At the end of every round, the Firestarter will light up his allies and add a stack of Backburner to them. Backburner triples their maximum health (does not increase with each stack), causes them to deal +20 more damage (increasing by +10 with each stack) and take +100% more damage (increasing by +75% with each stack). Additionally, they will take -10% (increasing by 5% each stack) of their max health as damage with each turn and will have negative effects last -2 less rounds (increasing by -1 with each stack).
Backburner Stacks
Effects
1 stack of Backburner
Deals +20 more damage
Takes +100% more damage
Negative effects last -2 rounds
Takes -10% HP as damage at the end of each round
2 stacks of Backburner
Deals +30 more damage
Takes +175% more damage
Negative effects last -3 rounds
Takes 15% of max HP as damage at the end of each round
3 stacks of Backburner
Deals +40 more damage
Takes +250% more damage
Negative effects last -4 rounds
Takes 20% of max HP as damage at the end of each round
4 stacks of Backburner
Deals +50 more damage
Takes +315% more damage
Negative effects last -5 rounds
Takes 25% of max HP as damage at the end of each round
Cogs that die with the Backburner effect count towards the Firestarter's Pyromaniac cheat.
The Firestarter gains +8% damage resistance and deals +5 more damage with all attacks for each stack of Pyromaniac he has. This caps out at +40% damage resistance and +25 damage. A stack of Pyromaniac can be gained when:
No other Cogs are present at the end of the round
2+ Cogs have been destroyed (regardless if they have a stack of Backburner or not)
The Cogs defeated counter will reset if he has gained a stack already from being alone in battle before a second Cog has been defeated.
Every 3 rounds, the Firestarter will deal large damage to all Toons and Cogs, including himself. This damage starts off at 20 base and deals 1 extra damage for every additional Cog present in the fight. If multiple Cogs that have Backburner die to this attack, then the Firestarter gains another stack of Pyromaniac. This cheat will remove all negative status effects from every Cog.
Important for helping your team recover from damage, mainly from Barnburner and the attacks from Cogs with Backburner on them. Prestige Throw's self-healing won't always be enough to keep you healthy.
Rating: 3/3 Stars
A good, but skippable, Prestige for this fight. The extra self-healing is nice, and the extra round of Cheer could help with the accuracy of Gags like Lure, Throw when Marking for Drop, and Drop.
If you prefer a slightly slower but safer route by starting with Wrecking Ball + Cloud + 2 Boulders, then using Hypno Goggles + 3 Boulders to keep the Cogs from attacking on Turn 2, you will want someone with Trap. Otherwise, this track can be skipped, as use of other Gags can yield more damage over the span of this battle.
Rating: 1/3 Stars
Since using 3 Trap isn't the most ideal way to deal with Cogs with Backburner, this Gag would only be used on the Firestarter. It only nets a negligible amount of extra damage on the Firestarter given how infrequently this Gag will be used.
Needed for the Wrecking Ball + Cloud + 2 Boulder, then Hypno Goggles + 3 Boulder start, and overall an important track to have for enabling high damage multi-Throw combos.
Rating: 3/3 Stars
Great for boosting damage output on Lure + 3 Throw turns which may be used multiple times in this battle.
A very strong and very important main damage dealer to the Firestarter when combined with Lure, and is a good additional boon to Drop's damage due to the Marked effect. You will want both Throw and Drop for single target damage output. Having both means having a higher stock of single target damage options, meaning a higher overall damage potential as well. The former is safer as Lure + Throw relies on only one accuracy roll for the full damage, and if the Throw is Prestige, can also provide some self-heal on top of that.
Rating: 3/3 Stars
As usual for Manager battles, Throw's Prestige is very useful for this fight, allowing you to deal reliable damage while having to spend less of other resources on healing.
Very important to have as it can enable Zap to take out Cogs with Backburner on them and serves as a general accuracy buff for Lure, Throw when marking for Drop, and Drop.
Rating: 3/3 Stars
If you allow the Cogs to gain stacks of Backburner on the first turn, in later turns, a Prestige Storm Cloud can potentially wipe out all 3 Cogs and give your teammates the freedom to use other Gags for a turn. Otherwise, this Prestige doesn't do anything useful.
An excellent single target damage dealer against the Firestarter when used with accuracy buffs and Throw (if already Soaked). You will want both Throw and Drop for single target damage output. Having both means having a higher stock of single target damage options, meaning higher overall damage potential as well. The latter is more dependent on setup with accuracy buffs, but can have a higher payoff in overall damage.
Rating: 3/3 Stars
Great for capitalizing further on the Soaked and Marked (and possibly Dazed) effects to output much more single target damage on the Firestarter.
Rating: 3/3 Stars
3-4 Toons
The general strategy for the Firestarter's battle involves repeatedly hitting the Firestarter with hard hitting single target Gags, namely Throw and Drop, then later, making sure to destroy the side Cogs before their damage boost from Barnburner becomes too overwhelming. If needed, this can be a repeating cycle.
You generally want to kick off the battle with Squirt and 3 Boulders, while making sure at least 1 other Cog is in the battle on the first turn or he will get an easy Pyromaniac stack. From there, the choices are up to your team's discretion and circumstances.
For a slightly slower but much safer and more consistent start, replace one of the Drop Gags used in the first turn with a Wrecking Ball. Next turn, use Hypno Goggles, activating the Wrecking Ball from the previous turn, keeping Cogs with 1 stack of Backburner lured for 1 round, and preventing the rest from also attacking, and have the rest use Boulders. From there, proceed as normal.
Throughout the battle, keep these things in mind:
You don't have to destroy the Cogs as soon they get Backburner. Their damage boost with just 1 stack is tolerable at +20.
Furthermore, if you destroy too many Cogs too often, the Firestarter will gain a lot of Pyromaniac stacks. Avoid allowing him to get more Pyromaniac stacks than necessary by keeping side Cogs in battle for a few turns, then wiping them out all at once with either Sound, Squirt, and/or Zap when their damage boosts start to rack up high.
While Barnburner gives Cogs increased HP, it also causes them to take increased damage. Use this to your advantage by using high damage multi-target attacks, namely the previously mentioned Sound, Squirt, and/or Zap.
Plan your attacks (and healing) strategically, as every 3 rounds the Firestarter will perform his Barnburner cheat. This cheat can easily be lethal in combination with the damage from the Cogs.
"I like to think I have a bit of a flare about me."
"You should probably stop, drop, and roll."
"I hope you brought some marshmallows, heh heh."
"Can you say ouch...?"
"I do hope you wore sunscreen."
"Heh... I just sparkle, don't I?"
"I hope you're um... cold blooded."
"Oh look, a crispy critter...!"
"It's going to get rather... warm around here."
"Hot, hot and hotter...!"
"You're outta here, I think."
"This should take the chill out of the air...!"
Hot Air
"Another meeting up in smoke..."
"Always remember, uh... where there's smoke, there's fire...!"
"We're having a... heated discussion...."
"Uh, um, Air Raid..!?"
"I have some glowing remarks for you...!"
"I hate to grill you, but, uh..."
"You're looking a little... burned out..."
"I've reached my boiling point..."
"Can I kindle a working relationship...?"
"This should cause some wind burn."
Power Trip
"You look a little tripped up..."
"Oh, uh, sorry to trip you up there...!"
"How was your trip...?"
"Pack your bags, we're um... taking a little trip."
"Heh, who's got the power now?"
"Now you see who's in power, I think!"
"I am pretty sure I am much more powerful than you."
"Power corrupts... especially in my hands..."
"You can't fight the power."
"Did you have a nice trip...?"
Cheats
Backburner
"Let me turn up the heat..."
"Let's crank up the heat."
"Now we're cooking with gas..."
"You can't snuff out this battle so soon."
Barnburner
"Lookin' crispy."
"Feeling hot? Heh heh."
"Sorry if you're getting heated..."
"I love the smell of arson in the morning."
Face-Off Taunts
"Hope you know how to stop, drop and roll."
"Didn't your guardians tell you to not play with fire?"
"You aren't going to like it when I'm heated..."
"Like a moth into a flame..."
Defeated
"Oh no... looks like I'll have to go rekindle my embers..."
"I didn't expect to get burnt out so soon..."
"Ouch, ouch, ouch...! Too hot, too hot...!!"
"This was only just a Warm-up... I'll be back....!"
Defeated by Barnburner
"Didn't expect that."
"...Oops."
"Hm! Ironic."
"HOT, HOT, HOT!"
Death Taunts
"Burnt out so soon?"
"That really went up in smoke..."
"Couldn't take the heat?"
"Oh, I guess your plan... backfired."
Friend Request Denials
"I hope you're not too fired up about my rejection..." the Firestarter shys away.
"Um, I'm fueling enough friendships as is," the Firestarter pushes his fingers together.
"Graham said I should stop letting people walk all over me, so..." the Firestarter trails off.
"Sorry Toon, I'm not the sunshine and lollipops type," the Firestarter mumbles.
Attempt to Sue
"I don't think that's very nice... I'm not good with the legal side of things..."
Attempt to Fire
"What...? But... you know I'm already on fire, right?"
Music
Theme
Audio File
Battle Theme
Sound Effects
Statement
Question
Grunt
Murmur
Idle
Death (Unused)
Backburner
Barnburner
Version History
v1.7.0 BETA
Re-animated most Cog animations from Toontown Online for every Cog body type.
Introduced new Cog reaction animations to Sound Gags.
Introduced a new Cog reaction animation to large Throw Gags (Birthday Cake and Wedding Cake).
v1.4.0 BETA
Firestarter has simmered down a little... sort of.
The Firestarter deals 50% less damage across all attacks.
Backburner now increases damage taken rather than reduces.
Additional damage dealt is now a flat number rather than a percentage.
Barnburner damage begins at 20 rather than 25.
Pyromaniac will now trigger when 2 or more Cogs are defeated under any circumstances rather than only Cogs with the Backburner effect.
Pyromaniac's cheat description removed.
v1.3.0 BETA
The temperatures of streets are rising throughout the Brrrgh.
The Firestarter is added to the game.
Trivia
A firestarter is a slang term for an employee who intentionally or unintentionally causes trouble wherever they go.
The Firestarter's employee ID is likely a reference to the Great Chicago Fire which took place in 1871.
On the cogs.ink website, the Firestarter's username is bonpyreflint and his password is andst33l.
The password was revealed in accordance to a very specific route. Toons would have to go to Used Firewood in Walrus Way, use the "Fire a Cog" strategy SpeedChat phrase, then go to the Trolley and play the Cannon Game. It is here that the Toon would be in a smoky color with flames surrounding them, and the password would reveal itself when the minigame is over.
While the full name was revealed manually by Mac Opsys, the Pacesetter previously referenced his name.
The Firestarter is canonically in a relationship with the Pacesetter as confirmed in a tweet posted by Lead Writer Maven.
The Firestarter has the most amount of likes out of every Cog, totaling 5.
When the Firestarter is Soaked, he loses the flame on top of his head in a similar matter to the Litigator.
Unlike the Litigator, however, there is no consequence for Soaking the Firestarter.
Re-animated most Cog animations from Toontown Online for every Cog body type.
Firestarter has simmered down a little... sort of.
The Firestarter deals 50% less damage across all attacks.
Pyromaniac will now trigger when 2 or more Cogs are defeated under any circumstances rather than only Cogs with the Backburner effect. 
Pyromaniac's cheat description removed.
The Firestarter is added to the game.
