MTG Foundations cards have been available for tournament use for a couple days now, and there’s no denying that the new cards are quickly having a big impact on Standard. While many well-established strategies are still represented, the new cards have also given rise to some different archetypes.
A few weeks ago, we predicted that Burn would have a great showing in Standard moving forward. As it turns out, this didn’t take long. Boros burn already won yesterday’s Magic Online Standard Challenge, showcasing the power of some elite MTG Foundations damage-dealing spells.
This isn’t too surprising, considering the fact that mono-red aggro was already one of the best decks in the format. However, having access to more efficient burn spells has transformed the deck into a more spell-heavy arrangement. Let’s start by looking at these efficient burn spells in all their glory.
The Best of the Best
- Mana Value: R
- Rarity: Uncommon
- MTG Sets: MTG Foundations
- Card Text: Boltwave deals 3 damage to each opponent.
Up to this point, most red aggro decks have been more heavily focused on creature combat. Cards like Heartfire Hero and Manifold Mouse incentivized players to utilize more pump spells than burn spells. Outside of Shock and Lightning Strike, there wasn’t much in the way of top-tier burn spells to build around.
However, thanks to the addition of some incredible burn spells in MTG Foundations, things are ready to change. When it comes to new cards, Boltwave is one of the best burn spells printed in years. In a Constructed setting, the card is just Lava Spike with upside.
For a deck revolving around dealing noncombat damage to the opponent, the difference between two damage and three damage is huge. Boltwave may not be able to remove creatures, but that’s a small price to pay for this strategy. As we will see, nearly every threat in this deck grows when you cast noncreature spells, so having a high density of efficient options is important.
Speaking of efficiency, the reprint of Burst Lightning is also a big improvement for this deck. In the early game, Burst Lightning can function just like Shock. In grindy games, though, being able to sandbag Burst Lightning until you can deal four damage to the opponent can make a huge difference. This is especially important when your opponent can successfully remove your creatures on curve.
Burst Lightning isn’t the only four damage burn spell, either. Boros Charm is yet another fantastic reprint. This one actively pulls you into playing white. Once you dabble in white, you get to play Lightning Helix, too.
All these sources of noncombat damage truly add up quickly. You don’t need to deal much in the way of combat damage with your creatures in a lot of your games, since your burn spells can reliably finish the job. Given the slew of excellent removal spells in Standard, this is a huge boon.
Haste to the Face
- Mana Value: R
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Stats: 1/2
- MTG Sets: Khans of Tarkir, Iconic Masters, Time Spiral Remastered, Double Masters 2022, The Brother’s War
- Card Text: Haste. Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
This brings us to the second portion of the deck: the creatures. It’s quite common in burn decks to supplement sources of non-combat damage with Hasty creatures that can get under opposing removal spells. Part of what made Goblin Guide so effective in Modern burn for many years is that it threatened damage quickly. If the opponent removed it, if you got a hit or two in beforehand, the card did its job.
That logic carries over nicely here. Outside of Hired Claw, every creature in the deck has Haste. In the one-drop slot, Monastery Swiftspear is an elite threat. You’ll typically get a shot in for one damage unopposed turn one, and if the opponent doesn’t have removal right away, you’ll be able to pile on lots more damage by casting a flurry of burn spells before combat.
Similarly, both Emberheart Challenger and Slickshot Show-Off can get some early points of damage in before your burn spells work their way into the equation. All it takes is one of these creatures surviving a turn cycle for you to be in great shape.
Slickshot Show-Off in particular has the added bonus of presenting some massive swings. With Monstrous Rage in the mix, occasionally, you can use Boros Charm to give Slickshot Show-Off Double Strike and kill the opponent out of nowhere. This is definitely not the primary use of Boros Charm, but it’s a nice option to have.
Ways to Hate Out the Burn Menace
- Mana Value: 2WW
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 4/5
- MTG Sets: Bloomburrow
- Text: When Beza, the Bounding Spring enters, create a Treasure token if an opponent controls more lands than you. You gain 4 life if an opponent has more life than you. Create two 1/1 clue Fish creature tokens if an opponent controls more creatures than you. Draw a card if an opponent has more cards in hand than you.
The Burn deck really does have all the pieces necessary to beat almost any deck in the format. Against decks with lots of removal, your burn spells help you close games you otherwise would struggle to win. Against creature decks, Slickshot Show-Off, Monstrous Rage, and Lightning Helix are all-stars.
Still, while the deck covers its bases well, if you can present a decent mix of both removal AND life gain, you put the burn deck in a very awkward spot. This is part of the reason why the white token control decks have been performing so well. Caretaker’s Talent and Sunfall are a beating for midrange decks to face down, yet the deck also plays early removal and Beza as a way to stabilize versus burn.
On top of that, mono-white token control has clean answers to Screaming Nemesis out of the sideboard. If you’re playing burn, sometimes it will be worth trying to set up a window where you can Shock your own Screaming Nemesis, allowing you to send two damage to the opponent and ensure they can’t gain life for the rest of the game.
In this sense, Burn is far from unbeatable. Given the deck’s quick spike in popularity, you may want to add some more dedicated hate cards. Cards like Beza and Tranquil Frillback can singlehandedly sway games in your favor. Burn isn’t going anywhere, so make sure you have the tools to fight it.
