I’m a Red player, so I naturally love burn spells. That said, not every burn spells is good by default. Others often have potential but get overlooked. For instance, right now I love Mizzium Mortars but, when that card goes out, I think I need this in my burn deck:
Yet, it’s 4 mana versus a 2 mana spell. Both do 4 damage. The difference, of course, is that Stoke the Flames can deal damage to the opponent, making it much more versatile (although Mortar’s Overload will be missed).
Convoke
Of course, a 4 mana spell isn’t that bad when you have Convoke, so long as you the creatures. It is here, however, where Stoke the Flames runs into a problem. I can’t run this in a straight-up burn deck. I want less mana and few creatures and the creatures I do want – I’m looking at you, Young Pyromaster and Guttersnipe, are quickly on their way out of Standard. If I play any other creatures at this point, they’re only slowing me down.
That said, if you have the creatures, is Stoke the Flames any good? Maybe, but if you need to tap your creatures to cast it then you have creatures that aren’t attacking… in a Red deck.
4 Damage Matters
In terms of any real benefit, that extra damage offered by Stoke the Flames is vitally important in the current metagame. There are a number of 3/3 creatures but there are also a fair few 4 toughness threats on the board. Prime example? 
Brimaz. This legendary cat is a threat that needs answering, as a 3/4 with vigilance will slow any deck down and I would rather not waste two cheaper burn spells to remove him.
Similarly, if you let him stick around your opponent is going to have the advantage in 1/1 tokens. A single cat token isn’t a threat on its own, but in numbers they can provide chump blockers or even racing potential when they swing en mass. Again, from the perspective of a burn deck, I don’t want to waste cards on them and, with Overload about to rotate in the coming months, I don’t have a one card answer in Red.
Okay, there is Scouring Sands but that is very much a sideboard card. Moving on…
Burn’s Potential
Right now, I think there is a lot of potential for burn decks, where Convoke may be needed. We have some prime burn spells right now, such as Lightning Strike, Magma Jet and Convoke the Flames. This give you the option to deal 2,3 and 4 damage as and when you require.
Of course, even with full playsets this only gives you 12 cards. 12 burn spells does not a deck make and, without the support cards, we run into some hurdles. We could run other burn spells, such as Magma Spray and Spite of Mogis, that only deal damage to a creature, but this doesn’t really help the overall goal. At a push, we could also run Bolt of Keranos – even with the Scry, 3 damage for 3 mana isn’t exactly great.
While we’re on the subject of alternative burn spells – Fated Conflagration. It’s 5 damage for 4 mana, which is great, but it only deals damage to creatures and planeswalkers. That said, it’s an awesome sideboard card and if Standard shapes up to feature lots of Planeswalkers I can see a copy or two moving into the main deck.
So, what does care about spells? Personally, I think there might be room for Red/Blue shenanigans. Spellheart Chimera, for instance, gets bigger the more spells you throw into the yard but, even in Standard, there are ways to interact with the graveyard and get rid of the cards.
Similarly, we have the likes of Oracle of Bones – and a certain Sphinx in M15 – that can let you cast cards without paying for them. This might not always happen but, if and when it does, you get a little extra value. Of course, in a burn deck most opponents will choose to pay the Oracle’s tribute cost and other colors, such as Black, don’t need to fear it.
All in all, I’m just thinking out loud right now, although I do feel a terrible deck tech coming on. Still, Khans of Tarkir could bring some decent burn in, or creatures that like instants and sorceries. If it does, I’ll quickly return to this topic…
Mana Badger 