I played my trusty Boros Naya Burn deck this past weekend at my third RCQ of the Modern season:

Naya Burn | Modern | Michael Flores

• Creatures (12)
• 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
• 4 Goblin Guide
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear

• Instants (8)
• 4 Boros Charm
• 4 Lightning Helix

• Sorceries (20)
• 4 Lava Spike
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Rift Bolt
• 4 Searing Blaze
• 4 Skewer the Critics

• Lands (20)
• 2 Mountain
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 2 Sacred Foundry
• 3 Bloodstained Mire
• 4 Inspiring Vantage
• 4 Scalding Tarn
• 4 Sunbaked Canyon

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Ensnaring Bridge
• 2 Searing Blood
• 3 Path to Exile
• 4 Destructive Revelry
• 4 Kor Firewalker

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If you didn't catch the last installment (where Our Hero bowed out in the Top 8 against Omnath / Beans), here are some of the key changes:

-1 Manamorphose

+1 Stomping Ground

This swap is solely there to support this sideboard change:

• -4 Smash to Smithereens
• +4 Destructive Revelry

Even though in my last update all I did was list artifacts that I blew up with Destructive Revelry, the real reason that it has re-entered the sideboard after more than five years is that you actually need to deal with enchantments now. Leyline of Sanctity is a predictable sideboard card that comes in in a variety of matchups. Up the Beanstalk can send you up the creek without a paddle. And of course there are all those pesky artifacts we [still] have to kill.

• +2 Ensnaring Bridge
• -2 Searing Blood

Ensnaring Bridge is very off-brand for me. First of all, it costs three mana. I last played a three-mana card with Zo-Zu, the Punisher back in 2019 or so. It wasn't that good. Ensnaring Bridge is! Where some players want to run out a Chalice of the Void for zero to stop Temur Rhinos, you can just cast an Ensnaring Bridge to keep from being beaten down by 4/4 freebies. This card has added bonuses in matchups like Hardened Scales, Hammer Time, and even Scam; where you can empty your hand to zero and basically with by peeling burn spells off the top while the opponent successfully doesn't kill you.

There were some other mix-ups, like more Kor Firewalkers and no Roiling Vortexes; but a lot of that is preference. I think Eidolon of the Great Revel is better than Roiling Vortex at most of the stuff Roiling Vortex does. A lot of games you just need to put the opponent on a clock, and Roiling Vortex isn't great at that.

"But what about Fury," people ask. Well when I start losing to Scam I'll let you know about Eildolon.

Round One: Scam

I had played my opponent before, so I was pretty sure I'd be facing free Grief and Fury this round. He commented that he remembered being locked down by Kor Firewalker, so presumably he remembered our last battle. It was a 2-0 for the good guys that time. But what about this?

Game 1 was super tight. One of us was going to win on the next turn. It came down to me sacrificing Sunbaked Canyon down to one mana and hoping it was a Lightning Bolt of some kind. Lava Spike! Got there.

If you want to learn about how to win more at Modern, I suggest reading this article on Lava Spike.

• -4 Boros Charm
• -4 Lava Spike
• -3 Rift Bolt
• +2 Ensnaring Bridge
• +2 Searing Blood
• +3 Path to Exile
• +4 Kor Firewalker

The general game plan in a lot of matchups is to shift into Gear Two. You don't want to be a Gear One deck, so you side out most of your face-burn. Instead, you get a massive advantage from Kor Firewalker and Ensnaring Bridge. These are two permanents that are very difficult to remove from play, and that both generate huge long-term advantages, or at least time. You can ride that time to an eventual win, even if it's not ten cards straight to the jaw.

Game 2 my opponent had a first-turn Fury. It didn't quite get there (I chump blocked twice, and eventually put together Searing Blaze + Lightning Bolt) but it got close enough I died to some lame Bowmasters.

Game 3 was just kind of unfortunate. Relatively early I got down to 0-1 cards and the Ensnaring Bridge. Then I drew another Ensnaring Bridge. I was feeling pretty good because my opponent would have almost no way to win, whereas I could play off the top.

He responded with a Chalice of the Void for one. This ended up being doubly, triply, one-more-than-triply bad. I had to just throw Path to Exile away something like three consecutive turns just to get them out of my hand. Still, I liked my shot.

Until Sheoldred showed up.

This was going to be awkward. At least it didn't take long.

0-1 / 1-2

"Well when I start losing to Scam I'll let you know about Eildolon."

-me, a few paragraphs ago

No one is immune to being Scammed; but if I only get to pick one side of the fence, I'd really rather be on the Burn side than the B/R one.

Round Two: Izzet Wizards

I had never played against this kind of deck before. Or at least when I did before it was called Faeries and had Black for Bitterblossom. This one had Red for Flame of Anor, Fire // Ice, and other direct damage.

As you can imagine, this kind of deck is super easy for Burn. All their creatures are small, so one conceivable game plan is to just kill all their Faeries, Wizards, and Faerie Wizards. Win with whoever is left on your side.

This is how I sideboarded:

• +2 Searing Blood
• +4 Kor Firewalker
• -4 Boros Charm
• -2 Lava Spike

Just a less pronounced version of the last match. Again, we want to emphasize Burn's ability to shift into the Control role, so cut some exclusively Gear One cards.

1-1 / 3-2

Round Three: Tron

I used to have this rule that if I were to play against Tron the outcome was predetermined. Like "Does this match matter?" Is it for a slot? Top 8? Is it in the Top 8? Great. You're dead.

"Does this match matter for anything we do?" If the answer is "no" you always win it.

No exception on this one.

This wasn't that interesting. He mulled a bunch in both games. The only play that I thought was worth talking about was against a fast Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. I had two creatures and he close to [-2] to exile both. I think I would have chained the "Lightning Helix" ability. As it was a couple of cards and the Monastery Swiftspear in my hand took care of Ugin, and we went back to our normally regulated programming of sideways Red creatures.

Searing Blaze is a little dodgy in this matchup so I just went four-for-four with Destructive Revelry.

2-1 / 5-2

Round Four: Temur Murktide

My friend and podcast partner Lanny Huang says this is as close to a bye as Burn has in Modern. I don't know why Murktide players persist in calling this deck Murktide, but its big hitter is Questing Druid. Or, you know, a format defining creature that they just added a Wrenn's Resolve to. Only at instant speed.

Game 1 was everything that Blue mages dream about. If those dreams are nightmares. I started on Goblin Guide. In for two; check.

He went Island + Mishra's Bauble + Preordain.

Everything came off the wheels. First off, the double cantrip didn't give him a land; and when it did appear the next turn, it was a second Island. That color doesn't stop my now mini-army of three creatures. Winning was academic at that point.

This is a matchup where you mostly just don't want to get hit by Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. Again, you want to go Gear Two. Notably we're almost doubling our first turn anti-Ragavan action with Path to Exile.

• +3 Path to Exile
• +2 Searing Blood
• +4 Kor Firewalker
• -4 Boros Charm
• -4 Lava Spike
• -1 Rift Bolt

Rift Bolt is the worst of the non-Gear One cards against Ragavan. Hence, sayonara.

Game 2 was much less lopsided, but still came out for Our Hero. I got hit with a Ragavan on turn n-1. I left back a Goblin Guide to block, knowing his Dragon's Rage Channeler would put me to one if I could intercept Ragavan. Well he had Lightning Bolt for my Guide (phew) but I had been sandbagging a Searing Blood for his Monkey Pirate. This put me into topdeck mode for the kill the next turn. I didn't get there the first topdeck, but Sunbaked Canyon did the rest.

3-1 / 7-2

Round Five: Goblin Charbelcher Combo

I wasn't really sure what to do here.

Having lost in the first round, I knew that an ID would damn me to being on the draw the whole Top 8.

On the other hand I had no idea what was in his deck; only overheard folklore about how scary it was. In hindsight, drawing was the worst thing I could have done. We're comparable on speed in the abstract; but I think I underrated how much damage his mana base would be doing for me.

ID / 7th place

Top 8: Hammer Time

Remember when I said how bad drawing was going to be my downfall? Hammer Time is one of Burn's worst matchups. 4 main deck Surge of Salviation is why.

This matchup involved him getting the nuts twice (Esper Sentinel turn one; Sigarda's Aid, Surge backup); and me basically swallowing teeth.

Oh well, another Top 8; but also another not-Blue Envelope.

The thing I'm most annoyed at is myself: Instead of drawing into Top 8 I should have played with an outlook toward what I was actually trying to accomplish (the invitation) instead of some cosmetic toll booth of Top 8 status.

I'll try not to make the same mistake thrice.

LOVE

MIKE