Your hand may be empty, but there's one card that can save you. Heart of the Cards, guide your hand, and draw...
Good job, now discard it.
Pain Magnification
is our jam this time. 3 damage from a single source, and my opponent has to ditch a card.
Let's begin with how it combos with our creatures.
Guul Draz Vampire
, after half of my foe's life has been burned away, becomes a 3/2 that most decks won't be able to block. Direct hit, they discard a card. Simple.
Keldon Marauders
are a bit more complicated of a choice. Let's say I've used three of my 3-life Burn Cards. Summon
Keldon Marauders
, and my opponent takes a single point of damage. This point brings them down to 10 life, and my
Guul Draz Vampire
's effect now activates. My Marauders can then attempt an attack for 3 more damage and a discard if they hit, and when their time is up they throw out that last bit of damage. Oona's Prowler is my proudest creature discovery for this deck. If I have Oona's Prowler
+
Pain Magnification
, then my opponent has two choices. The first is to take 3 damage and discard a card. The second is to discard a card, then take 1 damage. The choice is an easy one, but a painful one regardless. That extra 1 damage could also be that last bit that my Vampire needs to boost up.
Now our 3-Life Burns. Lightning Bolt. It's a burn deck. Duh. Skullcrack and
Incinerate
are pretty similar cards, two mana for the 3 damage, with their secondary effects applying some versatility. Shard Volley is great for late game, when I have all these extra lands that I'm just not using anymore.
Collateral Damage
is the one that most people, I feel, will scratch their heads at. The reason I run a couple is, mainly, Collateral Damage
+
Keldon Marauders
. By using Collateral, I give myself the chance to kill my Marauders an extra turn or two early, which could very easily be just enough to finish things just in time.
Megrim + Pain Magnification
adds a little more "injury" to the "insult to injury" combo. Dimir Machinations can give me either a fancy Scry alternative, or with its Transmute effect, let me grab Megrim or
Pain Magnification
from my deck, should I be unable to draw one of them. Cry of Contrition acts as a one-drop discard, letting me force my opponent to ditch something else if I use one of my burn cards to kill a creature instead, or Cry of Contrition
+
Terminate
.
Thoughtseize, Lava Spike,
Blightning
,
Dreadbore
. I know that countless people right now are asking why I'm not running these. This next paragraph is the most important part of this description, so pay attention.
My opponent will, eventually, have no cards in their hand. They'll discard some, and others they'll play, but against this deck they will eventually be topdecking. I have
Pain Magnification
out, and they draw. If I then use any of my three 3-Life Burns, they immediately discard whatever card they just drew. They, effectively, skip that turn. If I have another one of them, I can do the same thing the turn after that. Lava Spike and
Blightning
aren't Instants, therefor if I topdeck them mid-late game, and my opponent has no cards in their hands anyway, they're nothing but a little more burn damage. Cry of Contrition isn't an Instant either, though, I hear you say. You are, in fact, correct. But, as another reason against Lava Spike and
Blightning
, all of my 3-Life Burn Instants can also target creatures, as can my Instant Terminate, whereas
Dreadbore
is not an Instant. If I Haunt an enemy creature with Cry of Contrition, then use an Instant to kill my opponent's creature right as they make their draw for the turn, then just like before, they're forced to discard their new card before they even get a chance to use it.
Burn them down slowly but surely. Force them to Discard everything in their hand. Use Instants to Control them by taking away their ability to even play the cards that they topdeck. Any and all recommendations are hugely appreciated, as is just general feedback. Thanks for taking the time to read!
Protip: Replace the Bloodstained Mires and
Blood Crypt
s with basic lands, and you have yourself a Budget deck!