Pedantic Pauper Protesting
When last we met, I tackled the aggro decks. One of the decks we covered was Mono-red Burn. Today, we're going to tackle how it is acting as a bouncer for the entire format. Between its ability to semi-consistently kill on turn 4-5 and just how common it is, I feel it deserves its own little article. Partly to complain about how it makes it hard for new decks to join in, and partly on how we are going to beat it.
So, we'll start by discussing just how common this deck is. And when I say common, I mean more common than a Pidgey or Rattatta on Kanto Route 1. If we look at the competitive league 5-0 decks and pauper challenge decks, here, we can see that roughly twenty Burn decks have been published at the time of this article. Comparing it to the next three decks, it isn't THAT overbearing, but consider the decks in question: Kuldotha Boros, UB Delver, and Rainbow Tron. These three decks all have one major thing in common. They all have great matchups against burn.
Kuldotha Boros runs seven lands that gain them life and ways to replay them, which while it doesn't look like much, is enough to make it so that they don't lose every game one and then sideboard in four Lone Missionary. Combine that with their Prismatic Strands to effectively counter spell some of the opponent's burn, it is quite clear why burn almost always loses this match.
UB Delver goes a different way to get the job done but in just as effective of a manner. Instead of healing the damage they deal, it gets a threat out onto the field early on while countering enough burn for one or two of their creatures to be enough to get the kill first. Between Foil and Daze allowing them to tap out with their threats and Gurmag Angler needing at least two burn spells to kill it, it's no wonder that there are many times that burn doesn't even get them down past ten. It only gets worse after sideboarding with Hydroblast in the side.
With Rainbow Tron, game one isn't that great, even if it is still winnable with Pulse of Murasa and a powerful control suite. Where it becomes truly powerful though is after game one when they get to bring in both Hydroblasts and Circle of Protection: Red. If you can resolve the Circle, it is almost a guaranteed loss for the burn player. As it should be.
So does this all mean that you need to play one of these four decks or just never win? Well, to a degree, yes, but there is hope! While burn is basically what we need to be able to beat, we can do it however we want. Think of it as a double sided sword. While you need to be able to beat burn, IF you can beat burn, you're likely going to go at least 3-2 in your friendly leagues. So when brewing, keep the deck in mind. When building and modifying, keep the deck in mind. When you decide you want to try a new deck out, KEEP THE DECK IN MIND!
If you want to do something outside the norm, so long as you bring in a significant amount of life gain, cheap countermagic that can hit their burn, or at the worst significant card draw, you have more than a fair chance. Do not try to outrace them though. Short of banning Fireblast or one of its roughly infinite Lightning Bolt like cards, this deck will remain an annoyingly consistent opponent you will need to cope with.
I do apologize if this article seems a bit on the short side, but I feel it important to warn all of you pauper hopefuls of the evil that is burn. I wish you all the best of luck and hope to see you on Wednesdays on my stream. Until next time!
