Post by magicdownunder on Jul 13, 2013 2:20:13 GMT -5
MODERN BURN
Introduction
Burn is a simple deck, with a simple philosophy: Count to 20. Likely the first Burn deck was back in Alpha and consisted entirely of Lightning Bolts and Mountains. 4 of limit on non-basics means that kind of thing is no longer possible, but the idea remains. In fact, counting to 20 is more important to this deck than Card Advantage. There are no card draw spells that also deal enough damage to be worth running in Burn, as a result Burn only draws on it's draw step, which is very important to remember.
Burn in Modern began as a port of the Mono-Red Legacy Burn deck, although it lost precious cards such as Chain Lightning, Fireblast, and Price of Progress. Modern Burn however has the advantage over Legacy Burn in that the opponent will often bolt themselves Fetching a Shockland at least once in the game, lowering how many spells we need to cast to win. Additionally, the lack of Stifle, Wasteland, and Price means that Burn can easily splash other colors.
It should be noted, that despite the number of creatures that are used, Burn is not an Aggro deck in the traditional sense, although some consider it to be the first aggro deck. Burn plays the most efficient damage spells we can find and if some of those spells happen to be creatures our interaction with the battlefield nonetheless remains minimal.
(source: Aranfan from mtgs)
Why play burn?
Burn is the perfect example of what happens when speed meets consistency. In fact, burn is arguably the most consistent deck in the format due to the fact that almost every spell you cast will have the same 3 damage for 1 mana effect. Your typical burn deck will contain at least 16 "bolts". "Bolt" spells are variations of, and are named after the iconic card Lightning Bolt. Each bolt spell is a red instant or sorcery spell costing 1 mana that will deal 3 damage in some way shape or form. Every other non-bolt spell in your deck should be the next closest thing to a bolt for the mana you are paying for it. This consistency makes it difficult for tempo decks to repel our onslaught as there is no "key" spell for them to counter or discard and with each draw, only more will be coming at them. While the deck maintains superior consistency, it also maintains a clock that aggro decks dream of achieving. Burn can win as early as turn 3 in a goldfish, which makes this deck one of the best in the format at punishing mulligans and slow hands. Regarding mulligans, the deck also mulligans very well as it typically only has to do so when land drops are not optimal. Again, the spells in the deck are all very similar upon resolution so as long as a burn player has 2-3 lands to start with, they should be able to go to work on their opponent very quickly.
The Life Factor - Modern is all about value, and most of the time the best value cards require a life payment. This plays to our advantage as cards like Thoughtseize, Dark Confidant, The fetchlands, phyrexian mana, etc all help us as much as our opponent (and sometimes more).
Budget - Another reason to play burn is that the deck is very budget friendly. Whether you are new to the format and do not have the funds to purchase expensive staples yet, or you are an experienced pro looking to add another deck to your arsenal, competitive burn decks can be built for as low as $100-200. Fully optimized lists (typically fetchland builds) may run closer to $300-500 depending on the deck.
(source: michaelangelo from mtgs)
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Please note this is NOT a complete Primer, the thread is a source for players to contribute and improve on the existing burn decks.
I've played Modern burn for 4 months now and have won myself 4 slots in the MOCS with it so I'll share my Sb'ing plan with you lot and my list progress.
For the time being here is my current list which is almost a carbon copy of the top 8 GP list:
Lands 20
4 Arid Mesa
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
1 Marsh Flats
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Mountain
1 Stomping Ground
Creatures 13
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Vexing Devil
Spells 27
4 Boros Charm
4 Bump in the Night
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Pillar of Flame
4 Rift Bolt
2 Searing Blaze
1 Thunderous Wrath
3 Skullcrack
Sideboard 15
1 Flamebreak
2 Hide & Seek
3 Rakdos Charm
2 Searing Blaze
1 Skullcrack
1 Spellskite
2 Torpor Orb
2 Volcanic Fallout
1 Wear & Tear
and here is my most recent 4-0 (Daily Event 5686230):
G1: Budget Affinity (not really worth watching)
SB PLAN
+3 Rakdos Charm
+2 Hide & Seek
+2 Searing Blaze
+2 Volcanic Fallout
+1 Wear & Tear
+1 Flamebreak
-4 Goblin Guide
-4 Bump in the Night
-2 Boros Charm
-1 Thunderous Wrath
G2: RG Tron
SB PLAN
+1 Skullcrack
+2 Rakdos Charm
-2 Searing Blaze
-1 Pillar of Flame
G3: Affinity
SB PLAN
+3 Rakdos Charm
+2 Hide & Seek
+2 Searing Blaze
+2 Volcanic Fallout
+1 Wear & Tear
+1 Flamebreak
-4 Goblin Guide
-4 Bump in the Night
-2 Boros Charm
-1 Thunderous Wrath
G4: Mono U Fae
SB PLAN
-3 Skullcrack
-2 Searing Blaze
-1 Pillar of Flame
+1 Flamebreak
+2 Volcanic Fallout
+2 Torpor Orb
I have many more videos on my youtube channel
Introduction
Burn is a simple deck, with a simple philosophy: Count to 20. Likely the first Burn deck was back in Alpha and consisted entirely of Lightning Bolts and Mountains. 4 of limit on non-basics means that kind of thing is no longer possible, but the idea remains. In fact, counting to 20 is more important to this deck than Card Advantage. There are no card draw spells that also deal enough damage to be worth running in Burn, as a result Burn only draws on it's draw step, which is very important to remember.
Burn in Modern began as a port of the Mono-Red Legacy Burn deck, although it lost precious cards such as Chain Lightning, Fireblast, and Price of Progress. Modern Burn however has the advantage over Legacy Burn in that the opponent will often bolt themselves Fetching a Shockland at least once in the game, lowering how many spells we need to cast to win. Additionally, the lack of Stifle, Wasteland, and Price means that Burn can easily splash other colors.
It should be noted, that despite the number of creatures that are used, Burn is not an Aggro deck in the traditional sense, although some consider it to be the first aggro deck. Burn plays the most efficient damage spells we can find and if some of those spells happen to be creatures our interaction with the battlefield nonetheless remains minimal.
(source: Aranfan from mtgs)
Why play burn?
Burn is the perfect example of what happens when speed meets consistency. In fact, burn is arguably the most consistent deck in the format due to the fact that almost every spell you cast will have the same 3 damage for 1 mana effect. Your typical burn deck will contain at least 16 "bolts". "Bolt" spells are variations of, and are named after the iconic card Lightning Bolt. Each bolt spell is a red instant or sorcery spell costing 1 mana that will deal 3 damage in some way shape or form. Every other non-bolt spell in your deck should be the next closest thing to a bolt for the mana you are paying for it. This consistency makes it difficult for tempo decks to repel our onslaught as there is no "key" spell for them to counter or discard and with each draw, only more will be coming at them. While the deck maintains superior consistency, it also maintains a clock that aggro decks dream of achieving. Burn can win as early as turn 3 in a goldfish, which makes this deck one of the best in the format at punishing mulligans and slow hands. Regarding mulligans, the deck also mulligans very well as it typically only has to do so when land drops are not optimal. Again, the spells in the deck are all very similar upon resolution so as long as a burn player has 2-3 lands to start with, they should be able to go to work on their opponent very quickly.
The Life Factor - Modern is all about value, and most of the time the best value cards require a life payment. This plays to our advantage as cards like Thoughtseize, Dark Confidant, The fetchlands, phyrexian mana, etc all help us as much as our opponent (and sometimes more).
Budget - Another reason to play burn is that the deck is very budget friendly. Whether you are new to the format and do not have the funds to purchase expensive staples yet, or you are an experienced pro looking to add another deck to your arsenal, competitive burn decks can be built for as low as $100-200. Fully optimized lists (typically fetchland builds) may run closer to $300-500 depending on the deck.
(source: michaelangelo from mtgs)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please note this is NOT a complete Primer, the thread is a source for players to contribute and improve on the existing burn decks.
I've played Modern burn for 4 months now and have won myself 4 slots in the MOCS with it so I'll share my Sb'ing plan with you lot and my list progress.
For the time being here is my current list which is almost a carbon copy of the top 8 GP list:
Lands 20
4 Arid Mesa
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
1 Marsh Flats
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Mountain
1 Stomping Ground
Creatures 13
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Goblin Guide
2 Grim Lavamancer
4 Vexing Devil
Spells 27
4 Boros Charm
4 Bump in the Night
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Pillar of Flame
4 Rift Bolt
2 Searing Blaze
1 Thunderous Wrath
3 Skullcrack
Sideboard 15
1 Flamebreak
2 Hide & Seek
3 Rakdos Charm
2 Searing Blaze
1 Skullcrack
1 Spellskite
2 Torpor Orb
2 Volcanic Fallout
1 Wear & Tear
and here is my most recent 4-0 (Daily Event 5686230):
G1: Budget Affinity (not really worth watching)
SB PLAN
+3 Rakdos Charm
+2 Hide & Seek
+2 Searing Blaze
+2 Volcanic Fallout
+1 Wear & Tear
+1 Flamebreak
-4 Goblin Guide
-4 Bump in the Night
-2 Boros Charm
-1 Thunderous Wrath
G2: RG Tron
SB PLAN
+1 Skullcrack
+2 Rakdos Charm
-2 Searing Blaze
-1 Pillar of Flame
G3: Affinity
SB PLAN
+3 Rakdos Charm
+2 Hide & Seek
+2 Searing Blaze
+2 Volcanic Fallout
+1 Wear & Tear
+1 Flamebreak
-4 Goblin Guide
-4 Bump in the Night
-2 Boros Charm
-1 Thunderous Wrath
G4: Mono U Fae
SB PLAN
-3 Skullcrack
-2 Searing Blaze
-1 Pillar of Flame
+1 Flamebreak
+2 Volcanic Fallout
+2 Torpor Orb
I have many more videos on my youtube channel