BURN "Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire."
—Jaya Ballard, task mage
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So you want to play a Burn deck? Well this is the right place. Burn is a deck made up primarily of the most efficient burn spells available. We don't care about a long term plan, and for the most part, we don't even care what our opponent is doing either. We simply want to deal as much damage to our opponents as quickly as possible. Lightning Bolt is the epitome of a burn spell. It deals 3 damage, where ever we want, at the low cost of 1 mana. And it does it at Instant speed. Filling our deck with as many similar spells as possible will benefit us in the long (short) run.
Burn was originally known as a deck called Sligh, which was developed by Jay Schneider and taken to a second place finish by Paul Sligh at a PTQ in Atlanta. At the time, second place was good enough to earn him a spot on the Pro Tour, and the internet went ablaze with hype of this new type of deck: an aggro deck. People still often refer to this style of deck as Sligh. As time went on and more cards were printed, the deck changed into what it is in Legacy today. While we don't have all the fun toys that the Legacy counterpart has access to, we still have quite a lot of gas to work with. Click here for more information on the origins of Sligh.
While the original Sligh decks were focused on filling the board with efficient creatures and widdling opponents life totals down to 0, we are going to take an approach that is more focused on throwing spells at our opponent's face. There are a handful of creatures that we will be looking at, but primarily we want to get as much damage per mana spent as possible. Three damage for 1 mana is what we are looking for. If we curve out, and net 3 damage for each mana spent, by turn 3 we would have dealt 18 damage. Turn 1: 3 damage. Turn 2: 6 damage (9 total). Turn 3: 9 damage (18 total). I realize that we start the game with 20 life, but thanks to fetch lands, such as Verdant Catacombs and Scalding Tarn, as well as the shock lands they fetch out, such as Steam Vents and Overgrown Tomb, we will find friends in our opponent's decks which can often mean that we only need to deal 17 damage (sometimes less) to win.
Of course things don't always go to plan. Counter magic, such as Spell Pierce, and hand disruption, such as Inquisition of Kozilek can slow us down a bit. Cards that gain life for our opponents is probably our primary hindrance. But if we have a high enough thread density, and a little luck, we can usually finish off our opponents while they are still trying to establish their central strategy.
2. The Cards
The basic Burn spell is Lightning Bolt, 3 damage for 1 mana. All spells in Burn must be compared with Bolt, Incinerate and Searing Spear are surely good cards, but they usually don't make the cut in this deck, not being efficient enough with a cost of 2 mana. When a spell does cost more than 1, it should also have some additional benefit.
Let us now discuss the specific cards, although I'll leave the mana-base for a later section.
Lightning Bolt - Bread and Butter spell, if you aren't running the playset you aren't playing Burn.
Lava Spike - Lightning Bolt 5-8, run a playset or you aren't playing Burn.
Rift Bolt - Lightning Bolt 9-12, run a playset or you aren't playing Burn.
Bump in the Night - The primary reason to splash black is this card right here. It's essentially Bolt 13-16, and it's got Flashback, which can't hurt. Admittedly, it's rare that I cast this for it's Flashback cost, but it has won games for me on more than one occasion. There are other benefits to this card. First of all, it causes lose of life, and not damage (thus negating prevent x damage). It's also black, so you can cast it through Iona, Shield of Emeria.
Shard Volley - It's a Bolt with a big down side. The plus is that you are usually killing off your opponent when you cast it, and it gives you something to do with excess lands if you ever get flooded out. You can also use it to power up Treasure Cruise if you decide to run it. Drawing it in multiples is not great, but I do recommend running at least one copy, but no more than three (I run two).
Pillar of Flame - A sorcery speed shock is pretty bad, but a sorcery speed shock that exiles Kitchen Finks is occasionally useful enough to run. It's probably not the greatest card to run currently, but exiling Delver of Secrets will give them one less card to Delve with.
Forked Bolt - It's a card that isn't great, but it can help you deal with two threats at once. I've ran it in the past, but usually not more than a 1-2 of. I wouldn't recommend it right now, as it's not dealing enough damage and most creatures don't warrant us to run this card. Most of the time it's best value will be to ping Young Pyromancer and Snapcaster Mage each for 1, or hit Vault Skirge for 1 and aim the other damage at their face. Honestly, we are going to be better off with cards like Searing Blaze and Searing Blood. Since we have better options for creature removal + player damage, I would avoid running Forked Bolt.
Skullcrack - 2 mana for 3 damage is typically not what we are looking for, but since life gain can be a significant problem for us, we can sometimes net 5-6 virtual damage out of this card. This card also makes it so damage cannot be prevented, which can come up every now and again. Skullcrack has become one of the staples of Burn, and I recommend running at least 2 in the main deck, but many players prefer to run a full set of 4.
Boros Charm - This is the primary reason to splash white. You net 4 damage for 1 card, which is above average despite costing two mana. It's rare that you use any mode other than player damage, and considering the Legacy version runs Flame Rift, I think we can manage paying some life to fetch out a Sacred Foundry. I absolutely think RWx is the way to go, and recommend running 4.
Searing Blaze - Yes, you need them to have a creature, and you need to play fetchlands if you run this to get full value out of the instant speed. I run it because I expect a lot of creatures, and am running fetches for other cards already. For me, it's my main deck removal spell that also hits in the face for 3. Others choose to run other things instead. Up to you.
Searing Blood - This is basically Searing Blaze, but there are a few differences. First of all, Searing Blaze targets both the creature and the player. So if the creature dies before Searing Blood resolves (say, sacrificed to Viscera Seer), Searing Blood will fizzle, but Searing Blaze will still deal damage to the player. The flip side to this is that Searing Blood will deal damage through Leyline of Sanctity, and also does not require a fetch land to be fully powered. For this reason a lot of players will run Searing Blaze main deck with Searing Blood in the board, and then bring Blood in for games 2-3.
Lightning Helix - Helix is a card that you want to have main deck if you are expecting a lot of aggressive decks. Gaining 3 life can mean the difference between winning and losing if playing against another Burn deck. It can also give an edge against Affinity as well. Some players run 4 copies main deck. Some run 4 in the board. Some don't run them at all.
Magma Jet - This used to be the best card available for filtering through our top deck, trying to hit that last piece of Burn to finish off our opponent. Since then, we have been given Treasure Cruise to play with. While TC does not deal damage, it does dig through our top 3 cards, and usually at the cost of 1 mana. Magma Jet was a staple in the old days of Legacy Burn, but today it's outclassed.
Treasure Cruise - There isn't much to say about this card, except that drawing 3 more cards is very very good. As one of the local pros put it: Splashing blue for Treasure Cruise is almost certainly better than splashing for one of the other colors you could be running. I've got to agree. This card helps a lot when you get flooded, have to fight through some life gain, get hit with hand disruption, or straight up run out of gas. Resolving one equates to winning, if not the turn you cast it, then the next. I recommend running 2-3 copies.
Flames of the Blood Hand - Prior to Skullcrack getting printed, this was our life gain hate card of choice. Now that we have a 2 mana version, not many people run Flames of the Blood Hand anymore. If you are worried about a lot of life gain decks in your area, it might not be a bad idea to put in Skullcrack 5-8 in your 75.
Flame Javelin - If you feel like you need more 4 damage spells, this could be what you're looking for. But Flames of the Blood Hand is certainly a better choice.
Browbeat - It's a Trap! It is never damage when you want the damage, and it's never cards when you want the cards. It's never a good idea to give your opponents the choice of what your cards do. They will always pick the mode that is more favorable for them. Don't run it.
Goblin Guide - The Best creature in Burn, and played as a 4 of even in Legacy. He will usually swing in for at least 4 damage, sometimes as much as 6. He'll also give you information on what's going into your opponent's hand. If you have any in your opening hand, play them before any other spell, unless they play a must answer critter that needs to get bolted asap. Without question, run 4.
Monastery Swiftspear - Also known as Taylor Swift, this is basically the best 1 drop we have had in a long time. It often deals 4+ damage over the course of a game, and with a handful of instants it can really mess up combat math for our opponents. Even a single Bolt can turn into 5 damage with one of these guys attacking. I was skeptical at first, but it didn't take long for me to come around. I recommend running a full set of 4.
Grim Lavamancer - Grim Lavamancer is a somewhat controversial card in Legacy Burn. As a repeatable shock, he's amazing giving reach and inevitability, but he also isn't guaranteed damage. He doesn't have haste, is a terrible topdeck, and he's much better against aggro than combo. He will do some work in games that go on longer, but you probably don't want him eating up your graveyard if you're looking to cast Treasure Cruise. I recommend a 2-3 of if you aren't running TC, otherwise don't run any.
Vexing Devil - Punisher cards are almost universally bad, but this is the only exception. Most of the time Devil will be 4 damage for R, but sometimes it'll stick and eat a bolt or run into a Goyf wall or something. While I used to run him as a 4 of, I've since replaced him with Monastery Swiftspear. I wouldn't say running both is bad, but I don't. As with Browbeat, I don't like giving my opponent the choice of what my cards do. If you do run Vexing Devil, make sure you dump them onto the board as quickly as possible. They are much more effective in the early game than they are in the mid-late game.
Spark Elemental - 3 damage for R is a good deal, but I dis-recommend this card. It only has one chance to deal it's damage, and it can be blocked every easily. Some run it when they want to keep their curve as low as possible, but know it's a sub-optimal choice. I would never run him.
Deathrite Shaman - I ran this guy in place of my Grim Lavamancer for a while. Since then, he has gotten banned, so don't run him unless you want to get a game loss, or even worse, disqualification.
Eidolon of the Great Revel - Eidolon of the Great Revel is rapidly becoming a core part of Modern Burn. With the very low mana curve of modern, he puts out a ton of damage, even if he's bolted or path'ed immediately he's at least a shock. Don't forget either that he can swing, to increase his damage output even further. While he does hurt you, you don't care, because almost every spell in your opponent's hand shocks them now, making it much easier to count to 20. Additionally, he shuts down some decks all together, and makes cards like Snapcaster Mage much worse. I recommend running a full set of 4.
Hellspark Elemental - Hellspark Elemental is much better than Spark Elemental. Because flashback, sorry, Unearth. While blockers make Hellspark very sad indeed, the unearth means that it is a viable option for the deck. Getting 6 damage out of a single card can be very good. I don't personally run him, and recommend 0 copies, but it's not unplayable.
Keldon Marauders - For a long time Keldon Marauders was the gold standard of creatures in Burn. It will always deal 2 damage, and can deal as much as 5. Things have changed since the printing of Hellspark, Guide, and Vexing Devil however, and Keldon Marauders rarely shows up in current lists. Which isn't to say he's bad, and eventually the meta may make him viable again.
Dark Confidant - Some players really like drawing cards, and Burn having such a low curve can certainly maximize value out of Bob. However we do run few creatures, and spending two mana for a card that has to survive a full turn before we get any value out of it makes it less than optimal. Once upon a time I ran him as a 4 of, but found this deck to not be the right fit for him.
Ball Lightning - Too slow. Don't run it. Sure, it can save you in some situations, but it also makes those situations more common.
Shattering Spree - Anti-Affinity. You cast this you can pretty much wipe their board, then burn them out. Simple, but highly effective. The down side is that it's sorcery speed, but you can usually get 2-3 for 1 out of it.
Destructive Revelry - You need to splash green, but it's anti-enchantment and anti-artifact while also hitting them in the face. If you aren't running Wear // Tear, you're running Destructive Revelry.
War Priest of Thune - On the flip side, this guy blows up Leyline of Santity when he enters the battlefield, and then keeps chugging away. The downside is that I often find myself holding onto them if there aren't any opposing enchantments to target.
Hide // Seek - Another anti-enchantment sideboard card, for Leyline. It also tucks Wurmcoil Engine, but can't swing for damage in multiples.
Blood Moon - Turns off a lot of decks. We are typically 3 color, but are so heavily in red that Moon doesn't really effect us all that much.
Ensnaring Bridge - Burn empties it's hand quickly. As such Ensnaring Bridge can be good against Aggro and Tron.
Volcanic Fallout - If aggro, tribal decks like Goblins, Faeries or Elves, or Geist of Saint Traft become too common, this will be an excellent instant speed answer. It even hits them in the dome as well! It's also very good vs Delver.
Anger of the Gods - Anti-Aggro Sweeper, hits things with 3 in the butt which is highly relevant against Zoo, and exiles so it's also decent against Jund, Junk, and Pod.
Slagstorm - The other anti-Aggro Sweeper. While it doesn't exile, it does give you the option of hitting players. Honestly, Anger or Fallout are better options.
Molten Rain - Nonbasic hate, decent against Tron and tri colored decks like Jund and Jeskai Control.
Ancient Grudge - Anti-artifact card. You pretty much need a green source to use it, and I find Shattering Spree and Smash to Smithereens better. However, Grudge is an instant that can hit twice, so some prefer it.
Rain of Gore - Lifegain hoser extraordinaire. It helps you count to 20. The only question is if you want to devote sideboard slots to combat lifegain, or focus on other decks.
Leyline of Punishment - The Red Leyline. Stops lifegain cold and can't be countered if it's in your opening hand. I prefer Rain of Gore, but currently I am not playing black so I am on the Leyline plan.
Satyr Firedancer - A possible 2 mana replacement for Grim Lavamancer. All your burn, save for Bump in the Night, now also hits their creatures. Generally you do not drop him on turn 2, you drop him later when you can use his ability immediately. If he sticks, he can really help you against creature based decks like Fae, Zoo, and Merfolk.
Ash Zealot - 2/2 Haste first strike for RR, that's relevant. The other ability also hoses storm. You can run her MD if you're in a more creature heavy build, or in the board specifically against Storm. Up to you.
3. The Lands
In burn, as in any other deck, the manabase is a matter of great importance. You generally only want to see 3 lands, but you definitely want to see 3. As such I recommend 20 lands. However, the curve is low enough that you can cut back on lands and still fairly reliably hit 3, some lists even go as low as 17 lands, although I would not recommend going that low.
In terms of Mulliganing, if you have 4+ lands in your oppening hand, probably mull it. Sometimes a 1 lander can be kept on the draw, or even on the play if you're feeling lucky.
Gemstone Mine - Taps for all colors, comes in untapped, but can only be used 3 times.
Forbidden Orchard - It doesn't cause pain, and taps for all colors. However, it does give them a 1/1 dude (which you can then target with Searing Blaze and Searing Blood). This card has a big down side if you're running any creatures, so it's not recommended.
Teetering Peaks - If you run enough creatures and can be confidant about connecting, this is decent. I don't run it, but I don't run a creature heavy list either. Personally, it just seems awful.
Ghitu Encampment - I've never seen anyone run this card, but that's not to say it couldn't see play. It's probably best to not have lands that Enter the Battlefield tapped.
Keldon Megaliths - This might be the only exception to lands that Enter the Battlefield tapped. I would not run more than a 1 of, if at all.
4. Piloting Burn
The goal of Burn is to bring the opponent's life total from 20 down to 0. Burn generally doesn't care about the board state, except as a clock for how long you have to burn down the opponent. Burn doesn't care about drawing cards, although if the opponent wants to give us cards we won't complain.
Burn cares about life totals. Burn is the only deck where turn 1 Lava Spike is a correct line of play. Other aggro decks have you save your burn for after the creature beatdown when the board has stalled, in Burn you throw it at their face from the start. Sometimes, of course, they have a creature that needs to die before it can do anything, like Martyr of Sands or Glistener Elf, in which case you send your removal at them and then get back to throwing fire and lightning at the dome.
Postboard you generally want to play your SB cards ASAP if they are permanents like Torpor Orb, and save them for the right moment if you boarded in Rakdos Charm or Faerie Macabre.
The Meta is always changing, and with it, we must be adaptable as well. This is the meta from day two of Grand Prix: Madird, which took place on November 15-16, 2014. You can find that data here.
* Of the 37 Delver decks, all similar in strategy, 24 were simply blue-red. Five added green for Temur, five added white for Jeskai. Two were blue-white-green and one was blue-black-green, also known as Sultai.
** Among the 23 Rock decks, 15 were Abzan, four were Jund, and four were straight-up two-colored black-green.
I have considered the Ranger of Eos package, along with Noble Hierarch, Figure of Destiny, Scute Mob, etc... but have not found a place to fit them in. I am also tempted to use Fracturing Gust over Austere Command as tech vs Esper Steel decks.
This is something I am working on for some upcoming PTQs, so any feedback I can get would be greatly appreciated.
I dont think that it will get near $10, and I certainly hope that no commons reach that price again in the future (I am looking at you, Maze of Ith). I just happen to think that with Skirge being popular in a few different formats that it will likely be worth more than the $.75 that its currently selling for.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/tier-1-modern/650623-burn
"Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire."
—Jaya Ballard, task mage
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1. Introduction
So you want to play a Burn deck? Well this is the right place. Burn is a deck made up primarily of the most efficient burn spells available. We don't care about a long term plan, and for the most part, we don't even care what our opponent is doing either. We simply want to deal as much damage to our opponents as quickly as possible. Lightning Bolt is the epitome of a burn spell. It deals 3 damage, where ever we want, at the low cost of 1 mana. And it does it at Instant speed. Filling our deck with as many similar spells as possible will benefit us in the long (short) run.
Burn was originally known as a deck called Sligh, which was developed by Jay Schneider and taken to a second place finish by Paul Sligh at a PTQ in Atlanta. At the time, second place was good enough to earn him a spot on the Pro Tour, and the internet went ablaze with hype of this new type of deck: an aggro deck. People still often refer to this style of deck as Sligh. As time went on and more cards were printed, the deck changed into what it is in Legacy today. While we don't have all the fun toys that the Legacy counterpart has access to, we still have quite a lot of gas to work with. Click here for more information on the origins of Sligh.
While the original Sligh decks were focused on filling the board with efficient creatures and widdling opponents life totals down to 0, we are going to take an approach that is more focused on throwing spells at our opponent's face. There are a handful of creatures that we will be looking at, but primarily we want to get as much damage per mana spent as possible. Three damage for 1 mana is what we are looking for. If we curve out, and net 3 damage for each mana spent, by turn 3 we would have dealt 18 damage. Turn 1: 3 damage. Turn 2: 6 damage (9 total). Turn 3: 9 damage (18 total). I realize that we start the game with 20 life, but thanks to fetch lands, such as Verdant Catacombs and Scalding Tarn, as well as the shock lands they fetch out, such as Steam Vents and Overgrown Tomb, we will find friends in our opponent's decks which can often mean that we only need to deal 17 damage (sometimes less) to win.
Of course things don't always go to plan. Counter magic, such as Spell Pierce, and hand disruption, such as Inquisition of Kozilek can slow us down a bit. Cards that gain life for our opponents is probably our primary hindrance. But if we have a high enough thread density, and a little luck, we can usually finish off our opponents while they are still trying to establish their central strategy.
2. The Cards
The basic Burn spell is Lightning Bolt, 3 damage for 1 mana. All spells in Burn must be compared with Bolt, Incinerate and Searing Spear are surely good cards, but they usually don't make the cut in this deck, not being efficient enough with a cost of 2 mana. When a spell does cost more than 1, it should also have some additional benefit.
Let us now discuss the specific cards, although I'll leave the mana-base for a later section.
Lightning Bolt - Bread and Butter spell, if you aren't running the playset you aren't playing Burn.
Lava Spike - Lightning Bolt 5-8, run a playset or you aren't playing Burn.
Rift Bolt - Lightning Bolt 9-12, run a playset or you aren't playing Burn.
Bump in the Night - The primary reason to splash black is this card right here. It's essentially Bolt 13-16, and it's got Flashback, which can't hurt. Admittedly, it's rare that I cast this for it's Flashback cost, but it has won games for me on more than one occasion. There are other benefits to this card. First of all, it causes lose of life, and not damage (thus negating prevent x damage). It's also black, so you can cast it through Iona, Shield of Emeria.
Shard Volley - It's a Bolt with a big down side. The plus is that you are usually killing off your opponent when you cast it, and it gives you something to do with excess lands if you ever get flooded out. You can also use it to power up Treasure Cruise if you decide to run it. Drawing it in multiples is not great, but I do recommend running at least one copy, but no more than three (I run two).
Pillar of Flame - A sorcery speed shock is pretty bad, but a sorcery speed shock that exiles Kitchen Finks is occasionally useful enough to run. It's probably not the greatest card to run currently, but exiling Delver of Secrets will give them one less card to Delve with.
Forked Bolt - It's a card that isn't great, but it can help you deal with two threats at once. I've ran it in the past, but usually not more than a 1-2 of. I wouldn't recommend it right now, as it's not dealing enough damage and most creatures don't warrant us to run this card. Most of the time it's best value will be to ping Young Pyromancer and Snapcaster Mage each for 1, or hit Vault Skirge for 1 and aim the other damage at their face. Honestly, we are going to be better off with cards like Searing Blaze and Searing Blood. Since we have better options for creature removal + player damage, I would avoid running Forked Bolt.
Skullcrack - 2 mana for 3 damage is typically not what we are looking for, but since life gain can be a significant problem for us, we can sometimes net 5-6 virtual damage out of this card. This card also makes it so damage cannot be prevented, which can come up every now and again. Skullcrack has become one of the staples of Burn, and I recommend running at least 2 in the main deck, but many players prefer to run a full set of 4.
Boros Charm - This is the primary reason to splash white. You net 4 damage for 1 card, which is above average despite costing two mana. It's rare that you use any mode other than player damage, and considering the Legacy version runs Flame Rift, I think we can manage paying some life to fetch out a Sacred Foundry. I absolutely think RWx is the way to go, and recommend running 4.
Searing Blaze - Yes, you need them to have a creature, and you need to play fetchlands if you run this to get full value out of the instant speed. I run it because I expect a lot of creatures, and am running fetches for other cards already. For me, it's my main deck removal spell that also hits in the face for 3. Others choose to run other things instead. Up to you.
Searing Blood - This is basically Searing Blaze, but there are a few differences. First of all, Searing Blaze targets both the creature and the player. So if the creature dies before Searing Blood resolves (say, sacrificed to Viscera Seer), Searing Blood will fizzle, but Searing Blaze will still deal damage to the player. The flip side to this is that Searing Blood will deal damage through Leyline of Sanctity, and also does not require a fetch land to be fully powered. For this reason a lot of players will run Searing Blaze main deck with Searing Blood in the board, and then bring Blood in for games 2-3.
Lightning Helix - Helix is a card that you want to have main deck if you are expecting a lot of aggressive decks. Gaining 3 life can mean the difference between winning and losing if playing against another Burn deck. It can also give an edge against Affinity as well. Some players run 4 copies main deck. Some run 4 in the board. Some don't run them at all.
Magma Jet - This used to be the best card available for filtering through our top deck, trying to hit that last piece of Burn to finish off our opponent. Since then, we have been given Treasure Cruise to play with. While TC does not deal damage, it does dig through our top 3 cards, and usually at the cost of 1 mana. Magma Jet was a staple in the old days of Legacy Burn, but today it's outclassed.
Treasure Cruise - There isn't much to say about this card, except that drawing 3 more cards is very very good. As one of the local pros put it: Splashing blue for Treasure Cruise is almost certainly better than splashing for one of the other colors you could be running. I've got to agree. This card helps a lot when you get flooded, have to fight through some life gain, get hit with hand disruption, or straight up run out of gas. Resolving one equates to winning, if not the turn you cast it, then the next. I recommend running 2-3 copies.
Flames of the Blood Hand - Prior to Skullcrack getting printed, this was our life gain hate card of choice. Now that we have a 2 mana version, not many people run Flames of the Blood Hand anymore. If you are worried about a lot of life gain decks in your area, it might not be a bad idea to put in Skullcrack 5-8 in your 75.
Flame Javelin - If you feel like you need more 4 damage spells, this could be what you're looking for. But Flames of the Blood Hand is certainly a better choice.
Browbeat - It's a Trap! It is never damage when you want the damage, and it's never cards when you want the cards. It's never a good idea to give your opponents the choice of what your cards do. They will always pick the mode that is more favorable for them. Don't run it.
Goblin Guide - The Best creature in Burn, and played as a 4 of even in Legacy. He will usually swing in for at least 4 damage, sometimes as much as 6. He'll also give you information on what's going into your opponent's hand. If you have any in your opening hand, play them before any other spell, unless they play a must answer critter that needs to get bolted asap. Without question, run 4.
Monastery Swiftspear - Also known as Taylor Swift, this is basically the best 1 drop we have had in a long time. It often deals 4+ damage over the course of a game, and with a handful of instants it can really mess up combat math for our opponents. Even a single Bolt can turn into 5 damage with one of these guys attacking. I was skeptical at first, but it didn't take long for me to come around. I recommend running a full set of 4.
Grim Lavamancer - Grim Lavamancer is a somewhat controversial card in Legacy Burn. As a repeatable shock, he's amazing giving reach and inevitability, but he also isn't guaranteed damage. He doesn't have haste, is a terrible topdeck, and he's much better against aggro than combo. He will do some work in games that go on longer, but you probably don't want him eating up your graveyard if you're looking to cast Treasure Cruise. I recommend a 2-3 of if you aren't running TC, otherwise don't run any.
Vexing Devil - Punisher cards are almost universally bad, but this is the only exception. Most of the time Devil will be 4 damage for R, but sometimes it'll stick and eat a bolt or run into a Goyf wall or something. While I used to run him as a 4 of, I've since replaced him with Monastery Swiftspear. I wouldn't say running both is bad, but I don't. As with Browbeat, I don't like giving my opponent the choice of what my cards do. If you do run Vexing Devil, make sure you dump them onto the board as quickly as possible. They are much more effective in the early game than they are in the mid-late game.
Spark Elemental - 3 damage for R is a good deal, but I dis-recommend this card. It only has one chance to deal it's damage, and it can be blocked every easily. Some run it when they want to keep their curve as low as possible, but know it's a sub-optimal choice. I would never run him.
Deathrite Shaman - I ran this guy in place of my Grim Lavamancer for a while. Since then, he has gotten banned, so don't run him unless you want to get a game loss, or even worse, disqualification.
Eidolon of the Great Revel - Eidolon of the Great Revel is rapidly becoming a core part of Modern Burn. With the very low mana curve of modern, he puts out a ton of damage, even if he's bolted or path'ed immediately he's at least a shock. Don't forget either that he can swing, to increase his damage output even further. While he does hurt you, you don't care, because almost every spell in your opponent's hand shocks them now, making it much easier to count to 20. Additionally, he shuts down some decks all together, and makes cards like Snapcaster Mage much worse. I recommend running a full set of 4.
Hellspark Elemental - Hellspark Elemental is much better than Spark Elemental. Because flashback, sorry, Unearth. While blockers make Hellspark very sad indeed, the unearth means that it is a viable option for the deck. Getting 6 damage out of a single card can be very good. I don't personally run him, and recommend 0 copies, but it's not unplayable.
Keldon Marauders - For a long time Keldon Marauders was the gold standard of creatures in Burn. It will always deal 2 damage, and can deal as much as 5. Things have changed since the printing of Hellspark, Guide, and Vexing Devil however, and Keldon Marauders rarely shows up in current lists. Which isn't to say he's bad, and eventually the meta may make him viable again.
Dark Confidant - Some players really like drawing cards, and Burn having such a low curve can certainly maximize value out of Bob. However we do run few creatures, and spending two mana for a card that has to survive a full turn before we get any value out of it makes it less than optimal. Once upon a time I ran him as a 4 of, but found this deck to not be the right fit for him.
Ball Lightning - Too slow. Don't run it. Sure, it can save you in some situations, but it also makes those situations more common.
Shattering Spree - Anti-Affinity. You cast this you can pretty much wipe their board, then burn them out. Simple, but highly effective. The down side is that it's sorcery speed, but you can usually get 2-3 for 1 out of it.
Smash to Smithereens - Destroys an artifact and hits them for 3. It's basically like Searing Blaze but for artifacts. Good against Affinity, Spellskite or opposing Dragon's Claw.
Stony Silence - Hoses Affinity, as well as some other random decks like U/W Tron and Eggs.
Wear // Tear - This card is useful in pretty much every match up after game 1. Most decks are bringing in Dragon's Claw, Spellskite or Leyline of Sanctity, and this card answers them all.
Destructive Revelry - You need to splash green, but it's anti-enchantment and anti-artifact while also hitting them in the face. If you aren't running Wear // Tear, you're running Destructive Revelry.
Torpor Orb - It stops Kitchen Finks, Obstinate Baloth, Thragtusk, Twin, most of Pod, and Soul Sisters. It is fine as a 2 of if you expect to see these cards and decks.
Grafdigger's Cage - Useful against Pod mostly, I prefer Torpor Orb.
Rakdos Charm - It slices, it dices, it cuts them in half. Every mode is relevant in the sideboard. Artifact hate can hit a Birthing Pod or Crainial Plating, you can exile storm's yard in response to Past in Flames or get rid of Iona, Shield of Emeria/Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite in response to Unburial Rites, and anti-army does work against Twin, Kiki-pod, Tokens, and Affinity. It's one of the best sideboard cards available.
Dragon's Claw - Absolutely brutal in the mirror. Also good against storm.
Ronom Unicorn/Keening Apparition/Kami of Ancient Law - Anti-enchantment bear. Mostly for Leyline of Sanctity. Multiples can swing in for damage. The benefit with these is that you can drop them and swing regardless if there is an enchantment to target.
War Priest of Thune - On the flip side, this guy blows up Leyline of Santity when he enters the battlefield, and then keeps chugging away. The downside is that I often find myself holding onto them if there aren't any opposing enchantments to target.
Hide // Seek - Another anti-enchantment sideboard card, for Leyline. It also tucks Wurmcoil Engine, but can't swing for damage in multiples.
Blood Moon - Turns off a lot of decks. We are typically 3 color, but are so heavily in red that Moon doesn't really effect us all that much.
Ensnaring Bridge - Burn empties it's hand quickly. As such Ensnaring Bridge can be good against Aggro and Tron.
Volcanic Fallout - If aggro, tribal decks like Goblins, Faeries or Elves, or Geist of Saint Traft become too common, this will be an excellent instant speed answer. It even hits them in the dome as well! It's also very good vs Delver.
Anger of the Gods - Anti-Aggro Sweeper, hits things with 3 in the butt which is highly relevant against Zoo, and exiles so it's also decent against Jund, Junk, and Pod.
Slagstorm - The other anti-Aggro Sweeper. While it doesn't exile, it does give you the option of hitting players. Honestly, Anger or Fallout are better options.
Faerie Macabre - Gravehate.
Molten Rain - Nonbasic hate, decent against Tron and tri colored decks like Jund and Jeskai Control.
Ancient Grudge - Anti-artifact card. You pretty much need a green source to use it, and I find Shattering Spree and Smash to Smithereens better. However, Grudge is an instant that can hit twice, so some prefer it.
Rain of Gore - Lifegain hoser extraordinaire. It helps you count to 20. The only question is if you want to devote sideboard slots to combat lifegain, or focus on other decks.
Leyline of Punishment - The Red Leyline. Stops lifegain cold and can't be countered if it's in your opening hand. I prefer Rain of Gore, but currently I am not playing black so I am on the Leyline plan.
Tempest of Light - For Boggle.
Aura Barbs - For Boggle, this time in Red.
Rest in Peace - Gravehate.
Mindbreak Trap - For Storm.
Satyr Firedancer - A possible 2 mana replacement for Grim Lavamancer. All your burn, save for Bump in the Night, now also hits their creatures. Generally you do not drop him on turn 2, you drop him later when you can use his ability immediately. If he sticks, he can really help you against creature based decks like Fae, Zoo, and Merfolk.
Ash Zealot - 2/2 Haste first strike for RR, that's relevant. The other ability also hoses storm. You can run her MD if you're in a more creature heavy build, or in the board specifically against Storm. Up to you.
3. The Lands
In burn, as in any other deck, the manabase is a matter of great importance. You generally only want to see 3 lands, but you definitely want to see 3. As such I recommend 20 lands. However, the curve is low enough that you can cut back on lands and still fairly reliably hit 3, some lists even go as low as 17 lands, although I would not recommend going that low.
In terms of Mulliganing, if you have 4+ lands in your oppening hand, probably mull it. Sometimes a 1 lander can be kept on the draw, or even on the play if you're feeling lucky.
Mountain - Not much to say here. Run em.
Sacred Foundry - For your fetchable W sources. Don't run a basic plains.
Blood Crypt - For your fetchable B sources. Don't run a basic swamp.
Steam Vents - For your fetchable U sources. Don't run a basic island.
Stomping Ground - For your fetchable G sources. Don't run a basic forest.
Arid Mesa/Scalding Tarn/Bloodstained Mire/Wooded Foothills
You are playing them for color fixing, Searing Blaze, and Grim Lavamancer/Treasure Cruise. Popping off 3 fetches also means that you have 3 less lands you can top deck, but that is a very minor benefit.
Blackcleave Cliffs - Everything you want out of a B/R land. Run them over Dragonskull Summit, if you have them.
Dragonskull Summit - That you can't play it untapped turn 1 makes Burn sad. Run Blackcleave Cliffs instead.
Clifftop Retreat - Sadly, for R/W that doesn't hurt you this is the best we got.
Battlefield Forge - It does the job. Comes in untapped, and taps for colors.
City of Brass/Mana Confluence - For all your color Fixing Needs.
Gemstone Mine - Taps for all colors, comes in untapped, but can only be used 3 times.
Forbidden Orchard - It doesn't cause pain, and taps for all colors. However, it does give them a 1/1 dude (which you can then target with Searing Blaze and Searing Blood). This card has a big down side if you're running any creatures, so it's not recommended.
Teetering Peaks - If you run enough creatures and can be confidant about connecting, this is decent. I don't run it, but I don't run a creature heavy list either. Personally, it just seems awful.
Ghitu Encampment - I've never seen anyone run this card, but that's not to say it couldn't see play. It's probably best to not have lands that Enter the Battlefield tapped.
Keldon Megaliths - This might be the only exception to lands that Enter the Battlefield tapped. I would not run more than a 1 of, if at all.
4. Piloting Burn
The goal of Burn is to bring the opponent's life total from 20 down to 0. Burn generally doesn't care about the board state, except as a clock for how long you have to burn down the opponent. Burn doesn't care about drawing cards, although if the opponent wants to give us cards we won't complain.
Burn cares about life totals. Burn is the only deck where turn 1 Lava Spike is a correct line of play. Other aggro decks have you save your burn for after the creature beatdown when the board has stalled, in Burn you throw it at their face from the start. Sometimes, of course, they have a creature that needs to die before it can do anything, like Martyr of Sands or Glistener Elf, in which case you send your removal at them and then get back to throwing fire and lightning at the dome.
Postboard you generally want to play your SB cards ASAP if they are permanents like Torpor Orb, and save them for the right moment if you boarded in Rakdos Charm or Faerie Macabre.
Also, some essential reading from Patrick Sullivan: http://www.starcitygames.com/article/27944_Burn-vs-Counters.html
5. Match Ups
The Meta is always changing, and with it, we must be adaptable as well. This is the meta from day two of Grand Prix: Madird, which took place on November 15-16, 2014. You can find that data here.
Key:
Deck - Number of Decks - Percent of Field
U/x/y Delver of Secrets* - 37 - 16.8%
B/G/x Rock** - 23 - 10.5%
Scapeshift - 22 - 10.0%
Affinity - 22 - 10.0%
Birthing Pod - 20 - 9.1%
Burn - 19 - 8.6%
Jeskai No-Delver - 13 - 5.9%
Splinter Twin - 11 - 5.0%
Merfolk - 9 - 4.1%
Slippery Bogles - 8 - 3.6%
Tron - 6 - 2.7%
Jeskai Ascendancy - 4 - 1.8%
G/W Hatebears - 4 - 1.8%
Martyr of Sands - 4 - 1.8%
Zoo - 3 - 1.4%
R/G Aggro - 2 - 0.9%
Through the Breach - 2 - 0.9%
Ad Nauseam - 2 - 0.9%
Others: 9
* Of the 37 Delver decks, all similar in strategy, 24 were simply blue-red. Five added green for Temur, five added white for Jeskai. Two were blue-white-green and one was blue-black-green, also known as Sultai.
** Among the 23 Rock decks, 15 were Abzan, four were Jund, and four were straight-up two-colored black-green.
6. Sample Decklists
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
Spells: 29
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
4 Boros Charm
4 Skullcrack
3 Treasure Cruise
2 Shard Volley
2 Searing Blaze
2 Lightning Helix
4 Arid Mesa
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Steam Vents
4 Mountain
3 Dragon's Claw
2 Wear // Tear
2 Volcanic Fallout
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Smash to Smithereens
2 Combust
2 Leyline of Punishment
4x Bloodbraid Elf
4x Vengevine
2x Wall of Omens
3x Gaddock Teeg
4x Qasali Pridemage
3x Great Sable Stag
4x Boggart Ram-Gang
3x Baneslayer Angel
2x Sun Titan
Other Spells: 6
4x Path to Exile
2x Lightning Bolt
4x Raging Ravine
4x Wooded Bastion
2x Fire-Lit Thicket
2x Rugged Prairie
3x Arid Mesa
3x Tectonic Edge
3x Forest
2x Mountain
2x Plains
4x Kitchen Finks
3x Volcanic Fallout
2x Gaea's Revenge
2x Lightning Bolt
2x Austere Command
1x Great Sable Stag
1x Baneslayer Angel
I have considered the Ranger of Eos package, along with Noble Hierarch, Figure of Destiny, Scute Mob, etc... but have not found a place to fit them in. I am also tempted to use Fracturing Gust over Austere Command as tech vs Esper Steel decks.
This is something I am working on for some upcoming PTQs, so any feedback I can get would be greatly appreciated.