EDH Optimizer
Burn Commander decks
Burning through 120 life one card at a time does not work: the archetype lives on effects that hit ALL opponents at once and engines that trigger several times a turn.
Cards that define the archetype
Ranked by how much MORE they are played inside the archetype than in the rest of Commander. Generic staples (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet…) fall out for exactly that reason: they are played everywhere equally.
| Card | Commanders | Avg. inclusion | Excess |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning Bolt | 112 | 51% | +27 pts |
| Torbran, Thane of Red Fell | 64 | 50% | +22 pts |
| Mana Geyser | 94 | 47% | +21 pts |
| Solphim, Mayhem Dominus | 49 | 46% | +19 pts |
| Guttersnipe | 55 | 49% | +19 pts |
| Seething Song | 78 | 47% | +18 pts |
| Fiery Emancipation | 46 | 44% | +17 pts |
| Basilisk Collar | 54 | 55% | +16 pts |
| Brash Taunter | 38 | 51% | +12 pts |
| Firebrand Archer | 29 | 51% | +11 pts |
| City on Fire | 28 | 42% | +10 pts |
| Neheb, the Eternal | 34 | 44% | +10 pts |
| Storm-Kiln Artist | 45 | 55% | +10 pts |
| Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle | 43 | 43% | +9 pts |
| Coruscation Mage | 25 | 51% | +9 pts |
| Razorkin Needlehead | 22 | 51% | +9 pts |
| Kessig Flamebreather | 22 | 50% | +9 pts |
| Gratuitous Violence | 24 | 45% | +9 pts |
| Dictate of the Twin Gods | 21 | 44% | +8 pts |
| Fiery Inscription | 21 | 42% | +8 pts |
Commanders for Burn
Ranked by how central this archetype is to their decks and by how played each commander is, according to EDHREC data.
By color identity
Red Best cards by color →
Black · Red Best cards by color →
Blue · Red Best cards by color →
White · Red Best cards by color →
Black Best cards by color →
Red · Green Best cards by color →
Paste your list and we tell you whether the deck actually does what it wants to do: curve, ramp, interaction and a 10,000-game simulation.
🛠️ Build a deck like this 📥 Analyze my deckFrequently asked questions
What is the best commander for a Burn deck?
The most-built commanders for this archetype are Indoraptor, the Perfect Hybrid, Electro, Assaulting Battery, Eshki, Temur's Roar. EDH Optimizer has the full list of 657 commanders with their recommended cards, ranked by how central Burn is to their decks.
Which cards are must-haves in a Burn deck?
The three most characteristic are Lightning Bolt, Torbran, Thane of Red Fell, Mana Geyser. They are not the most-played cards in the format, but the ones that appear far more inside this archetype than in the rest of Commander — which is what actually makes them essential here.
What colors is Burn played in?
The most common color identities are Red, Black · Red, Blue · Red. The "By color identity" section groups the commanders and links to the best cards for each combination.
How much does a Burn deck cost?
It depends on the price cap PER CARD you set. Each commander page lists the best cards in three tiers (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.