I usually bring in relics to hate on snaps, and it cycles. But outside of that, I've always been of the mindset that against control, I don't want removal so much as I want more threats (burn spells in our case)
Also friends: If you're going to to do anything to Colonade, make sure to do it pre-combat so they can't attack AND use it for mana. May be obvious to everyone else, but I've been burnt by it by not knowing the first time.
I was bigger on it a while ago when the lists were more stock lists, but these Jeskai lists are really varied these days. You're right that graveyard hate is better than Path. Path is probably better than Blaze, though. I suppose re-order things in my previous comment to be cut blaze for Relic/RiP and then Paths.
I found that I flooded at 20 land and was often 1 burn spell away from a win but drew land instead.
I haven't found myself too land screwed with 19, and value a Grim Lavamancer in the Main.
The deck can easily run with 2-3 lands on the battlefield. Even keeping a 1-lander and a load of 1CMC spells you'll soon draw into a 2nd land.
When I was on Naya, I played 19 because I didn't want to cut a Blaze it Lavamancer for the 20th land. When I played at scg this month, I played Boros and 20 lands because I wanted the playset of Inspiring Vantage more than a 3rd skullcrack.
If you want to send me a list, I'd be happy to check it out. I've tried Rakdos in the past, in an effort to have as low of a curve as possible with Bump in the Night. I think I did all right with it, but missed some of the white sideboard cards especially.
I've gone between 19 and 20 depending on the number of fetchlands, and have been reasonably happy with both. The frequency I'd lose to mulliganing with 19 lands is probably pretty close to the frequency I topdecked a land in the deck with 20 lands.
I posted another league report to Reddit that includes links to all the videos, this time running a Boros list with Chained to the Rocks (although I didn't have to bring them in). I had a few loose plays that probably contributed to a 3-2 result, but it was a free roll and the experience in prep for Toronto is really what I'm after. The last report I did took up a lot of space on the page, so I'm just going to the link to the Reddit post:
my personal build is rakdos main and mardu out of the sb. id say post it all if you dont mind typeing it all out. persoanlly i feel 19 lands is right no matter what build unless you have an unusual amount of 2 drops or run some number of 3 drops. or if youre running the full set of shard volley or a 3+ lavamancer build. 20 i flooded too often. 18 i was in a drought too often. ill bring my list tomorrow
Hello Burn experts. I've recently gotten back to slinging the fire, but I'm scared of the E-Tron matchup which seems to be a couple decks in my meta. I like the idea of Ensnaring Bridge for that matchup, but it seems unreliable and can still be hit with Karn/Ulamog/Ratchet Bomb.
Anyone with good experience against the matchup and can offer some advice?
My list is a straightforward 19 land Boros list with the following sideboard:
Karn and Ugin are all but removed from Eldrazi Tron at this point, Bridge is fine against them. Ratchet bomb will usually be focused on hitting CMC1 creatures against Burn. If they have three extra turns to tick it up and then nuke it, you’ve probably made some egregious errors elsewhere.
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If you look a few pages back it was kicked around quite a bit. The "final" call was that it did not affect the board when ETB and it is a worst card in this shell then anything that you would be replacing for it.
Karn and Ugin are all but removed from Eldrazi Tron at this point, Bridge is fine against them. Ratchet bomb will usually be focused on hitting CMC1 creatures against Burn. If they have three extra turns to tick it up and then nuke it, you’ve probably made some egregious errors elsewhere.
Thanks, I think this might be the best we have to combat ETron. I'll have to see how it works for me.
Skullcrack split 2-2 between main and sideboard? I usually only expect problematic lifegain post-board, so it seems like Grim Lavamancer can take its place. Also opens up a slot for Shard Volley. I've seen a few lists do this, but I'm not sure if this is the right choice and I'd like to hear the opinion of some more experienced players.
-Rest in Peace trumps graveyards indefinitely, but it costs 2 mana and doesn't do anything else. Unfortunately, this can only be useful against decks that really depend on their graveyard, so I can't bring it in against Kitchen Finks decks too much, unless I also expect to see Knight of the Reliquary as well. Otherwise, I would just bring it in against Storm, Jund, Abzan, and similar decks. Personally, I think it's the worst of the three.
-Grafdigger's Cage seems to cover anything I need, at 1 mana. I can use it against Storm, as well as Counters Company, because it shuts down Kitchen Finks, Collected Company, and Chord of Calling. It doesn't do as good a job against graveyards life Rest in Peace, but it covers the important matchups. Midrange decks and Grixis Shadow aren't covered by Grafdigger's Cage, but they're already good matchups and I'm already sideboarding in enough cards, so I fear that I would be diluting my game plan too much if I bring in graveyard hate in addition to everything else. The fact that it's 1 mana and it covers Collected Company decks leads me to believe that it's a much better option than rest in peace.
-Relic of Progenitus is the best out of the three options, in my opinion. The card draw effect is the real attraction, so I can now bring this in against basically any deck and not worry about it being a dead card. However, it seems like it would take an expert player (which I am not) to use it properly, as knowing when to crack it and when to keep it on the battlefield is a very important choice. As such, I am not sure if this is the right choice for me, as I am relatively new to the deck and running a Grafdigger's Cage in lieu of Relic of Progenitus could work in my favor, simply because I would be prone to making mistakes with the latter, which could cost me the game. Therefore, I think I should use Grafdigger's Cage, and I will slowly gravitate towards Relic of Progenitus over time once I feel more comfortable with the deck.
Moving past graveyard hate, I have a few questions about other cards.
Should I play Sudden Shock in my free sideboard slots? I was thinking about using Searing Blood, but Sudden Shock can stop Affinity's interactions with Arcbound Ravager would negate the damage aspect of Searing Blood anyways. So against small creature matchups, Sudden Shock still shines in moments over Searing Blood. It's just give you so many more options and your opponent so many less. Here's a few cards that also make you wish you had Sudden Shock over Searing Blood:
It kills infect too if that comes back!
Also, I like to bring it against control. The can't be countered aspect isn't a huge deal, but it's still okay to bring it against them.
My sideboard should look like this now. Tell me what changes I need to make:
I was bigger on it a while ago when the lists were more stock lists, but these Jeskai lists are really varied these days. You're right that graveyard hate is better than Path. Path is probably better than Blaze, though. I suppose re-order things in my previous comment to be cut blaze for Relic/RiP and then Paths.
Your best cards are Searing effects and Grim Lavamancer.
20 Land Burn appears to have the highest “keepability” in regards to mulligans, so what gives for playing fewer? Does the deck flood that often?
I haven’t built the deck recently, the last time I played Burn was when Vexing Devil had been first released.
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I haven't found myself too land screwed with 19, and value a Grim Lavamancer in the Main.
The deck can easily run with 2-3 lands on the battlefield. Even keeping a 1-lander and a load of 1CMC spells you'll soon draw into a 2nd land.
When I was on Naya, I played 19 because I didn't want to cut a Blaze it Lavamancer for the 20th land. When I played at scg this month, I played Boros and 20 lands because I wanted the playset of Inspiring Vantage more than a 3rd skullcrack.
1 Grim Lavamancer
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
Non-creature Spells: 28
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Searing Blaze
4 Boros Charm
4 Searing Blaze
4 Lightning Helix
2 Mountain
3 Inspiring Vantage
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Arid Mesa
1 Grim Lavamancer
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
Non-creature Spells: 28
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Searing Blaze
4 Boros Charm
4 Searing Blaze
4 Lightning Helix
2 Mountain
3 Inspiring Vantage
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Arid Mesa
https://www.reddit.com/r/LavaSpike/comments/7qxxe8/mtgo_league_report_with_videos_20180114/
Is there a policy about league/tournament reports on this thread? Would anyone prefer I write them out here, or just link to the reddit page?
1 Grim Lavamancer
4 Goblin Guide
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
Non-creature Spells: 28
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
4 Skullcrack
4 Searing Blaze
4 Boros Charm
4 Searing Blaze
4 Lightning Helix
2 Mountain
3 Inspiring Vantage
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Arid Mesa
Not at all far-fetched. Humans is basically Merfolk with better disruption. They're both creature-vial decks.
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Feel free to PM me about Affinity decks in any format!
Anyone with good experience against the matchup and can offer some advice?
My list is a straightforward 19 land Boros list with the following sideboard:
4 Destructive Revelry
2 Path to Exile
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Deflecting Palm
1 Shattering Spree
Current plan against them is:
-4 Eidolon, -4 Searing Blaze, -1 Lava Spike, -2 Lightning Helix
+4 Drev, +2 Path, +2 Palm, +2 Bridge, +1 Spree
Thanks in advance!
I'm curious to know the applications of this card and if anyone has played it to some success or not.
RBUGrixis ControlUBR
GUSimic MerfolkUG
WUUW ControlUW
RBUGrixis ControlUBR
BUUB MillUB
Colorless Eldrazi Tron
WRBurnRW
GUSimic MerfolkUG
UMono U TurnsU
WGGenesis Wave EnchantressGW
@Robo_Memer on Twitter, Twitch, Reddit, and YouTube
Feel free to PM me about Affinity decks in any format!
Thanks, I think this might be the best we have to combat ETron. I'll have to see how it works for me.
Skullcrack split 2-2 between main and sideboard? I usually only expect problematic lifegain post-board, so it seems like Grim Lavamancer can take its place. Also opens up a slot for Shard Volley. I've seen a few lists do this, but I'm not sure if this is the right choice and I'd like to hear the opinion of some more experienced players.
I'm torn between Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, and Relic of Progenitus. Here's how I see it:
-Rest in Peace trumps graveyards indefinitely, but it costs 2 mana and doesn't do anything else. Unfortunately, this can only be useful against decks that really depend on their graveyard, so I can't bring it in against Kitchen Finks decks too much, unless I also expect to see Knight of the Reliquary as well. Otherwise, I would just bring it in against Storm, Jund, Abzan, and similar decks. Personally, I think it's the worst of the three.
-Grafdigger's Cage seems to cover anything I need, at 1 mana. I can use it against Storm, as well as Counters Company, because it shuts down Kitchen Finks, Collected Company, and Chord of Calling. It doesn't do as good a job against graveyards life Rest in Peace, but it covers the important matchups. Midrange decks and Grixis Shadow aren't covered by Grafdigger's Cage, but they're already good matchups and I'm already sideboarding in enough cards, so I fear that I would be diluting my game plan too much if I bring in graveyard hate in addition to everything else. The fact that it's 1 mana and it covers Collected Company decks leads me to believe that it's a much better option than rest in peace.
-Relic of Progenitus is the best out of the three options, in my opinion. The card draw effect is the real attraction, so I can now bring this in against basically any deck and not worry about it being a dead card. However, it seems like it would take an expert player (which I am not) to use it properly, as knowing when to crack it and when to keep it on the battlefield is a very important choice. As such, I am not sure if this is the right choice for me, as I am relatively new to the deck and running a Grafdigger's Cage in lieu of Relic of Progenitus could work in my favor, simply because I would be prone to making mistakes with the latter, which could cost me the game. Therefore, I think I should use Grafdigger's Cage, and I will slowly gravitate towards Relic of Progenitus over time once I feel more comfortable with the deck.
Moving past graveyard hate, I have a few questions about other cards.
Should I play Sudden Shock in my free sideboard slots? I was thinking about using Searing Blood, but Sudden Shock can stop Affinity's interactions with Arcbound Ravager would negate the damage aspect of Searing Blood anyways. So against small creature matchups, Sudden Shock still shines in moments over Searing Blood. It's just give you so many more options and your opponent so many less. Here's a few cards that also make you wish you had Sudden Shock over Searing Blood:
It kills infect too if that comes back!
Also, I like to bring it against control. The can't be countered aspect isn't a huge deal, but it's still okay to bring it against them.
My sideboard should look like this now. Tell me what changes I need to make:
3x Path to Exile
2x Sudden Shock
2x Grafdigger's Cage
4x Destructive Revelry
2x Skullcrack
2x Kor Firewalker