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Burn is one of the most well-known archetypes in history. Originally born as Sligh, which was divided between 20 creatures, 20 damage spells and 20 creatures, it gave rise to the many variants of red decks in competitive Magic, such as Red Deck Wins, Prowess, among others.
These strategies generally have one thing in common: the use of some spells that deal damage to the opponent to speed up the pace of the game and force the opponent to follow their game plan and avoid getting into their range. With some lists using them more than others, the importance of Burn in Magic is undeniable.
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In this article, we present the ten best Burn spells in the game!
How to evaluate if a Burn spell is good for my deck?
while Exquisite Firecraft, another notorious example, deals 4 damage for ., totaling five damage and offering a two-for-one. Other cards like Lash Out and Searing Blaze also impact or have impacted formats due to their effectiveness in totaling damage.The 10 Best Burn Spells in Magic
10 - Rift Bolt
Rift Bolt is one of the many variations of one-mana, three-damage spells that you will see in this list, with most of them being adaptations of Lightning Bolt to make it more “fair”.
In this case, the mana cost is the same, but with the concession that Rift Bolt will only actually be cast on the following turn. At the beginning of the game, this is excellent because players can start with it and sequence other spells in the following turn, but as the game goes on, this “extra turn” given to the opponent makes a difference and can define their victory.
9 - Skewer the Critics
Skewer the Critics also has conditional costs, where we need to deal damage to the opponent to pay for three damage. Normally, red decks already tend to attack the opponent with creatures and spells, making it easier to enable it, but its main cost can be quite punishing in longer games and/or if we draw many copies of it.
8 - Skullcrack
Skullcrack is below other spells in the cost-effectiveness equation by dealing three damage for , but it makes up for it with the essential restriction of preventing opponents from gaining life and/or preventing damage, two common ways to deal with Burn and/or red Aggro in most formats.
7 - Searing Blaze
Searing Blaze offers a good cost-damage equation when considering the ease of enabling Landfall early in the game, and dealing damage to a creature while dealing damage to the opponent is precisely what red decks want to increase the pressure on the opponent and leave the path clear for their creatures.
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6 - Galvanic Blast
Galvanic Blast is the only one-mana red spell that goes above the standard damage equation, as long as it's in the right list. Metalcraft is easy to enable when we have good quality artifacts in a format, as we see in Pauper, where Great Furnace and Experimental Synthesizer, in addition to Implement of Combustion and its “combo” with Kuldotha Rebirth, provide a solid basis for this spell to be the best and most efficient removal the format can have.
5 - Lava Spike
Lava Spike offers the ideal damage for the right cost and has become a staple of every Burn list in which the card is legal. Its drawbacks are more negligible than most since we usually want to target our burns on the opponent, but there are situations where its speed and player-only limitation matter and change the course of the game.
4 - Boros Charm
Boros Charm is one of the few damage spells that offers four damage for two mana, with the only concession being the addition of 
to its cost. The spell also offers versatility to protect your creatures from sweepers like Wrath of God and even the ability to combo-kill in Heroic or Prowess lists, which aim to increase the power of your creatures to deal lethal damage in a few attacks.
3 - Chain Lightning
Chain Lightning was the second traditional burn spell released in Magic, being considered by some as too strong and potentially dangerous for formats like Modern, and is a traditional staple of the archetype in Legacy, in addition to occasionally appearing in Pauper lists, where it was essential until the artifact core turned Galvanic Blast into a format pillar.
2 - Fireblast
Fireblast is a free spell, meaning it has an alternative cost that we can pay instead of the mana value, thus having the best cost and damage conversion in the game. Its alternative cost of sacrificing mountains creates heavy concessions that limit its use in the game and, thus, balance the card to the point of not making it too predominant.
1 - Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt is the best possible combination of speed, cost, damage and flexibility that a damaging spell could want, to the point that a good part of the Top 10 list are variants of its effects. In addition to causing damage to the opponent and being a perfect spell for Burn, its flexibility and range make it an excellent removal for Midrange, Aggro and Tempo decks in the various competitive formats where the card is legal.
If there were a spell that unconditionally dealt more damage for the same cost, even as a sorcery, it would probably prove too strong for competitive formats. Lightning Bolt is the ideal balance for burn and potentially too strong for Pioneer or Standard, where it would limit the scope of viable creatures in competitive play too much.
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Being the right spot and having all the qualities that so many other red spells aim to have, it's no surprise that Lightning Bolt tops our list and is the best Burn in Magic: The Gathering!
Conclusion
That's all for today!
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment!
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