Burn is by and large one of the most iconic deck archetypes in Magic: The Gathering. Primarily associated with red mana, burn decks seek to deal as much direct damage to one's opponents and their creatures as possible in order to quickly win a game. Burn has been a viable strategy in Magic since the game's inception and continues to be an integral part of each of the game's formats.
Due to the scope of Burn's place in Magic's history, countless burn cards with varying applications have seen print. So today, we're going to examine the most powerful burn spells in Magic's history!
Updated May 15, 2022 by Paul DiSalvo: As burn decks are a staple of Magic and constantly continue to get new card options as the game evolves, the available card pool of burn spells is constantly growing. While burn spells are known primarily for their ability to deal raw damage, their quality often comes in how little mana can be spent to deal the most damage. Some of the best burn spells are also known for their flexibility, able to serve as removal for threats controlled by an opponent or even functioning as a win condition as raw damage is thrown directly at another player.
20 Play With Fire
While Shock is often viewed as a solid albeit suboptimal Burn spell, functioning as a strictly worse alternative to Lightning Bolt, Play with Fire is a burn option that is strictly more useful than the aforementioned Shock. For the cost of a single Red mana, Play with Fire can deal two damage to any one target, flexibly functioning as removal for smaller creatures or as a means of reducing an opponent's life total. While this is where the effects of Shock would end, if Play with Fire would be used to target a player, its caster may Scry 1. This can provide a subtle yet noteworthy benefit that can be used to help smooth out the next draw for a burn deck.
19 Fiery Confluence
Fiery Confluence is Red's representative of the cycle of modal Confluence sorceries introduced in Commander 2015. Each of the spells included with this cycle are incredibly flexible, allowing a player to choose any three effects from among three options, allowing the same option to be picked more than a single time. This means that a player may choose to utilize all three effects once each for various forms of value, or they may go all in on a single effect, potentially choosing the same option three times. When cast, the options that Fiery Confluence's caster is capable of choosing are:
- Fiery Confluence deals 1 damage to each creature.
- Fiery Confluence deals 2 damage to each opponent.
- Destroy target artifact.
Though this sorcery may cost five mana to cast, between these available effects and the fact that they may be stacked, Fiery Confluence can flexibly help deal damage to one's opponents, clear their smaller creatures from the board, or even remove problematic artifacts from play, all whilst still potentially dealing damage.
18 Electrodominance
Printed in Ravnica Allegiance, Electrodominance is a somewhat underrated burn spell that can flexibly deal proportional damage based on the amount of mana spent to cast it, whilst providing its caster the ability to play an additional spell for free. For two red mana and X, this instant deals X damage to any target. While this flexible damage is nice (and potentially game-ending with enough mana), this spell's caster may also cast a spell from their hand with a mana value of X ro less from their hand without paying its mana cost! This can allow a player to potentially tack on some extra damage through another potent burn spell when casting Electrodominance, making the most out of a player's mana.
17 Searing Blood
An incredibly underrated instant for two red mana, Searing Blood can deal two damage to any creature. While two damage for two mana isn’t too impressive on the surface, if that creature dies, its controller takes three damage. This means that Searing Blood can essentially remove a low-toughness problem such as a Birds of Paradise while whittling down their health.
16 Skewer The Critics
A Sorcery for three mana, Skewer the Critics can deal three damage to any target. While three damage for three mana is quite lackluster, especially at sorcery speed, the card has a spectacle cost of one red mana, meaning it can be cast for a single mana if an opponent was dealt damage this turn. This means that if you’ve already cast a one-mana burn spell, Skewer the Critics can then be cast as another economic burn option in the same turn.
15 Roiling Vortex And Sulfuric Vortex
Two red enchantments with similar effects, Roiling Vortex and Sulfuric Vortex cost two and three mana respectively, each dealing damage to each player during their upkeep. These enchantments allow for a constant stream of damage to be dealt over the course of a game. While Roiling Vortex deals one damage during each player’s upkeep and five more damage to a player whenever they cast a spell without paying mana, Sulfuric Vortex deals two damage during each player’s upkeep and prevents players from gaining life.
14 Pyrostatic Pillar And Eidolon Of The Great Revel
Like the previous entry of this list, Pyrostatic Pillar and Eidolon of the Great Revel are two cards that have very similar utility. Two red cards that each cost two mana, Pyrostatic Pillar and an Eidolon of the Great Revel are an enchantment and enchantment creature respectively that each cause players to lose two life whenever they cast a spell with a mana cost of three or less. As burn decks tend to have an extraordinarily low mana curve this effect will most often only damage one’s opponent.
13 Guttersnipe
Guttersnipe is a unique instance on this list, being a creature rather than an instant or sorcery. However, when paired with a vast array of other burn spells on this list, Guttersnipe is capable of dealing substantial damage to one's opponents over the course of a game. A Red 2/2 goblin shaman for three mana, whenever Guttersnipe's controller casts an instant or sorcery, it deals two damage to each of its controller's opponents. Effectively taking on an additional two damage to every burn spell used to target one's opponents, Guttersnipe even allows damage to still be dealt to opponents when burn spells are being used to remove an opponent's creatures from the battlefield.
12 Grapeshot
Grapeshot is a red sorcery that deals one damage for any target for two mana. While on paper this rate sounds terrible, Grapeshot is a stellar card for one reason: it has Storm. Storm states that when this card is cast, it is copied for each other spell that was cast before it this turn. This means that if several low-cost burn spells were cast prior in a turn, Grapeshot can deal incredible damage and close out a game.
11 Fireball
An iconic burn spell that dates back to Magic's very first set, Fireball is a sorcery that allows a player to directly convert their mana into raw damage.
For the cost of one red a mana and X, Fireball can deal X damage to any target. Additionally, this spell's caster can pay additional mana in order to target additional creatures and/or players in case there are numerous troublesome creatures in play.
10 Earthquake
Similar to Fireball, Earthquake is a sorcery that costs one red mana and X to cast. However, Earthquake deals significantly more damage than Fireball whenever it is cast. While Fireball's damage is directed to designated targets, Earthquake deals X damage to all creatures without flying as well as every player.
While this means that Earthquake's caster will be sustaining damage as well, Burn decks are designed to deal as much damage to opponents as quickly as possible, ensuring one's opponents will lose from this spell's effects sooner.
9 Galvanic Blast
Galvanic Blast by Marc Simonetti
A common inclusion for many decks such as Affinity, Galvanic Blast is the perfect burn spell for decks containing substantial amounts of artifacts.
An instant for a single mana, Galvanic Blast can deal two damage to any target. While there are many alternatives to this spell that can deal three damage for a single mana, Galvanic blast has Metalcraft, upping its potency as long as its caster controls three or more artifacts. If this requirement is met, Galvanic Blast does twice as much damage, causing it to deal the most damage of any single mana burn spell.
8 Lightning Helix
Lightning Helix by Raymond Swanland
One of the most iconic Boros cards in Magic's history, Lightning Helix is the only entry on this list that is not mono-red.
Costing a red mana and a white mana to cast, Lightning Helix deals three damage to any target, gaining three life for its caster. This can flexibly remove a creature or Planeswalker, while also being able to create a six life difference when targeting a player.
7 Price Of Progress
In formats such as Commander and Legacy, non-basic lands are often more plentiful than their basic counterparts due to their ability to consistently fix one's mana. For two mana, Price of Progress is an instant that makes non-basic lands more of a hindrance for one's opponents.
When this spell is cast, it deals damage to each player equal to twice the number of nonbasic lands they control. Not only does this ability scale with a game as it progresses, but as Burn decks are most often mono-red, its caster will often not sustain any damage from its effects.
6 Skred
Skred is a phenomenal burn spell that has spawned a namesake deck in numerous formats such as Modern and Pauper. Relatively straightforward, Skred deals damage to target creature equal to the amount of snow permanents under its caster's control.
As snow lands can be utilized in many formats, it can often be incredibly easy for a player to amass large numbers of snow permanents, allowing Skred to deal massive sums of damage for a single mana.
5 Rift Bolt And Lava Spike
When it comes to one-mana burn spells, ideally a spell should be able to deal three damage in some manner. Rift Bolt and Lava Spike are each one mana burn spells capable of dealing three damage, but with some form of downside.
In the case of Rift Bolt, the spell normally costs three mana to cast, but can be suspended for one mana at the expense of time. In the case of Lava Spike, this spell's effect is more linear than many other options, as it is incapable of targeting creatures, only allowing it to target players and Planeswalkers.
4 Fireblast
Many of the strongest spells in Magic's history are those that can be played completely for free, without the investment of mana. Fireblast is one of the strongest and most efficient burn spells in this regard.
Dealing four damage to any target, while Fireblast is normally over-priced at six mana, its cost can be completely negated if its controller sacrifices two mountains. While normally sacrificing one's lands could be heavily detrimental to one's stake in a game, this spell can be used to quickly close out a game after already casting other burn spells.
3 Fiery Emancipation
Like Guttersnipe, Fiery Emancipation is not a traditional burn spell, rather it is an enchantment that can be used to significantly augment every other spell in a burn player's deck. A red enchantment for six mana, while mana intensive, Fiery Emancipation's stellar effect states that if a source its owner controls would deal damage to an opponent or a permanent, that source deals three times that much damage instead! As many of the strongest burn spells in the game are capable of dealing three damage for a single mana, Fiery Emancipation allows said spells to deal a devastating nine damage to their target!
2 Chain Lightning
As far as one mana burn spells are concerned, the drawback of Chain Lightning is perhaps the most inconsequential. A three mana instant that can deal three damage to any target, Chain Lightning's only drawback comes in the form of a clause that states that after this spell resolves, its target (or the controller of the target) may pay two red mana to copy the spell.
As this clause requires an opponent to have two untapped red mana-sources, it might as well not even exist when playing against opponents without red in their decks.
1 Lightning Bolt
Since Magic's inception, Lightning Bolt has been the measuring stick of what makes a good burn spell. Simple and elegant in its design, Lightning Bolt is an instant for one red mana that deals three damage to any target. That's it!
Spells like Rift Bolt, Lava Spike, and Chain Lightning all want to be Lightning Bolt, but possess some form of drawback that hinders them from matching the real deal. Lighting Bolt is a card so iconic and integral to the game that will forever serve as the gold standard for what a burn spell should be.