Skullcrack

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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pioneer Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Skullcrack

Instant

Players can't gain life this turn. Damage can't be prevented this turn. Skullcrack deals 3 damage to target player or planeswalker.

wallisface on burn deck help to refurbish

1 month ago

9-lives if you're asking which brew you built is more competitive for modern burn, then it's going to be whichever list more-closely resembles the established list, which was you're Boros list.

I'm aware of what these red-green cards can do, I still don't think they're anywhere-near remotely playable, particularly in burn, and I've already detailed on why these cards feel unideal. But I'll give some further detail below:

  • Questing Druid is just a much slower Monastery Swiftspear. Yes the stat-buffs are permanent, but its at the cost of double the mana, no haste, and an initial toughness of 1, making it far too vulnerable to the abundant number of cards that deal 1 damage (Orcish Bowmasters, Wrenn and Six, Lava Dart, etc). The card is much better suited for longer, grindier games where its adventure and stat-buffs become more relevant - it's not useful in an archetype that's hoping for the game to be over on turn-4.

  • As stated earlier, burn decks never need more than 2 mana. By the time you can cast Black Market Tycoon, you already have all the mana you need to play the game. This card wastes a turn not dealing damage to the opponent, but also takes 2 full turns to create enough treasure to regain the mana you lost casting it to begin with. Burn has never had an issue with needing more than 2 lands, and so gaining treasure is largely pointless. Added to this, making treasure means this card isn't dealing damage, which means it's putting you further behind for achieving a turn-4 win.

  • Atarka's Command is situationally useful in some decks, which is why it's occasionally in some sideboards - however it needs to be stressed that the card isn't particularly useful for aggressive strategies. 99% of the time if you're putting this in a burn deck, you're either doing modes 1&2 (so, just a Skullcrack), or modes 2&4 (which is probably just doing 4 damage, so a Boros Charm). Remember that competitive burn is already not running Skullcrack at the moment, so that option isn't particularly powerful. The card isn't bad, but its not particularly strong when it means splashing green instead of the much-more capable white.

At the end of the day, you've already said you're playing a deck for being creative and having fun, and so if winning isn't a factor, then play whatever you want and don't worry about it. But if you are trying to make the deck stronger, then the correct option will always be to make changes which get the list closer to the established competitive list. In that vein, changing the deck from BW to BG will have made the overall deck weaker - not having options like Lightning Helix means you'll lose any burn-vs-burn matchups, as well as a lot of other aggro-races, and not having Boros Charm means missing out on one of burns biggest damage-dealing spells.

wallisface on burn deck help to refurbish

1 month ago

9-lives well, you know my opinion on the competitiveness of either option already based on my above comments ;)

This new version is at least closer to 60 cards, so that's one bonus going for it. However, none of the cards you've added in are particularly useful for the speed a burn deck is hoping to acquire - if you're going down this direction it might be better trying to turn this into something more midrange.

  • Play with Fire only deals 2 damage, making it unplayable at any level above the absolute most-casual of play. There's zero reason playing it when you're not even playing the full playset of Lightning Bolt

  • Atarka's Command is a decent card, but typically better as a sideboard option as a lot of the time it's not going to give you enough value to warrant its inclusion. It's effectively a slightly better Skullcrack, but considering that card already doesn't make it into current burn lists, i'm not sure how useful it is running 8 copies of this effect. This card is much stronger in builds tending-towards midrange (or straddling between aggro-and-midrange)

  • Yavimaya Iconoclast... I'm really not sure what you're hoping to achieve with this card... it's neither fast nor powerful? Just a vanilla creature??

  • I'm also not sure what the purpose of Black Market Tycoon is... you don't need mana, and this card is actively hurting you while also not helping to kill the opponent.

Personally I think you're previously rendition was better, in that the cards at least slightly-more resembled traditional burn. This version seems slower but for no apparent gain.

legendofa on burn deck help to refurbish

1 month ago

9-lives Okay, that's a good starting point.

First thing I want to mention is that if you describe a deck as competitive, there's a very strong connotation that it is capable of succeeding in a tournament setting. Think of it as shorthand for tournament-competitive. That's why people have been questioning that point, and if you've only used it against a few people, that's not going to fit the community definition. Competitive-casual isn't binary; it's a wide spectrum, but the "competitive" end of that spectrum is well-defined. Just to get everyone on the same page.

For actual deck suggestions, Wear / Tear is a reasonable sideboard option in addition to, or in place of, Rip Apart. Lifegain is a pretty hard counter to burn if you let it get established. I see Skullcrack and Roiling Vortex, so the next response to lifegain is to address the sources. Are your opponents gaining life from creatures, enchantments, or spells? Are they gaining big chunks of life, or steady streams? Remove the Ajani's Welcomes and Soul's Attendants or whatever and stop the life gain at the source.

Since you're committing to 60+ cards, you need to get to your key cards ASAP. Card draw becomes highly important. Would you consider turning this into a more combo-centric deck instead of leaning on burn as much?

jamochawoke on Wacky Waving Infallible Life Flailing Masochists

5 months ago

This is a really solid deck!

But how would you deal with things that mess up your lifegain?

I mean stuff like Erebos, God of the Dead, Forsaken Wastes, Everlasting Torment, Havoc Festival, Knight of Dusk's Shadow, Leyline of Punishment, Giant Cindermaw, Rampaging Ferocidon, and Witch Hunt.

I've seen people just scoop and leave when they were running a lifegain-based deck when they run into those cards. You've definitely got removal for sure, but you should either run more or have ways of digging for them just in case since those are total hosers for your strategy.

Also, to note, Atarka's Command, Molten Disaster, Sudden Shock, or Skullcrack could kill you in the middle of doing stuff so you shouldn't get too low if you've got a red player on the board. I've seen this very thing happen to someone running a K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth deck. Just something to keep in mind!

SufferFromEDHD on Red Burn

7 months ago

Added Flame Rift but I cut Roiling Vortex because it steps on Rift Bolt, Fireblast and Cave-In. I've been testing Skullcrack in place of with great results.

Icbrgr on The One Ring

7 months ago

is Leyline of Punishment worth experimenting with against The One Ring?

I've been playtesting Caveman ungbunga pure burn lists recently and I was wondering if it seems to anyone else like a interesting tech piece to get around the Protection clase the ring provides.... kinda like using Skullcrack against somone with Kor Firewalker?

Icbrgr on RDW: Enchantment Removal?

7 months ago

thats actually a good catch Delphen7... i completely forgot about that interaction.... im so used to Skullcrack filling that role lol ty ty

9-lives on Igne Natura Renovatur Integra: The Inferno of Pan

11 months ago

Lost 1 game and won 2 games with my deck. Skullcrack really came in handy with lifegain. I actually swapped out Eidolon of the Great Revel for Ash Zealot and it worked very well considering My opponent often casted cards from the graveyard and he didn't use many low MV cards. Satyr Firedancer was amazingly good.

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