Boros Burn is probably one of the strongest decks in Modern, but is hindered by its complexity/difficulty. A single misplay or mistake in sequencing lands can be an instant loss.
Magic Twitter, probably
After publishing a Modern Burn deck guide, I was asked about sequencing. My advice has always been to watch Patrick Sullivan’s feature matches. Watching Patrick play is more informative than any article. For additional Burn content see Andrea Mengucci, Bossiedon, GG for Goblin Guide, and MTG Nexus Red. For RDW on Arena I recommend Ace MTG and Hello Good Game.
Content creators explaining spell sequencing very well. However, they rarely discuss lands. Fetchlands (Arid Mesa, Bloodstained Mire) and Canopy lands (Sunbaked Canyon, Fiery Islet) can be complex.
If you want to take these tips for a spin, you can join our Discord to play in our Modern League for free and compete in a tournament setting.
10 Tips & Tricks
1) Fundamentals
1.1: Play Inspiring Vantage first. It preserves your life and would enter tapped later.
1.2: Tap mono-color lands before duals.
1.3: Pay 2 life once for Sacred Foundry instead of repeatedly paying 1 life for Sunbaked Canyon.
1.4: Fetchlands can get landfall at instant speed for Searing Blaze.
1.5: More relevant for Pauper, but play impulsive draw effects (e.g. Reckless Impulse, Light Up the Stage) before making a land drop. If you exile 2 lands, you want to be able to use both. You can make exceptions to play around cards like Spell Pierce.
2) Sunbaked Canyon + Fetchland
You have a Sunbaked Canyon in play and topdeck a Bloodstained Mire. What do you do?
One mistake good players make is playing and sacrificing the fetch to thin the deck before drawing.
I sacrifice Sunbaked Canyon first. If I draw another Canopy I want to use it immediately. Playing the fetchland first would cost my land drop for the turn.
Sacrificing a second Sunbaked Canyon would let you hardcast a top decked Rift Bolt or Skewer the Critics a turn earlier and preserves the fetchland for Searing Blaze. Postboard, seeing a sideboard card 1 turn faster is huge. The extra draw can also set up a double spell turn.
The math is simple (let’s assume about 50 cards left). The odds of drawing another canopy are:
Deck thinning increases the odds of drawing a spell by ~1%. For example with 16 lands left have a 34/50 (68%) chance. Thinning first gives 34/49 (69%). Altering the number of remaining lands/cards doesn’t change the conclusion.
Note: if you need an immediate burn spell it is worth fetching first.
3) Fetchland + Fetchland
You have an opening hand with two fetchlands and 5 spells. What land do you fetch turn 1?
Many players get Sacred Foundry. One commonly cited reason is that you’ll have to fetch+shock eventually so may as well do it now (I’ll address legitimate reasons later).
However, I often fetch Basic Mountain. On turn 2 there is a ~8% chance of top decking Inspiring Vantage which saves 2 life. If you don’t draw Vantage, you can still fetch foundry on turn 2. Fetching basic mountain saves 0.16 life points (8%*2).
If I have another White source I usually fetch a basic. There are 5 primary times I’d get Sacred Foundry:
3.1: Only other White source is Sunbaked Canyon. Don’t want to crack canyon and draw a Boros Charm I no longer have White for.
3.2: Boarded in a WW card (Kor Firewalker, Sanctifyer En Vec).
3.3: Opponent has cards like Path to Exile – worth leaving basics to search for. In the mirror, I’d prioritize 2 potential life over a free land.
3.4: Life total does not matter (Goblin Charbelcher).
3.5: This is a little convoluted. It involves preserving a fetchland for Searing Blaze:
If I’m committed to a turn 2 Boros Charm I’ll fetch Sacred Foundry turn 1. This saves the 2nd fetch if I top deck a basic. Fetching mountain turn 1 means I’d have to fetch a White source on turn 2 if I draw a basic.
4) Sunbaked Canyon + Inspiring Vantage
With exactly three lands in play (including Sunbaked Canyon) and Inspiring Vantage in hand you can activate the Canyon for “free”. Vantage enters tapped as your 4th land. Sacrificing Canyon first leaves two lands in play letting Vantage enter untapped.
5) When to Crack Canopies
Burn players usually crack canopies in 3 situations:
5.1: In response to something (e.g. looking for Skullcrack with lifegain on the stack).
5.2: Digging for outs or lethal.
5.3: On the opponent’s end step (plays around Thoughtseize).
However, I also activate canopy lands if a top decked Goblin Guide or Monastery Swiftspear could attack (e.g. opponent tapped out for a board wipe). With ~50 cards and 4 copies of each in deck, this is worth ~0.24 points of damage (8%*2 for GG + 8%*1 for Swifty).
Alternatively, I’ll sacrifice a canopy early if there is a reason to main phase particular draws. For example, if a spell is about to come off suspend I’ll look for Roiling Vortex.
If I top deck a canopy that I’m guaranteed to sacrifice this turn cycle (e.g. have 3+ lands in play) I do it immediately. Will already have landfall if it draws into Searing Blaze (note: don’t do this against Thoughtseize decks if you would be unable to hardcast Skewer the Critics).
6) When Not to Crack Canopies
If 1 mana is more important than 1 card, don’t sacrifice Sunbaked Canyon.
Some matchups require patience. Versus Spell Pierce or Flusterstorm it is better to pay the tax. Against Death’s Shadow I hold burn for an alpha strike. This requires having enough lands to cast 3+ spells over 1.5 turns (opponent’s end step + my turn). Navigating against control is similar.
7) When to Crack Fetchlands
Sacrificing a fetchland to thin your deck is rarely worth it. 1 life can matter. The primary appeal to saving fetchlands is Searing Blaze.
Passing with a fetchland threatens Searing Blaze. Even if you don’t have Blaze, some opponents will play around it.
If you top deck Searing Blaze keeping a fetch guarantees landfall. The math is identical to tip 2. The odds of drawing Searing Blaze outweigh deck thinning.
There are 3 primary scenarios where I fetch to thin:
6.1: Opponent has lethal next turn.
6.2: Searing Blaze does not matter (e.g. Bogles).
6.3: Have multiple (3+) fetchlands.
Note: If you’re fetching just to thin your deck, fetch in your upkeep instead of your opponent’s end step. You’ll have Landfall if you draw Searing Blaze.
8) Opposing Fetchlands
Your opponent’s fetchlands turn on spectacle. Baiting opponents into fetching in combat lets you cast Skewer the Critics 2nd main even if they kill your creature. In the mirror, be careful with fetchlands.
This is more relevant for Legacy, but you can cast instants in response to your opponent sacrificing a fetchland. Can’t get Dazed if they don’t have an Island.
Goblin Guide can give opponents card selection via fetchlands. Fetching in response to the attack increases their odds of drawing a spell. Due to Guide’s trigger only 1 of the top 2 cards has to be a spell. Alternatively, fetching after the flip can shuffle away a bad card.
9) Lands vs Combat Step
You play Goblin Guide on turn 1. Your opponent plays an untapped fetchland and passes. On turn 2 do you play a land 1st main phase or swing and play it 2nd main?
I usually swing first. Representing mana screw can bait Fatal Push. If you are choked on mana, your creatures need to survive. Good opponents understand this and may prioritize killing Goblin Guide. You can then stick Eidolon of the Great Revel 2nd main.
If my opponent has flash creatures (e.g. Orcish Bowmaster) I play the land before combat. Landfall represents Searing Blaze and may dissuade them from flashing in a blocker.
10) Bluffing
I sometimes hold lands to bluff instants. For example, if my opponent is at 6 and I have a land and a spell, I hold the land. 2 cards represent 6 damage so opponents may avoid tapping out (e.g. not activating utility lands).
If you go 5 turns without playing a land your opponent will know you’re bluffing. It can be worth playing the odd land to keep people guessing.
I want to be able to play my most expensive draw (e.g. hardcast Rift Bolt). I also want to be able to top deck a Sunbaked Canyon into it. I typically only bluff by sandbagging lands once I have 4 in play.
Holding back a land also helps if you draw Searing Blaze.
Note: Simply having cards in hand is enough of a bluff. Don’t oversell by making faces, motioning, or talking. Act the same as if you actually had Lightning Bolt.
Bonus Round
Magic is a complicated game and digesting the previous tips can take time. For readers who want more I have 5 niche bonus tricks.
11) Path to Exile + Searing Blaze
You can path your own creatures to get landfall for Searing Blaze. Opposing Path to Exile, Boseiju, Who Endures, and Field of Ruin can also give landfall.
12) Fetchland + Mulligans
If you bottom a land, your first fetch does not thin your deck. While 1 land is removed, the land on bottom is shuffled back in. Your deck is only thinned after the second fetch. If all you care about is deck thinning, cracking only 1 fetch just wastes 1 life (technically some value if you bottomed Sunbaked Canyon). Wait for 2+ fetchlands. You’ll typically have to fetch just for mana so this rarely comes up.
13) Boarding Out Lands
Trimming lands gives a higher action density at the cost of slower openings. I occasionally run 19 lands on the draw. Against slow decks (e.g. UW control) I run 18 lands on the draw and 19 on the play. Permission & removal spells make fast wins unlikely so it’s better to draw gas.
If it is necessary to hold up Skullcrack I will not trim lands. Against slow decks with life gain (e.g. 4c Omnath) I’ll also stay at 20 lands. I’m not winning a long game so I want to try to blitz.
I generally trim Inspiring Vantage. Against slow decks Vantage being painless isn’t important. In long games you’ll draw multiple Searing Blaze making fetches + mountain/foundry important (ignore this when boarding out Blaze). It’s never worth trimming Sunbaked Canyon to fit more spells.
14) Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Sunbaked Canyon can be used as a land early and sacrificed later. However, if you play Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance as a land, you cannot channel it. Sokenzan is best sequenced as your last land.
Unfortunately, many lands in Boros Burn cost life. It can be unclear if holding Sokenzan to play Sunbaked Canyon or Sacred Foundry is worth losing life. Understanding the underlying math and strategy can help.
The math is straightforward. During games I count how many consecutive lands I’d need to realistically channel Sokenzan. You can estimate any draw as a ~1/3 chance of being a land (20 lands in 60 cards). For example, this hand needs 3 straight lands:
The precise probability of drawing 3 consecutive lands is complicated: (18/53)*(17/52)*(16/51) = 3.5%. However, our estimate gives (1/3)^3 = 1/27 which rounds to about 4%.
The next step is figuring out the strategy. For example, if a 4% chance of channeling is worth losing life from Sunbaked Canyon. Against discard and lifegain, an extra action is invaluable. The tokens fight through Leyline of Sanctity. Channel is an ability, so Sokenzan is effective against counter magic including Chalice of the Void. While a 33% chance is usually worth losing life, 4% is only worthwhile when Sokenzan is well positioned.
You can further simplify the decision to avoid mental math. If your lifepoints matter, use Sokenzan as a land, if not play a painland to hold Sokenzan.
15) Ramunap Ruins
You draw a spell with an active Ramunap Ruins on board. What’s the play?
I’d usually activate the Ramunap Ruins. This lets me double spell if I draw another spell next turn. Casting Lava Spike could leave me facing the same dilemma again. However, if my opponent has cards like Inquisition of Kozilek, I’d cast Lava Spike.
Lastly, I’d like to remind you to join our Discord so you can play in our free online tournaments. Remember: Red Deck Always Wins
10/10, article. Land misplays are the #1 reason Burn players punt games and don’t realize it.
Great Article!