Round 1: Burn - Win
Played the mirror in Round 1. I lost the die roll and started on the draw. I spent the game removing his creatures and he didn't remove many of mine. I won game 1 after we went back and forth slinging spells. Game 2 I sided in both of my Kor Firewalkers and stuck one on the board but actually didn't know that Skullcrack would override protection after I used it to block a Goblin Guide. So I blocked, he cast Skullcrack, I lost the firewalker, and he had a lot of pressure on me this game anyway. Game 3 I just exploded after sticking a bunch of creatures including Eidolon of the Great Revel and stole it.
Round 2: Affinity - Win
In game 1 I was on the draw again. He emptied his hand turn 1 which included 2 Memnite, Signal Pest, and Vault Skirge. I didn't have enough removal to stabilize and lost after a few activations of Steel Overseer. Game 2, I side boarded in Deflecting Palm and of course, all of the Destructive Revelry. I didn't see a single D.Rev, but I was able to win pretty easily after removing his creatures and pushing through with a single Monastery Swiftspear and some burn spells. Game 3, I sideboarded in Harsh Mentor. I can't say enough that I truly believe that card won me the game. My opponent emptied their hand and took a lot of damage from playing some of their own Vault Skirges. I blew one up on my turn 1, they played Steel Overseer turn 2, and then I stuck Mentor on the battlefield. My opponent refused to activate Steel Overseer with the Mentor on the battlefield which bought me 4 turns to find more spells, and each turn I negated the lifegain from the Skirge with 2 different Skullcrack and 2 different Atarka's Command, eventually winning because I was able to cast Deflecting Palm on an 8/8 Master of Etherium. Harsh Mentor did no damage to my opponent, but it slowed them down a considerable amount before they were able to remove it. I was very happy with it here.
Round 3 - Merfolk - Loss
There isn't a lot to say. I was on the draw again game 1 and all of my lands fell to Spreading Seas. Game 2 I sided in Destructive Revelry but didn't find any of them before all of my lands fell to Spreading Seas again. It was an instant loss.
Round 4 - Abzan - Win
I think I finally won the die roll here. This matchup was weird. My opponent led on Mishra's Bauble which made me believe they were a Death Shadow's deck but I never saw it in either game. I saw Tarmogoyf and Lingering Souls and was able to just burn out my opponent quick despite receiving an Inquisition of Kozilek and watching Liliana of the Veil resolve. Her first mode went to making me sacrifice Goblin Guide, and I drew some lands that I kept in hand to hold for her discards. He wasn't able to get the other cards in my hand and I burned him out. Game 2 I sideboarded in Relic of Progenitus and it was more or so the same as the first game I won 2-0.
Round 5 - Abzan - Win
This was almost exactly the same as the round before, except my opponent had more discard. I was able to fight through it, as they drew poorer than I did and I won 2-1. Nothing new.
Round 6 - Affinity - Loss
During this matchup, I fell pretty hard after losing the die roll Game 1, and being unable to keep up with all of their creatures + Cranial Plating. Game 2, I sideboarded in the usual suspects but saw none of them as I kept a 3 lander but flooded out despite shuffling via my fetches. After seeing the 6th land off the top, my opponent crushed me.
Round 7 - Bant Eldrazi - Loss
I lost the die roll again and lost game one. My opponent had a slow start with lands but played two Noble Hierarch, one which I was able to bolt but couldn't kill the other. I fell to a Thought-Knot Seer and some exalted triggers and couldn't keep pace. Game 2, I sided in Deflecting Palm and Path to Exile and took the play and had to mulligan down to five. My opponent cast TKS on their Turn 2, into a Matter Reshaper, and a Eldrazi Displacer and I couldn't find any answers. I lost and dropped from the event because I had a splitting headache and couldn't continue playing after the 3rd loss.
All in all, I think I played very well but had some unfortunate string of draws. I lost almost every die roll that day as well which never made me feel bad but it of course helps when you win a die roll. I think Harsh Mentor truly won me that game against Affinity and I want to keep him as a 2 of in my side for now.
If every deck at your store was Boggles and Tron, go for it. But when playing in large or even a small field of unknowns, Deflecting Palm is much less efficient than Helix.
Ah hell no. Ship that s**t. Doesn't have a 1 drop dude in it. Even then I'd still probably ship that hand.
Yeah my immediate thought too was this should be an instant mulligan. I don't really envision winning the game with only 10 points of burn in hand to start.
I'm also enjoying the WWYD scenarios. I have one myself:
On the play, opening hand: Guide, Swift, Eidolon, Lava Spike, Boros Charm, 2 Fetches
We all agree that the T1 play is Goblin Guide. But my question is, what is the T2 play? Eidolon or Switf + Lava spike? Assume you draw a land on T2.
Turn 1: Fetch and Guide. Hit for 2.
Turn 2: Fetch and play Swiftspear. Lava Spike. Get in for 7 damage total that turn. That should bring your opponent to 10 life if they fetched the previous turn.
The following turn I'll probably try to bait removal on my creatures and then play Eidolon post combat.
I'll be playing some Modern on MTGO tomorrow so I can take some screenshots at key moments of some games and see what discussion we can get going about different scenarios.
Great analysis. Yeah, delaying the opponent's game plan seems much better, and I didn't consider that fetching for a basic might color screw them later. Great to know. I'm definitely not afraid to ask questions. I am at a point now where I am ready to see some real results for the work I am putting in and if someone is going to think another person is an "idiot" or a "scrub" for asking simple questions, well, it brushes right off me because it makes me a better player. Especially because it opens up discussion like the above.
And Goblin Guide is definitely the play. In a perfect scenario where none of your creatures eat removal or get blocked, Guide into Swiftspear = 5 damage by Turn 2 as opposed to 4 damage by Turn 2. The later you play creatures the worse off you are.
What if your opening hand is Guide, Guide, Eidolon, Swiftspear? Do you Go Turn 1 Guide into Turn 2 Guide and Swiftspear, or Turn 1 Guide into Turn 2 Eidolon?
Thanks for the insight, El. I play fairly well against control and you've made up my mind about the Firecrafts.
Here's a scenario: Let's say it's Game 1 Turn 1 against an unknown deck. Your opening 7 has two fetches, and all burn with no 1 drops except for maybe Lava Spike or Rift Bolt. Is it more correct to open with the Spike or Bolt or is it more correct to play a land and pass hoping they'll fetch shock themselves for a free 3 damage? If we play the Spike/Rift right away they might play a basic or play a fetch into a basic. On the other hand, they play a shock land tapped and it gives us a free turn to keep going.
This may seem like a super basic question, but I have played burn for a year now and am just trying to identify every possible caveat to level up as a player.
There just aren't enough decks with countermagic out there to make Exquisite Firecraft good. And some of them (UW Control and Merfolk) can circumvent it by cutting you off the 1RR you need to cast it.
Legacy is totally different from Modern. Exquisite Firecraft was important in Legacy because of Miracles and the fact that upwards of 60% of the meta is playing Force of Will. The fact that Miracles is gone has led some to question whether Firecraft is worth playing anymore. Things that are good in Legacy are not necessarily good in Modern, so Firecraft being in Legacy Burn isn't very important to evaluating the card for Modern.
There's nothing that comes close to that environment in Modern. Firecraft is only ok in Modern in an extremely strange meta loaded with counters. However, you can generally compete with control by learning how to play against it and how to bottleneck them. I would never drop Boros Charm in order to play Firecraft. If I felt I needed Firecraft, I'd find a different way to make room.
I am playing in the SCG Open this weekend in Baltimore and came here ironically enough to ask about Firecraft. I currently run two in the board. I don't know if I want to keep them. Based on the current meta, do we think Firecraft is a good sideboard option? Honestly I almost never cast it due to the intense mana cost.
Still no. Every land needs to tap for red, or fetch for a land that taps for red. There is no room for Basic Not-Mountain. Burn if often runs on only two lands. If you start fetching non red sources then you have to start cutting RR spells. Cutting Eidolon to play around Blood Moon is a horrible idea.
I never said anything about Eidolon or cutting to RR
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The point stands. If you play basic lands that are not Mountains, you are at risk of being unable to cast spells like Eidolon. If you can't cast it consistently, it is a detriment. Do you think playing plains and forest cards is worth not being able to cast some of the best cards in your deck?
As others have mentioned various Enchantments you may need to remove, I'll add 1 more to the list. If your in a meta that has Blue Moon, RW Prisons or face a Mono Red/RDW that runs Blood Moon you'll also need Enchantment removal. Yes you can get around Blood Moon but it locks out your G and W unless you grab basics (Id run at least 1 or each) making cards like Atarka's, Boros Charm, Lightning Helix and Path to Exile if you need it sit as dead cards in your hand.
I wouldn't run at least one of each basic. Every land in this deck needs to either tap for red, or fetch a land that taps for red. There is no room for Basic Plains or Basic Forest. If I was in a meta with mostly Blood Moon decks I would switch to mono red before adding non-mountain basics.
Lately, Collective Brutality has been brutally beating up on me (sorry for the pun). Is there a way to combat this card?
Collective Brutality is one of the best anti-burn cards we have in modern. Its casting does not guarantee a loss for the burn player, but it really messes up with burn's gameplan. If used escalating all modes, you are being three for one'd. However, you can fight it back to achieve some degree of damage control.
Atarka's Command is decent against it, if you cast it in response to CB choosing +1/+1 to your creatures and denying lifegain for your opponents, you can counter 2 CB modes (lifedrain and -2/-2 to target creature). If you don't have creatures or don't mind them dying, 3 to the face and lifegain deny are the way to go, so Skullcrack is equally good in this situation.
Just a heads up. For the command, use the +1/+1 mode and three damage (assuming you want to save a creature). it is one more damage than denying them two life.
And obviously if the target is Swiftspear, you skullcrack mode.
Thanks for the replies.
Atarka's Command and Skullcrack are good, but having to keep 2 mana open is quite difficult at times. And if I keep my mana open, my opponent could simply play another card, while I fall behind on tempo.
So I'm looking for some additional answers. Is there a resilient creature or permanent in Red? Is it worth it to go a little bigger and include something like Chandra?
If your opponent plays another creature cast other cards in your hand at their end step. Not sure where the problem is. You want to be waiting till the end of their turn to play bolts and helixes.
Lately, Collective Brutality has been brutally beating up on me (sorry for the pun). Is there a way to combat this card?
Collective Brutality is one of the best anti-burn cards we have in modern. Its casting does not guarantee a loss for the burn player, but it really messes up with burn's gameplan. If used escalating all modes, you are being three for one'd. However, you can fight it back to achieve some degree of damage control.
Atarka's Command is decent against it, if you cast it in response to CB choosing +1/+1 to your creatures and denying lifegain for your opponents, you can counter 2 CB modes (lifedrain and -2/-2 to target creature). If you don't have creatures or don't mind them dying, 3 to the face and lifegain deny are the way to go, so Skullcrack is equally good in this situation.
Just a heads up. For the command, use the +1/+1 mode and three damage (assuming you want to save a creature). it is one more damage than denying them two life.
And obviously if the target is Swiftspear, you skullcrack mode.
2x Arid Mesa
4x Bloodstained Mire
3x Inspiring Vantage
2x Mountain
2x Sacred Foundry
2x Stomping Ground
4x Wooded Foothills
Instant (21)
4x Atarka's Command
4x Boros Charm
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Lightning Helix
4x Searing Blaze
3x Skullcrack
4x Eidolon of the Great Revel
4x Goblin Guide
4x Monastery Swiftspear
Sorcery (8)
4x Lava Spike
4x Rift Bolt
2x Deflecting Palm
4x Destructive Revelry
2x Harsh Mentor
2x Kor Firewalker
3x Path to Exile
2x Relic of Progenitus
Round 1: Burn - Win
Played the mirror in Round 1. I lost the die roll and started on the draw. I spent the game removing his creatures and he didn't remove many of mine. I won game 1 after we went back and forth slinging spells. Game 2 I sided in both of my Kor Firewalkers and stuck one on the board but actually didn't know that Skullcrack would override protection after I used it to block a Goblin Guide. So I blocked, he cast Skullcrack, I lost the firewalker, and he had a lot of pressure on me this game anyway. Game 3 I just exploded after sticking a bunch of creatures including Eidolon of the Great Revel and stole it.
Round 2: Affinity - Win
In game 1 I was on the draw again. He emptied his hand turn 1 which included 2 Memnite, Signal Pest, and Vault Skirge. I didn't have enough removal to stabilize and lost after a few activations of Steel Overseer. Game 2, I side boarded in Deflecting Palm and of course, all of the Destructive Revelry. I didn't see a single D.Rev, but I was able to win pretty easily after removing his creatures and pushing through with a single Monastery Swiftspear and some burn spells. Game 3, I sideboarded in Harsh Mentor. I can't say enough that I truly believe that card won me the game. My opponent emptied their hand and took a lot of damage from playing some of their own Vault Skirges. I blew one up on my turn 1, they played Steel Overseer turn 2, and then I stuck Mentor on the battlefield. My opponent refused to activate Steel Overseer with the Mentor on the battlefield which bought me 4 turns to find more spells, and each turn I negated the lifegain from the Skirge with 2 different Skullcrack and 2 different Atarka's Command, eventually winning because I was able to cast Deflecting Palm on an 8/8 Master of Etherium. Harsh Mentor did no damage to my opponent, but it slowed them down a considerable amount before they were able to remove it. I was very happy with it here.
Round 3 - Merfolk - Loss
There isn't a lot to say. I was on the draw again game 1 and all of my lands fell to Spreading Seas. Game 2 I sided in Destructive Revelry but didn't find any of them before all of my lands fell to Spreading Seas again. It was an instant loss.
Round 4 - Abzan - Win
I think I finally won the die roll here. This matchup was weird. My opponent led on Mishra's Bauble which made me believe they were a Death Shadow's deck but I never saw it in either game. I saw Tarmogoyf and Lingering Souls and was able to just burn out my opponent quick despite receiving an Inquisition of Kozilek and watching Liliana of the Veil resolve. Her first mode went to making me sacrifice Goblin Guide, and I drew some lands that I kept in hand to hold for her discards. He wasn't able to get the other cards in my hand and I burned him out. Game 2 I sideboarded in Relic of Progenitus and it was more or so the same as the first game I won 2-0.
Round 5 - Abzan - Win
This was almost exactly the same as the round before, except my opponent had more discard. I was able to fight through it, as they drew poorer than I did and I won 2-1. Nothing new.
Round 6 - Affinity - Loss
During this matchup, I fell pretty hard after losing the die roll Game 1, and being unable to keep up with all of their creatures + Cranial Plating. Game 2, I sideboarded in the usual suspects but saw none of them as I kept a 3 lander but flooded out despite shuffling via my fetches. After seeing the 6th land off the top, my opponent crushed me.
Round 7 - Bant Eldrazi - Loss
I lost the die roll again and lost game one. My opponent had a slow start with lands but played two Noble Hierarch, one which I was able to bolt but couldn't kill the other. I fell to a Thought-Knot Seer and some exalted triggers and couldn't keep pace. Game 2, I sided in Deflecting Palm and Path to Exile and took the play and had to mulligan down to five. My opponent cast TKS on their Turn 2, into a Matter Reshaper, and a Eldrazi Displacer and I couldn't find any answers. I lost and dropped from the event because I had a splitting headache and couldn't continue playing after the 3rd loss.
All in all, I think I played very well but had some unfortunate string of draws. I lost almost every die roll that day as well which never made me feel bad but it of course helps when you win a die roll. I think Harsh Mentor truly won me that game against Affinity and I want to keep him as a 2 of in my side for now.
Yeah my immediate thought too was this should be an instant mulligan. I don't really envision winning the game with only 10 points of burn in hand to start.
Mulligan or keep? How often should we mulligan/keep hands with 4 lands?
Turn 1: Fetch and Guide. Hit for 2.
Turn 2: Fetch and play Swiftspear. Lava Spike. Get in for 7 damage total that turn. That should bring your opponent to 10 life if they fetched the previous turn.
The following turn I'll probably try to bait removal on my creatures and then play Eidolon post combat.
And Goblin Guide is definitely the play. In a perfect scenario where none of your creatures eat removal or get blocked, Guide into Swiftspear = 5 damage by Turn 2 as opposed to 4 damage by Turn 2. The later you play creatures the worse off you are.
What if your opening hand is Guide, Guide, Eidolon, Swiftspear? Do you Go Turn 1 Guide into Turn 2 Guide and Swiftspear, or Turn 1 Guide into Turn 2 Eidolon?
Here's a scenario: Let's say it's Game 1 Turn 1 against an unknown deck. Your opening 7 has two fetches, and all burn with no 1 drops except for maybe Lava Spike or Rift Bolt. Is it more correct to open with the Spike or Bolt or is it more correct to play a land and pass hoping they'll fetch shock themselves for a free 3 damage? If we play the Spike/Rift right away they might play a basic or play a fetch into a basic. On the other hand, they play a shock land tapped and it gives us a free turn to keep going.
This may seem like a super basic question, but I have played burn for a year now and am just trying to identify every possible caveat to level up as a player.
I didn't consider that about the Merfolk matchup.
I am playing in the SCG Open this weekend in Baltimore and came here ironically enough to ask about Firecraft. I currently run two in the board. I don't know if I want to keep them. Based on the current meta, do we think Firecraft is a good sideboard option? Honestly I almost never cast it due to the intense mana cost.
The point stands. If you play basic lands that are not Mountains, you are at risk of being unable to cast spells like Eidolon. If you can't cast it consistently, it is a detriment. Do you think playing plains and forest cards is worth not being able to cast some of the best cards in your deck?
Playing non mountains is a terrible idea.
If your opponent plays another creature cast other cards in your hand at their end step. Not sure where the problem is. You want to be waiting till the end of their turn to play bolts and helixes.
And obviously if the target is Swiftspear, you skullcrack mode.