MTG Top 10: Non-Red Burn Spells | Magic: the Gathering

[@lanychabot-laroche135]

Can we appreciate how they cleared the textbox for the Commands with clear lines and bullets. The difference reading entries 5 and 4 is night and day.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

I still wish they'd just go and do a whole bunch of reprints of old cards whose formatting got cleared the hell up with templating improvements, regardless of The Reserve Boogeyman.

[@bolawdean]

Hard to believe Corrupt didn’t make this list since it’s an actual “burn” spell

[@eliashigham8901]

I thought so too, was super surprised it never showed up

[@RiptornRory]

To be fair, 6 cmc is a lot to ask when in competitive magic that's just too much to pay for a spell unless it does a truly game-ending effect. Plus it'd require you to play mono black (or Urborg, but in the days when Corrupt would've been good enough that land didn't exist yet) with a ton of swamps, which would just get beaten by most control decks or low to the ground aggro.

[@XYBeautiful]

@@RiptornRoryCorrupt was all over the place back in the day. It feels like an omission.

[@javierpatag3609]

Maybe it didn’t make it to the Top 10, but it’s probably still high up. Have to admit, wish we had Nizza’s notes to see its ranking.

[@realitant]

I think it's because pauper events are pretty new, and that's where it sees the most play

[@Shadowbane0]

I'm surprised that you didn't mention back when they where still figuring out the color pie, blue used to be the second best colors for burn. That's why cards like psionic blast and prodigal sorcerer aren't considered color breaks.

[@jonnymmac]

Too be fair, he wasn't playing back then I think.

[@lanychabot-laroche135]

@@jonnymmac You don't need to have been playing back then to know about the color-pie back then.

[@NizzahonMagic]

I didn't outright say it, but I did allude to it when I mentioned they were still sorting out the color pie.

[@Shadowbane0]

@NizzahonMagic Yeah, I was just mostly surprised because it was your list on color pie breaks that actually taught me that, so I assumed you would mention it again.

[@tuxxle8830]

Well they weren’t concidered breaks then but they definitely are massive breaks now. Blue is already very powerful and impressive against red, but back when blue gave us all of the colored cards on the power nine and was all around just massively imbalanced, it got to do the main thing red had going for it too, which was absurd. Look at the card Volcanic Eruption if you wanna see just how useless red was compared to blue.

[@FRAAANKYSUUUPER]

I always feel burn to be damage only, not drain life or lose life effects even though they are basically identical. I just always feel damage has to be the keyword in this regard.

[@R3N3GADEMUFFIN]

I was thinking the same thing and had to check the comments before I speak my mind. Good to know others are on the same page. Lol

[@vedbergsmagicalworld]

Same

[@lanychabot-laroche135]

While true, there would not be 10 cards to make a list if we count it that way. So the question is more, do you want a 4 card list, or a slightly less accurate 10 card list?

[@FRAAANKYSUUUPER]

@@lanychabot-laroche135 I haven't checked, but I feel there would be at least 10

[@nickfifteen]

​@FRAAANKYSUUUPER yeah Nizzahon said there were 137 cards eligible for the list, so surely there were enough straight burn (no "lose life") cards for the video.

[@jasondhainaut8834]

Seriously, no "Creeping Chill"? Dredge isn't as strong as I expected, thought it would be in the first few spots.

[@TheDougWay]

Wow it still surprises me to see that they underestimated storm so badly that Tendrils of Agony is only an uncommon.

[@matthewutech5970]

That's because Mind's Desire was in the same set as a rare.

[@LibertyMonk]

​​@@matthewutech5970Dragonstorm too. Draining for two isn't on the same level as tutoring (and playing for free) a dragon, or casting the top card of your library for free. Unless you're doing it for lethal, in which case they're all the same, but that won't happen consistently without a ton of support. But also, constructed power level isn't how rarity is determined. It's mostly about how the limited environment plays (do-nothings and game-breakers shouldn't be everywhere, so they're rare, while staples should be uncommon) with availability for constructed players a secondary concern (will packs keep value, will a mythic reprint effect the price enough or does it need to be rare to bring it back down to $20 per copy).

[@illusionxmuta]

I run Tendrils of Agony in my Rat Colony deck with Thrumming Stone. You can take out two opponents before you even attack with the rats.

[@mrpinguimninja]

It's cool that malcator was already mentioned in vapor snag

[@Mil89GR]

I remember Tendrils of Agony when the card first came out in scourge. People didn't seem to like it much in my local game store back in the day... Personally I loved it cause I could net huge amount of damage against combo decks. I still play the card in my "Athreos" commander deck with my shadowborn apostles.

[@LibertyMonk]

But it's a sorcery? What kind of combo deck combos out during the opponent's main phase?

[@Mil89GR]

@@LibertyMonk while it is sorcery,back in the day they were a lot of combo decks that were casting multiple spells on my turn then when they stopped I could cast Tendrils and punish them. Remember - storm affects EVERY SPELL that was casted before tendrils, not only my spells.

[@theunwelcome]

I'm probably the weird one here, but I never saw blanket or "AoE" effects like Hurricane or Earthquake to be burn spells, since they're more useful as board wipes

[@sethzard]

Symmetrical ones are definitely weird. You can't win with just symmetrical burn.

[@LibertyMonk]

​@@sethzardsure, but all it takes is the opponent tapping an Ancient Tomb or using a fetch land and you're fine. Or you can play one targeted burn card and you're good. But yeah, his definition is absolutely not the colloquial one. He's excluding all creatures, enchantments, planeswalkers, artifacts etc, but allowing "oh, and you lose a life" that happens to be tacked on to the effect the card is played for. I'm not sure how Vapor Snag and Rancid Earth are burn, but Cursed Scroll and Underworld Dreams are not. I get that he's trying not to be subjective at all, which is fair enough, but it's still not quite right IMO.

[@VellanShadow]

Doesn't "burn" refer to effects that deal damage directly to the opponent? As in, effects that say "prevent damage" prevent the effects from "burn" spells? Because loss of life is something else entirely. Damage causes loss of life, but loss of life isn't seen as damage, as it is not prevented by damage prevention effects.

[@tmille171]

Initially red the title as "Top 10 Non-Burn Red Spells," which might make for an interesting list in itself!

[@krisdaschwab912]

I hope Hopeless Nightmare makes the list some day since it is, in essence, a burn spell. Shoutout to Vicious Rumors, I love that stupid card.

[@ElPanadero18]

I like the episode number in the thumbnail!

[@jesok3761]

I have a black deck with a lot of burn, but none of those made it on here?

[@R3N3GADEMUFFIN]

This should be top 10 life loss cards. I know there are more non red burn spells out there that do damage. I love these lists but this one conflicts with my definition of the word "burn". Is loss of life now considered a burn in Magic? The context of it in-game would be wierd. Do i call my opponents with black drain life decks, a "burn" deck?

[@tatesmith4527]

I do call my pauper mono black "life loss" deck (with a rogue subtheme) Mono Black Burn !

[@R3N3GADEMUFFIN]

@tatesmith4527 hey if this is the new norm. I'm cool with it. Magic is always changing and evolving.

[@ultratog1028]

Cant wait for non-green ramp and non-black kill spells

[@Reluxthelegend]

non-blue counterspells

[@bluedestiny2710]

They exist... but compared to their primary color, they generally don't do it as efficiently... or come with some drawback... such as: - Kill spell: Path to Exile (white), Swords to Plowshares (white), Get Lost (white), Beast Within (green), Generous Gift (white), Dwindle (blue), Flash Flood (blue), Active Volcano (Red), Pognify (Blue), Sandstone Deadfall (Artifact), Amulet of Unmaking (artifact) the blue and red elemental blast and blasts - Ramp (I will ignore artifacts because some of the best ramps are artifacts): Benthic Explorers (Blue), Chandra, Dressed to Kill (Red), Chandra's Embercat (red), Curious Homunculus (Blue), Gnarlroot Trapper (black), Smokebraider (red) - Counterspells: Withering Boon (Black), Burnout (Red), Molten Influence (red), Mana Tithe (white), Dawn Charm (White), Dash Hopes (Black), Life Force (Green), Death Grip (Black), Nether Void (Black) Null Brooch (Artifact), Chalice of the Void (Artifact), Lapse of Certainty (White) To name a few

[@trunkage]

I remember trying to create a Drain Life deck

[@TopsideCrisis346]

... Now that would be a cool tagline - "Card Kingdom - your direct link to direct damage." 💥😎💥

[@SuperbFairy]

Insane that vapor snag is on this list, which doesn't burn at all, instead of exsanguinate, which is actually good

[@LibertyMonk]

If by "burn" you mean "deal damage to the opponent" then it does burn. And it's a powerful card in tempo decks (though). And Exsanguinate is not good. It's playable in Commander because that's a Singleton format and with the right support (and multiple opponents) it can do enough to be meaningful chip damage. But it's just bad in 60-card formats.

[@Nether2342]

No grey merchant of asphodel or siege rhinos? Those each had a huge amount of Protour and grand prix tops during their time.

[@LibertyMonk]

He excluded all cards that aren't instants or sorceries for some reason. Otherwise Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Cursed Scroll would be on the list.

[@cax1175]

I love off color cards. I run a Saskia EDH deck with like 25 Non Blue Counterspells.

[@movezig5]

Careful, Mark Rosewater might kill you in your sleep for that comment.

[@cax1175]

​@@movezig5If he didn't kill me for my hatred of the Reserve List before, I'm not worried now

[@Reluxthelegend]

Now I wan6 one for non-blue counterspells

[@delathenleso5793]

Huh. Would you consider Syr Konrad's effect to be Burn? It's not quite aristocrats, and it's also not quite reanimator, or mill, even though it touches strongly on all three.

[@LibertyMonk]

No, he wouldn't, because Syr Konrad isn't an instant or sorcery. It absolutely does fit into aristocrats or mill+burn archetypes, but not reanimator, because 1 measley damage is irrelevant compared to what the scam/reanimated creature does.

[@Vilegorico]

Most of the list life loss, not damage. So not burn?

[@PM-ut6sy]

Could you let us know how many points Grist has? Cheers

[@ArdenDag]

I knew it wouldn't be high, but I swear I thought that Alms of the Vein and Creeping Chill would be on the list.

[@gerouw]

i like when you do top 10 with randomn tough that actualy is worth knowing what are the best in slot

[@simanolastname2399]

Out of curiosity, how many points did Bump in the Night get? I don't recall it being mentioned in a past video.

[@Melvinvanharn]

Might have not made the list because its flashback requires red mana?

[@PokeBattlerJaze]

I have no idea what it could be except Tendrils of Agony. Edit: Ohhhhhh, Collective Brutality, that's fair.

[@Grisu.]

burn =/= drain

[@DiviTon]

Surprised Creeping Chill isn't on this list

[@danberger337]

This list is 🔥

[@alexthebrick]

Suprised me that creeping chill didn’t make the list.

[@frankpulmanns6685]

I wouldn't class things like rancid earth or vapor snag as burn spells. The life loss is incidental, not the point of the card. Smallpox I'm a little ambivalent on, being Pox' little brother where the life loss is relevant though for smallpox it doesn't quite work out that way.

[@LibertyMonk]

Not suprised that theyre basically all black "drain" spells. Hurricane is weird, almost feels like its supposed to be a downside. Then theres all the blue "psychic damage" spells that make a certain kind of sense, but are pretty old-school.

[@nobodyimportant72]

Hurricane is an interesting card especially in a multiplayer format with a little life gain and ramp potential. I know that back in the day I used it as a finisher for an elf deck that could get lots of life with Wellwisher (Essence Warden could have worked almost as well) and use those same elves to generate a ton of mana before casting a Hurricane to wipe out all of the opposition.

[@JoeKell365]

i once won a match of Modern 2-0-1 because my opponent drew game 2 with Psionic Blast

[@teusvandermeij7287]

no artifacts? kinda expected Cursed Scroll to be on here, or maybe The Rack?

[@NizzahonMagic]

I specifically looked at instants and sorceries. Other types of permanent doing direct damage is honestly not very rare, so I wanted to single out what is usually the "Reddest" form of burn.

[@teusvandermeij7287]

@@NizzahonMagic fair nuff. I do still consider cursed scroll a burn spell tho :)

[@corrinestenman5683]

No Gray Merchant? Edit: I'm guessing ETB burn wasn't included

[@RibusPQR]

Illusions of Grandeur is the best burn spell.

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

Ahhhh burn, it's honestly one of those strategies I don't encounter much, but when I do, I loathe it. Kinda like in YuGiOh. Speaking of YuGiOh, I wonder if you'll do "Top 10 Vintage Cards (Minus Power 9)".

[@n.m5253]

Since when is lifeloss considered burn?

[@MrWhatIC]

Losing life is not technically the same as direct damage/burn.

[@bolawdean]

Same result

[@TheDougWay]

There weren't really enough nonred cards to much a list like this if you don't count those.

[@lionoaksimba2154]

next is non green ramp spells?

[@RASK1904]

White reanimate. Non blue counter spells.

[@Melvinvanharn]

Drain Life has no points since 1997? The hell it doesn't. Brian Davis took 2nd place at Pro Tour Chicago 99, and he had four, count em, four copies of Drain Life in his Necro deck.

[@kaisampson9402]

where Gary :(

[@dyne313]

But the real question is, why would you NOT want to play red?

[@CompanionPacks]

Why was I waiting for Sheoldred

[@thrillhouse4151]

The first ever pack of Magic I opened had a Rancid Earth in it. Either that or my friend had that card, I think he had a starter deck from Torment but of course my memory is hazy.

[@kronozord8346]

No INVOKE DESPAIR?!

[@bobfranklin2572]

What in gods name is this upload hour 😂 Also, can we get a "you may put a land from your hand onto the battlefield (tapped)" list?

[@cax1175]

He uploads at Midnight Central every day, what are you talking about?

[@bobfranklin2572]

@cax1175 why so hostile?

[@jackvogel701]

@@bobfranklin2572 you started with “what in gods name” lol

[@jackvogel701]

Don’t think it was that hostile. I like your idea though 👀

[@bobfranklin2572]

@jackvogel701 hold on, this is the youtube comments section. I beleive this is the part where i insult you, then challenge you a fistfight. Or is that tiktok?

[@adamgardner9374]

“Obviously, you can mix and match these effects any number of other ways, too.” Four. You can mix and match in four other ways (plus the two Nizzahon described). So any number, is four! Which concurs with previously published research by Randall Munroe, so, nice to have that confirmed!

[@bchamp1]

Drain type spells are black not red.

[@lunar1157]

Last

[@MadMewMew-mu3eq]

Middlest

[@prn_Melatonin]

Just play red and ignore this list, they arent even burn spells.