Pretty nice, but one thing: how are the fulminator on the sideboard working for you? Because normally taking fulminators out is a big no no, since they are our best creatures
Pretty nice, but one thing: how are the fulminator on the sideboard working for you? Because normally taking fulminators out is a big no no, since they are our best creatures
Fulminator is no good vs a lot decks in the today metagem in modern: Ex.: Humans, Hollow One, Affinity, Burn, and other. Basically i put Fulminators in vs. Tron and Controls!
I went 7-2 at the SCG classic in Worcester this past Sunday.
4 violent outburst
4 demonic dread
3 living end
2 beast within
4 fulminator mage
4 street wraith
4 monstrous carabid
4 desert ceredon
4 horror of the broken lands
2 simian spirit guide
1 shriekmaw
1 faerie macabre
3 archfiend of ifnir
1 twisted abomination
2 grove of the burnwillows
1 blooming marsh
1 copperline gorge
4 blackcleave cliffs
2 blood crypt
1 stomping ground
1 overgrown tomb
1 forest
1 swamp
3 wooded foothills
2 bloodstained mire
SB
3 brindle boar
2 shriekmaw
3 faerie macabre
1 ingot chewer
1 reclamation sage
2 beast within
2 ricochet trap
1 anger of the gods
Round 1: G tron (2-1)
First time playing the deck outside of fnm. I'm thinking about all the cards I don't want to see and my opponent, on the play, goes turn 1 urza's mine into relic of progenitus. I play grove of burnwillows and pass. He plays a n urza's tower and chromatic star and passes. At this point I could cycle something E0T and try to fight through the relic or wait and hope to draw beast within. I decide to see my next draw and don't cycle anything. I draw a random cycler, then decide to concede. G2 I hope he thinks I'm something else and he does and I get him with a regular draw and turn 3 fulminator. G3 I fight through relic, this time with the proper cards and end up hardcasting my dudes while my opponent has scavenging grounds, forest, and ghost quarter in play. He dismembers an archfiend. I violent outburst and he surgicals a fulminator mage...archfiend comes back, I hardcast a horror on my turn and its basically over.
Round 2: Mardu pyromancer (2-0)
He had no shot in this match. I had my 1 faerie macabre g1 and it got 2 lingering souls that got discarded to a looting. I got thoughtseized and he took a cascader. A few cyclers later I get to cascade.
round 3: 4 color scapeshift (2-1)
g1 on the play I keep him off cryptic mana with beast within and win turn 5. G2 he slaughter games naming beast within, which surprised me. Of course I had one in hand and he wins the turn before I cascade.
Round 4: grixis shadow (1-2)
Got smoked g1 and g3. G3 I kept 1 land, street wraith, 2 one-mana cyclers and never got a 2nd land.Got double-striked both games I lost. Grove of Burnwillows and a timely fulminator helped me win g2. I think this guy made 12th place.
Round 5: GR scapeshift (1-2)
I lost the die roll which I think is the matchup. Also if they draw farseek instead of sakura tribe elder we have a chance.
Round 6 UR storm (2-1)
I got remanded g1 and lost a close one. Got him to 5 and he casts the same gift ungiven at least twice and I lose to a 16 point grapeshot. G2 faerie macabre was MVP and while he was busy saying I couldn't do anything to him mid-combo, macabre exiled a past in flames and a manamorphose and he died. Pretty much same thing happened g3. The salt was real.
Round 7: GW company (2-0) It was a creature deck vs my instant speed sweepers. He never drew anything relevant.
Round 8: Grixis shadow (2-0)
This guy did not draw stubborn denial and seemed flustered.
Round 9: Affinity (2-1)
G1 wasn't close. I swept his board and fulminator tee'd off on his blinkys. G2 he won with cranial plating on a land after I cast living end. G3 he mulled to 5 and only played a mountain and an ornithopter.
I feel like I won the matches I was supposed to, and lost some close ones. Brindle boar came in exactly zero times, but everything else was fairly useful.
The anti-Ponza plan is to leave fetches uncracked as long as possible. You don’t need to rush this matchup as they win through inevitability. Ideally you leave fetches around and have 1 land for cycling at a time until you are ready to cascade. Because if you Cascade, you will win.
Another thing about your list that makes you particularly vulnerable to Ponza is the fact that you are running 2 basic Mountains and only 1 Verdant Catacombs. Ideally, you run zero basic Mountains in Living End and 4 Verdant Catacombs to guarantee that the basic Forests and Swamps can be fetched.
As far as sideboarding, can you post your current board? It isn’t in the OP that I can see.
In the current meta that is full of Field of Ruins, Path to Exile and Blood Moons, 3 basic lands is the way to go. Diversifying basic land types are useful to prevent color deaths, while Swamps and Forests are best against Moon. But remember that if your opponent destroys your only red source, you can't play a single cascade spell.
In my opinion, if you run 4 spirit guides, you could go for 2 swamps, 1 forest and 4 Verdant Catacombs.
If you run 3 guides, you may have the opportunity to play more fetchlands and it is very viable to play 1 Swamp, 1 forest, 1 mountain, and 5-6 fetchlands (e.g. 4 Catacombs and 1 Bloodstained Mire).
In the current meta that is full of Field of Ruins, Path to Exile and Blood Moons, 3 basic lands is the way to go. Diversifying basic land types are useful to prevent color deaths, while Swamps and Forests are best against Moon. But remember that if your opponent destroys your only red source, you can't play a single cascade spell.
In my opinion, if you run 4 spirit guides, you could go for 2 swamps, 1 forest and 4 Verdant Catacombs.
If you run 3 guides, you may have the opportunity to play more fetchlands and it is very viable to play 1 Swamp, 1 forest, 1 mountain, and 5-6 fetchlands (e.g. 4 Catacombs and 1 Bloodstained Mire).
I saw that. I must say, sending fulminators to the SB seems interesting. From my experience, they can be match breaking so many times, they punish opponents so hard for missing only one landdrop. But I quess in current meta it could be done. Other points I get from those decklists:
8 cascade spells. I remember times in the old primer, when people started switching 4th demonic dread for kari zev's expertise or droping it entirely. Even i got to that. But last few months, I often lose easy win matches simply because I didnt find any cascade spell in time. So I'm happy to get 4th dread back.
Dead/gone in sideboard. I don't know about it. I recently got from 2 shriekmaws to 4 in SB because they are so great againts any creature deck and especially against eldrazi and turn 2 thoughtknot seer. But i dont see the appeal of dead/gone. Sure its turn 1 answer againg burn creatures and instant EOT kill of thalia and meddling mage. But i never have problems with humans with shriekmaws and beast withins. But maybe i will try dead/gone in some tournaments and see.
Fulminator in side. So what's the plan in game 1 against control, tron, scapeshift, etc? And seeing only 1 ricochet trap in side, whats the plan against control in game 2? Fulminators often aren't enought since they have so much draw that they find those lands anyway.
All in all, I think its great having 4 arfiends, demonic dreads and SSGs in main, thats what I always wanted but never found the place to do it. But maybe fulminators are no longer needed...What do you think?
The anti-Ponza plan is to leave fetches uncracked as long as possible. You don’t need to rush this matchup as they win through inevitability. Ideally you leave fetches around and have 1 land for cycling at a time until you are ready to cascade.
Yup, that's definitely a thing I should improve. I remember cracking my fetches WAY too early sometimes. Didn't get punished for it, but I could've easily.
100% agree. Yep, IF I cascade, I'll win. In the first match I didn't find a single cascade spell in both games. Match 2 against Ponza I couldn't find one in G1 and G3 either. I won G2 there after the 1st LE. Match 3 against Ponza I cascaded T3 both games and won.
Another thing about your list that makes you particularly vulnerable to Ponza is the fact that you are running 2 basic Mountains and only 1 Verdant Catacombs. Ideally, you run zero basic Mountains in Living End and 4 Verdant Catacombs to guarantee that the basic Forests and Swamps can be fetched.
I changed it to 2 Forests, 1 Mountain now. The 1 Catacombs is a budget thing, I simply don't own more. Guess I have to bite into the sour apple here.
I reduced Traps to 3 already. Not sure what else I need in the SB. Maybe 1 Volcanic Fallout? Next serious tournament is in September, I'm gonna attend that.
Easiest thing is to add 3 Shriekmaw. That's the all-star you want against Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Meddling Mage. Take out 1 Trap, 1 Slaughter Games and move 1 Beast to the main, dropping a land. No reason you should have 20 vs 19. Some people have played 18 and been generally fine. 20 is overkill and you will flood.
I saw that. I must say, sending fulminators to the SB seems interesting. From my experience, they can be match breaking so many times, they punish opponents so hard for missing only one landdrop. But I quess in current meta it could be done. Other points I get from those decklists:
8 cascade spells. I remember times in the old primer, when people started switching 4th demonic dread for kari zev's expertise or droping it entirely. Even i got to that. But last few months, I often lose easy win matches simply because I didnt find any cascade spell in time. So I'm happy to get 4th dread back.
Dead/gone in sideboard. I don't know about it. I recently got from 2 shriekmaws to 4 in SB because they are so great againts any creature deck and especially against eldrazi and turn 2 thoughtknot seer. But i dont see the appeal of dead/gone. Sure its turn 1 answer againg burn creatures and instant EOT kill of thalia and meddling mage. But i never have problems with humans with shriekmaws and beast withins. But maybe i will try dead/gone in some tournaments and see.
Fulminator in side. So what's the plan in game 1 against control, tron, scapeshift, etc? And seeing only 1 ricochet trap in side, whats the plan against control in game 2? Fulminators often aren't enought since they have so much draw that they find those lands anyway.
All in all, I think its great having 4 arfiends, demonic dreads and SSGs in main, thats what I always wanted but never found the place to do it. But maybe fulminators are no longer needed...What do you think?
IMO, Dead//Gone is for players who are newer to the deck and just can't come to grips with doing nothing but cycling for multiple turns in a "turn 4 format." It costs the same mana as Shriekmaw against a Thalia, and is way less versatile. As early as January this year when I played in an SCG Classic, I was splitting my Fulminators between the main and side, and I think that is probably the correct choice (2/2 split). It is back-breaking against some decks, especially T2 on the play, followed up by a cascade. Some decks are just done at that point. But it's subpar in enough matchups that we want to minimize drawing them G1 against those matchups.
Sorry, but i disagree! I put 4 dead/gone in sb, because the Humans is a real thing, and the best response for meddling mage is dead/gone! So, dead/gone is good in another matchups, like Counters Company (kill Everything), is a real option against Eidolon of Rethoric. So i real love dead/gone!
Now, the problem is the raise of Spirit's Deck! This matchups is so hard for living end!
I saw that. I must say, sending fulminators to the SB seems interesting. From my experience, they can be match breaking so many times, they punish opponents so hard for missing only one landdrop. But I quess in current meta it could be done. Other points I get from those decklists:
8 cascade spells. I remember times in the old primer, when people started switching 4th demonic dread for kari zev's expertise or droping it entirely. Even i got to that. But last few months, I often lose easy win matches simply because I didnt find any cascade spell in time. So I'm happy to get 4th dread back.
Dead/gone in sideboard. I don't know about it. I recently got from 2 shriekmaws to 4 in SB because they are so great againts any creature deck and especially against eldrazi and turn 2 thoughtknot seer. But i dont see the appeal of dead/gone. Sure its turn 1 answer againg burn creatures and instant EOT kill of thalia and meddling mage. But i never have problems with humans with shriekmaws and beast withins. But maybe i will try dead/gone in some tournaments and see.
Fulminator in side. So what's the plan in game 1 against control, tron, scapeshift, etc? And seeing only 1 ricochet trap in side, whats the plan against control in game 2? Fulminators often aren't enought since they have so much draw that they find those lands anyway.
All in all, I think its great having 4 arfiends, demonic dreads and SSGs in main, thats what I always wanted but never found the place to do it. But maybe fulminators are no longer needed...What do you think?
IMO, Dead//Gone is for players who are newer to the deck and just can't come to grips with doing nothing but cycling for multiple turns in a "turn 4 format." It costs the same mana as Shriekmaw against a Thalia, and is way less versatile. As early as January this year when I played in an SCG Classic, I was splitting my Fulminators between the main and side, and I think that is probably the correct choice (2/2 split). It is back-breaking against some decks, especially T2 on the play, followed up by a cascade. Some decks are just done at that point. But it's subpar in enough matchups that we want to minimize drawing them G1 against those matchups.
Playing Shriekmaw is now only a bad influence from the previous LE decks.
It's just not good enough and some players are still thnking they make a good deal when they remove Thalia with it as it doesn't "cost 1 more". But eh, Dead is still best because instant-speed matters. Dead//Gone is also way more versatile than Shriekmaw.
Shriekmaw was best when the meta was full of Eldrazis, midrange and aggro decks.
Living End is probably not at its best now, since it's generally good against midrange/aggro decks, and the most played aggro deck (Humans) is very disruptive.
Since Living End is still mediocre against combo decks, now you just can't afford not to interact before turn 3.
Beast Within has improved, Fulminator Mage has moved to SB. (although when Jeskai and Tron are played a lot, it could make sense to play 2 + 2SB Mages, but otherwise I think that a 1 + 3SB split is fair)
That being said, I think there are different possibilities now. SCG Open Indianopolis's decks are fine, focusing on a reliable t3 (or t2) LE.
I still believe that a t2 LE doesn't win the game, and you must play enough interaction to ensure that you can cast your Living End. Even if you cast it slightly later overall, this strategy can still make you win more often.
For this reason I would go for
3 Demonic Dread. The 4th Demonic Dread removes a valuable interaction slot and I don't think it's that good. I prefer to cas Dead + 1cycler in one turn instead of Shriek. Gives me roughly the same probability to draw one of my cascade spells!
3 Spirit Guides + 19 lands (more consistent land drops)
In the current meta where Humans is the most played deck, 2 Dead/Gone greatly improves the matchup and this remains a versatile card. Note that it's great against Spirits as well
Definitely not 4 Archfiend. When you cast 1 Living End, you are probably attacking for lethal on the next turn. Cycling for 2 mana puts you one step behind in a lot of games, remember than Modern is faster than before.
I believe that the 20th cycler is not worth the 5th (or 6th, or whatever) interactive slot in your deck
That's my current list at the moment, if the most played decks are Humans, Jeskai Control, Tron, Hollow One.
Against a lot of Storm/KCI/Dredge, I think I'd add Ravenous Trap to the SB over Leyline of the Void (as a "5th Faerie Macabre"), since you draw a lot during the game.
Playing Shriekmaw is now only a bad influence from the previous LE decks.
It's just not good enough and some players are still thnking they make a good deal when they remove Thalia with it as it doesn't "cost 1 more". But eh, Dead is still best because instant-speed matters. Dead//Gone is also way more versatile than Shriekmaw.
Shriekmaw was best when the meta was full of Eldrazis, midrange and aggro decks.
Living End is probably not at its best now, since it's generally good against midrange/aggro decks, and the most played aggro deck (Humans) is very disruptive.
Since Living End is still mediocre against combo decks, now you just can't afford not to interact before turn 3.
Beast Within has improved, Fulminator Mage has moved to SB (although when Jeskai and Tron are played a lot, it could make sense to play 2 + 2SB Mages, but otherwise I think that a 1 + 3SB split is fair)
That being said, I think there are different possibilities now. SCG Open Indianopolis's decks are fine, focusing on a reliable t3 (or t2) LE.
I still believe that a t2 LE doesn't win the game, and you must play enough interaction to ensure that you can cast your Living End (even if you cast it slightly laer overall, this strategy can still you make you win more often.
For this reason I would go for
3 Demonic Dread. The 4th Demonic Dread removes a valuable interaction slot and I don't think it's that good. I prefer to cas Dead + 1cycler in one turn instead of Shriek. Gives me roughly the same probability to draw one of my cascade spells!
3 Spirit Guides + 19 lands (more consistent land drops)
In the current meta where Humans is the most played deck, 2 Dead/Gone greatly improves the matchup and this remains a versatile card. Note that it's great against Spirits as well
Definitely not 4 Archfiend. When you cast 1 Living End, you are probably attacking for lethal on the next turn. Cycling for 2 mana puts you one step behind in a lot of games, remember than Modern is faster than before.
I believe that the 20th cycler is not worth the 5th (or 6th, or whatever) interative slot in your deck
That's my current list at the moment, if the most played decks are Humans, Jeskai Control, Tron, Hollow One.
Against a lot of Storm/KCI/Dredge, I think I'd add Ravenous Trap to the SB over Leyline of the Void (as a "5th Faerie Macabre"), since you draw a lot during the game.
I don't know. Still seems to me that dead/gone is only good against meddling mage. Sure, its great answer to that, but shriekmwaw handles it well enough too. And its good against many more decks (scavenging ooze anyone?). But maybe I've been really lucky against humans (so far I only lost once). What I have problems with is control and never drawing cascade spells in my games (I will get to this later).
I hate control (UW and jeskai). Opt has given them another turn 1 card selection and remand is my nightmare I have still 4 fulminators main and 3 ricochet traps in SB and it still seems not enough.
But more important questions is, what is your method of shuffling guys? Because in last 6 months I got so many losses just because my deck is killing me. On MKM series, I got 5:4, and 3 losses (2 against monogreen, easiest matchup ever) were just that despite seeing 20+ cards in a game, I never hit any cascade. Or in a recent example, went to an FNM. In 3 rounds and 8 games, I had living end in every opening hand except one (and that includes few mullingans). And last game, between turn 1 and 3 I drew all 3 living ends!!! I really wanted to throw the deck in a garbage right there Am I only biased and its "natural" rate of bad luck or do you think this in any way may be influenced by better shuffling methods? Because I love the deck, can take losing to aggro or hate, but this, at this rate is really killig me
I don't know. Still seems to me that dead/gone is only good against meddling mage. Sure, its great answer to that, but shriekmwaw handles it well enough too. And its good against many more decks (scavenging ooze anyone?). But maybe I've been really lucky against humans (so far I only lost once).
With Living End you should usually cycle turn 1, cycle twice turn 2, and probably Living end on t3. So there are 2 types of creatures: creatures that enter the battlefield early and may have an important impact in the game, and powerful creatures that come after t3. That's a reason why Dead/Gone seems well-suited to Living End: the early creatures can be killed with Dead on your turn 1 or 2 (Goblin Guide/Swiftspear/other aggressive creatures like Flameblade Adept, early Noble Hierarch in CoCo/ramp decks, Arbor Elf in Ponza, Thalia, Meddling Mage, Dark Confidant, Young Pyromancer to buy time, affinity creatures with Cranial Plating, maybe Goblin Electromancer,...) and for the late ones you still have interesting play, usually to gain time before you draw a cascade spell (bounce Bedlam Reveler once he has entered the battlefield, delay Primeval Titan's kill after Through the Breach, bounce Gurmag Angler/Vengevine/Hollow One,...)
With Shriekmaw, you use 2 mana to get an additional 3/2 after LE. But do you think it surpasses the many advantages you have when playing at instant-speed?
But more important questions is, what is your method of shuffling guys? Because in last 6 months I got so many losses just because my deck is killing me. On MKM series, I got 5:4, and 3 losses (2 against monogreen, easiest matchup ever) were just that despite seeing 20+ cards in a game, I never hit any cascade. Or in a recent example, went to an FNM. In 3 rounds and 8 games, I had living end in every opening hand except one (and that includes few mullingans). And last game, between turn 1 and 3 I drew all 3 living ends!!! I really wanted to throw the deck in a garbage right there Smile Am I only biased and its "natural" rate of bad luck or do you think this in any way may be influenced by better shuffling methods? Because I love the deck, can take losing to aggro or hate, but this, at this rate is really killig me
Randomness is part of Magic. 1 LE in opening hand is fine, drawing 3 LE once in a while may happen to anyone. The deck is a consistent combo deck, but it's not THAT consistent to begin with Your job is still to make the most of any situation to increase your chances of winning the game. If you think that going off 1 turn sooner is better than cycling 3 additional cards and have a 5-6% chance to draw your 3rd LE, then go for it
If you're just having a rough patch, take a break from the game.
How do you attack the Bridgevine meta? i already run 2 anger of the gods, and even then that's not enough. Leyline of the void is not an option since i don't like the high variance.
How do you attack the Bridgevine meta? i already run 2 anger of the gods, and even then that's not enough. Leyline of the void is not an option since i don't like the high variance.
Leyline of the Void out of the board. Use Faerie Macabre to exile their Bridges and Vines (note that Bridge has an intervening clause, so if you respond to a bridge trigger by exiling bridge, that trigger will fizzle as bridge is no longer in the yard). Fulminator Mage and evoke creatures also deal with getting rid of Bridge.
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Modern:
Amulet Titan
BGx
Dredge
GDS
Hollow One
Living End
Mardu
Traverse Death's Shadow
How do you attack the Bridgevine meta? i already run 2 anger of the gods, and even then that's not enough. Leyline of the void is not an option since i don't like the high variance.
Leyline of the Void out of the board. Use Faerie Macabre to exile their Bridges and Vines (note that Bridge has an intervening clause, so if you respond to a bridge trigger by exiling bridge, that trigger will fizzle as bridge is no longer in the yard). Fulminator Mage and evoke creatures also deal with getting rid of Bridge.
Basically this and leyline isn't bad since we mulligan well
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Fulminator is no good vs a lot decks in the today metagem in modern: Ex.: Humans, Hollow One, Affinity, Burn, and other. Basically i put Fulminators in vs. Tron and Controls!
4 violent outburst
4 demonic dread
3 living end
2 beast within
4 fulminator mage
4 street wraith
4 monstrous carabid
4 desert ceredon
4 horror of the broken lands
2 simian spirit guide
1 shriekmaw
1 faerie macabre
3 archfiend of ifnir
1 twisted abomination
2 grove of the burnwillows
1 blooming marsh
1 copperline gorge
4 blackcleave cliffs
2 blood crypt
1 stomping ground
1 overgrown tomb
1 forest
1 swamp
3 wooded foothills
2 bloodstained mire
SB
3 brindle boar
2 shriekmaw
3 faerie macabre
1 ingot chewer
1 reclamation sage
2 beast within
2 ricochet trap
1 anger of the gods
Round 1: G tron (2-1)
First time playing the deck outside of fnm. I'm thinking about all the cards I don't want to see and my opponent, on the play, goes turn 1 urza's mine into relic of progenitus. I play grove of burnwillows and pass. He plays a n urza's tower and chromatic star and passes. At this point I could cycle something E0T and try to fight through the relic or wait and hope to draw beast within. I decide to see my next draw and don't cycle anything. I draw a random cycler, then decide to concede. G2 I hope he thinks I'm something else and he does and I get him with a regular draw and turn 3 fulminator. G3 I fight through relic, this time with the proper cards and end up hardcasting my dudes while my opponent has scavenging grounds, forest, and ghost quarter in play. He dismembers an archfiend. I violent outburst and he surgicals a fulminator mage...archfiend comes back, I hardcast a horror on my turn and its basically over.
Round 2: Mardu pyromancer (2-0)
He had no shot in this match. I had my 1 faerie macabre g1 and it got 2 lingering souls that got discarded to a looting. I got thoughtseized and he took a cascader. A few cyclers later I get to cascade.
round 3: 4 color scapeshift (2-1)
g1 on the play I keep him off cryptic mana with beast within and win turn 5. G2 he slaughter games naming beast within, which surprised me. Of course I had one in hand and he wins the turn before I cascade.
Round 4: grixis shadow (1-2)
Got smoked g1 and g3. G3 I kept 1 land, street wraith, 2 one-mana cyclers and never got a 2nd land.Got double-striked both games I lost. Grove of Burnwillows and a timely fulminator helped me win g2. I think this guy made 12th place.
Round 5: GR scapeshift (1-2)
I lost the die roll which I think is the matchup. Also if they draw farseek instead of sakura tribe elder we have a chance.
Round 6 UR storm (2-1)
I got remanded g1 and lost a close one. Got him to 5 and he casts the same gift ungiven at least twice and I lose to a 16 point grapeshot. G2 faerie macabre was MVP and while he was busy saying I couldn't do anything to him mid-combo, macabre exiled a past in flames and a manamorphose and he died. Pretty much same thing happened g3. The salt was real.
Round 7: GW company (2-0) It was a creature deck vs my instant speed sweepers. He never drew anything relevant.
Round 8: Grixis shadow (2-0)
This guy did not draw stubborn denial and seemed flustered.
Round 9: Affinity (2-1)
G1 wasn't close. I swept his board and fulminator tee'd off on his blinkys. G2 he won with cranial plating on a land after I cast living end. G3 he mulled to 5 and only played a mountain and an ornithopter.
I feel like I won the matches I was supposed to, and lost some close ones. Brindle boar came in exactly zero times, but everything else was fairly useful.
Another thing about your list that makes you particularly vulnerable to Ponza is the fact that you are running 2 basic Mountains and only 1 Verdant Catacombs. Ideally, you run zero basic Mountains in Living End and 4 Verdant Catacombs to guarantee that the basic Forests and Swamps can be fetched.
As far as sideboarding, can you post your current board? It isn’t in the OP that I can see.
RBGLiving EndRBG
EDH
UFblthpU
BRXantchaRB
BGVarolzGB
URWZedruuWRU
In my opinion, if you run 4 spirit guides, you could go for 2 swamps, 1 forest and 4 Verdant Catacombs.
If you run 3 guides, you may have the opportunity to play more fetchlands and it is very viable to play 1 Swamp, 1 forest, 1 mountain, and 5-6 fetchlands (e.g. 4 Catacombs and 1 Bloodstained Mire).
I agree with this in principle.
RBGLiving EndRBG
EDH
UFblthpU
BRXantchaRB
BGVarolzGB
URWZedruuWRU
8 cascade spells. I remember times in the old primer, when people started switching 4th demonic dread for kari zev's expertise or droping it entirely. Even i got to that. But last few months, I often lose easy win matches simply because I didnt find any cascade spell in time. So I'm happy to get 4th dread back.
Dead/gone in sideboard. I don't know about it. I recently got from 2 shriekmaws to 4 in SB because they are so great againts any creature deck and especially against eldrazi and turn 2 thoughtknot seer. But i dont see the appeal of dead/gone. Sure its turn 1 answer againg burn creatures and instant EOT kill of thalia and meddling mage. But i never have problems with humans with shriekmaws and beast withins. But maybe i will try dead/gone in some tournaments and see.
Fulminator in side. So what's the plan in game 1 against control, tron, scapeshift, etc? And seeing only 1 ricochet trap in side, whats the plan against control in game 2? Fulminators often aren't enought since they have so much draw that they find those lands anyway.
All in all, I think its great having 4 arfiends, demonic dreads and SSGs in main, thats what I always wanted but never found the place to do it. But maybe fulminators are no longer needed...What do you think?
Easiest thing is to add 3 Shriekmaw. That's the all-star you want against Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Meddling Mage. Take out 1 Trap, 1 Slaughter Games and move 1 Beast to the main, dropping a land. No reason you should have 20 vs 19. Some people have played 18 and been generally fine. 20 is overkill and you will flood.
RBGLiving EndRBG
EDH
UFblthpU
BRXantchaRB
BGVarolzGB
URWZedruuWRU
IMO, Dead//Gone is for players who are newer to the deck and just can't come to grips with doing nothing but cycling for multiple turns in a "turn 4 format." It costs the same mana as Shriekmaw against a Thalia, and is way less versatile. As early as January this year when I played in an SCG Classic, I was splitting my Fulminators between the main and side, and I think that is probably the correct choice (2/2 split). It is back-breaking against some decks, especially T2 on the play, followed up by a cascade. Some decks are just done at that point. But it's subpar in enough matchups that we want to minimize drawing them G1 against those matchups.
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Now, the problem is the raise of Spirit's Deck! This matchups is so hard for living end!
It's just not good enough and some players are still thnking they make a good deal when they remove Thalia with it as it doesn't "cost 1 more". But eh, Dead is still best because instant-speed matters. Dead//Gone is also way more versatile than Shriekmaw.
Shriekmaw was best when the meta was full of Eldrazis, midrange and aggro decks.
Living End is probably not at its best now, since it's generally good against midrange/aggro decks, and the most played aggro deck (Humans) is very disruptive.
Since Living End is still mediocre against combo decks, now you just can't afford not to interact before turn 3.
Beast Within has improved, Fulminator Mage has moved to SB. (although when Jeskai and Tron are played a lot, it could make sense to play 2 + 2SB Mages, but otherwise I think that a 1 + 3SB split is fair)
That being said, I think there are different possibilities now. SCG Open Indianopolis's decks are fine, focusing on a reliable t3 (or t2) LE.
I still believe that a t2 LE doesn't win the game, and you must play enough interaction to ensure that you can cast your Living End. Even if you cast it slightly later overall, this strategy can still make you win more often.
For this reason I would go for
That's my current list at the moment, if the most played decks are Humans, Jeskai Control, Tron, Hollow One.
2 Archfiend of Ifnir
4 Desert Cerodon
3 Faerie Macabre
1 Fulminator Mage
4 Horror of the Broken Lands
1 Architects of Will
4 Monstrous Carabid
3 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Street Wraith
Spells (15)
2 Dead // Gone
3 Demonic Dread
3 Living End
3 Beast Within
4 Violent Outburst
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Blooming Marsh
1 Forest
2 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
3 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wooded Foothills
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Ingot Chewer
3 Ricochet Trap
1 Faerie Macabre
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Dead // Gone
3 Fulminator Mage
Against a lot of Storm/KCI/Dredge, I think I'd add Ravenous Trap to the SB over Leyline of the Void (as a "5th Faerie Macabre"), since you draw a lot during the game.
I don't know. Still seems to me that dead/gone is only good against meddling mage. Sure, its great answer to that, but shriekmwaw handles it well enough too. And its good against many more decks (scavenging ooze anyone?). But maybe I've been really lucky against humans (so far I only lost once). What I have problems with is control and never drawing cascade spells in my games (I will get to this later).
I hate control (UW and jeskai). Opt has given them another turn 1 card selection and remand is my nightmare I have still 4 fulminators main and 3 ricochet traps in SB and it still seems not enough.
But more important questions is, what is your method of shuffling guys? Because in last 6 months I got so many losses just because my deck is killing me. On MKM series, I got 5:4, and 3 losses (2 against monogreen, easiest matchup ever) were just that despite seeing 20+ cards in a game, I never hit any cascade. Or in a recent example, went to an FNM. In 3 rounds and 8 games, I had living end in every opening hand except one (and that includes few mullingans). And last game, between turn 1 and 3 I drew all 3 living ends!!! I really wanted to throw the deck in a garbage right there Am I only biased and its "natural" rate of bad luck or do you think this in any way may be influenced by better shuffling methods? Because I love the deck, can take losing to aggro or hate, but this, at this rate is really killig me
With Living End you should usually cycle turn 1, cycle twice turn 2, and probably Living end on t3. So there are 2 types of creatures: creatures that enter the battlefield early and may have an important impact in the game, and powerful creatures that come after t3. That's a reason why Dead/Gone seems well-suited to Living End: the early creatures can be killed with Dead on your turn 1 or 2 (Goblin Guide/Swiftspear/other aggressive creatures like Flameblade Adept, early Noble Hierarch in CoCo/ramp decks, Arbor Elf in Ponza, Thalia, Meddling Mage, Dark Confidant, Young Pyromancer to buy time, affinity creatures with Cranial Plating, maybe Goblin Electromancer,...) and for the late ones you still have interesting play, usually to gain time before you draw a cascade spell (bounce Bedlam Reveler once he has entered the battlefield, delay Primeval Titan's kill after Through the Breach, bounce Gurmag Angler/Vengevine/Hollow One,...)
With Shriekmaw, you use 2 mana to get an additional 3/2 after LE. But do you think it surpasses the many advantages you have when playing at instant-speed?
Randomness is part of Magic. 1 LE in opening hand is fine, drawing 3 LE once in a while may happen to anyone. The deck is a consistent combo deck, but it's not THAT consistent to begin with Your job is still to make the most of any situation to increase your chances of winning the game. If you think that going off 1 turn sooner is better than cycling 3 additional cards and have a 5-6% chance to draw your 3rd LE, then go for it
If you're just having a rough patch, take a break from the game.
4 monstrous carabid
4 horror of the broken lands
4 desert cerodon
4 street wrath
3 archfiend of ifnir
3 faerie macabre
3 simian spirit guide
2 fulminator mage
4 demonic dread
4 violent outburst
3 living end
3 beast within
4 blackcleave cliffs
4 verdant catacombs
3 grove of the burnwillows
3 blooming marsh
2 swamp
1 forest
1 stomping ground
1 blood crypt
Sideboard
4 dead/gone
3 ingot chewer
3 ricochet trap
3 leyline of the void
2 fulminator mage
Went 4-0-2
Lost in semi
Rd 1 gr eldrazi (2-0)
Rd 2 infect (2-1)
Rd 3 storm (2-0)
Rd 4 bant spirits (2-0)
Rd 5 storm (draw)
Rd 6 jeskai control (draw)
Qf death shadow (2-0)
Sf bant spirit (1-2)
Lost because couldn't draw a cascade spell.
That is my brief tournament report
Leyline of the Void out of the board. Use Faerie Macabre to exile their Bridges and Vines (note that Bridge has an intervening clause, so if you respond to a bridge trigger by exiling bridge, that trigger will fizzle as bridge is no longer in the yard). Fulminator Mage and evoke creatures also deal with getting rid of Bridge.
Amulet Titan
BGx
Dredge
GDS
Hollow One
Living End
Mardu
Traverse Death's Shadow