Summer's fast approaching, so it's time to fire up the grill and begin cooking outdoors again. There's a satisfaction in wielding an element raw and primal as fire. Something so dangerous and uncontrollable, yet helpful and beautiful at the same time. Plus it results in some amazing steak tips. Provided you've taken the time to perfect your marinade. Need to make sure the balance of acid to salt is correct and that the meat's had sufficient time to brine. Try to keep sugars to a minimum, as they can easily burn before the tips are fully cooked.

I may be getting off track.

Fire is one of Magic's cornerstone flavors, so much so that the entre symbol for Red Mana is a literal fireball. The idea of pyromancy, hurling flame like you'd found the right flower in the Mushroom Kingdom, is so alluring that one of the game's first Planeswalkers (Chandra Nalaar) was designed as an embodiment of the concept. The imagination races with images of towering dragons, furious volcanos, or molten elementals climbing forth from the crust of the earth. All adorned with blazing coronas of heat. Who wouldn't want to give in to their fiery impulses and embrace their inner Red mage? Dive headfirst into passionate pursuits and limitless freedom?

And to anyone who stands in your way? Well, how about a little fire, scarecrow?

Translated to game play, this manifests in the Burn archetype, which seeks to roast opponents via salvos of direct damage. Oh sure, aggressive creatures may chip in, but the majority of pain stems from spell-slinging fire. Or magma. Or electricity. Or plasma. Pick your flavor of high-intensity ammunition. They're all measured in Kelvin, anyhow. The idea is our library acting as a stockpile of munitions. We'd like to finish off an opponent with as few fireworks as possible, though this ambition is complicated by the nature of multiplayer formats. Much like with Aggro strategies, the challenge factor is increased two-fold. Not only must we contend with multiple life totals, but each has been elevated to 40. And unlike combat-oriented strategies, much of our burn is limited to a single shot. This means we'll have to get the most literal bang for our buck with each explosive spell cast.

A challenge, but an exciting one to explore. Let's dive on into what Burn works best in multiplayer!

Anyone in the mood for BBQ?

Varieties of Burn

1. Direct Damage: Ask any Magic player to name a burn spell, and these will be the examples you'll hear most often. Classics like Lightning Bolt and Fireblast were cornerstone spells in the early days. Flexible enough to take out enemy creatures or delivery the final points of 'reach' to spell doom for foes at low life totals. The problem with many of these spells in Commander are the aforementioned increase in both player count and life totals, which drastically cuts the damage-to-life ratio. Lava Axe nixes 25% of an opponent's life total when they start at 20, but only 12.5% at 40. And that's only for a single opponent. Because of this, the Burn utilized in Commander has to put in extra work. One way to do so is to target all players at once (Flame Rift, Pyrohemia, etc.). Enough of these spells help effectively reduce your pool of opponents to "one," as each will damage everyone in equal measure. Scalable and/or X-spells are also great inclusions for decks that generate a lot of mana, as a late-game Crackle with Power, Burn at the Stake, Comet Storm or Urza's Rage can dish out such mighty degrees of damage that even Commander players quake in fear. More players also means longer games, making cards like Acidic Soil and Price of Progress more likely to hit for considerably higher degrees. Finally, burn that offers bonus utility like Abrade, Skullcrack, Electrodominance, Fiery Confluence that can often make up for lower initial damage output.

2. Mass Damage: Much of Red's mass-removal also comes in the form of Burn. Blasphemous Act is perhaps the best known of these, being both efficient and powerful enough to remove all but the most resilient threats. If we're looking to only hit opposing threats, Bonfire of the Damned, Flame Wave, Street Spasm, and Immolating Gyre keep your army safe from the blast waves. If you'd also like to damage opponents while sweeping the board, classics like Earthquake, [/card]Rolling Earthquake[/card], and Fault Line have been around for decades. Red has tons of these permutations, giving you options at all budget levels (Molten Disaster, Delayed Blast Fireball, Inferno, Bloodfire Colossus, etc.).

3. Incremental Damage: Not all your damage need be delivered in one massive spell. Red offers multiple creatures (Guttersnipe, Thermo-Alchemist, Firebrand Archer, Kessig Flamebreather, Electrostatic Field, etc.) and enchantments (Descent into Avernus, Oath of Chandra Valakut Exploration, Dragon Tempest, Impact Tremors, etc.) that dish out repeated damage with a bit of extra work. And as we mentioned early, Magic's signature redhead specializes in burning foes over and over again (Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh, Chandra, Awakened Inferno, Chandra, Hope's Beacon, etc.).

4. Punishing Damage: Whereas Incremental Damage is often triggered by your efforts, other forms hurt opponents whenever they make certain plays (Cemetery Gatekeeper, Harsh Mentor, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Zo-Zu the Punisher, Manabarbs), limiting their choices in what plays can be safely made as the game progresses. Another style comes in the form of "Punisher Spells," which levy direct damage as a pricetag for an opponent to consider. Cards like Vexing Devil, Browbeat, Molten Influence and Risk Factor offer you a discount for their effects, but you don't get to choose which occurs. Typically, this drawback would be a deal breaker, but when combined cards like Solphim, Mayhem Dominus, the multiplied damage can tilt the decision factor. Speaking of which...

5. Damage Amplifiers: One of the most potent methods of making Burn viable in Commander comes from outright multiplying its intensity. Cards like Furnace of Rath, Dictate of the Twin Gods, Angrath's Marauders, Fiery Emancipation, and City on Fire double or triple damage output. This drastically speeds up the clock for opponents, especially if you have these in play simultaneously. For example, Solphim, Mayhem Dominus and Fiery Emancipation will take a single Flame Rift, double its output from Solphim, Mayhem Dominus to 8 damage, then triple that via Fiery Emancipation to 24 damage to each opponent! You'll still only take the original 4. Doesn't take much imagination to see this getting out of hand quickly, as a single burn spell just eliminated each opponent's life total by more than half.

One important thing to note with these interactions. Cards that modify damage like this come with a rules disclaimer:

"If multiple effects modify how damage will be dealt, the player who would be dealt damage or the controller of the creature that would be dealt damage choose the order to apply the effects."

In the case of damage amplifiers (Ex. Furnace of Rath + Fiery Emancipation), the chosen order makes little difference, as the multipliers will equal the same resulting damage regardless of the order they're replacement effects are applied. But that's not the case with...

6. Damage Stackers: Instead of effects that multiply damage output, these add a set amount of extra damage on top of it (Torbran, Thane of Red Fell, Jaya, Venerated Firemage, Mechanized Warfare, etc.). While extra damage is certainly nice, this is an occasion where the order of effects makes a big difference. For instance, if you had out both Solphim, Mayhem Dominus and Torbran, Thane of Red Fell, then cast Flame Rift, your opponents could choose one of two orders for the effects to apply:

a.) Solphim doubles Flame Rift's 4 damage to 8, then Torbran adds an extra 2 points for a total of 10 damage.

b.) Torbran adds 2 extra points of damage onto the 4 from Flame Rift, then Solphim doubles that to 12 damage total.

With Option A, opponents takes damage, so this'll be the order they'll most often pick. Bear this in mind when calculating up how much damage is needed to vaporize the table. Odd as it may sound, proper Burn strategies can require lots of math. Which is kinda ironic when you think of Mono-Red's whole attitude, isn't it?

7. Multicolor: Add other colors, and the result is a flavorful variety of fireball that takes on the philosophies of its partner. This pool runs deep, so we'll only touch on its the surface. Red + White Burn tends to alter combat and/or provide life (Boros Charm, Lightning Helix, Intimidation Bolt, Aurelia's Fury, etc.). Red + Blue Burn embodies a counter-burn or card draw strategy (Ionize, Mindswipe, Cerebral Vortex, Prismari Command, etc.). Red + Black Burn revels in all-things disruption (Rakdos's Return, Kaervek's Purge, Blightning, Carnival // Carnage, etc.). Finally, Red + Green Burn tends to punish what Green hates, namely all-things winged or artificial (Clan Defiance, Cindervines, Ruric Thar, the Unbowed, etc.), or staples Burn onto already-useful effects (Vengeful Rebirth, Exploding Borders, etc.). In summation, introducing another color to burn's arsenal tends to add thematic utility atop the removal.

Fiery Emancipation by Alexander Forssberg

Getting back to Mono Red, let's take the above lessons and combine them into a single flamethrower of a Commander deck. Phyrexia: All Will be One rolled out a cycle of effects-doubling Domini, the Red member of which perfectly fits our plan. While other Legendary creatures act as direct burn (Heartless Hidetsugu, Toralf, God of Fury) or damage stackers (Torbran, Thane of Red Fell), today's general functions as a walking damage amplifier. Solphim, Mayhem Dominus not only doubles the temperature of our firepower, but can also protect herself from removal and serve as a great blocker. Defensive capabilities are not something Red is known for, but seeing as our opponents are likely to be seeing red as we sling multiple burn spells in their direction, having a Commander that can protect us from attackers is a great bonus.

Within the lore, the story behind Solphim, Mayhem Dominus is both brief and odd. She and her kin (Mondrak, Glory Dominus, etc.) were essentially part of Mirrodin's old geography. The warped influence of Phyrexia's invasion has had an unexpected effect on the landscape: parts of the very earth sprung to life. Solphim unsurprisingly hails from the Furnace region and has a temper to match her homeland. Though she commands the metallic minions around her, Solphim's orders are less efficient warcraft, more maddening incites. Her mood, and subsequently her directives, change in an instant. This leaves her troops desperate to keep up with whatever tendencies she displays in the moment, lest they find themselves on the ends of her skewers. A literal hot-head, Solphim, Mayhem Dominus is sure to turn the Commander table into a cookout no one will ever forget.

Solphim EDH | Commander | Matt Lotti

• Commander (1)
• 1 Solphim, Mayhem Dominus

• Creatures (19)
• 1 Anje's Ravager
• 1 Blazing Rootwalla
• 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 1 Chandra's Incinerator
• 1 Cinder Pyromancer
• 1 Electrostatic Field
• 1 Fanatic of Mogis
• 1 Fire Servant
• 1 Firebrand Archer
• 1 Fury
• 1 Heartless Hidetsugu
• 1 Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar
• 1 Kessig Flamebreather
• 1 Neheb, the Eternal
• 1 Revolutionist
• 1 Stromkirk Occultist
• 1 Thermo-Alchemist
• 1 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
• 1 Viashino Heretic

• Instants (12)
• 1 Bolt Bend
• 1 Cathartic Pyre
• 1 Delayed Blast Fireball
• 1 Fiery Temper
• 1 Increasing Vengeance
• 1 Kazuul's Fury
• 1 Price of Progress
• 1 Reverberate
• 1 Risk Factor
• 1 Skullcrack
• 1 Valakut Awakening
• 1 Violent Eruption

• Sorceries (17)
• 1 Acidic Soil
• 1 Alchemist's Greeting
• 1 Avacyn's Judgment
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Browbeat
• 1 Chandra's Ignition
• 1 Crackle with Power
• 1 Faithless Looting
• 1 Fiery Confluence
• 1 Flame Rift
• 1 Howl of the Horde
• 1 Insult // Injury
• 1 Jaya's Immolating Inferno
• 1 Jeska's Will
• 1 Light Up the Stage
• 1 Shatterskull Smashing
• 1 Titan's Revenge

• Enchantments (5)
• 1 City on Fire
• 1 Descent into Avernus
• 1 Dictate of the Twin Gods
• 1 Furnace of Rath
• 1 Pyrohemia

• Artifacts (10)
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Everflowing Chalice
• 1 Expedition Map
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Primal Amulet
• 1 Pyromancer's Goggles
• 1 Ruby Medallion
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Thought Vessel
• 1 Worn Powerstone

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 1 Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
• 1 Chandra, Hope's Beacon

• Lands (34)
• 17 Mountain
• 1 Ancient Tomb
• 1 Command Beacon
• 1 Desert
• 1 Desert of the Fervent
• 1 Deserted Temple
• 1 Endless Sands
• 1 Forgotten Cave
• 1 Keldon Necropolis
• 1 Ramunap Ruins
• 1 Scavenger Grounds
• 1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
• 1 Shivan Gorge
• 1 Smoldering Crater
• 1 Spinerock Knoll
• 1 Sunscorched Desert
• 1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
• 1 War Room

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This build for Solphim, Mayhem Dominus leans into the Spellslinger strategy, so we'll be looking to capitalize on Instants and Sorceries to win the day. This opens the way for Instant/Sorcery synergies like Primal Amulet, Increasing Vengeance, Pyromancer's Goggles, and Howl of the Horde to copy our sources of burn. Speaking of which, while direct burn like Flame Rift, Cathartic Pyre, and Jaya's Immolating Inferno becomes even more dangerous with our Commander in play, but so too do the sources of incremental damage that trigger off their casting. Thermo-Alchemist, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Firebrand Archer, and Kessig Firebreather hit all opponents simultaneously, have their output amplified by Solphim, and are bound to trigger often.

Cinder Pyromancer only hits a single player, but untapping off any Red spell means it can consistently deal at least 4 damage per turn with our commander in play. Fanatic of Mogis's damage might not be repeatable, but it's sure to hit like a torpedo when played in the later game. Viashino Heretic is an underrated monster that'll blow up opposing artifacts while taking chunks of enemy life totals along for the fiery ride. With all this damage you'll be dealing, Neheb, the Eternal is bound to generate lots of mana (with which to fuel even further firepower).

Though our very Commander is a damage amplifier, her effect is gleefully multiplied with each additional amplifier on the table, so we include cards like City on Fire, Furnace of Rath, Fiery Emancipation, Fire Servant, and Dictate of the Twin Gods for extra Scoville units. The added oomph from these cards makes punisher-style spells like Risk Factor and Browbeat far more likely to net you card advantage, as they'll demand a much steeper price from your opponents. Chandra's Incinerator will see all this burn and apply it towards enemy creatures, further keeping you safe from attackers. Removing creatures also clears the way of blockers, allowing our 5-power Commander to swing in for damage whenever able. When combined with Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar, this means Solphim will deal five damage in combat to one opponent, but a full ten to the others.

Combining two or three of the above cards with Solphim, Mayhem Dominus and a burn spell can very well be enough to end games. Or we could do the same with a single other card: the vicious Heartless Hidetsugu. As discussed in a prior article, combining Hidetsugu's ability with a damage-doubling effect is immediately lethal. Luckily for us, Solphim, Mayhem Dominus only doubles damage dealt to opponents, so an activation off Hidetsugu will hit us for half our life, but annihilate all other opponents on the spot. Doesn't matter if they're at ten or ten thousand life. They're toast.

Seeing how quickly Solphim gets out of control, expect your opponents to paint an immediate crosshair on her head. Fortunately, Solphim comes with her own form of protection, so long as we have some extra cards in hand to spare. Pay some mana (or life) and discard two cards, and she'll receive an Indestructible counter that'll render Destroy-effects null. You'll want this counter as soon as possible, so to help offset the discard, let's turn a disadvantage into an advantage with a mechanic that loves discard: Madness. Cards like Fiery Temper, Violent Eruption, Avacyn's Judgment, and Alchemist's Greeting allow us to keep on burning things while protecting our own Commander. Or we could grow our own army via Anje's Ravager, Blazing Rootwalla, Revolutionist, and Stromkirk Occultist. That we can use our life as an alternative payment to activate Solphim's ability is incredibly valuable, as it allows us to spend our mana on these Madness costs.

We pack plenty of burn among spells, but that doesn't mean we can't include even more within our mana base. Expedition Map tutors up both land and damage when it comes to cards like Shivan Gorge, Keldon Necropolis, and Ramunap Ruins. On their own, the bits of damage provided by each would be of minimal impact, but when doubled up with Solphim, combined with a staggeringly low opportunity cost, they're far more potent than they appear at first glance. So much so that our deck runs a bunch of other Deserts (Scavenger Grounds, Sunscorched Desert, Desert of the Fervent, Endless Sands) to provide additional fuel for Ramunap Ruins. The presence of Deserted Temple allows for double activations of these lands in a single turn, further increasing the odds of Spinerock Knoll netting us a free spell. And naturally, you can't talk about damage-dealing lands in Red without mentioning the classic Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, which has plenty of Mountains alongside it to ensure it's on when we need it to be.

Crackle with Power by Micah Epstein

Even with all this talk of burn spells, there's plenty of other options left to explore. We've only touched on multicolor burn cards, which have their own collection of Commanders and strategies. But within the realm of Mono Red, Solphim, Mayhem Dominus is the perfect general to start us down the path of pyromancy. Here's hoping your Commander games with Solphim don't get too hot to handle. Cardboard ignites easily, after all. And hopefully, with all these forms of burn in your deck, so will your opponents.

Thanks for reading, and may you never overcook your BBQ.

-Matt-

@Intrepid_Tautog