Living End - jund vs 5 colour
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 2, 2015, 5:46 a.m. by HavokX
It started out as a normal jund build, but I was unsatisfied with some of the creatures available and how Demonic Dread doesn't do anything against control so I decided to throw in Glassdust Hulk and Ardent Plea to make it 5 colours. The thing is, I don't know how to construct good mana bases. The one I quickly threw together seems to work alright, but I'm wondering if there's an optimal solution.
The end is nigh Playtest
Modern
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Gorgosaurusrex says... #3
I wouldn't run Dryad Arbor in this deck as you'll destroy it when Living End resolves. Good idea though.
I would not try a 5 color version of this deck. The consistency problems are not worth the addition of two cards.
I often find myself casting Demonic Dread on the 3/3 beast created from casting Beast Within on the other player's land. You also can target your own Fulminator Mage with it in a pinch.
September 2, 2015 11:47 a.m.
dantekratos says... #4
the Dryad Arbor sounds like a fun thing to do. and about losing it to a resolved Living End. you don't care much when you basicly win the game with it.
September 2, 2015 1:24 p.m.
Gorgosaurusrex says... #5
I guess that's true, losing one land won't make or break the game. I'll try running Dryad Arbor instead of my one basic Forest and see how it goes.
Isn't Dryad Arbor affected by summoning sickness though? So it can't be tapped the turn it's played or fetched for?
September 2, 2015 1:34 p.m.
I haven't even considered Dryad Arbor, it sounds promising though! Is it worth running it in the mainboard or sideboard? Just one copy or two?
On the other hand, just so I can compare the two versions and see which one I like better, what combination of basics/shocks/fetches would you guys use to craft a 5 colour mana base for the mainboard as is? I don't have a budget so it's not a problem if something 4 Scalding Tarns and 4 Verdant Catacombs is required. My reasoning with having each fetch and shock share one colour is that you can use any of the former to grab any of the latter to get any colour you need that turn. Hell, I can even technically drop black and go 4 colours since I don't really need it to cast anything.
September 2, 2015 2:46 p.m.
Gorgosaurusrex says... #7
I would definitely not drop black. Keeping black gives you more ways to cycle Monstrous Carabid/Architects of Will or cast Fulminator Mage, and it also gives you the ability to hard cast Street Wraith, Monstrous Carabid, Architects of Will, and Living End.
I've never suspended Living End but that doesn't mean I don't want the option to be there. I've won many games by hard casting Monstrous Carabid, Architects of Will, and Street Wraith though. I run Jund with lots of fetches and a single Steam Vents for Architects of Will. Sometimes you need to cast creatures to win the game.
September 2, 2015 2:54 p.m.
Wait a second, I think I might be on to something because of your last post. To make things easier on myself I could go back to jund, but splash blue like you for Architects of Will and also for Glassdust Hulk. That way I don't have to shoot myself in the foot by replacing Demonic Dread for Ardent Plea and then I can just run Dryad Arbor to help out with a target.
September 2, 2015 4:11 p.m.
Gorgosaurusrex says... #9
Splashing blue is a much better idea than playing 5 colors, in my opinion.
Why do you need to run Glassdust Hulk? It's not much better than our other cyclers and you can only cycle it with blue mana in addition to never being able to hard cast it.
A single Dryad Arbor would be good if you run 4x Verdant Catacombs or Wooded Foothills. I run Foothills over Catacombs as it can fetch any of my shocks (Steam Vents, Stomping Ground, Blood Crypt, and Overgrown Tomb) or the most relevant basics (Forest/Mountain).
September 2, 2015 4:22 p.m.
The reason is because I have 8 creature slots I'm not happy with, 4 two mana cyclers and 4 cards that belong better in the sideboard, since I couldn't think of anything else to use. And I was only cycling Architects of Will off of one colour before without any problems (granted, I wasn't splashing for it).
JexInfinite says... #2
You could have just put a Dryad Arbor in the regular version to make a target for Demonic Dread. The standard colours are indeed better than 5c. They have a higher consistency, and compete a lot less for deck slots.
September 2, 2015 6:22 a.m.