A commander for a typical burn deck?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Nov. 27, 2015, 2:22 p.m. by PartyJ
I can't seem to find a good commander for a red EDH burn deck. Perhaps there are commanders outside of red that could function as the ideal commander for burn... Splash for the commander ;-)
I know red burn isn't that popular, but that's why I want to give it a serious try. Something creative/odd is always welcome.... curious if you can help me get inspiration to get started.
brokendwarf I can splash another color if that helps getting a really awsome commander for the burn strategy.... Something out of the box is always very interesting :-)
November 27, 2015 2:27 p.m.
Kaervek the Merciless is my personal favorite if you want to add black. He is a 7-drop, but I have seen him used rather effectively.
November 27, 2015 2:30 p.m.
I'm with 1empyrean: I run a Kaervek the Merciless group slug deck and it generally burns the house down (at the cost of the game, occasionally). It runs a gamut of punishment effects like Manabarbs, Heartless Hidetsugu, Painful Quandary, and Havoc Festival and cards that hinder your opponents plans like Tainted AEther, Burning Sands, Torpor Orb, and Crawlspace. It's very fun.
November 27, 2015 2:38 p.m. Edited.
My $0.02 and favorite examples:
- Purphoros, God of the Forge for Goblin-fueled burn ... Purphoros, God of Being a Dick by fnchmtt92
- Jaya Ballard, Task Mage for almost pure burn ... Hell Hath No Fury Like Jaya Ballard Scorned by Cerradura
- Zirilan of the Claw, for dragon-fueled firebreathing burn ... One More Red Nightmare by Ruffigan
November 27, 2015 2:44 p.m.
You probably want to branch out into other colors for support. Blue and black have general utility and the all important draw. You could try brewing with the new Mizzix of the Izmagnus.
November 27, 2015 2:58 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #8
Zo-Zu the Punisher is good in the 99 but can also be great if ramp is in your meta
The new angel commander is great too
November 27, 2015 3:01 p.m.
Forgot to mention:
- Urabrask the Hidden for controlled burn ... The Red (Will Come) by GobboE
November 27, 2015 3:01 p.m.
I've had a surprising amount of fun using Zurgo Helmsmasher in conjunction with cards like Arcbound and Chandra's Ignition.
Mogis, God of Slaughter is another decent commander for racking up early game damage.
November 27, 2015 6 p.m.
RoarMaster says... #11
Ashling the Pilgrim and the previously mentioned Jaya and Purphoros if you want to stick to mono-red, otherwise, Marath, Will of the Wild. He comes with built in burn, and allows access to greens mana doubling abilities that will allow you to actually burn some one for a decent amount, since mono-r is fairly restricted for ramp(they have 4 doublers available).
November 27, 2015 6:01 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #13
I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but 
burn can be effective. Especially with Gisela, Blade of Goldnight at the helm. And cards like Stuffy Doll, Mogg Maniac, Spitemare, and Boros Reckoner.
November 27, 2015 6:28 p.m.
why is it that the commanders that work well with burn have a high CMC?
Going with Zurgo Helmsmasher like SaberTech said seems like a pretty solid choice, but Oros, the Avenger works for Mardu as well.
November 27, 2015 6:43 p.m.
RoarMaster says... #15
1empyrean They dont, most of the suggestions on this page are cmc 4 or less.
November 27, 2015 7:09 p.m.
Exactly 50% is not most.
Hyperbole is hyperbole. I just wish that Gisela didn't cost 7, that's what I should have said.
November 28, 2015 4:47 a.m.
RoarMaster says... #17
Aye hyperbole is what it is, as we are both guilty of it.
November 28, 2015 7 a.m.
The card Zo-Zu the Punisher mentioned by VampireArmy seems like an interesting choice!
But this also brings the challenge to find some good cards which show synergy with this commander. I'm having a hard time getting this done. Got some good leads?
Anyone?
December 21, 2015 2:35 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #20
I have a tiny leaders deck built around him which you can use for reference. It punishes people for doing or not doing anything. Some of the cards wouldn't be good, like Eidolon of the Great Revel and it's ilk, but others are fine.
Spontaneous Combustion
Tiny Leaders
SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 87 VIEWS
December 21, 2015 2:39 p.m.
PartyJ,
Are you familiar with EDHREC? If so, sorry for the spam! If not, it's a very interesting look at what other people are running with different Commanders. Here's their Zo-Zu page.
December 21, 2015 2:42 p.m.
For strict burn, Purphoros, God of the Forge is by far your best bet. He's the only mono-red commander that approaches being playable competitively. All he needs is are a few large-scale token generators to murder the table.
December 22, 2015 2:08 a.m.
Thanks for the tip clayperce! I wasn't aware fo this site. Seems useful!
NarejED : Very true, but I already run a sort of modern deck with Purphoros, God of the Forge as a powerhouse: "Smells Like Goblin Spirit" (Needs modern help!). Although I'm not yet 100% satisfied :-)
December 23, 2015 7:09 p.m.
Marath, Will of the Wild seems like it's build for interesting combo's. How could you start with more than 3 counters, as you can't pay more than 3 mana for it? I could think of cards like Hardened Scales?
January 19, 2016 3:59 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #25
You can certainly pay more than 3 mana for it. It was designed in a commander set. Lol. The commander tax applies to Marath's ability. :)
And the Earth Shall Tremble
Commander / EDH*
SCORE: 4 | 6 COMMENTS | 588 VIEWS
Is my deck if you want to take a look. Marath has always been one of my most favorite decks to play. She's just so versatile in every way!
January 19, 2016 4:04 p.m.
Ofcource Raging_Squiggle! The increasing commander costs xD Omg, a downside turned into an upside :))
I will certainly be looking at your deck!
Seems like a solid commander with access to ramp!
Any powerfull (deadly) combo's?
Is it hard to play a 3-color EDH deck? I fear the mana screws.... Since I always have a feud with being mana screwed :-/
January 19, 2016 4:23 p.m. Edited.
Raging_Squiggle says... #27
It's not bad at all. Prismatic Omen and Chromatic Lantern are always must-haves. As long as you have a rather decent amount of lands that can tap for multiple colors, you're good. And ramping is rather good here as well.
www.manabasecrafter.com will help you with setting up good mana bases based on your commander's colors.
Let's see... Combos... -Brainstorms and Ponders- These will all automatically assume Marath, Will of the Wild is in play:
- Cathars' Crusade + Mana Echoes = infinite tokens/colorless mana.
- Archangel of Thune/Leyline of Vitality + Spike Feeder/Kitchen Finks + sac outlet = Infinite P/T and Infinite Life
- Avacyn, Angel of Hope + Worship = Extremely hard to kill
- Privileged Position + Sterling Grove + Avacyn, Angel of Hope + Platinum Angel = Nigh impossible to kill
- Boundless Realms + Emeria Shepherd = Mass Recursion for Win
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Skullclamp 's tokens = crazy draw.
- Xenagos, the Reveler + making 1/1's equal to Marath, Will of the Wild's counters = crazy mana to cast Marath again.
- Marath, Will of the Wild + Aura Shards = Effective control
- Epic Struggle + Marath, Will of the Wild = "Struggle Bug" Win
- Champion of Lambholt + Marath, Will of the Wild = All creatures unblockable.
January 19, 2016 4:37 p.m.
PartyJ Mana screw isn't much of a problem for 3-color decks most of the time, and you have access to green making it even easier to avoid the screw.
Marath, Will of the Wild can easily combo out, and Raging_Squiggle's deck looks good.
On a bit of a tangential note, the commander tax isn't the only way to increase Marath's cost. Chorus of the Conclave combo's well with Marath's first ability (though, it isn't cost effective enough to justify playing it competitively).
January 19, 2016 4:40 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #29
Doubling Season or budget version Hardened Scales/Primal Vigor are good ways, probably the best ways, that aren't breaking the mana bank, to throw extra counters on Marath.
January 19, 2016 4:41 p.m.
PartyJ,
+1 on everything Raging_Squiggle said, except I'm not a big fan of Primal Vigor ... it's just too much of a group hug card for my tastes and meta.
Bloodspore Thrinax and Forgotten Ancient are fun too, for +1/+1 counter synergy.
January 20, 2016 12:58 a.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #31
Oh bro, I have a Bloodspore Thrinax. Totally going in Marath, Will of the Wild
brokendwarf says... #2
If you still want to go the mono-red route, there's Jaya Ballard, Task Mage, Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh Flip, Bosh, Iron Golem, Heartless Hidetsugu, Purphoros, God of the Forge
Kaervek the Merciless
November 27, 2015 2:24 p.m. Edited.