What exactly is Pauper Burn? In essence it is exactly the same thing as the regular good old Burn we have always loved but the only exception being you can only use common cards. The nice thing about Burn is that most of the effective cards are all common, so this makes adapting this archtype to Pauper very easy! This primer will be discussing the archtype as it is related to the paper form of the game not the online version. Some cards and strategies are transferable from Magic Online to paper and vice versus, but the general outline will be focused on paper Magic.
Basics of Pauper Burn
The main idea is to very play cheap burn spells such as Lightning Bolt and Searing Blaze to widdle your opponent down to very low life and once you have enough lands on the field you can use things like Fireblast and Shard Volley to destroy your own lands to deal lethal damage! You will have some support cards such as Needle Drop to generate card draw and dare I call him support but Keldon Marauders can come into and out of play to burn and prevent any pesky critters from touching you.
All of the sideboards in each decklist within Pauper have been designed for a broad meta, it is completely up to the builder to decide what works and what does not work within each sideboard as this can serve as a starting point.
So in short your general rule of play should be,
#1 Play lots and lots of burn spells
#2 Use more burn spells to burn more and more
#3 ??????
#4 Profit
Lightning Bolt This is the best single mana burn spell in the game.
Shard Volley When it is time to deal lethal, use this paired with Fireblast and finish them off. Cast this with one mana then sacrifice that same mana and deal your 3 damage.
Lava Spike Direct damage to your opponents face, yes it only targets players but if you target a creature you aren't playing Burn correctly.
Needle Drop I find this card invaluable, 10 out of 10 times you have dealt damage to the player before you get a chance to use this card so this should be a no brainer as it also gives you draw.
Rift Bolt Play this for the suspend cost only and the next turn they lose 3 life, really no negative here minus the short delay.
Lava Dart Normally this isn't a good burn card, but if you pair it with Kiln Fiend it provides double pump!
Chain Lightning A lot of people love this card, and it is priced well for a reason but since it is a sorcery I don't find much use for it in my own testing. I kill no faster with it nor any slower so why spend the money if you don't have to? You can just use Lava Spike for a much cheaper card.
Electrickery This card is iffy for me, I tend to not like it as much because I play my Burn very self sacrifice like, so I never have the mana to cast it effectively, it just doesn't burn as fast as other cards can.
Spark Elemental Some people prefer to this guy but honestly he has more negatives then positives. After turn 2 he becomes almost completely useless. He can't block, and his damage can be stopped even with his trample ability so that one mana can be spent elsewhere. However if you choose to run a creature burn deck then slapping a Reckless Charge on him could make him a little more threatening.
Goblin Fireslinger A nice ping creature if you choose to go more creature heavy.
Pillar of Flame If you fear creatures in your meta, this is a choice card. Way better then just a simple Shock, it exiles those pesky critters so they have no chance to come back!
Firebolt Simple 2 damage, nothing special but it does have a flashback cost. The opponent should be dead though before you get a chance to flashback.
Mogg Fanatic He swings for 1 and can self sacrifice himself to block and deal 2 damage to a creature, not bad but certainly not in the top burn card list.
Shock Extremely, EXTREMELY budget Burn card, really no reason to ever use this card
2 mana drops
Fireblast Amazing damage for a small cost. On turn 4 after you have cast what you needed, finish them with this and call it a day.
Keldon Marauders Excellent burn on the way in and out, as-well as a attacker and blocker.
Searing Blaze I can't speak highly enough about this card. For only 2 mana you can blow down a creature and damage the player for 3? Are you serious!? Include = YES.
Flame Rift I use this card, though it has severe drawbacks. If you have 5 life and they have 4, use it. I would rather go to a draw with them then let them win.
Incinerate Pretty solid burn spell with the added benefit of stopping regeneration.
Volcanic Hammer Same as above, nothing to shake your fist at.
3 mana drops
Brimstone Volley Way to expensive and it once again relies on creature death to be effective. Just not a good card to get that fast kill that a Burn deck needs.
Thunderclap Honestly this card just doesn't cut it. Why would you want to burn a creature? You need to beat face as fast as possible and this just doesn't under any circumstances help that especially when you have Searing Blaze.
Staggershock If this is all you have, ok use it but the math just doesn't work on this card, three mana for 4 damage is HORRIBLE.
Forgotten Cave If you fancy a cycle land, this is your choice.
Sample deck lists
XBM Yosho's Pauper Burn
The primary focus of this deck is simple, burn as fast as you possibly can. It doesn't utilize single creature pump like Kiln Fiend decks do, their isn't really any fancy draw spells, just plain old burn. The sideboard allows me to deal with artifacts, any annoying blue counters, some dedicated pinging and some graveyard hate with additional card draw. If you go first, this deck can produce 23 damage on turn 4. If you go second this deck can produce 22 damage on turn 3.
XBM Yosho's Pauper Kiln/Burn
This deck uses the Kiln Fiend casting method, burn away everything in your path and push through with your fiend. You also have the option of casting your Reckless Charge onto your Keldon Marauders and let him swing, and if he dies that's great because he still does damage on the way out.
Aggro:
I would give this match up a 70/30 if not better because with the right cards (IE: not Shock) we can easily outrace these decks since we are capable of going lethal on turn 3. Since we are racing the opponents deck to deal lethal damage and we have really little to no creatures we are trading blow for blow BUT a creature like Keldon Marauders can change the balance since he deals damage on the way in and way out in addition to blocking or attacking.
Control:
Outside of Mono-U you should have little to no problem dealing with a control based deck, but that is why we sideboard in Pryoblast. Most of the time the other colors rely on you having creatures but shutting down spells is a bit harder, not impossible mind you but much much harder.
Combo:
Combo decks such as Affinity can spur off lethal damage by turn 4, a well equipped Burn deck can do lethal damage by turn 3, so in this capacity a combo match up is slightly in our favor. However if facing a combo deck like Soul Sisters then your Burn deck is vastly outclassed and the chances of winning are very slim. Most other combo decks can't really lock down a Burn deck so you should have favorable match ups in this department aside from what has been noted.
What exactly is Peasant Burn? In essence it is exactly the same thing as the regular good old Burn we have always loved but the only exception being you can only use up to five uncommon cards and the rest need to be common cards. The nice thing about Burn is that most of the effective cards are all common and their really is only a small select few that are worth adding from the uncommon card pool, so this makes adapting this archtype to Peasant very easy! This primer will be discussing the archtype as it is related to the paper form of the game not the online version. Some cards and strategies are transferable from Magic Online to paper and vice versus, but the general outline will be focused on paper Magic.
Basics of Peasant Burn
The main idea is to very play cheap burn spells such as Lightning Bolt or cheap creatures like Hellspark Elemental to widdle your opponent down to very low life and once you have enough lands on the field (just like with Pauper) you can use things like Fireblast and Shard Volley to destroy your own lands to deal lethal damage! You will have some support cards such as Needle Drop and Browbeat to generate card draw and dare I call him support but Keldon Marauders can come into and out of play to burn and prevent any pesky critters from touching you.
All of the sideboards in each decklist within Peasant have been designed for a broad meta, it is completely up to the builder to decide what works and what does not work within each sideboard as this can serve as a starting point.
So in short your general rule of play should be,
#1 Play lots and lots of burn spells
#2 Use more burn spells to burn more and more
#3 ??????
#4 Profit
What you will need to win
1 mana drops
None as of yet.
2 mana drops
Hellspark Elemental Much better then his little brother Spark Elemental because he can come back if you need him. If you want to run a creature burn deck in Peasant he should be considered closely.
Searing Blood If you don't want to go with a quick beater in Peasant, this card not only nukes a creature for 2, but if it dies and in most cases they do you also beat face for 3 damage!
3 mana drops
Ball Lightning This card is EXTREMELY iffy. This creature falls under the old rarity debate of whether or not U1 (uncommon) is in fact an uncommon. The current rarity structure would have it at a rare, but SOME playgroups may allow for this card to be used so you will need to check with your playgroup. If they allow it then you should substitute Hellspark Elemental for this creature immediately.
Browbeat If you expect longer than usual burn games, this can be nice card draw or also a fantastic burn.
4+ mana drops
None as of yet.
Support
None as of yet.
Lands
Barbarian Ring Ok I suppose, though the mana could be spent on more powerful burns, it also causes problems with Fireblast and Shard Volley.
Sample deck lists
XBM Yosho's Peasant Burn
The primary focus of this deck is simple, burn as fast as you possibly can. It doesn't utilize single creature pump like Kiln Fiend decks do, it uses a nice draw spell which can also be converted into a burn if your opponent dares. The sideboard allows me to deal with artifacts, any annoying blue counters, some dedicated pinging and some graveyard hate with additional card draw. If you go first, this deck can produce 23 damage on turn 4. If you go second this deck can produce 22 damage on turn 3.
XBM Yosho's Peasant Kiln/Burn
This deck uses the Kiln Fiend casting method, burn away everything in your path and push through with your fiend. You also have the option of casting your Reckless Charge onto your already hasted and trampled Hellspark Elemental to walk through anything annoying.
Aggro:
I would give this match up a 70/30 if not better because with the right cards (IE: not Shock) we can easily outrace these decks since we are capable of going lethal on turn 3. Since we are racing the opponents deck to deal lethal damage and we have really little to no creatures we are trading blow for blow BUT a creature like Keldon Marauders can change the balance since he deals damage on the way in and way out in addition to blocking or attacking.
Control:
Outside of Mono-U you should have little to no problem dealing with a control based deck, but that is why we sideboard in Pryoblast. Most of the time the other colors rely on you having creatures but shutting down spells is a bit harder, not impossible mind you but much much harder.
Combo:
Combo decks such as Affinity can spur off lethal damage by turn 4, a well equipped Burn deck can do lethal damage by turn 3, so in this capacity a combo match up is slightly in our favor. However if facing a combo deck like Soul Sisters then your Burn deck is vastly outclassed and the chances of winning are very slim. Most other combo decks can't really lock down a Burn deck so you should have favorable match ups in this department aside from what has been noted.
Under peasant:
1) price of progress - it's not the face melter it is in legacy, but, depending on local meta, it can still cause a ton of pain, especially with guildgates being fairly popular lately.
2)hellspark elemental - way better than ball lightning. While my experience in peasant is significanly less than my experience in legacy, I really doubt that the format shifts things in favor of ball lightning. Check the usual burn and RDW legacy builds and divide hellspark's appearances by ball lightning's + 1. I had to add the plus one or your calculator would spit out a divide by zero error.
Pauper
1)furnace scamp - while he's more commonly associated with rdw, he still works fine in burn. He gets in and swings for 4, on one mana.
Personally, I would run 17-18 lands maybe even 16. For burn, a land draw is nigh useless, plus most of your spells cost 1 or 2. BTW, awesome primer, as usual.
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My lame attempt at humor...
Why does everyone in Bant hate the Lord of Riots? 'Cause they're all, Rakdos-intolerant! Awwww, yeah...
Under peasant:
1) price of progress - it's not the face melter it is in legacy, but, depending on local meta, it can still cause a ton of pain, especially with guildgates being fairly popular lately.
2)hellspark elemental - way better than ball lightning. While my experience in peasant is significanly less than my experience in legacy, I really doubt that the format shifts things in favor of ball lightning. Check the usual burn and RDW legacy builds and divide hellspark's appearances by ball lightning's + 1. I had to add the plus one or your calculator would spit out a divide by zero error.
Pauper
1)furnace scamp - while he's more commonly associated with rdw, he still works fine in burn. He gets in and swings for 4, on one mana.
I'm not sure if Price of Progress is worth a mention, because most of the time in Pauper and Peasant most people just don't have that many non-basic lands out in play by turn four. Burn decks usually kill you in turn four or sooner so let's just say you have two guildgates out that would only be four damage, Flame Rift does the same thing then and at no prerequisite.
I like Furnace Scamp, though I don't think many people would let him touch them and since he doesn't have haste you would almost need to pair him with Simian Spirit Guide + Reckless Charge on turn one.
Personally, I would run 17-18 lands maybe even 16. For burn, a land draw is nigh useless, plus most of your spells cost 1 or 2. BTW, awesome primer, as usual.
I can certainly see how you could get away with even 16 lands, but in my own personal experience I prefer using self sacrifice burns such as Fireblast and Shard Volley so I need to hit all my land drops every single turn to be able to get those off so I can ensure I hit my 20 damage on turn three. I have found that the self sac method gives you the fastest burn possible, if you ran a smaller land count you could get a turn 4-5 kill still.
I try my best to keep all of my primers in the same layout, I think it is easy to read and understand so I am really happy that you like how they are setup.
I like Quest for Pure Flame, however I don't think I like Pyrostatic Pillar. I have done some research into it and it seems to be very effective in storm based decks but I don't think the math adds up well in a pure burn deck. Since burn doesn't use storm we would be taking 2 damage every spell ourselves in addition to the potential damage incoming from your opponent, it just seems risky and would end up in the same result as if you didn't have it; a race to lethal. I will add it to the primer though as a potential support card, but I don't think it is any faster or more efficient. If you can explain to me how it would be more efficient please do, but I think a pure burn deck would just outclass it.
I'm not sure if Price of Progress is worth a mention, because most of the time in Pauper and Peasant most people just don't have that many non-basic lands out in play by turn four. Burn decks usually kill you in turn four or sooner so let's just say you have two guildgates out that would only be two damage, Flame Rift does the same thing then and at no prerequisite.
While I do agree that Price of Progress isn't a great choice since it is very restrictive/narrow for the format, I'd like to point out the Price of Progress deals damgage equal to TWICE the number of nonbasics. So two guildgates would equal 4 damage.
While I do agree that Price of Progress isn't a great choice since it is very restrictive/narrow for the format, I'd like to point out the Price of Progress deals damgage equal to TWICE the number of nonbasics. So two guildgates would equal 4 damage.
Yes I know, it was a typo on my part, I meant four damage. That is why I said it would really only amount to the same damage as Flame Rift so why take the chance of it either being useless of less damage. It could be more damage sure, but highly unlikely in my opinion so I would just run something safer.
Yes I know, it was a typo on my part, I meant four damage. That is why I said it would really only amount to the same damage as Flame Rift so why take the chance of it either being useless of less damage. It could be more damage sure, but highly unlikely in my opinion so I would just run something safer.
I do agree with that, just making sure the information was good for future readers. When it comes down to consistency or the prospect of more damage, I choose consistency every time. Flame Rift is a great finisher, because usually you've been outracing them with damage so the damage to yourself is definitely worth it when the win is in sight.
Awesome Primer! You didn't mention Fireblast in your card choices, which could go in your 4+ mana slot (or the 0 mana slot).
Urdjur's burn thread has also been closed and has been replaced with Michaelangelo's.
What might be interesting is a section of the primer with choices of sideboard cards, so that one can build their sideboard off of the commentary of those suggestions. (I wouldn't rate these cards 1-5, since their usefulness depends on the meta).
Awesome Primer! You didn't mention Fireblast in your card choices, which could go in your 4+ mana slot (or the 0 mana slot).
Urdjur's burn thread has also been closed and has been replaced with Michaelangelo's.
What might be interesting is a section of the primer with choices of sideboard cards, so that one can build their sideboard off of the commentary of those suggestions. (I wouldn't rate these cards 1-5, since their usefulness depends on the meta).
I put Fireblast in the 2 mana drop spot as even though you aren't casting for mana, you are still sacrificing and need 2 mana. I will add in the other Burn thread to the reference area. I have thought of adding a pure sideboard section to my primers, but I have mentioned what to do with them in the description next to them, like Smash to Smithereens under the support drops.
I will make the adjustments later when I come home from work though, thanks!
EDIT:
I am open to additional input and deck lists. (I prefer proven decks so we can provide clear cut yes this works options.) I may add things like Izzet Burn and the like, but I have zero experience with that type of burn.
I'm going to play a casual Paper Pauper tournament with some friends (10 man) and still don't know if I should play Burn or MBC (with hymn to tourach).
I'm going to play a casual Paper Pauper tournament with some friends (10 man) and still don't know if I should play Burn or MBC (with hymn to tourach).
It depends what you are expecting, the nice thing about paper Pauper Burn is that it is basically the exact same deck that is in Legacy. If your meta isn't prepared for Burn you will win and win easily, most meta's do have some ability to stave off MBC to some degree, but a turn 3 Burn deck can be hard to beat unless you are prepared strictly to play against Burn.
Has anyone tried Flameburst and Pardic Firecat with cards like Wild Guess and Faithless Looting to ditch the firecats and make the most out of a 2mana Flameburst while digging through the deck for an optimal hand? It seems like it could have solid synergy and work fairly well. This may work better in Izzet colors for more card advantage, but at that point it becomes less burn and more combo...thoughts?
Currently Running:
Legacy
:symb::symg:Eva Cheap:symg::symb:
:symg::symg:Elves:symg::symg:
Extended
:symr::symu:Ascension:symu::symr:
Standard
:symb::symg:B/G Land Destruction:symg::symb:
EDH
:symw::symu::symb::symr::symg: The Sliver Legionaires:symw::symu::symb::symr::symg:
:symw::symb:Infinite Life Clerics:symb::symw:
-If I was that Mike Long, my DCI rating would be higher.-
-I'd spend more money on cards if I didn't have a beautiful woman to spend it for me.-
Has anyone tried Flameburst and Pardic Firecat with cards like Wild Guess and Faithless Looting to ditch the firecats and make the most out of a 2mana Flameburst while digging through the deck for an optimal hand? It seems like it could have solid synergy and work fairly well. This may work better in Izzet colors for more card advantage, but at that point it becomes less burn and more combo...thoughts?
Funny you should mention that, as there just so happens to be such a thread already. It's quite old, and could probably use more work.
Has anyone tried Flameburst and Pardic Firecat with cards like Wild Guess and Faithless Looting to ditch the firecats and make the most out of a 2mana Flameburst while digging through the deck for an optimal hand? It seems like it could have solid synergy and work fairly well. This may work better in Izzet colors for more card advantage, but at that point it becomes less burn and more combo...thoughts?
I tried this combo awhile ago and found it to be not very effective, though I was trying to burn more than combo. Obviously in a simple speed test a pure Burn deck is vastly superior but if someone were to actually make this a combo deck it might be pretty fun. I'd love to see someone else's attempt at it though.
for the peasant half you could definately put in magma jet and skullcrack. both of them are fringe cards in legacy and could be equally useful here as well. Jet lets you rig your deck for the next two turns ( which you should then be winning one) and crack helps against lifegain and anyone trying to run circle of protection or something of that nature. Pyroclasm and other sweepers like volcanic fallout can also be good in the side against certain creature decks.
It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.
So i wanted to show you guys this Burn variant i started working on only today, it splashes some blue for cards like Oona's Grace, Think Twice, Ponder, and Preordain. Extensive testing needs to be done to see if the list is better than regular burn at all, or if there are better card choices. With the ban of Cloudpost and Temporal Fissure the meta seems to be slower to at least allow this variant to be decent, in theory. The main purpose for blue is to filter late game land draws that are dead, as well as refilling our hand. I considered brainstorm, but the lack of shuffling effects in pauper hinder me. I recently came up with this list:
So i wanted to show you guys this Burn variant i started working on only today, it splashes some blue for cards like Oona's Grace, Think Twice, Ponder, and Preordain. Extensive testing needs to be done to see if the list is better than regular burn at all, or if there are better card choices. With the ban of Cloudpost and Temporal Fissure the meta seems to be slower to at least allow this variant to be decent, in theory. The main purpose for blue is to filter late game land draws that are dead, as well as refilling our hand. I considered brainstorm, but the lack of shuffling effects in pauper hinder me. I recently came up with this list:
Any and all criticisms, advice, etc are welcome. Or if i should just scrap the idea all together.
My personal take and opinion on any burn type is that you need to be as quick and efficient as possible, and at the end of the day it is all about mathematics.
If you take Curse of the Pierced Heart for example, it will take two mana to deal one damage per turn. But if you would just use a single mana and Lightning Bolt them you have just dealt three damage in a single turn for only one mana versus two mana for three damage over three turns. You would honestly be better off using something like Shard Volley in its place because it is quick and immediate damage, prolonged/weak damage gets you killed.
The only card draw I have ever needed in my personal Burn deck in my signature is Needle Drop, but if you have to splash U then I would just up the count of Ponder to four and drop PreOrdain, Think Twice and Oona's Grace. They cost way to much or just don't do enough and Burn is about speed. If your opponent is playing aggro and you are sitting there wasting mana on drawing spells to get a kill on turn 4-5-6 you have already lost. You need to spend mana on burns and very little else.
I would think the preordain would be better than ponder in burn, if there are no other shuffle effects the lands it filters you won't draw for the rest of the game. Ponder does a better of of guaranteeing a burn spell, but increases your chances of drawing a land after that.
I would think the preordain would be better than ponder in burn, if there are no other shuffle effects the lands it filters you won't draw for the rest of the game. Ponder does a better of of guaranteeing a burn spell, but increases your chances of drawing a land after that.
I suppose it would boil down to personal preference. Though I have never had an issue with drawing lands, mostly because I use them for sacrifices for burn spells. The amount of times I have been screwed by having an over abundance of lands is pretty slim so that is why I favor a deeper dig spell.
Just remember though, my deck is mono red so that may be a factor as to why I have never had an issue with only using Needle Drop as my only card draw, throw in another color and you may run into issues.
I have found that I would rather have another decent burn spell over needle drop. You are basically playing a spell hoping to fish another burn and grab 1 damage, where as another burn is actual burn, and since it would be the same slot you have the same odds of drawing it. The difference in goldfish testing is nearly negligible, so I think it's probably a matter of taste.
Also i've been doing some testing with forgotten cave, and let me save everyone else the trouble: etbt is way too big a drawback. A slower controlier deck loves cycling lands, but that's not what burn is.
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Introduction to Pauper Burn
What exactly is Pauper Burn? In essence it is exactly the same thing as the regular good old Burn we have always loved but the only exception being you can only use common cards. The nice thing about Burn is that most of the effective cards are all common, so this makes adapting this archtype to Pauper very easy! This primer will be discussing the archtype as it is related to the paper form of the game not the online version. Some cards and strategies are transferable from Magic Online to paper and vice versus, but the general outline will be focused on paper Magic.
Basics of Pauper Burn
The main idea is to very play cheap burn spells such as Lightning Bolt and Searing Blaze to widdle your opponent down to very low life and once you have enough lands on the field you can use things like Fireblast and Shard Volley to destroy your own lands to deal lethal damage! You will have some support cards such as Needle Drop to generate card draw and dare I call him support but Keldon Marauders can come into and out of play to burn and prevent any pesky critters from touching you.
All of the sideboards in each decklist within Pauper have been designed for a broad meta, it is completely up to the builder to decide what works and what does not work within each sideboard as this can serve as a starting point.
So in short your general rule of play should be,
#1 Play lots and lots of burn spells
#2 Use more burn spells to burn more and more
#3 ??????
#4 Profit
What you will need to win
0 mana drops
Simian Spirit Guide This card is fantastic if you choose to run a pump based burn deck focusing around Kiln Fiend. Use him for free mana to cast spells to proc your Kiln Fiend and get your Reckless Charge working.
Lightning Bolt This is the best single mana burn spell in the game.
Shard Volley When it is time to deal lethal, use this paired with Fireblast and finish them off. Cast this with one mana then sacrifice that same mana and deal your 3 damage.
Lava Spike Direct damage to your opponents face, yes it only targets players but if you target a creature you aren't playing Burn correctly.
Needle Drop I find this card invaluable, 10 out of 10 times you have dealt damage to the player before you get a chance to use this card so this should be a no brainer as it also gives you draw.
Rift Bolt Play this for the suspend cost only and the next turn they lose 3 life, really no negative here minus the short delay.
Lava Dart Normally this isn't a good burn card, but if you pair it with Kiln Fiend it provides double pump!
Chain Lightning A lot of people love this card, and it is priced well for a reason but since it is a sorcery I don't find much use for it in my own testing. I kill no faster with it nor any slower so why spend the money if you don't have to? You can just use Lava Spike for a much cheaper card.
Crimson Wisps If you are running Kiln Fiend or Keldon Marauders this card might just help you out! It also has card draw!
Electrickery This card is iffy for me, I tend to not like it as much because I play my Burn very self sacrifice like, so I never have the mana to cast it effectively, it just doesn't burn as fast as other cards can.
Spark Elemental Some people prefer to this guy but honestly he has more negatives then positives. After turn 2 he becomes almost completely useless. He can't block, and his damage can be stopped even with his trample ability so that one mana can be spent elsewhere. However if you choose to run a creature burn deck then slapping a Reckless Charge on him could make him a little more threatening.
Goblin Fireslinger A nice ping creature if you choose to go more creature heavy.
Pillar of Flame If you fear creatures in your meta, this is a choice card. Way better then just a simple Shock, it exiles those pesky critters so they have no chance to come back!
Firebolt Simple 2 damage, nothing special but it does have a flashback cost. The opponent should be dead though before you get a chance to flashback.
Mogg Fanatic He swings for 1 and can self sacrifice himself to block and deal 2 damage to a creature, not bad but certainly not in the top burn card list.
Shock Extremely, EXTREMELY budget Burn card, really no reason to ever use this card
Fireblast Amazing damage for a small cost. On turn 4 after you have cast what you needed, finish them with this and call it a day.
Kiln Fiend Amazing if you pair him with Reckless Charge, he beats a ridiculous amount of face!
Keldon Marauders Excellent burn on the way in and out, as-well as a attacker and blocker.
Searing Blaze I can't speak highly enough about this card. For only 2 mana you can blow down a creature and damage the player for 3? Are you serious!? Include = YES.
Flame Rift I use this card, though it has severe drawbacks. If you have 5 life and they have 4, use it. I would rather go to a draw with them then let them win.
Incinerate Pretty solid burn spell with the added benefit of stopping regeneration.
Searing Spear Strictly worse then Incinerate, honestly not much reason to use this card.
Volcanic Hammer Same as above, nothing to shake your fist at.
Brimstone Volley Way to expensive and it once again relies on creature death to be effective. Just not a good card to get that fast kill that a Burn deck needs.
Thunderclap Honestly this card just doesn't cut it. Why would you want to burn a creature? You need to beat face as fast as possible and this just doesn't under any circumstances help that especially when you have Searing Blaze.
Staggershock If this is all you have, ok use it but the math just doesn't work on this card, three mana for 4 damage is HORRIBLE.
None as of yet.
Reckless Charge Amazing, it needs to be paired with Kiln Fiend though for maximum face beatage.
Smash to Smithereens Strictly a sideboard card to remove artifacts.
Pyroblast Going up against blue? Include this!
Relic of Progenitus Strictly a sideboard card to remove any annoying graveyards.
Faithless Looting Straight forward card draw, slow though.
Molten Rain Normally I don't care what mana they have in Pauper, so this is a sideboard card and just a maybe overall.
Moutain Duh
Forgotten Cave If you fancy a cycle land, this is your choice.
XBM Yosho's Pauper Burn
The primary focus of this deck is simple, burn as fast as you possibly can. It doesn't utilize single creature pump like Kiln Fiend decks do, their isn't really any fancy draw spells, just plain old burn. The sideboard allows me to deal with artifacts, any annoying blue counters, some dedicated pinging and some graveyard hate with additional card draw. If you go first, this deck can produce 23 damage on turn 4. If you go second this deck can produce 22 damage on turn 3.
4 Keldon Marauders
Spells 36
4 Fireblast
4 Flame Rift
4 Incinerate
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Needle Drop
4 Rift Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Shard Volley
20 Mountain
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Pyroblast
4 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Relic of Progenitus
XBM Yosho's Pauper Kiln/Burn
This deck uses the Kiln Fiend casting method, burn away everything in your path and push through with your fiend. You also have the option of casting your Reckless Charge onto your Keldon Marauders and let him swing, and if he dies that's great because he still does damage on the way out.
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Kiln Fiend
Spells 32
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Crimson Wisps
4 Reckless Charge
4 Fireblast
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lava Dart
20 Mountain
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Pyroblast
4 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Relic of Progenitus
I would give this match up a 70/30 if not better because with the right cards (IE: not Shock) we can easily outrace these decks since we are capable of going lethal on turn 3. Since we are racing the opponents deck to deal lethal damage and we have really little to no creatures we are trading blow for blow BUT a creature like Keldon Marauders can change the balance since he deals damage on the way in and way out in addition to blocking or attacking.
Control:
Outside of Mono-U you should have little to no problem dealing with a control based deck, but that is why we sideboard in Pryoblast. Most of the time the other colors rely on you having creatures but shutting down spells is a bit harder, not impossible mind you but much much harder.
Combo:
Combo decks such as Affinity can spur off lethal damage by turn 4, a well equipped Burn deck can do lethal damage by turn 3, so in this capacity a combo match up is slightly in our favor. However if facing a combo deck like Soul Sisters then your Burn deck is vastly outclassed and the chances of winning are very slim. Most other combo decks can't really lock down a Burn deck so you should have favorable match ups in this department aside from what has been noted.
Introduction to Peasant Burn
What exactly is Peasant Burn? In essence it is exactly the same thing as the regular good old Burn we have always loved but the only exception being you can only use up to five uncommon cards and the rest need to be common cards. The nice thing about Burn is that most of the effective cards are all common and their really is only a small select few that are worth adding from the uncommon card pool, so this makes adapting this archtype to Peasant very easy! This primer will be discussing the archtype as it is related to the paper form of the game not the online version. Some cards and strategies are transferable from Magic Online to paper and vice versus, but the general outline will be focused on paper Magic.
Basics of Peasant Burn
The main idea is to very play cheap burn spells such as Lightning Bolt or cheap creatures like Hellspark Elemental to widdle your opponent down to very low life and once you have enough lands on the field (just like with Pauper) you can use things like Fireblast and Shard Volley to destroy your own lands to deal lethal damage! You will have some support cards such as Needle Drop and Browbeat to generate card draw and dare I call him support but Keldon Marauders can come into and out of play to burn and prevent any pesky critters from touching you.
All of the sideboards in each decklist within Peasant have been designed for a broad meta, it is completely up to the builder to decide what works and what does not work within each sideboard as this can serve as a starting point.
So in short your general rule of play should be,
#1 Play lots and lots of burn spells
#2 Use more burn spells to burn more and more
#3 ??????
#4 Profit
What you will need to win
1 mana drops
None as of yet.
Hellspark Elemental Much better then his little brother Spark Elemental because he can come back if you need him. If you want to run a creature burn deck in Peasant he should be considered closely.
Searing Blood If you don't want to go with a quick beater in Peasant, this card not only nukes a creature for 2, but if it dies and in most cases they do you also beat face for 3 damage!
Ball Lightning This card is EXTREMELY iffy. This creature falls under the old rarity debate of whether or not U1 (uncommon) is in fact an uncommon. The current rarity structure would have it at a rare, but SOME playgroups may allow for this card to be used so you will need to check with your playgroup. If they allow it then you should substitute Hellspark Elemental for this creature immediately.
Browbeat If you expect longer than usual burn games, this can be nice card draw or also a fantastic burn.
None as of yet.
None as of yet.
Barbarian Ring Ok I suppose, though the mana could be spent on more powerful burns, it also causes problems with Fireblast and Shard Volley.
XBM Yosho's Peasant Burn
The primary focus of this deck is simple, burn as fast as you possibly can. It doesn't utilize single creature pump like Kiln Fiend decks do, it uses a nice draw spell which can also be converted into a burn if your opponent dares. The sideboard allows me to deal with artifacts, any annoying blue counters, some dedicated pinging and some graveyard hate with additional card draw. If you go first, this deck can produce 23 damage on turn 4. If you go second this deck can produce 22 damage on turn 3.
4 Keldon Marauders
3 Hellspark Elemental
Spells 33
4 Fireblast
4 Flame Rift
2 Browbeat
3 Needle Drop
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Shard Volley
20 Mountain
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Pyroblast
4 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Relic of Progenitus
XBM Yosho's Peasant Kiln/Burn
This deck uses the Kiln Fiend casting method, burn away everything in your path and push through with your fiend. You also have the option of casting your Reckless Charge onto your already hasted and trampled Hellspark Elemental to walk through anything annoying.
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Kiln Fiend
Spells 32
4 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Needle Drop
1 Browbeat
4 Reckless Charge
4 Fireblast
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lava Dart
20 Mountain
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Pyroblast
4 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Relic of Progenitus
I would give this match up a 70/30 if not better because with the right cards (IE: not Shock) we can easily outrace these decks since we are capable of going lethal on turn 3. Since we are racing the opponents deck to deal lethal damage and we have really little to no creatures we are trading blow for blow BUT a creature like Keldon Marauders can change the balance since he deals damage on the way in and way out in addition to blocking or attacking.
Control:
Outside of Mono-U you should have little to no problem dealing with a control based deck, but that is why we sideboard in Pryoblast. Most of the time the other colors rely on you having creatures but shutting down spells is a bit harder, not impossible mind you but much much harder.
Combo:
Combo decks such as Affinity can spur off lethal damage by turn 4, a well equipped Burn deck can do lethal damage by turn 3, so in this capacity a combo match up is slightly in our favor. However if facing a combo deck like Soul Sisters then your Burn deck is vastly outclassed and the chances of winning are very slim. Most other combo decks can't really lock down a Burn deck so you should have favorable match ups in this department aside from what has been noted.
W White Weenie
Under peasant:
1) price of progress - it's not the face melter it is in legacy, but, depending on local meta, it can still cause a ton of pain, especially with guildgates being fairly popular lately.
2)hellspark elemental - way better than ball lightning. While my experience in peasant is significanly less than my experience in legacy, I really doubt that the format shifts things in favor of ball lightning. Check the usual burn and RDW legacy builds and divide hellspark's appearances by ball lightning's + 1. I had to add the plus one or your calculator would spit out a divide by zero error.
Pauper
1)furnace scamp - while he's more commonly associated with rdw, he still works fine in burn. He gets in and swings for 4, on one mana.
My lame attempt at humor...
Why does everyone in Bant hate the Lord of Riots? 'Cause they're all, Rakdos-intolerant! Awwww, yeah...
These have all been successful for the French.
Thanks! I appreciate that you enjoyed it.
I'm not sure if Price of Progress is worth a mention, because most of the time in Pauper and Peasant most people just don't have that many non-basic lands out in play by turn four. Burn decks usually kill you in turn four or sooner so let's just say you have two guildgates out that would only be four damage, Flame Rift does the same thing then and at no prerequisite.
I like Furnace Scamp, though I don't think many people would let him touch them and since he doesn't have haste you would almost need to pair him with Simian Spirit Guide + Reckless Charge on turn one.
I can certainly see how you could get away with even 16 lands, but in my own personal experience I prefer using self sacrifice burns such as Fireblast and Shard Volley so I need to hit all my land drops every single turn to be able to get those off so I can ensure I hit my 20 damage on turn three. I have found that the self sac method gives you the fastest burn possible, if you ran a smaller land count you could get a turn 4-5 kill still.
I try my best to keep all of my primers in the same layout, I think it is easy to read and understand so I am really happy that you like how they are setup.
I like Quest for Pure Flame, however I don't think I like Pyrostatic Pillar. I have done some research into it and it seems to be very effective in storm based decks but I don't think the math adds up well in a pure burn deck. Since burn doesn't use storm we would be taking 2 damage every spell ourselves in addition to the potential damage incoming from your opponent, it just seems risky and would end up in the same result as if you didn't have it; a race to lethal. I will add it to the primer though as a potential support card, but I don't think it is any faster or more efficient. If you can explain to me how it would be more efficient please do, but I think a pure burn deck would just outclass it.
W White Weenie
While I do agree that Price of Progress isn't a great choice since it is very restrictive/narrow for the format, I'd like to point out the Price of Progress deals damgage equal to TWICE the number of nonbasics. So two guildgates would equal 4 damage.
Yes I know, it was a typo on my part, I meant four damage. That is why I said it would really only amount to the same damage as Flame Rift so why take the chance of it either being useless of less damage. It could be more damage sure, but highly unlikely in my opinion so I would just run something safer.
W White Weenie
I do agree with that, just making sure the information was good for future readers. When it comes down to consistency or the prospect of more damage, I choose consistency every time. Flame Rift is a great finisher, because usually you've been outracing them with damage so the damage to yourself is definitely worth it when the win is in sight.
http://mtg-peasant.com/
http://peasant-magic-paris.blogspot.com/
http://www.magic-ville.fr/fr/decks/indexf?format=P
http://peasantmagicgroningen.blogspot.com/
Europe has an established peasant metagame.
Urdjur's burn thread has also been closed and has been replaced with Michaelangelo's.
What might be interesting is a section of the primer with choices of sideboard cards, so that one can build their sideboard off of the commentary of those suggestions. (I wouldn't rate these cards 1-5, since their usefulness depends on the meta).
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
I put Fireblast in the 2 mana drop spot as even though you aren't casting for mana, you are still sacrificing and need 2 mana. I will add in the other Burn thread to the reference area. I have thought of adding a pure sideboard section to my primers, but I have mentioned what to do with them in the description next to them, like Smash to Smithereens under the support drops.
I will make the adjustments later when I come home from work though, thanks!
EDIT:
I am open to additional input and deck lists. (I prefer proven decks so we can provide clear cut yes this works options.) I may add things like Izzet Burn and the like, but I have zero experience with that type of burn.
W White Weenie
I'm going to play a casual Paper Pauper tournament with some friends (10 man) and still don't know if I should play Burn or MBC (with hymn to tourach).
It depends what you are expecting, the nice thing about paper Pauper Burn is that it is basically the exact same deck that is in Legacy. If your meta isn't prepared for Burn you will win and win easily, most meta's do have some ability to stave off MBC to some degree, but a turn 3 Burn deck can be hard to beat unless you are prepared strictly to play against Burn.
W White Weenie
Legacy
:symb::symg:Eva Cheap:symg::symb:
:symg::symg:Elves:symg::symg:
Extended
:symr::symu:Ascension:symu::symr:
Standard
:symb::symg:B/G Land Destruction:symg::symb:
EDH
:symw::symu::symb::symr::symg: The Sliver Legionaires:symw::symu::symb::symr::symg:
:symw::symb:Infinite Life Clerics:symb::symw:
-If I was that Mike Long, my DCI rating would be higher.-
-I'd spend more money on cards if I didn't have a beautiful woman to spend it for me.-
Funny you should mention that, as there just so happens to be such a thread already. It's quite old, and could probably use more work.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=466612
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
I tried this combo awhile ago and found it to be not very effective, though I was trying to burn more than combo. Obviously in a simple speed test a pure Burn deck is vastly superior but if someone were to actually make this a combo deck it might be pretty fun. I'd love to see someone else's attempt at it though.
Yuuuup, my old attempt at it.
W White Weenie
4 Keldon Marauders
Enchantment
4 Curse of the Pierced Heart
Instant
2 Fireblast
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Needle Drop
4 Searing Blaze
2 Think Twice
2 Oona's Grace
3 Flame Rift
3 Lava Spike
2 Ponder
2 Preordain
4 Riftbolt
5 Island
3 Izzet Guildgate
10 Mountain
2 Terramorphic Expanse
Any and all criticisms, advice, etc are welcome. Or if i should just scrap the idea all together.
My personal take and opinion on any burn type is that you need to be as quick and efficient as possible, and at the end of the day it is all about mathematics.
If you take Curse of the Pierced Heart for example, it will take two mana to deal one damage per turn. But if you would just use a single mana and Lightning Bolt them you have just dealt three damage in a single turn for only one mana versus two mana for three damage over three turns. You would honestly be better off using something like Shard Volley in its place because it is quick and immediate damage, prolonged/weak damage gets you killed.
The only card draw I have ever needed in my personal Burn deck in my signature is Needle Drop, but if you have to splash U then I would just up the count of Ponder to four and drop PreOrdain, Think Twice and Oona's Grace. They cost way to much or just don't do enough and Burn is about speed. If your opponent is playing aggro and you are sitting there wasting mana on drawing spells to get a kill on turn 4-5-6 you have already lost. You need to spend mana on burns and very little else.
W White Weenie
I suppose it would boil down to personal preference. Though I have never had an issue with drawing lands, mostly because I use them for sacrifices for burn spells. The amount of times I have been screwed by having an over abundance of lands is pretty slim so that is why I favor a deeper dig spell.
Just remember though, my deck is mono red so that may be a factor as to why I have never had an issue with only using Needle Drop as my only card draw, throw in another color and you may run into issues.
W White Weenie
Also i've been doing some testing with forgotten cave, and let me save everyone else the trouble: etbt is way too big a drawback. A slower controlier deck loves cycling lands, but that's not what burn is.