink is often more relevant than the protection. I have three Feindslayer main-deck and two en-Vec side-board. I really like to punish R and B. Not R&B, which I kinda dig, but Burn, Goblins, Zombies etc.
I think I'd want some number of Brave the Elements on hand. It a blow-out when it works.
Given how juicy Flagstones are with KotR, I might try to get more in. You probably don't need four copies of Temple Garden anyway; you'll only want to fetch one.
Given the mana distribution, Disenchant is probably a better call than Naturalize - unless, of course, you don't have any copies of Disenchant. Naturalize has been printed to death lately.
It's a nice list, I've wanted to try out a G splash for ever but I've just never gotten around to it. Good luck with it.
The thing is though, flagstones are a lot worse than fetches when it comes to blood moon. Typically if your colour requirements are met, you leave a fetch in play and crack it in response to blood moon, that way you can search up the basic you'll need before bloodmoon resolves.
This is true. Blood Moon is really the only problem with Flagstones but Blood Moon is already a big problem for BW tokens. Fetches can be used for basics before Blood Moon hits or in response and fetches are needed; Flagstones aren't, at least not here. Still, a resolved Blood Moon is probably curtains for BW tokens anyway.
Even with eight fetches, I don't think I would run Isolated Chapel; certainly not four. One, maybe. I'd rather run Caves of Koilos although I wouldn't like to have four of them either. You could run even more fetches. Just about anything is better than Buddy lands.
Twenty W sources might be a bit thin as has been mentioned. You are certainly at the mercy of a resolved Blood Moon.
Is anyone else considering Lone Missionary in the board?
With the ability to tutor for him, he's very nice as a one-of, probably in the side-board. He's sometimes used that way in Gifts Ungiven decks. I'm not sure he's worthwhile in any other use but if everybody's playing burn, than he might be your guy. Four life on turn-two and a blocker for Goblin Guide is certainly not what a Burn player wants to see.
I don't see why you would want to reduce your basic land count since blood moon will still hit flagstones. It's not a bad card and I'm sure it has it's uses, I just don't see the need for it in a competitive enviroment. If I'm running a 3 colour deck, I'd be hard pressed to run 4 non basics that only produce W, along with ghost quarters especially if I'm trying to hit WWW by turn 3.
I don't see why one would want to either, but it's not that big a deal as long as the color requirements aren't taxing, but Flagstones aren't any worse than a fetch against Blood Moon. Flagstones are super in Landfall decks and the tricks are mostly beneficial there as otherwise all one gets is a little mana fixing. But that's not a bad thing.
Adding Ghost Quarters just for Flagstone tricks would be silly, but if you happen to have both and don't need the Quarter for anything else, then the colored mana producers one can fetch produce some value.
I'm not recommending Flagstones - or Quarters, for that matter - for BW tokens, but it's not a bad card and it's Legendary-ness doesn't hurt it a bit. That's all I'm saying.
Flagstones of Trokair has some interesting uses and you can certainly get value out of multiples. For instance; you have one in play, you tap it for mana and play another. The first one goes to the graveyard and you get a Godless Shrine out of your deck and put it into play tapped. You lose nothing playing the second and you can gain something. Using Ghost Quarter on one's own Flagstone is a hoot and provides real value. Of course that only means anything if one is playing Quarters.
The only real downside is they are non-basic and suffer from all of the things that afflict non-basics - Blood Moon in particular. I play Flagstones in a mono-W deck and I've never had any issue with them. Dual or multi-colored decks have additional considerations since using Flagstones reduces your basic land count.
I'm going to try out some Leonin Skyhunters, after a few stalemates, or game losses from fliers.
The little Kithkin is just nuts against Burn; they just about have to kill it.
If you have significant amounts of B in your neck of the woods, White Shield Crusader might work for you. The cost to make him fly is an issue, but the pump is often useful and protection is good when it's the right color.
Lightning Helix seems better for the main-deck. It's more in line with the basic plan - kill them quickly - and why burn yourself if it isn't absolutely necessary?
Volcanic Fallout is a very fine side-board card and if you play very often against Zoo or Affinity or BW tokens, it might be useful main-deck, but Helix is usually going to be the better card.
As long as you stay BW, you can make do with any fetch that works for Plains. You'll only want to fetch one Godless Shrine per game and you shouldn't be playing any Swamps. Play one if you absolutely have to, but you want nearly every land to make W.
You don't need permission; just give it a try. What's the worst thing that can happen? You're out a buck or a buck-fifty and you lose a game of Magic.
Seriously though, there's probably a reason even Beta edition Circle of Protection: Red is fairly affordable.
Four-mana solutions such as Ivory Mask are dubious; you can lose on turn-four pretty easily.
Creatures that provide some life when entering the battlefield are a good option. Creatures that have lifelink or that gain life some other way are also good choices. Kor Firewalker is enjoying a surge in popularity these days as a Burn hate bear. He's also dirt-cheap. Kitchen Finks are always popular and also not terribly costly.
I loved Silverblade when he was Standard legal, but I haven't quite summoned the courage to try him in Modern. He has "Bolt Me" written on him even more clearly than Mirran Crusader but Silverblade won't win any match-ups by himself as Crusader can. One has to admit that dropping Silverblade with Light from Within in play and soul-bonding the Paladin to one of your Pro-R guys or Fiendslayer is lights out for Burn. That might be worth the price of admission by itself, but I see too much B and G to give up Crusader.
I do want to give Light from Within a go; I thought about it several times, I just haven't done it yet.
Wouldn't Sunlance be better most of the time? I run nothing over three-casting-cost and a good deal under. I do get that scrying is a thing, but Sunlance doesn't care what the creature is doing.
I have three Fiendslayers main-deck and two en-Vec side-board (did I already say that?), but I see Burn every time I play. I also frequently see mono-B. I posted a report a short while ago about one evening's FNM matches.
Containment Priest poses no worry for Modern; it'll be Commander and Legacy only. Vintage too, but who cares?
If I were to take BW tokens to my local game store, I might just main-deck Lil' Kim. She's a brick wall to every creature Burn plays and she has game against B too. Not only does she hate hard on the BR creatures, with all of the tokens that should be hitting the board, she's a nightmare. She should is certainly foremost among Burn hate for BW tokens.
Grim is controversial, but it isn't a budget question; I've played him in RWB Burn for as long as I've played it. Burn doesn't get any less "budget" than Scalding Tarn and Arid Mesa. Still, he's not a card you'll see in every Burn deck. Moreover, with first strike, Fiendslayer is very nearly as good against red creatures as en-Vec. The only exception that might matter is Vexing Devil. I suppose one might occasionally see the odd Keldon Marauders. Still, on balance, Fiendslayer seems like the right call.
A turn-two Meadowgrain followed by a turn-three Fiendslayer is a Burn player's worst nightmare.
Crusader is a good man if there are mono-G, mono-B, or BG decks about. He can just beat them all by his lonesome. Still, with KotR, there doesn't seem to be room for him. You might want to think about a few side-board slots for him.
Disenchant is by no means a money card; even Alpha and Beta versions are quite affordable. But you can't give Naturalize away so it may not be worth even the very small investment. I personally don't run either but I play in a strange environment.
Wowsers, that's a bunch of three-drops. I'm not sure I'd want to clump quite that much. It's tough because there are so many good three-drop knights. Crusader can be useless or he can just win all by himself. The popularity of Burn these days has certainly raised the stock of some of the other guys as well.
Fiendslayer Paladin is sometimes better than en-Vec; Lifelink is pretty good. He's vulnerable to a few things, such as Grim Lavamancer, but the Lifelink is often more relevant than the protection. I have three Feindslayer main-deck and two en-Vec side-board. I really like to punish R and B. Not R&B, which I kinda dig, but Burn, Goblins, Zombies etc.
I think I'd want some number of Brave the Elements on hand. It a blow-out when it works.
Given how juicy Flagstones are with KotR, I might try to get more in. You probably don't need four copies of Temple Garden anyway; you'll only want to fetch one.
Given the mana distribution, Disenchant is probably a better call than Naturalize - unless, of course, you don't have any copies of Disenchant. Naturalize has been printed to death lately.
It's a nice list, I've wanted to try out a G splash for ever but I've just never gotten around to it. Good luck with it.
This is true. Blood Moon is really the only problem with Flagstones but Blood Moon is already a big problem for BW tokens. Fetches can be used for basics before Blood Moon hits or in response and fetches are needed; Flagstones aren't, at least not here. Still, a resolved Blood Moon is probably curtains for BW tokens anyway.
Even with eight fetches, I don't think I would run Isolated Chapel; certainly not four. One, maybe. I'd rather run Caves of Koilos although I wouldn't like to have four of them either. You could run even more fetches. Just about anything is better than Buddy lands.
Twenty W sources might be a bit thin as has been mentioned. You are certainly at the mercy of a resolved Blood Moon.
With the ability to tutor for him, he's very nice as a one-of, probably in the side-board. He's sometimes used that way in Gifts Ungiven decks. I'm not sure he's worthwhile in any other use but if everybody's playing burn, than he might be your guy. Four life on turn-two and a blocker for Goblin Guide is certainly not what a Burn player wants to see.
I don't see why one would want to either, but it's not that big a deal as long as the color requirements aren't taxing, but Flagstones aren't any worse than a fetch against Blood Moon. Flagstones are super in Landfall decks and the tricks are mostly beneficial there as otherwise all one gets is a little mana fixing. But that's not a bad thing.
Adding Ghost Quarters just for Flagstone tricks would be silly, but if you happen to have both and don't need the Quarter for anything else, then the colored mana producers one can fetch produce some value.
I'm not recommending Flagstones - or Quarters, for that matter - for BW tokens, but it's not a bad card and it's Legendary-ness doesn't hurt it a bit. That's all I'm saying.
The only real downside is they are non-basic and suffer from all of the things that afflict non-basics - Blood Moon in particular. I play Flagstones in a mono-W deck and I've never had any issue with them. Dual or multi-colored decks have additional considerations since using Flagstones reduces your basic land count.
The little Kithkin is just nuts against Burn; they just about have to kill it.
If you have significant amounts of B in your neck of the woods, White Shield Crusader might work for you. The cost to make him fly is an issue, but the pump is often useful and protection is good when it's the right color.