[Idea] Burn

[RDW]

Hey, Guys. So, I've been messing around with a Boros burn list lately and it's been performing (albeit surprisingly) well. Here's the current deck I've been rocking (for what it's worth):

[deck]Creatures
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Vexing Devil
4 Ash Zealot
4 Rakdos Shred-freak
4 Spark Trooper

Spells
4 Searing Spear
4 Flames of the Firebrand
4 Skullcrack
3 Thunderbolt
3 Boros Charm

Lands
2 Plains
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Sacred Foundry
10 Mountains[/deck]

I went to an IQ three weekends ago with the first rendition of the list and went 2-0 (Esper control), 2-0 (American control), 2-0 (Naya Blitz), 1-2 (Naya Midrange), 1-2 (American Control), 1-2 (Aristocrats: Act II, my win and in), and although the 3-3 finish isn't good, the fact that my rough draft deck barely missed top eight was inspiring. Since then, I've modified the deck to its current form and took it to two 5-0 finishes at a competitive
FNM (9-1 and 9-1 in games each time), facing all top-tier decks. The idea is to net 4-6 damage out of the creatures and finish the opponent off with burn. I completely understand why Vexing Devil, Spark Trooper, and Skullcrack are bad, but they seem to work well together under this framework. All of my finishes are very close, often having to make unorthodox plays just to stay in the game. It almost always feels like the reins are slipping, and it makes for exciting Magic. For example,

---

at the IQ I faced Naya Blitz and he won the dice roll. He started with some ridiculous opening (Experiment One -> BTE+Lightning Mauler -> BTE+Lightning Mauler, or something equivalently frightening). After taking 6-10 damage, I was able to establish a defense with a 1/1 Rakdos Cackler and Ash Zealot. He was waiting for removal or a Ghor-Clan Rampager, while I was sitting on 12-15 damage in my hand. I end up getting a 2- or 3-for-1 with a Flames of the Firebrand
and secure the lead by burning him EOT and responding to his GCR on someone blocked by my Ash Zealot. I think I ended the game with 2 life, and that's very much how the aggressive matches pan out.

The maindeck is suited to have spells that are (almost) equally good in all match-ups, and they can easily be substituted for more-appropriate answers in the sideboard. Flames of the Firebrand is amazing against the hyperaggressive decks and at least domes control players for three, whereas the more orthodox Boros Reckoner owns the aggro match-up, but ends up on top of your deck the whole game against control. Similarly, Spark Trooper is a gain 6 life spell against aggro (and can randomly win games/trade boards while doing so), or a double burn spell against a tapped-out control player (Supreme Verdict 2-for-1 most often).

I'd like to see if anyone has interest in this kind of deck and would help me fine-tune it for more-important-than-FNM events coming up. I understand that
creatures are where it's at and some guy placed in a competitive event with a 39 creature-21 land deck (no sideboard) to flaunt this, but I think that strategic implementation of spells (especially weak red ones) is still somewhat viable. I'm currently in the think-tank about going into black for curve-fillers (i.e., Deathrite Shaman and Bump in the Night at 1 CMC to fill in turns one and three). If I were to go tri-color, here'd be my take.

[deck]Creatures
2 Deathrite Shaman
4 Vexing Devil
4 Spike Jester
4 Spark Trooper

Spells
4 Bump in the Night
4 Searing Spear
4 Thunderbolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
4 Flames of the Firebrand

Lands (15 black, 14 white, 15 red)
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Sacred Foundry
3 Clifftop Retreat
4 Godless Shrine
3 Isolated Chapel[/deck]

[Alex]

I get the feeling like quite a few of your claims might be false, especially considering how much testing this particular group of people has with red based aggro and burn. We've put in the tests with LOTS of different combinations of cards, and there's just a lot here that we've already seen as being pretty questionable. I highly doubt that you were playing against tier 1 decks, because a lot of those decks play Thragtusk and Restoration Angels, which your deck literally can't beat.

Rather than write you a long, drawn-out explaination as to why the cards in the deck aren't optimal, I'd instead suggest that you take a gander at [url=viewtopic.php?f=80&t=602:2aa4hsr8]Zemanjaski's primer.[/url:2aa4hsr8] It's a long read, but any player who is serious about stepping up their red based approach should at least read it once.

[Alex]

To be fair, that's nicer than the typical "VEXING DEVIL SO BAD GTFO NOOBLORD" that you'd get on MTGS.

[RDW]

I'm a Zemanjaski groupie; I've read pretty much every post by him, Redthirst, et al. on MTGS. I know that a pair of FNM 5-0's and a 9th place (of 33) IQ aren't enough to justify a good deck, but it's done well in testing. My FNM rounds were: Naya Blitz, Esper Control, Humanimator, 4-color Midrange, American Control and then Jund,, BUG Delver, Naya Miracles (Naya+3 Entreat the Angels), Jund Aggro, Esper Control splash R for Nicol Bolas and Pillar or something... Pretty competitive folks too.

[zemanjaski]

It is closer than you might think to competitive; its only REALLY bad matchups are Naya Blitz game 1 and any deck with recursive lifegain ~ even then you can get a multiple Skull Crack draw and get them anyway. I played a Burn deck to 1st in a Nationals Qualifier last year ~ but that format didn't have Thragtusk (it did however have UW Delver with recursive Timely Reinforcements...); so the concept is solid. The huge issue is the lack of Shrine of Burning Rage ~ that card was pretty much a free-win in 90% of matches last season, and the current incarnation of the deck just does not have any card that gives you that sort of effect; it means that you end up working way harder for your wins every game than you ideally want to. No Grim Lavamancer is also a huge problem.

Almost certainly though, RB is better than RW. The sb cards are just much more relevant.

[RDW]

Thanks for the reply, Zemanjaski. I know that white offers almost nothing to the side, but Boros Charm and Spark Trooper (eew!) have been great main board cards in testing. If I were to go black solely, what would the deck look like from your perspective? Sticking with the neuter creature removal paradigm? Also, what techy SB do you have in mind? Slaughter Games, Duress?

BTW Naya blitz was easily the most fearful match-up but it's been fairly straight-forward and favorable in testing. 2 or 3 for ones and free shocks are great...

[Sasky]

I really dislike Spark Trooper in the list. Seems like a best-case-scenario kind of card. I would appreciate some in the sideboard, but not as mainboard material. Ash Zealot might simply be better.

[RDW]

I really dislike Spark Trooper in the list. Seems like a best-case-scenario kind of card. I would appreciate some in the sideboard, but not as mainboard material. Ash Zealot might simply be better.

The reason he's MB is because he's at least decent in every match-up, and I still don't like him, but he fills the curve nicely, gives me more reason to run 22 lands, etc... Thanks for the input. If you do any testing without him, let me know because I KNOW he's a trap--lol.

[Alex]

I guess I just can't imagine anything like this working without Shrine of Burning Rage, especially with Thragtusk and Sphinx's Revelation being such a large part of the format.

The potential for 1 card to put the game out of reach for you just doesn't feel worth it.

[RDW]

I guess I just can't imagine anything like this working without Shrine of Burning Rage, especially with Thragtusk and Sphinx's Revelation being such a large part of the format.

The potential for 1 card to put the game out of reach for you just doesn't feel worth it.

I can definitely appreciate that. Luckily, the deck is usually fine if Skullcrack's around for the first life gain (because it'll win the next turn). Is Curse of Pierced Heart a quasi-SoBR?

[zemanjaski]

Curse of Pierced Heart is not comparable to Shrine. I don't even know how to address the question honestly.

[redthirst]

I'm a Zemanjaski groupie; I've read pretty much every post by him, Redthirst, et al. on MTGS.

You know, it never gets old seeing my name up there with zem's - especially considering how little I actually contribute past random suggestions and an abrasive attitude...

Well, time to continue the formula that's always worked for me - first, the random suggestion: -4 Vexing Devil (because I hate the bastard in any deck), -4 Spark Trooper; +2 Shaman, +2 Land, +4 Thundermaw Hellkite. Reasoning: Deatrite Shaman is basically Grim Lavamancer in this deck so I like the full 4 and Thundermaw will give you the ability to reliably fight through life gain + will give you a finisher against Aggro that they can hardly interact with when you have to go into "burn
your mans" mode.

Finally, the abrasive attitude: what the fuck is Thor's issue? 2 posts total and both devoted to being a dick to Alex?

[RDW]

Curse of Pierced Heart is not comparable to Shrine. I don't even know how to address the question honestly.

I disagree. I think it is very much like Shrine of Burning Rage; I understand that it's nowhere near as fast and has zero explosive capabilities, but I think that it might work out fine. This deck can often get stuck on three mana and we don't wanna' run out a Spike Jester for three damage just to get Thragtusk'd the next turn, so why not let the curse chip away at their life total while letting us keep Skullcrack open? It trades the red spell triggers from SoBR for the burn tax in the end and--in this format--has almost no hate against it. I don't think it's a good card, nor is it
remotely as good as Shrine of Burning Rage, but it does fill a similar role and is the best we've got as far as inevitability is concerned. If I'm to keep playing burn, then I need to try out a lot of things, and I'm not as familiar with the deck as you. From what I can tell, the deck's lost Shrine of Burning Rage, Incinerate, and Grim Lavamancer since you played and has only gained Skullcrack, Deathrite Shaman, and Thragtusk opposition. I see how it's weaker than the one that you placed with, but aren't there some analogs that can keep the deck afloat? In my limited testing--cited above--I've had very clean match-ups against everyone. The lack of creatures effectively mulligans for your opponent (at least in game one) and the 7/10 quality of every card in every match-up is recognizable. I'm not sure how to develop the deck, but I think it's going in the right direction.

You know, it never gets old seeing my name up there with
zem's - especially considering how little I actually contribute past random suggestions and an abrasive attitude...

Well, time to continue the formula that's always worked for me - first, the random suggestion: -4 Vexing Devil (because I hate the bastard in any deck), -4 Spark Trooper; +2 Shaman, +2 Land, +4 Thundermaw Hellkite. Reasoning: Deatrite Shaman is basically Grim Lavamancer in this deck so I like the full 4 and Thundermaw will give you the ability to reliably fight through life gain + will give you a finisher against Aggro that they can hardly interact with when you have to go into "burn your mans" mode.

Finally, the abrasive attitude: what the fuck is Thor's issue? 2 posts total and both devoted to being a dick to Alex?

You may not contribute thousands of words at a time, but the nit-picking is appreciated and really helps a lot of people, despite your 'tude. I like your suggestions and may take them into consideration. I really wish we had one[
/b] more burn spell that could pick off dudes, because then this deck would really be in business (although Naya Blitz is an easy match-up, apparently). I think Thundermaw Hellkite is an appropriate answer to life-gain, but honestly I haven't experienced a real problem with it yet. I imagine--keeping the mainboard as it is--that a Thundermaw Hellkite package is exactly what this deck needs out of the board to take down dedicated life-gain lists (i.e., Bant Control and Naya Midrange [there's probably nothing this deck can do about MB Centaur Healer, Trostani, Rhox Faithmender noobs]).

[Alex]

Curse is the exact opposite of what you want the deck to be doing. The card specializes in "going long," and the longer the game goes on for a burn deck, the less likely you are to win. Shrine of Burning Rage was so good because it made every spell you cast into an "extra" point of damage, which was just the right amount of required reach for the deck to win. It was also very difficult for decks to deal with because if they played artifact destruction you just lobbed it at them in response.

If I had to guess, Thor is probably one of the MTGS mods that I pissed off. Irrelevant, regardless. I can just zap off-topic trolling.

[RDW]

Curse is the exact opposite of what you want the deck to be doing. The card specializes in "going long," and the longer the game goes on for a burn deck, the less likely you are to win. Shrine of Burning Rage was so good because it made every spell you cast into an "extra" point of damage, which was just the right amount of required reach for the deck to win. It was also very difficult for decks to deal with because if they played artifact destruction you just lobbed it at them in response.

If I had to guess, Thor is probably one of the MTGS mods that I pissed off. Irrelevant, regardless. I can just zap off-topic trolling.

The thing is, will CoPH do more than three damage in the course of a game? Likely. It doesn't drag the
game on, necessarily. It's not like I'm investing all of my other spells in killing their dudes and then grinding them out with a 20-turn clock. It's just a consideration for open spots if they do arise because it is a mini-SoBR. It still gets the upkeep effect, but gains some resilience for a reduction in strength (I've been Ancient Grudge'd while tapped out too many times to count). I haven't tried it in any of the decks thus far, but if the thing holding back the deck is a lack of SoBR effect, then I'm pretty sure there's a contender worth trying. I concede that the extra damage per spell was truly advantageous and puts SoBR tiers above CoPH, but the underlying premises are the same: inevitability and card advantage. This curse will kill the opponent if they do not scramble to kill you or put their life total out of reach. I think it may be SB-worthy for grindier match-ups where, say, Flames of the Firebrand is weak. No clue if it can get there, but I guess I'll see. As mentioned, this
merely an idea with limited success. I'll report FNM tonight (likely with the Dega list, but perhaps with Boros or Rakdos). If anyone else tries this thing out, please report your findings; I really want to exemplify the strength of red spells and emphasize that tight play can often be the determining factor in Magic.

[Valdarith]

Anything to report?

This is what I'd go with:

[deck]Creatures (11)
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Spike Jester
4 Ash Zealot

Spells (27)
2 Devil's Play
4 Bump in the Night
4 Searing Spear
4 Thunderbolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
3 Flames of the Firebrand
2 Warleader's Helix

Lands (22)
4 Blood Crypt
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Godless Shrine
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Mountain[/deck]

I have no idea what to do about the sideboard because I have no experience with burn decks.

[Valdarith]

Also, you may want some number of Sign in Blood and/or [card]Toil / Trouble[/card] in the deck. Toil / Trouble seems like big game against Sphinx's Revalation.dec and a strong finisher when fused.

[RDW]

Anything to report?

This is what I'd go with:

[deck]Creatures (11)
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Spike Jester
4 Ash Zealot

Spells (27)
2 Devil's Play
4 Bump in the Night
4 Searing Spear
4 Thunderbolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
3 Flames of the Firebrand
2 Warleader's Helix

Lands (22)
4 Blood Crypt
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Godless Shrine
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Mountain[/deck]

I have no idea what to do about the sideboard because I have no experience with burn decks.

I ran it to a 3-1 finish (apparently another LGS had some good advertisements for like draft -> FNM and stole all of our business, so 12 people and no fifth round ). I
stuck with RW swapping 2 Rakdos Shredfreak for the fourth Thunderbolt and Boros Charm. I beat Aristocrats: Act II 2-1, American Control 2-0, and Naya Blitz 2-1. I lost to Bant Elves (0-2). The reason I lost was because he had infinite 2/2s and 3/3s and I drew (of course) a lot of creatures in my creature-light deck, haha. In any case, still impressed with the deck, but I may roll with Dos Rakis for a week, then go back to RW(B) with only Vexing Devil as a creature. I think all spells may do better because I never risk have outclassed creatures.

[Valdarith]

I ran it to a 3-1 finish (apparently another LGS had some good advertisements for like draft -> FNM and stole all of our business, so 12 people and no fifth round ). I stuck with RW swapping 2 Rakdos Shredfreak for the fourth Thunderbolt and Boros Charm. I beat Aristocrats: Act II 2-1, American Control 2-0, and Naya Blitz 2-1. I lost to Bant Elves (0-2). The reason I lost was because he had infinite 2/2s and 3/3s and I drew (of course) a lot of creatures in my creature-light deck, haha. In any case, still impressed with the deck, but I may roll with Dos Rakis for a week, then go back to RW(B) with only Vexing Devil as a creature. I think all spells may
do better because I never risk have outclassed creatures.

If I were to run any one creature in the deck it'd be Deathrite Shaman. He's two damage a turn and a good mana sink for you.

I had similar concerns about the creatures. Ash Zealot may be a sideboard card against UWR Flash to combat Think Twice and Snapcaster Mage, but that might defeat the purpose if we're playing Deathrite Shaman. Spike Jester is dead as a late-game topdeck.

It'd be nice if we could splash green to turn on graveyard hate for Deathrite Shaman. Too bad we don't have access to fetchlands.

Perhaps something like this?

[deck]Creatures (3)
3 Deathrite Shaman

Spells (35)
2 Devil's Play
4 Bump in the Night
4 Searing Spear
4 Thunderbolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
2 Sign in Blood
4 Flames of the Firebrand
4 Toil / Trouble
3 Warleader's Helix

Lands (22)
4 Blood Crypt
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Godless Shrine
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
4 Traitorous
Blood
4 Wear / Tear
3 Rakdos Charm
4 Cremate[/deck]

[RDW]

I ran it to a 3-1 finish (apparently another LGS had some good advertisements for like draft -> FNM and stole all of our business, so 12 people and no fifth round ). I stuck with RW swapping 2 Rakdos Shredfreak for the fourth Thunderbolt and Boros Charm. I beat Aristocrats: Act II 2-1, American Control 2-0, and Naya Blitz 2-1. I lost to Bant Elves (0-2). The reason I lost was because he had infinite 2/2s and 3/3s and I drew (of course) a lot of creatures in my creature-light deck, haha. In any case, still impressed with
the deck, but I may roll with Dos Rakis for a week, then go back to RW(B) with only Vexing Devil as a creature. I think all spells may do better because I never risk have outclassed creatures.

If I were to run any one creature in the deck it'd be Deathrite Shaman. He's two damage a turn and a good mana sink for you.

I had similar concerns about the creatures. Ash Zealot may be a sideboard card against UWR Flash to combat Think Twice and Snapcaster Mage, but that might defeat the purpose if we're playing Deathrite Shaman. Spike Jester is dead as a late-game topdeck.

It'd be nice if we could splash green to turn on graveyard hate for Deathrite Shaman. Too bad we don't have access to fetchlands.

Perhaps something like this?

[deck]Creatures (3)
3 Deathrite Shaman

Spells (35)
2 Devil's Play
4 Bump in the Night
4 Searing Spear
4 Thunderbolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
2 Sign in Blood
4 Flames of the Firebrand
4 Toil / Trouble
3 Warleader'
s Helix

Lands (22)
4 Blood Crypt
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Godless Shrine
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Isolated Chapel
4 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
4 Traitorous Blood
4 Wear / Tear
3 Rakdos Charm
4 Cremate[/deck]

I really like where this seems to be going. I don't really think Devil's Play is that good with 22 lands, but I haven't been able to play with it at all either. I'll let you know once I move into Dega with my burn list, but it seems really cool! Curse of Pierced Heart is also under consideration, as well as Pillars of Flame to stem the bleeding against aggro... Hmmm.

[PrimalBurn]

Full out burn deck! Now you really have my attention This deck looks sweet and it would be awesome if we could tune it into a viable concept. Toil/Trouble is a card I've had my eyes on so it will be interesting to see if it plays out the way I hope it will

[Valdarith]

I've been thinking about this a little more. Let's optimize the full-out burn list but also offer a 20/20/20 build.

[deck]Creatures (3)
3 Deathrite Shaman

Spells (36)
4 Pillar of Flame
4 Bump in the Night
4 Searing Spear
4 Thunderbolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
4 Flames of the Firebrand
3 Annihilating Fire
3 Toil / Trouble
2 Warleader's Helix

Lands (21)
4 Blood Crypt
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Godless Shrine
4 Dragonskull Summit
1 Isolated Chapel
4 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
4 Traitorous Blood
2 Wear / Tear
4 Rakdos Charm
5 Flex Slots[/deck]

Added a full suite of Pillar for a turn one red play. Knocked Toil / Trouble down to three because I don't want more than one in my opening hand. Might even go down to two and move one to the side to bring in vs control. Added Annihilating Fire for more creature-targeting burn. Went down to two Warleader's Helix and dropped a land to reflect the lower curve. Not
sure what to do with the five slots in the sideboard. We could go transformational and run a bunch of creatures. That would mean taking out Wear / Tear and 1-2 Rakdos Charm and maybe running some number of creatures in the mainboard.

Then there's the 20/20/20 deck I was talking about.

[deck]Creatures (20)
2 Deathrite Shaman
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Spike Jester
4 Ash Zealot
3 Rakdos Shred-Freak
3 Fervent Cathar

Spells (20)
4 Bump in the Night
4 Pillar of Flame
1 Dynacharge
4 Searing Spear
4 Skullcrack
3 Brimstone Volley

Lands (20)
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
6 Swamp
6 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
4 Traitorous Blood
3 Frostburn Weird
4 Mizzium Mortars
1 Dynacharge
3 Flames of the Firebrand
[/deck]

20 lands may be too many.

[hamfactorial]

I have a big red mage boner for the Deathrite Shaman burn list. I tried to make Jund burn work after RTR but quickly gave up.

[Valdarith]

I have a big red mage boner for the Deathrite Shaman burn list. I tried to make Jund burn work after RTR but quickly gave up.

I like it too, but I'm leaning more toward the Rakdos 20/20/20 build. I just feel like the all burn list might be a little too inconsistent with the number of turn four wins it can produce and is also weaker to Naya Blitz and Gruul Sligh than the Rakdos build.

Here's my latest edition of the Rakdos deck.

[deck]Creatures (20)
2 Deathrite Shaman
4 Rakdos Cackler
3 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Spike Jester
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
3 Fervent Cathar

Spells (20)
4 Bump in the Night
4 Pillar of Flame
1 Dynacharge
4 Searing Spear
4 Skullcrack
3 Brimstone Volley

Lands (20)
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
7
Swamp
5 Mountain
[/deck]

Took out the Ash Zealots because I cannot consistently produce RR on turns two or three. I put in Diregraf Ghoul as a three-of instead and adjusted my Swamp count accordingly.

Still no clue what to do about the sideboard. I know I'm putting in 4 Traitorous Blood, but what else? I feel like I should be beating Reanimator before it goes off, which reduces the need for Rakdos Charm. I could always play more of a control role against aggro decks and go with Victim of Night and Flames of the Firebrand. Maybe some number of Human Frailty as well for a better game against Naya Blitz and Gruul Sligh on the draw.

Also, WTF with the code on this site? The deck tags consistently do crazy stuff for me.

[RDW]

Valdarith and other interested parties, I took 3-color "all burn" to TNM and went 4-1 into top eight and lost because of a technicality. Here's the beaut':

[deck]Creatures
4 Vexing Devil
3 Deathrite Shaman

Spells
4 Bump in the Night
3 Pillar of Flame
4 Searing Spear
4 Thunderbolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
4 Flames of the Firebrand
4 Warleader's Helix

Lands
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Godless Shrine
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
1 Mountain
1 Swamp

Sideboard
2 Reckless Waif
2 Slaughter Games
1 Underworld Connections
2 Assemble the Legion
4 Boros Reckoner
1 Blasphemous Act
2 Rakdos Charm
1 Pillar of Flame[/deck]

Round 1 against Boros Aggro (2-1)

Game 1: He had the play and ran me over. I erred in shocking myself and Flames of the Firebranding a Boros Elite and 2/2 Champion of the Parish instead of not shocking myself and Searing
Spearing a 3/3 Champion of the Parish. I felt committed to the 2-for-1 because it seems like my only way to beat aggro, but he readily made the first champion a 4/4 and then proceeded to win the game. Retrospectively, I definitely should have Searing Speared the 3/3 champion and saved 2 life. I'd still have the 2-for-1 next turn unless he played another creature, in which case I'd be able to flames the big champion and then just take a few damage a turn from his normal humans.

Sideboard plan: -4 Thunderbolt, -2 Skullcrack; +4 Boros Reckoner, +1 Blasphemous Act, +1 Pillar of Flame

Game 2: I got to burn all of dudes and eventually win the game with Bump in the Night and Deathrite Shaman activations (Bump in the Night is a third of their life in these match-ups where we play control; so much value).

Game 3: I killed a few guys, resolved a Boros Reckoner, he 2-for-1'd himself with a Searing Spear on the Boros Reckoner and then continued to bash face. I found another Boros Reckoner on top of my
deck, and ground him out the rest of the game.

Round 2 against Junk Tokens (2-1)

Game 1: I got to burn him out.

Sideboard plan: -3 Pillar of Flame, -4 Flames of the Firebrand; +4 Boros Reckoner, +1 Blasphemous Act, +2 Rakdos Charm

Game 2: I didn't draw any sideboard cards and he resolved: Call of the Conclave -> Lingering Souls -> Intangible Virtue + Lingering Souls -> Vault of the Archangel; he's my buddy, so I was "super salty," but wasn't really upset.

Sideboard plan: -2 Rakdos Charm; +2 Reckless Waif (he doesn't run any 1-drops)

Game 3: Reckless Waif did 6 damage and ate a Midnight Haunting; then I burned him out.

Round 3 against Grixis Control (2-0)

This is a bye; even Sphinx's Revelation control decks are byes, so seeing Steam Vents into Dragonskull Summit made my day.

Game 1: Nice creature removal spells, Bro. Just burned him out. He domed me for 9 from a Blasphemous Act pitched to that draw-3,
discard-1 burn spell, but that was about it.

Sideboard plan: -1 Pillar of Flame, -4 Flames of the Firebrand; +2 Assemble the Legions, +2 Reckless Waif, +1 Underworld Connections (Slaughter Games is also in the plan for normal control decks [for the other 2 pillars], but wouldn't have known what to name against Grixis, so kept the pillars in the fill the curves)

Game 2: Burn-burn. Resolve Underworld Connections and win.

Round 4 against Jund Midrange (ID but 2-0)

Game 1: He runs 14 creature-removal spells and got destroyed.

Sideboard plan: -3 Pillar of Flame, -4 Flames of the Firebrand; +1 Underworld Connections, +2 Assemble the Legion, +3 Boros Reckoner, +1 Blasphemous Act

Game 2: He resolves a turn 3 Liliana of the Veil (could be good against me); I resolve a turn 3 Underworld Connections (Liliana doesn't look as good). I just continue to burn him out and he ultimates Liliana leaving me 3 lands and owning my Underworld Connections. I burn him EOT and draw the
fourth land to dome him for 7.

Round 5 against Bant Tempo (ID but 1-2)

Game 1: He plays Delver of Secrets (which I kill), then Quirion Dryad (which I kill), then Geist of Saint Traft (which I wish I could kill). I lose the race because he holds up a counterspell each turn and I just discard cards.

Sideboard plan: -4 Flames of the Firebrand; +1 Underworld Connections, +2 Assemble the Legion, +1 Pillar of Flame (the idea here is to kill his threats then grind him out)

Game 2: I play Deathrite Shaman. He plays Delver of Secrets (which I kill), then get stuck on 2 lands for a few turns while I get him down to 10 life. He resolves a Geist of Saint Traft, but then I EOT Boros Charm then mainphase Warleader's Helix to leave him at 2. All easy from there.

Game 3: He plays a Delver of Secrets (which I kill), then Quirion Dryad (which I kill), then Geist of Saint Traft (which I wish I could kill). I lose the race because he holds up a counterspell each turn and I just
discard cards. Go figure. Played more games after--back and forth.

Quarterfinals against Bant Tempo (different pilot, 0-2)

Game 1: I keep an amazing hand and he doesn't have a first or second turn play. I draw Underworld Connections (never deboarded from the fun games) and concede.

Sideboard plan: owait.

Game 2: I burn him a lot and he has a Geist of Saint Traft. I get him down to 6 life with an active Deathrite Shaman, 4 lands on the board, and a Warleader's Helix in-hand. I was at 6 life. I mainphase Warleader's Helix before playing my land to try to get him down to 2, because then I just win. He has the Spell Rupture and I lose instead.

All-in-all, very satisfied with the deck. Not sure how to adjust for next week, but Underworld Connections was amazing, so I might swap one in for the second Assemble the Legions... Not too sure yet.

[rcwraspy]

Valdarith and other interested parties, I took 3-color "all burn" to TNM and went 4-1 into top eight and lost because of a technicality. Here's the beaut':

[deck]Creatures
4 Vexing Devil
3 Deathrite Shaman

Spells
4 Bump in the Night
3 Pillar of Flame
4 Searing Spear
4 Thunderbolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
4 Flames of the Firebrand
4 Warleader's Helix

Lands
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Godless Shrine
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
1 Mountain
1 Swamp

Sideboard
2 Reckless Waif
2 Slaughter Games
1 Underworld Connections
2 Assemble the Legion
4 Boros Reckoner
1 Blasphemous Act
2 Rakdos Charm
1 Pillar of Flame[/deck]

Round 1 against Boros Aggro (2-1)

Game 1: He had the play and ran me
over. I erred in shocking myself and Flames of the Firebranding a Boros Elite and 2/2 Champion of the Parish instead of not shocking myself and Searing Spearing a 3/3 Champion of the Parish. I felt committed to the 2-for-1 because it seems like my only way to beat aggro, but he readily made the first champion a 4/4 and then proceeded to win the game. Retrospectively, I definitely should have Searing Speared the 3/3 champion and saved 2 life. I'd still have the 2-for-1 next turn unless he played another creature, in which case I'd be able to flames the big champion and then just take a few damage a turn from his normal humans.

Sideboard plan: -4 Thunderbolt, -2 Skullcrack; +4 Boros Reckoner, +1 Blasphemous Act, +1 Pillar of Flame

Game 2: I got to burn all of dudes and eventually win the game with Bump in the Night and Deathrite Shaman activations (Bump in the Night is a third of their life in these match-ups where we play control; so much value).

Game 3: I killed a few guys, resolved a Boros
Reckoner, he 2-for-1'd himself with a Searing Spear on the Boros Reckoner and then continued to bash face. I found another Boros Reckoner on top of my deck, and ground him out the rest of the game.

Round 2 against Junk Tokens (2-1)

Game 1: I got to burn him out.

Sideboard plan: -3 Pillar of Flame, -4 Flames of the Firebrand; +4 Boros Reckoner, +1 Blasphemous Act, +2 Rakdos Charm

Game 2: I didn't draw any sideboard cards and he resolved: Call of the Conclave -> Lingering Souls -> Intangible Virtue + Lingering Souls -> Vault of the Archangel; he's my buddy, so I was "super salty," but wasn't really upset.

Sideboard plan: -2 Rakdos Charm; +2 Reckless Waif (he doesn't run any 1-drops)

Game 3: Reckless Waif did 6 damage and ate a Midnight Haunting; then I burned him out.

Round 3 against Grixis Control (2-0)

This is a bye; even Sphinx's Revelation control decks are byes, so seeing Steam Vents into Dragonskull Summit
made my day.

Game 1: Nice creature removal spells, Bro. Just burned him out. He domed me for 9 from a Blasphemous Act pitched to that draw-3, discard-1 burn spell, but that was about it.

Sideboard plan: -1 Pillar of Flame, -4 Flames of the Firebrand; +2 Assemble the Legions, +2 Reckless Waif, +1 Underworld Connections (Slaughter Games is also in the plan for normal control decks [for the other 2 pillars], but wouldn't have known what to name against Grixis, so kept the pillars in the fill the curves)

Game 2: Burn-burn. Resolve Underworld Connections and win.

Round 4 against Jund Midrange (ID but 2-0)

Game 1: He runs 14 creature-removal spells and got destroyed.

Sideboard plan: -3 Pillar of Flame, -4 Flames of the Firebrand; +1 Underworld Connections, +2 Assemble the Legion, +3 Boros Reckoner, +1 Blasphemous Act

Game 2: He resolves a turn 3 Liliana of the Veil (could be good against me); I resolve a turn 3 Underworld Connections (Liliana doesn't look as good).
I just continue to burn him out and he ultimates Liliana leaving me 3 lands and owning my Underworld Connections. I burn him EOT and draw the fourth land to dome him for 7.

Round 5 against Bant Tempo (ID but 1-2)

Game 1: He plays Delver of Secrets (which I kill), then Quirion Dryad (which I kill), then Geist of Saint Traft (which I wish I could kill). I lose the race because he holds up a counterspell each turn and I just discard cards.

Sideboard plan: -4 Flames of the Firebrand; +1 Underworld Connections, +2 Assemble the Legion, +1 Pillar of Flame (the idea here is to kill his threats then grind him out)

Game 2: I play Deathrite Shaman. He plays Delver of Secrets (which I kill), then get stuck on 2 lands for a few turns while I get him down to 10 life. He resolves a Geist of Saint Traft, but then I EOT Boros Charm then mainphase Warleader's Helix to leave him at 2. All easy from there.

Game 3: He plays a Delver of Secrets (which I kill), then Quirion Dryad (
which I kill), then Geist of Saint Traft (which I wish I could kill). I lose the race because he holds up a counterspell each turn and I just discard cards. Go figure. Played more games after--back and forth.

Quarterfinals against Bant Tempo (different pilot, 0-2)

Game 1: I keep an amazing hand and he doesn't have a first or second turn play. I draw Underworld Connections (never deboarded from the fun games) and concede.

Sideboard plan: owait.

Game 2: I burn him a lot and he has a Geist of Saint Traft. I get him down to 6 life with an active Deathrite Shaman, 4 lands on the board, and a Warleader's Helix in-hand. I was at 6 life. I mainphase Warleader's Helix before playing my land to try to get him down to 2, because then I just win. He has the Spell Rupture and I lose instead.

All-in-all, very satisfied with the deck. Not sure how to adjust for next week, but Underworld
Connections was amazing, so I might swap one in for the second Assemble the Legions... Not too sure yet.

Thanks for the write up. Can you talk a little about how Vexing Devil played out? Everybody says that if he fits anywhere it's in a burn deck, so I'm interested to hear the impression from a standard burn deck pilot.

[RDW]

Vexing Devil's amazing in the burn deck. I may cut him and Deathrite Shaman for literally all-burn, but I think they're both fantastic in this deck.

[Valdarith]

Valdarith and other interested parties, I took 3-color "all burn" to TNM and went 4-1 into top eight and lost because of a technicality. Here's the beaut':

[deck]Creatures
4 Vexing Devil
3 Deathrite Shaman

Spells
4 Bump in the Night
3 Pillar of Flame
4 Searing Spear
4 Thunderbolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
4 Flames of the Firebrand
4 Warleader's Helix

Lands
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Godless Shrine
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
1 Mountain
1 Swamp

Sideboard
2 Reckless Waif
2 Slaughter Games
1 Underworld Connections
2 Assemble the Legion
4 Boros Reckoner
1 Blasphemous Act
2 Rakdos Charm
1 Pillar of Flame[/deck]

All-in-all, very satisfied with the deck. Not sure how to adjust for next week, but
Underworld Connections was amazing, so I might swap one in for the second Assemble the Legions... Not too sure yet.

My problem with Vexing Devil is that he is a terrible topdeck. With our opponent at three life, would you rather draw a Spear or a Vexing Devil? You could use those four slots for more burn like Annihilating Fire, a card that is even more relevant with so many undying creatures and Voice of Resurgence now in the meta.

What is your plan with Assemble the Legion in the sideboard? It seems like you already own control and that's the only matchup I can see it coming in against.

I don't understand the Waifs in the main, though I do understand Boros Reckoner since they're sure to board out almost all of their relevant removal spells and he's good in nonblack aggro mirrors. Why not use the slots opened up by removing Legion, Waif, et al and develop a transformational sideboard to take advantage of your opponents boarding out their removal? Not
playing Vexing Devil makes this plan even more viable.

Regarding Underworld Connections, it seems so good that I might even consider moving one to the main on top of one in the side. The life loss is less hurtful in a deck running the full set of Warleader's Helix.

Versus Gruul Sligh or Naya Blitz, consider boarding in Human Frailty. I'd also suggest Geistflame but like Vexing Devil it's not a card you want to topdeck. Topdecking a Human Frailty is much less of an issue.

Oddly enough, even though you are running three colors I feel like you could get color screwed a lot less than my Rakdos 20/20/20 build. I really want to test both of these decks myself to see where they stand in the meta.

[zemanjaski]

Underworld Connections is very good and was a cornerstone of my own attempts at RB burn last season; I don't mind a singleton Slaughter Games I suppose, but multiples don't seem good (it doesn't pass the 'would you be happy to draw 2?' test). Being able to board into the Reckoner plus BA plan against heavy aggro decks is NICE.

The mana in 3-colour is OK, but fairly unnattractive. I suppose getting access to the extra 4-damage burn spells probably makes it worhwhile however.

[zemanjaski]

Curse of Pierced Heart is not comparable to Shrine. I don't even know how to address the question honestly.

I disagree. I think it is very much like Shrine of Burning Rage; I understand that it's nowhere near as fast and has zero explosive capabilities, but I think that it might work out fine. This deck can often get stuck on three mana and we don't wanna' run out a Spike Jester for three damage just to get Thragtusk'd the next turn, so why not let the curse chip away at their life total while letting us keep Skullcrack open? It trades the
red spell triggers from SoBR for the burn tax in the end and--in this format--has almost no hate against it. I don't think it's a good card, nor is it remotely as good as Shrine of Burning Rage, but it does fill a similar role and is the best we've got as far as inevitability is concerned. If I'm to keep playing burn, then I need to try out a lot of things, and I'm not as familiar with the deck as you. From what I can tell, the deck's lost Shrine of Burning Rage, Incinerate, and Grim Lavamancer since you played and has only gained Skullcrack, Deathrite Shaman, and Thragtusk opposition. I see how it's weaker than the one that you placed with, but aren't there some analogs that can keep the deck afloat? In my limited testing--cited above--I've had very clean match-ups against everyone. The lack of creatures effectively mulligans for your opponent (at least in game one) and the 7/10 quality of every card in every match-up is recognizable. I'm not sure how to develop the
deck, but I think it's going in the right direction.

Grim Lavamancer and Shrine are enormos losses; they, along with Arc Trail were the best cards in the deck

Also, 20-turn inevitability isn't really inevitability, in any capacity worth discussing You can't play too many cards that don't impact the board.

[RDW]

My problem with Vexing Devil is that he is a terrible topdeck. With our opponent at three life, would you rather draw a Spear or a Vexing Devil? You could use those four slots for more burn like Annihilating Fire, a card that is even more relevant with so many undying creatures and Voice of Resurgence now in the meta.

What is your plan with Assemble the Legion in the sideboard? It seems like you already own control and that's the only matchup I can see it coming in against.

I don't understand the Waifs in the main, though I do understand Boros Reckoner since they're sure to board out almost all of their relevant removal spells and he's good in nonblack aggro mirrors. Why not use the slots opened up by removing Legion, Waif, et al and develop a
transformational sideboard to take advantage of your opponents boarding out their removal? Not playing Vexing Devil makes this plan even more viable.

Regarding Underworld Connections, it seems so good that I might even consider moving one to the main on top of one in the side. The life loss is less hurtful in a deck running the full set of Warleader's Helix.

Versus Gruul Sligh or Naya Blitz, consider boarding in Human Frailty. I'd also suggest Geistflame but like Vexing Devil it's not a card you want to topdeck. Topdecking a Human Frailty is much less of an issue.

Oddly enough, even though you are running three colors I feel like you could get color screwed a lot less than my Rakdos 20/20/20 build. I really want to test both of these decks myself to see where they stand in the meta.

Yes, of course in that situation I'd rather a 3-damage burn spell, but consider the other end of the spectrum: Turn 1 Mountain. Would you rather Vexing Devil or a 3-damage 2-3 mana burn spell you
can't cast? The answer's clear. In any case, if there was another Bump in the Night effect or 2-damage instant at R, I'd play it in a heartbeat over Vexing Devil, but there isn't. This deck needs to use its mana even more efficiently than a creature deck, so we need 1-mana spells and Deathrite Shaman activations to fill the holes. I like the deck very much and will probably keep developing it. Annihilating Fire seems decent, but it's another 3-mana spell and we already have 8 spells on the top end on 22 land. Hmmm.

The Assemble the Legions is in the board because I have room for it after taking out the bad cards against control and they likely take out Detention Sphere so it makes it even more of a bye. It's also decent against midrange decks and can provide us draw steps against walking creatures I guess? I do probably want to swap one out for another Underworld Connections (it feels so good drawing cards). The mana's been fantastic so far. I like it. The problem with the transformational
sideboard is that some people will still put you on RDW, and almost all decks have removal in the form of big creatures. There's almost nothing they can dedicate against burn, whereas most decks' primary plan naturally disrupts weak red creature onslaughts... I appreciate your input, Man. Let's get this deck going places. Any results from your end?

[RDW]

Thanks a lot for the input from you too Zemanjaski. I'm gonna' keep on trucking with this thing; I think the list is getting too tight for CoPH anyway, but those losses are definitely painful. Maybe we'll get a decent 1-mana burn spell or hasty bear in the core set. Until then, I'll make do with this, haha. I'm also feeling an underworld connections in the main. What should I cut? A Warleader's Helix?

[zemanjaski]

Vexing Devil is usually OK game 1; you're going to be mostly boarding it out in Game 2-3 though, but I think the rate on it warrants a spot.

[RDW]

You gonna' stream anytime soon? I don't play MODO and can only make it to an LGS once a week at most. I really learn from your exhibitions. Try this deck out and stream/record it for me! Haha. I think Vexing Devil can likely come out in the tempo and Aggro match-ups for sure.

[Valdarith]

Any results from your end?

I'm going to run my 20/20/20 deck today at an LGS against whoever is there for me to challenge. No one at this LGS really runs Tier 1 decks but it should at least give me an indication of where I stand.

I wish I could test this on MODO but Dragon's Maze still has a week before official release. Until then I'm liquidating some of my unused assets in anticipation of building the deck. Might as well sell my Hellriders before they tank further.

[RDW]

Any results from your end?

I'm going to run my 20/20/20 deck today at an LGS against whoever is there for me to challenge. No one at this LGS really runs Tier 1 decks but it should at least give me an indication of where I stand.

I wish I could test this on MODO but Dragon's Maze still has a week before official release. Until then I'm liquidating some of my unused assets in anticipation of building the deck. Might as well sell my Hellriders before they tank further.

Good luck! Let
me know how it all works out; really digging the burn deck.

[Valdarith]

After some dry runs with 20/20/20 I don't think it's a good deck. It has some potentially explosive openings and can nut draw well but beyond that it is inconsistent. It needs just the right mana to work whereas the burn deck needs red with a splash of black and white to run, so I feel like the all-burn deck is the best bet here.

[RDW]

Try out my list and tell me what you think.

[Valdarith]

Try out my list and tell me what you think.

I'm going to try something similar today, except with one maindeck Underworld Connections, no Vexing Devil, a couple of Toil / Trouble, and a pair of Annihilating Fire. My manabase is also a tad different. Only eight white sources.

[RDW]

Alright, let me know how that works for you. Glad to have another brewer to help make the deck.