Risk Factor

Instant

Target opponent may have Risk Factor deal 4 damage to them. If that player doesn't, you draw three cards.

Jump-start (You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding a card in addition to paying its other costs. Then exile this card.)

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	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

Discussion (45)

wallisface on Deflecting Palm Targeting Risk Factor

1 month ago

The opponent won't draw the 3 cards.

You cast Deflecting Palm naming Risk Factor as the source. Then when Risk Factor resolves, you choose for it to deal you 4 damage. Deflecting Palm redirects that damage to the controller of Risk Factor (your opponent).

Net result, your opponent draws no cards, and takes 4 damage from their own Risk Factor.

Tyrannosary on Deflecting Palm Targeting Risk Factor

1 month ago

If an opponent casts Risk Factor and I respond by casting Deflecting Palm preventing the next source of damage Risk Factor would deal to me...

Would they get to draw the 3 cards if I chose to take the damage?

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

2 months ago

Also, Light Up the Stage and Risk Factor were really useful.

DreadKhan on Flame in the Land of Snow

2 months ago

I find that it's very hard to win competitive games in Legacy in a Burn deck without Fireblast. I also wonder about something like Flame Rift can get in for a lot of damage, and Risk Factor is a great card to draw when you're out of cards, it's certainly a reasonable x1 or x2 in a Burn deck. I actually liked Ball Lightning a lot, but Dragon's Rage Channeler is also worth a look, even if you have to throw in some weirder stuff like Seal of Fire, a 1 mana 3/3 flyer is a pretty good card I find, and the ability to dig through extra lands is an incredible rush, but it can also help you dig your way down to needed lands in other games.

I tried to build a deck a bit like this, I was mostly curious if I could find a way to make Scrying Sheets busted. Not sure how many Snow cards you need to make it good, but it's probably a reasonable x1 or x2 to test out, at least it's been reprinted recently!

DreadKhan on Rocks Monored burn

4 months ago

I have a Legacy Mono-Red Burn deck, but it only runs 1 card that's not in Modern. Mine can win early, but it's got an ungodly number of 3 drops instead of just running all 1 drops. I think some of the cards I run that might be worth a look for you include: Dragon's Rage Channeler is great if you've got too many lands or not enough, I don't worry too much about it's ceiling, just getting to Surveil over and over can be very good value in some situations. That said, I do run Seal of Fire, which is sneakily useful, it sits but if they try to 'deal' with it you just use it, and it's an Enchantment for DRC. I also run Vexing Devil, it's a so-so card later game, but it's a huge effect turn 1, 3 toughness is high enough that it doesn't trade with most 1 and even 2 drops, meaning most decks are either wasting cards on it or taking 4 damage for R. In rare matches it's terrible obviously. Risk Factor is another Browbeat, it's instant which is huge, and it can be cast from the graveyard once, which is actually pretty huge in practice. Cards like Browbeat and Risk Factor are amazing with stuff like Fury, but that's a pricey card! I've rarely been too unhappy with Ball Lightning, it's very sensitive to First Strike blockers, but getting 6 damage for RRR feels incredible. I use Flame Slash as dedicated 'creature burn', though I only use x2, not sure if you run into a lot of 4-7 toughness bodies that need burning though.

I like Grim Lavamancer more than Hellspark Elemental, the two 3/1 Elementals are both good cards but 3 power is low enough that it ends up walled evenutally and they become dead cards, as Burn is very bad at removing bigger blockers, I find if you can get a flying Dragon's Rage Channeler it's a much, much better card. Lavamancer is almost certainly better than the Viashino, but I think DRC does even more work. That said, DRC and Lavamancer work together EXTREMELY well obviously, even if Lavamancer might turn it 'off' eventually, just the Surveil is a lot of value if you're feeding your Lavamancer/clearing situationally bad cards (that said I run 10 3 drops and have more lands, so I have more 'bad' cards).

In my experience, I don't love Eidolon as much as other people, it's small so it's easily outclassed (and sucks if you can't swing in each turn), and it hits you as well if you need to remove something that can kill it. I use Flame Rift as an alternative that always shaves 4 off everyone, it's better vs some decks fwiw. I also find Guide can cost you a surprisingly large number of games when you help your opponent dig through multiple lands for a solution. I run Vexing Devil over it, but enough people run Guide that it's obviously not a bad card. There is also Soul-Scar Mage, which feels pretty nice with Lavamancer and synergizes with Swiftspear, and technically Young Pyromancer still exists. If you ever get two out it feels pretty good, but 3 is like stubbing a toe, they limit how many other creatures you can run. Young Pyromancer might be a valid sideboard card, along with something like Goblin Chainwhirler maybe, if people 'go wide' in your area it's a nice card to switch in.

9-lives on

6 months ago

Added Risk Factor as I have found that I run out of burn cards around 4th-5th turn. Every time, nearly.

Poolplayer on Hammer Smashed face

6 months ago

Core players remain, tweaked out some cards for cards I already had. I traded for Purphoros Hammers but it's just inanimate in a deck that's moving. Since it's not equipment it's a dead card with text. I wanted haste. Lightning Greaves gives me haste and protection at an instant with my equipment swapping cards. I upgraded Browbeat for Risk Factor as an instant on my opponents turn than using up good mana on my turn. Trying Burning Oil over Lightning Helix for the flashback text of having some late game burn available if needed. I like these Swiftblade Vindicator for the angry little package they come in. I could use some advice on sideboard. Maybe more dual protection swords depending on the opponent in there.

wallisface on Boros Burn

8 months ago

There's a good article on running burn at various budgetary levels here. If you do end up running stuff like Shock, Monastery Mentor, Vexing Devil, Lightning Strike, Deflecting Palm, Risk Factor, Rip Apart etc, then by all means live your dreams, but do be aware you'll be running a brew that is strictly worse than what you could be for that same budget. Rip Apart, Monastery Mentor, and Shock in particular are all terrible cards for burn and will make it a LOT harder for you to reliably win games (Rip Apart is at least playable in the sideboard).

In any case, you should definitely take on the advise of jethstriker and fix up the manabase. Burn generally needs 20 lands to begin with (so your land count is too low at the moment), but then you should always be aiming towards lands that don't enter tapped. Even Clifftop Retreat is too risky to be useful, and you'd be better off just playing all-basics than either that or Evolving Wilds. Battlefield Forge is a really good budget option for providing two colours.