what are the top ten burn spells in edh?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on July 17, 2013, 6:30 p.m. by matt99rocks
Im trying to make an edh deck with a ton of burn spells and i was just wondering what the top ten best burn spells would be? the deck is white/red and it was really help if someone could help. thank you.
Cobthecobbler says... #5
I mean, Burn is almost Irrelevant in EDH, but the best ones would be the ones that burn for X.
Number 1 being Banefire , and the rest being in no particular order, as I'm just listing X-damage burn spells.
Otherwise, there's cards like Lightning Bolt but those won't really hit much creatures in EDH and won't make too much of a difference life-wise. They'll probably only slow down your deck because you could be playing a lot better spells; but to each his own.
July 17, 2013 7:20 p.m.
Yeah fundamentally, the top 10 burn spells in EDH are "Don't use burn spells"
July 17, 2013 7:37 p.m.
Blasphemous Act is often a good one... when you need it, it's almost always going to cost 1-3 mana.
July 17, 2013 8:04 p.m.
Punishing Fire is good as is Price of Progress , Lightning Bolt also works. A burn general is possible, only it's biggest problem isn't quality burn spells, but enough drawing to get the job done.
July 17, 2013 8:15 p.m.
You can't splash in EDH, your spells need to be in your commander's color identity.
July 17, 2013 8:39 p.m.
Then make your general WRB. Just for Havoc Festival. I know how it works.
July 17, 2013 8:48 p.m.
And then, as APPLE01DOJ suggested, you could have Debt to the Deathless in there, and have some kill spells. Not suggesting it, just saying if you have black in it, that might work
July 17, 2013 8:50 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #17
Moved.
Burn spells in EDH? They exist?
Seriously, though. Burn spells are really lackluster in EDH, whether they're intended for use against players or creatures. Your best bet would be an X spell, and you'd have to have infinite mana to truly abuse it.
As far as spells that actually see play:
The cards that Cobthecobbler listed don't see heavy play in EDH. They're technically playable, but they aren't terribly strong.
July 17, 2013 9:13 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #18
Is there a guide to EDH somewhere on this site? Im just curious about the basic rules and stuff like that.
July 17, 2013 10:23 p.m.
Cobthecobbler says... #19
Epochalyptiks guide is here:
http://tappedout.net/mtg-articles/2012/apr/4/building-edh-deck/
And, I think Banefire is the best for direct damage to the face, seeing as how the damage can't be prevented when it's >5. The ones you listed are best for getting rid of creatures.
I was just listing X burn spells, like I said. None of them are used, yes; but if he wants an EDH burn deck, he's gonna need as much as he can get lol.
July 17, 2013 10:42 p.m.
I think that board wiping by creature damage is probably one of the most expensive and most easily counterable types of board wipes. That's probably why they seldom are used.
Quick burn instants like Goblin Grenade and Lightning Bolt are underwhelming when the amount of life that needs to get burned off is roughly 4 x 40 = 160.
X burn spells are pretty slow and I can't think of more than a few examples of decks that use them in any format.
Burn spells are used so infrequently that very little consideration is made for the protection against such spells. Fog effects are a whole lot more common than damage-source prevention instants and the like. That's part of what I love about it.
Wort's Little Tantrums
July 17, 2013 11:16 p.m.
miracleHat says... #21
to be honest, i don't like burn much in edh, but Earthquake
can be multi functional to hit people and many generals.
July 18, 2013 12:19 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #22
It's just that burn isn't efficient in a format that gives you access to every cheap removal spell ever printed. It's better to get a guaranteed kill on the target. On top of that, the high life totals make even X spells hard to use unless you can perform an infinite mana combo.
July 18, 2013 12:23 a.m.
i haven't seen any success from just burn spells in edh other than the occasional Bonfire of the Damned unless it had a strong secondary benefits like Intimidation Bolt , Backlash or Delirium etc
July 18, 2013 11:36 a.m.
I'm going to push Chain Lightning , sure it's 3 damage, but it's fun to float around the table if you're playing against other commanders with red in them. It's just one of those fun moments.
raithe000 says... #2
This goes in Deck help or EDH. I summon Epochalyptik to move this to the forums!
July 17, 2013 6:34 p.m.