The Modern format is quite diverse and has a plethora of strategies and archetypes that see play. I’ll be going over each and every one of them in my “Modern Archetype Overview” series. Today, I’ll be covering, the long-time player favorite and a perennial contender that is Modern Burn.
Burn is an archetype that seeks to win as quickly as possible by using low mana spells known as “burn spells” to deal direct damage to opponents.
With that very basic description out of the way, let’s break down the archetype in more detail. I’ll be going over, what the deck wants to do, the key cards that allow it to do it, how it plays in the early, mid, and late game, the strengths and weaknesses, and how to beat it. So, let’s jump right into it.
Overview
As mentioned above, the archetype is looking to win quickly and it wants to do so by dealing damage directly to the opponent’s life total with burn spells. While these direct damage spells make up the majority of cards in the deck, there are also a few key creatures – They are low-to-the-ground, aggressive, and many of them are bolstered by the non-creature spells in the deck.
Nearly every card within the will be one and two mana spells. So, the deck has no problem chaining multiple spells together per turn to quickly deal a lot of damage. While, the strategy is generally very aggressive, given that most of the burn spells can target creatures as well, the deck has no problem removing opposing creatures, should it see them as a problem and can be downright controlling at times.
Knowing when to point your spells at the opponent and when to target their
Red is the primary color for the archetype and is a constant for almost every deck. That said, there are variations that feature White as a secondary color. Including White gives the deck access to a few more creatures, a few R/W burn spells, and some nice sideboard cards. Let’s break some of these cards down further.
Key Cards
Burn Spells
Lightning Bolt is the premier burn spell in the deck. For a single mana, you can deal three damage to anything you like, at instant speed. It doesn’t get any cleaner than that and burn players are always happy to see Bolt. That said, most other non-creature spells in the deck are slightly worse versions of the card. Here’s a list of the key non-creature spells you’ll see some number of without fail.
As you can see, the deck wants as many one-mana “deal three damage” spells as possible and it has quite a few at its disposal. These allow it to start putting damage on early and keep it coming as the game comes on. Higher up the curve there are some slightly more costly things that do a bit more.
For example, Boros Charm functions as a four-damage burn spell or a way to make an attacking creature twice as potent via Double Strike. There is a ton of redundancy for Modern Burn and the only bad top decks are lands.
Creatures
Burn wants its creatures to be two things – Low CMC and able to deal a lot of damage quickly. Creatures like Monastery Swiftspear, Soul-Scar Mage, and Clever Lumimancer all get a boost whenever you cast an Instant or Sorcery spell. So, every burn spell the deck casts now represents even more damage.
Monastery Swiftspear is the most common among them and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a Modren Burn list without four copies. The combination of Prowess and Haste is extremely powerful. In Boros builds Clever Lumomancer is quite common as well and she sees an even bigger boost. Leaving either one of these creatures unblocked is dangerous since their abilities allow them to be made larger at instant speed.
Moving on, we have Goblin Guide who has an extremely aggressive 2/2 body with Haste for a single mana. The downside of possibly giving opponents land from the top of their library is often negligible considering they’ll be dead before they can put it to good use.
Eidolon is a very important card for the deck. Given how many low mana spells are in Modern, at times it will lock opponents completely out of playing spells. Essentially having to pay two life to play cards is the last thing a Burn opponent wants to be doing and even casting something to remove it will hurt more often than not.
Utility Spells
Burn has a few key things it has to avoid – First, is allowing opponents to gain life. When you’re trying to count to 20 damage as fast as possible, even a few extra life can make the difference between a win and a loss. Second, is that it doesn’t run out of gas. Without significant things to commit to the
Having said that, the two cards seen above are extremely important. All Burn decks will have some sideboard slots devoted to stopping life gain but Skullcrack doubling as a Burn spell means it’s not a dead card even if opponents aren’t gaining life and therefore can be in the starting 60. As a pilot and an opponent, I find this to be a key card.
Now, moving on to keeping the threats coming. Light up the Stage is a cheap spell that can allow you access to two cards until your next turn and has been a staple piece of card advantage for the deck since it came out. Having up to two spells on standby is often enough to close out games.
Lastly, there is Sunbaked Canyon, which not only fixes mana for the Boros version but also gives the archetype access to more cards. It’s such a small but important upside for the deck that you’ll usually find it in Mono-Red lists as well.
How Does The Deck Play – Early, Mid, And Late Game
Here I’ll break down where the deck wants to be at different stages of the game.
Early Game
You’ll want to start by having an opening hand with at least two lands, in most cases. A one-land hand risks not being able to chain multiple spells together, and land-heavy hands will be light on threats. So, I find two to be ideal. After that, you’ll be looking to get a creature down on turn one if possible. The more damage your creatures can do for you the better.
Sequencing is very important in the early game, since being efficient with your mana is extremely important. For example, use Rift Bolt as early as possible as opposed to later. Next, you’ll want to play your two mana spells before your one mana spells when possible. Let me elaborate.
Say you have a Lightning Helix[c], a [c]Lightning Bolt, and a land in hand on turn two and you cast the Bolt. Now, if you draw another two-mana spell on your next turn, now you can’t cast either one. On the other hand, let’s rewind and cast the Helix instead. Now when you draw into that second two drop, you can cast it and the Lightning Bolt on turn three.
Mid Game
In the mid-game, you’ll need to be sure to monitor the
In this portion of the game, I suggest playing out your less versatile spells first. For example, if you have a Lightning Bolt and a Lava Spike, play the Spike first and save Bolt since it can hit more targets.
Late Game
The late game isn’t where Burn loves to be. If someone has taken you to deep waters so to speak, you may be at the mercy of your deck. However, your deck is resilient and versatile. Here’s where you’ll be glad you saved your flexible spells. Usually, here is where you will be cashing in on Sunbaked Canyon to get you the last bit of damage you need.
How To Beat Burn
Here are some tips and tricks to give you an edge when going against Burn in Modern.
- Kill creatures on sight – Especially Eidolon of the Great Revel. Getting this off the field as soon as possible is important.
- Don’t damage yourself – Burn wants you dead as soon as possible so don’t damage yourself. For example, fetch for basic lands instead of shock lands whenever possible.
- Play around Skullcrack – If you have life gain cards in your deck wait until the Burn player taps out to cast them when possible. However, don’t wait too long or you may be dead before you get around to casting them.
How To Sideboard Against Burn
Continuing from the points discussed above, here are some sideboard strategies to help combat Burn in games two and three. We’ll start with the add-ins.
What To Bring In:
Creature Removal
Things like Fatal Push, Path to Exile, Unholy Heat – You’ll want as much cheap creature removal as you can get. Keep in mind that Enchantment removal also works on Eidolon of the Great Revel.
Life Gain
The more life you gain the harder Burn has it. Cards like Kor Firewalker, Dragon’s Claw, and Sun Droplet are some great options.
Give Yourself Hexproof
Most Burn spells say “Target Player” so cards like Leyline of Sanctity are quite effective.
Make Their Spells Cost More
Modern Burn plays all one and two-mana spells and relies on being efficient. So, cards like Damping Sphere and Trinisphere can make their lives hard.
What To Take Out:
If you’re going to make room for some of the spells mentioned above, you’ll have to take some cards out. This will depend on your deck but here are my general suggestions.
Things That Deal You Damage
As mentioned a few times now, things that hurt you are not your friend. Anything that isn’t absolutely necessary to the strategy that costs you life should be the first thing you take out. A card I find myself often removing is Thoughtsieze.
Anything Expendable
Burn is a match-up where you really want to see the sideboard cards you bring in. So, whatever it is that your deck can do without, cut it.
Deck List
Boros Burn
| Creatures (12) 4 Goblin Guide 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel 4 Monastary Swiftspear Sorcery (12) 2 Skewer the Critics 2 Rift Bolt 4 Light up the Stage 4 Lava Spike Instant (17) 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lightning Helix 4 Boros Charm 1 Skullcrack 4 Searing Blaze Land (19) 2 Mountain 2 Sacred Foundry 3 Scalding Tarn 4 Bloodstained Mire 4 Inspiring Vantage 4 Sunbaked Canyon |
End Step
Burn is a great deck. It’s almost always competitive, it’s suitable for beginners yet has very skill-intensive play lines, and is one of the cheaper decks in the format. Hopefully, you’ve found this guide useful and feel like you know more about this classic archetype now. Until next time, get out there and play some Modern Burn.
