How to play burn
Modern forum
Posted on Feb. 23, 2015, 2:22 p.m. by Kage-no-Raito
Hey guys,
Currently I'm running burn for modern. Although I have owned the deck for two months now, I've only gone to two modern events so I am lacking in-depth experience with piloting burn against certain matchups.
For this reason, I'm looking for any help or advice on how to pilot burn againt certain matchups, whether against deck X to burn their face, deck Y to burn out creatures (whether your turn or theirs), or deck Z to hold spells at certain times to one shot games (usually 12 to 0 I believe). Basically looking for tips on how to effectively pilot burn since I know not all games would be a race.
vampirelazarus says... #3
That's my comment by the way, I somehow got logged out while posting....
February 23, 2015 2:32 p.m.
Kage-no-Raito says... #4
I've played Abzan midrange, Jeskai control, infect, and affinity. However, I'm looking as to how to handle the mirror match, twin, Bloom Titan, and most of the top tier decks in the format.
February 23, 2015 2:36 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #5
Well, for Twin, personally, (and keep in mind, im not a burn player), I'd be burning every Pestermite, Deceiver Exarch insert creature with ETB....
For the mirror match, burn them faster then they burn you. :P
Bloom Titan, Im actually not familiar with at all.
Affinity, you want to kill Arcbound Ravager, Inkmoth Nexus, Vault Skirge, and maybe Signal Pest.
Control should be easy, just burn them, and kill any creatures that pose an actual threat. If they play Vendilion Clique, and you have more life than them, and clique won't be able to kill you before you kill them.... Just burn them.
Midrange, Im also not familiar with (I haven't actually played a game of Magic since September), but that seems like the one you'd have the most trouble with, what with Siege Rhino and Kitchen Finks floating around.
February 23, 2015 2:43 p.m.
KrosanTusker says... #7
Generally speaking, you want to burn them unless their creature will just make you lose. You want to hold Lightning Bolt, in most cases, as it's the best and most versatile card, until you have to use it. In the mirror, you want to hold Skullcrack for their Lightning Helixes, and use your own Helices when they're tapped out. Vs Twin, you only have to burn their creature if they try to combo off, but remember they will often have counters (duh) and can tap down your lands.
February 23, 2015 4:53 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #8
This might be helpful too:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/tier-1-modern/219892-burn
February 23, 2015 5:37 p.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #9
Affinity is as fast is RDW/Burn, and we have a 50/50 matchup game one. I run Forked Bolt main to improve that matchup. Don't go after Arcbound Ravager, dudes counters come back unless he's the only critter on the board. He's also really hard to remove, so don't bother wasting removal. Go after Vault Skirge and Signal Pest, as they're hard to block, plus life gain isn't something we want. You can bolt an Inkmoth/Blinkmoth in response to it being activated, before Cranial Plating is equipped. Side in Destructive Revelry or Smash to Smithereens and be wary of them siding in Spellskite and Etched Champion.
I've played against Twin. Post board, Torpor Orb and Combust works best. Game one its a race, and def kill Pestermite.
Tron can be rough. We have the upper hand, but Karn is a bitch, usually exiling Mountain. Make sure you have Blood Moon or Molten Rain, hold on to Skullcrack for Wurmcoil.
Jeskai Control is grindy. Kinda sucks. Def hold onto Skullcrack for Helix. Shrine of Burning Rage helps close games in this match. Blood Moon may be effective, pending how many basics they run. Some lists run plenty of basics to nullify Moon, though. Be patient, bait counters, and play Instants on their upkeep.
Abzan is grindy as well, but we generally have the upper hand. Again, holding onto Skullcrack is key. Removal doesn't matter much in this matchup, rather deal it to their dome. Do remove early BoP or Heirarch, if they have them with Forked Bolt or Searing Blaze. Side in Torpor Orb for Rhino. Blood Moon may help some, as well.
Haven't played against Bloom Titan, but Torpor Orb, Blood Moon, and Destructive Revelry look good post board against it.
TL;DR freaking Blood Moon and Torpor Orb are awesome.
February 23, 2015 6:06 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #10
Blood Moon wins games. You make a case for mainboarding it. aeonstoremyliver pretty much listed them all.
Kre says... #2
Well, since modern is pretty vast..... What decks have you typically faced?
In general, you want to kill the opponent as fast as possible, but if they say..... have a creature that lets them win, then you gotta kill the creature. But typically, at least in my very limited experience of playing 8 burn spells in an aggro deck two years ago in standard, you want to burn the players face.
And sometimes, the decision isn't easy. You'll often come up to "They have six life and a Pestermite. Do I use my last Lightning Bolt on them, and hope for another burn spell, or do I kill the Pestermite now, before they play Splinter Twin?"
of course, in that example, you could wait for them to actually play the twin, and activate it before you (very obviously) killed the 'mite.....
February 23, 2015 2:31 p.m.