Both on- and off-topic at the same time, but do any of y'all Enders play on Cockatrice or just Magic Online? Since we're all (at least appearing to be) on good terms, it'd be nice to have a consistent pool of people to play/test against, whether for End reasons or not.
I'm not on MODO, but on Cockatrice (the woogerworks server) I can be found as DasNekros. If you'd be interested in playing sometime, I guess PMing would probably be the best way so as not to clog up the actual thread. We'd be able to test ideas among ourselves and not in a vacuum of anonymity, and I'm pretty sure we'd all benefit from any constructive criticism we can give each other after/during our match.
Just a thought.
I'm sure that once I finish moving into my new apartment I'll be reacquiring Cockatrice. Honestly, I feel silly for not suggesting this idea myself.
I've been playing the deck for over 8 months now. I've been switching back and forth between leyline of the void and faerie macabre. I'm sticking with faerie. She's more flexible and she is never a dead draw. In modern sniping key graveyard cards just puts you ahead. You don't need to nuke the entire gy. She also grinds games out well. Just my two cents. Tues modern has been super popular at my LGS since they started giving out modern master pack vouchers for playing 3 rounds. I've got packs coming!
Also - I tend to pop my fulminators on my own turn unless I absolutely need a blocker/threat. Is that the right play? I never know if keeping them down a land is actually relevant or if I should be holding them as possible attackers/chump blockers rather than trying to minimize my opponents land count at all costs. Its just the not knowing - if they're on 4 lands, is it worth keeping them off 5 immediately and possibly pushing them down to 3?
If they're sitting on 1-3 lands or you can deny them a color by hitting a land, pop them immediately unless you need a blocker to survive. Even then, leaving fulminators on the field is risky but can pay off. Against UWR (or any that runs counters) just sitting on a fulminator and being able to potentially cascade into a relevant living end may do just as much as popping him, since they have to keep an extra mana open if they want to counter stuff, so that might be something to take into consideration.
Mainboard Faerie Macabre is your friend against Pod. Jund Charm is also good. Leyline of the Void plan is strong against Pod but not much else, whereas Faerie and Charm are good in many match-ups. The original reason people ever used Void was to kill Storm, but Storm isn't a substantial concern anymore. Other than Storm, Eggs and Pod, Leyline of the Void only shuts down fringe decks.
What kind of Pod decks are you facing? If you're against Melira Pod, try Leyline of Sanctity to stop Murderous Redcap. Leyline of Sanctity may be off color, but it is much more useful than Leyline if the Void.
Finally, Beast Within the seer and Krosan Grip the Pod
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You value knowledge, logic, and deceit. You love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At your best, you are brilliant and progressive. At your worst, you are treacherous and cold. Your symbol is a water droplet. Your enemies are green and red.
So just a quick question since I don't really know the metagame right now for Modern and playing in a money tournament this weekend. What do you think would be better? 2 Avalanche Riders main, or 2 Ingot Chewers main? Kinda going on the opinion of main deck graveyard hate or popularity of Pod decks. This is what I have right now...
Yeah, I know is a bit different and I'm missing a few things that show up on the winning lists. But so far it has been really fun for me this way, just the question about which way I should go with some Riders or Chewers. Any comments are nice to know. Thanks!
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"I'll keep playing black till they make a darker color!" - myself
So just a quick question since I don't really know the metagame right now for Modern and playing in a money tournament this weekend. What do you think would be better? 2 Avalanche Riders main, or 2 Ingot Chewers main? Kinda going on the opinion of main deck graveyard hate or popularity of Pod decks. This is what I have right now...
Yeah, I know is a bit different and I'm missing a few things that show up on the winning lists. But so far it has been really fun for me this way, just the question about which way I should go with some Riders or Chewers. Any comments are nice to know. Thanks!
Chewers are much better out of the sb then the riders. Id 2x riders mb and 4x chewers -2riders sb. If your main boarding riders ive never wanted to bring in anymore from the sb, i mainly drop them mostly.
Otherwise looks fine, just get in lots of practice before d day and be sure to tell us how you went
So just a quick question since I don't really know the metagame right now for Modern and playing in a money tournament this weekend. What do you think would be better? 2 Avalanche Riders main, or 2 Ingot Chewers main? Kinda going on the opinion of main deck graveyard hate or popularity of Pod decks. This is what I have right now...
Yeah, I know is a bit different and I'm missing a few things that show up on the winning lists. But so far it has been really fun for me this way, just the question about which way I should go with some Riders or Chewers. Any comments are nice to know. Thanks!
Yeah, I'd go with Avalanche Riders main, too. Pod and Tron aren't popular enough combined to make Ingot Chewer worth it maindeck (especially since it's semi-dead pre-board against Jund and UWR).
Other deck tips:
3 Living Ends are probably good enough unless you run into grindy match-ups in every single game. Living End is almost dead when it's in hand.
I'd pull Forbidden Orchard for a land and a Dryad Arbor. You still need a land-based way to turn on Demonic Dread, but when you've mulled to 5 and you're digging crazily for a Cascade spell, or when post-M14 decks stick Scavenging Ooze and you need the Beast Within, you will hate the tokens that Forbidden Orchard gives to your opponent.
Has Vexing Devil ever been considered for this deck? Early in the game, instead of cycling and draw a card, you dump it in the GY and ping 'em for 4. Then it comes back and makes them choose again when LE goes off. And if you get stuck in "play fatties beat face" alternate wincon, its just a really efficient beater to make up for all our inefficient dudes.
I was thinking in a couple of Stone Rains in the SB. At least in my experience with the deck, the land destruction plan is very very good (in my meta there are tons of Tron and UWR)
You'll have to pay 3 when you cascade into living end. I guess it has applications out of the sideboard if they're bringing in lots of gy hate, but I still don't much like it in the format - the card is only good in legacy when you can reliably get it out turn 1-2.
Yeah, I'd go with Avalanche Riders main, too. Pod and Tron aren't popular enough combined to make Ingot Chewer worth it maindeck (especially since it's semi-dead pre-board against Jund and UWR).
Other deck tips:
3 Living Ends are probably good enough unless you run into grindy match-ups in every single game. Living End is almost dead when it's in hand.
I'd pull Forbidden Orchard for a land and a Dryad Arbor. You still need a land-based way to turn on Demonic Dread, but when you've mulled to 5 and you're digging crazily for a Cascade spell, or when post-M14 decks stick Scavenging Ooze and you need the Beast Within, you will hate the tokens that Forbidden Orchard gives to your opponent.
Thanks for the tips guys! Definitely did the change and seeing way better results even against Pod by just blowing land after land up. Did a bit of testing and a lot of discussing and pretty excited for this. So, just wanted to get some opinions of the some changes and definitely the sideboard. Also, as much as I love turn 2 combo sometimes, might drop the Simians.
I'm still bouncing on the Forbidden Orchard thing and might go with your opinion since I have ran into a few times being a problem when wanting to cast Beast Within, or Riders. Might do a Dryad Arbor and an Overgrown Tomb.
The 4th Living End was in there cause I had a real tendency to draw two and have to go all in on the last one when I played it online, was really annoying against any control deck.
And from what I've gathered from players at my LGS, looking at 2-3 Pods, 1 Seismic Loam, 1 Beck and Elves, 1 Maze's End, 1 Scapeshift, 1 RG aggro, and 1 RG Tron. So far my opinion has been to expect this and a second set from outsiders.
So, any advice on the sideboard or any of these match ups?
Thanks for everything so far and hopefully I'll come home with some cash
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Thanks for the tips guys! Definitely did the change and seeing way better results even against Pod by just blowing land after land up. Did a bit of testing and a lot of discussing and pretty excited for this. So, just wanted to get some opinions of the some changes and definitely the sideboard. Also, as much as I love turn 2 combo sometimes, might drop the Simians.
I'm still bouncing on the Forbidden Orchard thing and might go with your opinion since I have ran into a few times being a problem when wanting to cast Beast Within, or Riders. Might do a Dryad Arbor and an Overgrown Tomb.
The 4th Living End was in there cause I had a real tendency to draw two and have to go all in on the last one when I played it online, was really annoying against any control deck.
And from what I've gathered from players at my LGS, looking at 2-3 Pods, 1 Seismic Loam, 1 Beck and Elves, 1 Maze's End, 1 Scapeshift, 1 RG aggro, and 1 RG Tron. So far my opinion has been to expect this and a second set from outsiders.
So, any advice on the sideboard or any of these match ups?
Thanks for everything so far and hopefully I'll come home with some cash
Maybe consider Damping Matrix in the sideboard? It's good against Pod and RG Tron (maybe elves too, I'm not familiar with that deck since I never see it).
I'm still bouncing on the Forbidden Orchard thing and might go with your opinion since I have ran into a few times being a problem when wanting to cast Beast Within, or Riders. Might do a Dryad Arbor and an Overgrown Tomb.
The 4th Living End was in there cause I had a real tendency to draw two and have to go all in on the last one when I played it online, was really annoying against any control deck.
And from what I've gathered from players at my LGS, looking at 2-3 Pods, 1 Seismic Loam, 1 Beck and Elves, 1 Maze's End, 1 Scapeshift, 1 RG aggro, and 1 RG Tron. So far my opinion has been to expect this and a second set from outsiders.
So, any advice on the sideboard or any of these match ups?
Thanks for everything so far and hopefully I'll come home with some cash
Re: boarding for the matchups -
Pods - out Avalanche Riders, in Ingot Chewers; maybe also out 2 SSG in 2 Krosan Grip but that might be overkill)
Seismic Loam - out 2 Avalanche Riders, in 2 Slaughter Games; out Ingot Chewer and SSG, in 4 Leylines maybe
Never played vs Beck, so I really don't know lol
Tron - you want as much LD as you can, as well as the Ingot Chewers are also very useful vs early Relics and Exp Maps. Possibly Slaughter Games on Emrakul or Karn.
Scapeshift - see above, minus the Chewer comment, and change the Slaughter Games target to "Scapeshift"
Maze's End - LD with Living End should get there.
RG aggro you should be fine against already,
DISCLAIMER - I haven't played competitive Living End in a while, though my playgroup is starting to get back into Modern, so the above sideboard choices may or may not be optimal.
Also, if you're sure those are the only decks you'd be facing, it may make sense to swap the 3 Traps for 3 Jund Charms for something against Elves, but that would leave you without tricks in the U-based control matchup. YMMV
Also, I've picked up a Swarmyard for gits and shiggles, and am considering slotting my Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in to make the Wraith unblockable and fix mana. Any previous experiences about those two?
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I've picked up a Swarmyard for gits and shiggles, and am considering slotting my Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in to make the Wraith unblockable and fix mana. Any previous experiences about those two?
I've personally never touched Swarmyard, as I find it extremely gimmicky and win-more. If it produced colored mana, then maybe... but as it is, yuck.
I ran an Urborg in my list for a while, and it was okay. Having unblockable Street Wraiths is hardly irrelevant, and the fixing is nice despite having no way to tutor for it. I eventually swapped it out for a white shockland to coincide with adding Pale Recluse, but now that people appear to be playing less decks with black mana (Pod is obviously a big exception), there's more upside to running it again for unblockable Wraiths, as it is less likely to fix your opponent's mana and mitigate the power of your land-death.
An aside: I'm finally able to play Modern on a regular basis again, and my first move for this deck was cutting Ricochet Trap out of the sideboard. It was difficult (it's always been a pet card for me), but I was able to perform just fine vs. control decks by siding in a 4th Living End in lieu of them. This freed up a pair of slots for me to add Slaughter Games back in, which I feel is absolutely necessary to improve the Scapeshift matchup.
Hey all,
I'm looking to play Living End in a Modern tourney happening at my LGS in a few days. I've gotten in a fair amount of practice with the deck so far, but I'm still not completely set on certain card choices in my deck. Some recommendations would be great.
The inclusion of Urborg has been good; nothing really game-changing, but nonetheless hasn't hindered the decks performance.
Main concerns I have is with the sideboard; in particular, Leyline of the Void, which I feel hasn't been pulling its weight so far.
In a matchup with my friends Martyr-Proc, I boarded in both my Leylines (don't want Martyrs coming back thanks to LE) AND Shriekmaws (don't wanna get bashed by big Serra Ascendants), which resulted in my Shriekmaw having to target one of my own creatures once Living End came around... Furthermore, I haven't seen it enough in my opening hands that I've really been able reap its benefits so far (and I don't want to be mulling heavily just for it).
I'm considering Faerie Macabre for this position - what's everyone else's experience with either of these?
Also, control, to be expected, has been a pretty difficult matchup - I guess mainly because I refuse to dedicate sideboard slots to Ricochet Trap, since to me, at least, it seems a bit too reactive. Travis Woo (http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/woo-brews-around-the-web/) has recently talked about Sin Collector, which seems like interesting tech against control, but seems a bit awkward too, since:
a) It occupies the three drop spot, where one of our best anti-control measures in Fulminator Mage is.
b) It doesn't sacrifice itself.
c) I'm afraid whether or not the manabase can accomodate it (I at least, have not seen too many opening hands with a white source, but I gues Abom or Recluse and fetches could help...)
Opinions?
Hey all,
I'm looking to play Living End in a Modern tourney happening at my LGS in a few days. I've gotten in a fair amount of practice with the deck so far, but I'm still not completely set on certain card choices in my deck. Some recommendations would be great.
The inclusion of Urborg has been good; nothing really game-changing, but nonetheless hasn't hindered the decks performance.
Main concerns I have is with the sideboard; in particular, Leyline of the Void, which I feel hasn't been pulling its weight so far.
In a matchup with my friends Martyr-Proc, I boarded in both my Leylines (don't want Martyrs coming back thanks to LE) AND Shriekmaws (don't wanna get bashed by big Serra Ascendants), which resulted in my Shriekmaw having to target one of my own creatures once Living End came around... Furthermore, I haven't seen it enough in my opening hands that I've really been able reap its benefits so far (and I don't want to be mulling heavily just for it).
I'm considering Faerie Macabre for this position - what's everyone else's experience with either of these?
Also, control, to be expected, has been a pretty difficult matchup - I guess mainly because I refuse to dedicate sideboard slots to Ricochet Trap, since to me, at least, it seems a bit too reactive. Travis Woo (http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/woo-brews-around-the-web/) has recently talked about Sin Collector, which seems like interesting tech against control, but seems a bit awkward too, since:
a) It occupies the three drop spot, where one of our best anti-control measures in Fulminator Mage is.
b) It doesn't sacrifice itself.
c) I'm afraid whether or not the manabase can accomodate it (I at least, have not seen too many opening hands with a white source, but I gues Abom or Recluse and fetches could help...)
Opinions?
Hokai! So...
Leyline of the Void: This has been tried by many of us and was once considered an auto-include if I'm not mistaken. Its main uses are to help against Melira Pod, Gifts Ungiven, and even Storm decks. It has since been decided that Leyline of Sanctity is just the better choice where Leylines are concerned, as it prevents wins via burn, Grapeshot, and Melira's Murderous Redcap. You don't really need to run either.
Martyr Proc: Their big lifegain isn't that big of a deal, since we swing so hard when we swing anyway. You should try to only use Living End once and, if possible, time it so they can't sac Martyr in response (this is really hard and often undoable, but keep your eye out for it). They're really not a fast deck, so you can take your time setting it up. Having a little non-Leyline grave hate is good, which leads me to my next point...
Faerie Macabre: You're not running her. I understand why she seems eh. But really, this card is just the tits. She's a sweet mainboard answer to Melira, Proc, Storm, Snappy...she just does so much work. Occasionally she'll die off of a Deadshot Minotaur when you Living End, but it's really not all that tragic. I can't tell you how many games I've won off of just hardcasting her and beating face, 3 mana for a 2/2 flier isn't shabby. She does EVERYTHING we want her to.
Shriekmaw: After a lot of testing the general consensus is that this guy is eh, but if you're liking him then go for it. Without Leyline of the Void he'll be much better as you'll rarely ever have to kill off one of your own creatures, given that he can just re-kill when he was evoked on in the first place. Honestly, the best answer to a Serra Ascendent really is just to hit a Living End. Killing him with Shriekmaw means he'll come back when you Living End, chances are he'll be active 'cause they'll have been Martyring, and we don't have very much that can block fliers. For the most part, Dismember is favored over Shriekmaw because the type of creatures it hits isn't restricted. You'll be really annoyed with Shriekmaw when you run up against Affinity, which is a very common deck.
Ricochet Trap: Not sure why you're being stubborn. When it comes to counterspells you really only have two options: react or play around. Granted, Violent Outburst makes us pretty good at playing around them, but there's nothing wrong with reacting. Our deck is very much a weird control deck and reacting is going to be part of that. I'm not saying you need to include the card, but don't go into this deck expecting to be the aggressor because it will really hurt your gameplay. The Trap is a reasonable answer to many counterspells and if you're really worried about it you should avoid just writing it off because you don't like the strategy it implies.
Sin Collector: If there's one type of deck where Fulminator Mage is a disappointment for me, and believe me there are VERY few, it's heavy control decks. They can ruin your day with only two mana and are annoyingly resilient. Sin Collector seems like a great inclusion as it's either going to get countered (cross for fingers, this is the best way to get it in your graveyard!), thus depriving them of a counter, or it's going to hit the field and remove a counterspell from their hand, which is gravy. The more I think about it the more I like it. I'm definitely going to try him in my sideboard now. He's definitely a good replacement for Trap. White isn't that hard to get, as Pale Recluse plus Verdant Catacombs make it very easy to get white. I know you don't have them but keep working at it, 'cause they're sweet in this deck. In you don't manage to get your hands on them I'd suggest not even bothering with Dryad Arbor.
So, the changes I'd make to your deck look like this...
Mainboard:
-1 Demonic Dread
-1 Jungle Weaver
-1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (you should run one of these at most, at least until the M14 rules kick in. Even then, meh)
+3 Faerie Macabre
Sideboard:
-3 Leyline of the Void
-3 Shriekmaw
+3 Sin Collector/Ricochet Trap
+3 Dismember
If you don't like Dismember, another Gnaw to the Bone can't hurt. You have to get those life gain cards quick when it's possible you'll be getting killed at early as turns 3 and 4. Would still suggest 2 Dismember.
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I'm sure that once I finish moving into my new apartment I'll be reacquiring Cockatrice. Honestly, I feel silly for not suggesting this idea myself.
My Modern decks:
B/R/G Living End G/R/B
G/R Tron R/G
U/W/G/R Gargageddon R/G/W/U
R/W/G Naya Burn G/W/R
If they're sitting on 1-3 lands or you can deny them a color by hitting a land, pop them immediately unless you need a blocker to survive. Even then, leaving fulminators on the field is risky but can pay off. Against UWR (or any that runs counters) just sitting on a fulminator and being able to potentially cascade into a relevant living end may do just as much as popping him, since they have to keep an extra mana open if they want to counter stuff, so that might be something to take into consideration.
What kind of Pod decks are you facing? If you're against Melira Pod, try Leyline of Sanctity to stop Murderous Redcap. Leyline of Sanctity may be off color, but it is much more useful than Leyline if the Void.
Finally, Beast Within the seer and Krosan Grip the Pod
You value knowledge, logic, and deceit. You love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At your best, you are brilliant and progressive. At your worst, you are treacherous and cold. Your symbol is a water droplet. Your enemies are green and red.
4 Street Wraith
4 Monstrous Carabid
4 Deadshot Minotaur
3 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Fulminator Mage
2 Twisted Abomination
2 Jungle Weaver
2 Ingot Chewer
Spells:
3 Beast Within
4 Living End
4 Violent Outburst
4 Demonic Dread
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
1 Blood Crypt
2 Forbidden Orchard
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Blackcleave Cliff
4 Copplerline Gorge
2 Krosan Grip
2 Avalanche Riders
3 Brindle Boar
3 Ricochet Trap
3 Jund Charm
Yeah, I know is a bit different and I'm missing a few things that show up on the winning lists. But so far it has been really fun for me this way, just the question about which way I should go with some Riders or Chewers. Any comments are nice to know. Thanks!
"I'll keep playing black till they make a darker color!" - myself
Chewers are much better out of the sb then the riders. Id 2x riders mb and 4x chewers -2riders sb. If your main boarding riders ive never wanted to bring in anymore from the sb, i mainly drop them mostly.
Otherwise looks fine, just get in lots of practice before d day and be sure to tell us how you went
Yeah, I'd go with Avalanche Riders main, too. Pod and Tron aren't popular enough combined to make Ingot Chewer worth it maindeck (especially since it's semi-dead pre-board against Jund and UWR).
Other deck tips:
3 Living Ends are probably good enough unless you run into grindy match-ups in every single game. Living End is almost dead when it's in hand.
I'd pull Forbidden Orchard for a land and a Dryad Arbor. You still need a land-based way to turn on Demonic Dread, but when you've mulled to 5 and you're digging crazily for a Cascade spell, or when post-M14 decks stick Scavenging Ooze and you need the Beast Within, you will hate the tokens that Forbidden Orchard gives to your opponent.
Thanks for the tips guys! Definitely did the change and seeing way better results even against Pod by just blowing land after land up. Did a bit of testing and a lot of discussing and pretty excited for this. So, just wanted to get some opinions of the some changes and definitely the sideboard. Also, as much as I love turn 2 combo sometimes, might drop the Simians.
4 Street Wraith
4 Deadshot Minotaur
4 Monstrous Carabid
4 Fulminator Mage
2 Avalanche Riders
1 Ingot Chewer
2 Twisted Abomination
2 Jungle Weaver
3 Simian Spirit Guide
Spells:
4 Demonic Dread
4 Violent Outburst
3 Living End
3 Beast Within
1 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Coppleline Gorge
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Forbidden Orchard
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Avalanche Riders
2 Slaughter Games
2 Ingot Chewer
2 Krosan Grip
3 Ricochet Trap
I'm still bouncing on the Forbidden Orchard thing and might go with your opinion since I have ran into a few times being a problem when wanting to cast Beast Within, or Riders. Might do a Dryad Arbor and an Overgrown Tomb.
The 4th Living End was in there cause I had a real tendency to draw two and have to go all in on the last one when I played it online, was really annoying against any control deck.
And from what I've gathered from players at my LGS, looking at 2-3 Pods, 1 Seismic Loam, 1 Beck and Elves, 1 Maze's End, 1 Scapeshift, 1 RG aggro, and 1 RG Tron. So far my opinion has been to expect this and a second set from outsiders.
So, any advice on the sideboard or any of these match ups?
Thanks for everything so far and hopefully I'll come home with some cash
"I'll keep playing black till they make a darker color!" - myself
Maybe consider Damping Matrix in the sideboard? It's good against Pod and RG Tron (maybe elves too, I'm not familiar with that deck since I never see it).
I'm actually curious, how has Twisted Abomination been performing?
Re: boarding for the matchups -
Pods - out Avalanche Riders, in Ingot Chewers; maybe also out 2 SSG in 2 Krosan Grip but that might be overkill)
Seismic Loam - out 2 Avalanche Riders, in 2 Slaughter Games; out Ingot Chewer and SSG, in 4 Leylines maybe
Never played vs Beck, so I really don't know lol
Tron - you want as much LD as you can, as well as the Ingot Chewers are also very useful vs early Relics and Exp Maps. Possibly Slaughter Games on Emrakul or Karn.
Scapeshift - see above, minus the Chewer comment, and change the Slaughter Games target to "Scapeshift"
Maze's End - LD with Living End should get there.
RG aggro you should be fine against already,
DISCLAIMER - I haven't played competitive Living End in a while, though my playgroup is starting to get back into Modern, so the above sideboard choices may or may not be optimal.
Also, if you're sure those are the only decks you'd be facing, it may make sense to swap the 3 Traps for 3 Jund Charms for something against Elves, but that would leave you without tricks in the U-based control matchup. YMMV
Also, I've picked up a Swarmyard for gits and shiggles, and am considering slotting my Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in to make the Wraith unblockable and fix mana. Any previous experiences about those two?
xMage: Jankmaster
Commander - Now Playing
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BRGGyrus, Waker of CorpsesGRB URSaheeli, the GiftedRU WRJor Kadeen, the PrevailerRW
I've personally never touched Swarmyard, as I find it extremely gimmicky and win-more. If it produced colored mana, then maybe... but as it is, yuck.
I ran an Urborg in my list for a while, and it was okay. Having unblockable Street Wraiths is hardly irrelevant, and the fixing is nice despite having no way to tutor for it. I eventually swapped it out for a white shockland to coincide with adding Pale Recluse, but now that people appear to be playing less decks with black mana (Pod is obviously a big exception), there's more upside to running it again for unblockable Wraiths, as it is less likely to fix your opponent's mana and mitigate the power of your land-death.
An aside: I'm finally able to play Modern on a regular basis again, and my first move for this deck was cutting Ricochet Trap out of the sideboard. It was difficult (it's always been a pet card for me), but I was able to perform just fine vs. control decks by siding in a 4th Living End in lieu of them. This freed up a pair of slots for me to add Slaughter Games back in, which I feel is absolutely necessary to improve the Scapeshift matchup.
I'm looking to play Living End in a Modern tourney happening at my LGS in a few days. I've gotten in a fair amount of practice with the deck so far, but I'm still not completely set on certain card choices in my deck. Some recommendations would be great.
Here's my list:
4 Street Wraith
4 Monstrous Carabid
4 Deadshot Minotaur
4 Pale Recluse
4 Fulminator Mage
3 Jungle Weaver
2 Twisted Abomination
Non-Creature Spells: (15)
3 Living End
4 Violent Outburst
4 Demonic Dread
4 Beast Within
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Copperline Gorge
2 Blood Crypt
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
1 Godless Shrine
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
3 Ingot Chewer
3 Leyline of the Void
3 Shriekmaw
2 Avalanche Riders
2 Gnaw to the Bone
2 Slaughter Games
Notably, no Catacombs (yet).
The inclusion of Urborg has been good; nothing really game-changing, but nonetheless hasn't hindered the decks performance.
Main concerns I have is with the sideboard; in particular, Leyline of the Void, which I feel hasn't been pulling its weight so far.
In a matchup with my friends Martyr-Proc, I boarded in both my Leylines (don't want Martyrs coming back thanks to LE) AND Shriekmaws (don't wanna get bashed by big Serra Ascendants), which resulted in my Shriekmaw having to target one of my own creatures once Living End came around... Furthermore, I haven't seen it enough in my opening hands that I've really been able reap its benefits so far (and I don't want to be mulling heavily just for it).
I'm considering Faerie Macabre for this position - what's everyone else's experience with either of these?
Also, control, to be expected, has been a pretty difficult matchup - I guess mainly because I refuse to dedicate sideboard slots to Ricochet Trap, since to me, at least, it seems a bit too reactive. Travis Woo (http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/woo-brews-around-the-web/) has recently talked about Sin Collector, which seems like interesting tech against control, but seems a bit awkward too, since:
a) It occupies the three drop spot, where one of our best anti-control measures in Fulminator Mage is.
b) It doesn't sacrifice itself.
c) I'm afraid whether or not the manabase can accomodate it (I at least, have not seen too many opening hands with a white source, but I gues Abom or Recluse and fetches could help...)
Opinions?
Hokai! So...
Leyline of the Void: This has been tried by many of us and was once considered an auto-include if I'm not mistaken. Its main uses are to help against Melira Pod, Gifts Ungiven, and even Storm decks. It has since been decided that Leyline of Sanctity is just the better choice where Leylines are concerned, as it prevents wins via burn, Grapeshot, and Melira's Murderous Redcap. You don't really need to run either.
Martyr Proc: Their big lifegain isn't that big of a deal, since we swing so hard when we swing anyway. You should try to only use Living End once and, if possible, time it so they can't sac Martyr in response (this is really hard and often undoable, but keep your eye out for it). They're really not a fast deck, so you can take your time setting it up. Having a little non-Leyline grave hate is good, which leads me to my next point...
Faerie Macabre: You're not running her. I understand why she seems eh. But really, this card is just the tits. She's a sweet mainboard answer to Melira, Proc, Storm, Snappy...she just does so much work. Occasionally she'll die off of a Deadshot Minotaur when you Living End, but it's really not all that tragic. I can't tell you how many games I've won off of just hardcasting her and beating face, 3 mana for a 2/2 flier isn't shabby. She does EVERYTHING we want her to.
Shriekmaw: After a lot of testing the general consensus is that this guy is eh, but if you're liking him then go for it. Without Leyline of the Void he'll be much better as you'll rarely ever have to kill off one of your own creatures, given that he can just re-kill when he was evoked on in the first place. Honestly, the best answer to a Serra Ascendent really is just to hit a Living End. Killing him with Shriekmaw means he'll come back when you Living End, chances are he'll be active 'cause they'll have been Martyring, and we don't have very much that can block fliers. For the most part, Dismember is favored over Shriekmaw because the type of creatures it hits isn't restricted. You'll be really annoyed with Shriekmaw when you run up against Affinity, which is a very common deck.
Ricochet Trap: Not sure why you're being stubborn. When it comes to counterspells you really only have two options: react or play around. Granted, Violent Outburst makes us pretty good at playing around them, but there's nothing wrong with reacting. Our deck is very much a weird control deck and reacting is going to be part of that. I'm not saying you need to include the card, but don't go into this deck expecting to be the aggressor because it will really hurt your gameplay. The Trap is a reasonable answer to many counterspells and if you're really worried about it you should avoid just writing it off because you don't like the strategy it implies.
Sin Collector: If there's one type of deck where Fulminator Mage is a disappointment for me, and believe me there are VERY few, it's heavy control decks. They can ruin your day with only two mana and are annoyingly resilient. Sin Collector seems like a great inclusion as it's either going to get countered (cross for fingers, this is the best way to get it in your graveyard!), thus depriving them of a counter, or it's going to hit the field and remove a counterspell from their hand, which is gravy. The more I think about it the more I like it. I'm definitely going to try him in my sideboard now. He's definitely a good replacement for Trap. White isn't that hard to get, as Pale Recluse plus Verdant Catacombs make it very easy to get white. I know you don't have them but keep working at it, 'cause they're sweet in this deck. In you don't manage to get your hands on them I'd suggest not even bothering with Dryad Arbor.
So, the changes I'd make to your deck look like this...
Mainboard:
-1 Demonic Dread
-1 Jungle Weaver
-1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (you should run one of these at most, at least until the M14 rules kick in. Even then, meh)
+3 Faerie Macabre
Sideboard:
-3 Leyline of the Void
-3 Shriekmaw
+3 Sin Collector/Ricochet Trap
+3 Dismember
If you don't like Dismember, another Gnaw to the Bone can't hurt. You have to get those life gain cards quick when it's possible you'll be getting killed at early as turns 3 and 4. Would still suggest 2 Dismember.
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