5 Color Living End

Modern Zaueski

SCORE: 15 | 20 COMMENTS | 1492 VIEWS | IN 3 FOLDERS


Sexy_Stud says... #1

Hello! I've been playing living end for almost 3 years now so when your deck popped up in my feed I wanted to give it a look. I believe you should reconsider the gemstone mines, and instead put in a series of fetches and shocks. My logic is this: if you are against a control deck that counters your living ends, you must be able to hard cast your fatties (which with the blue splash go up to 7 mana, cerodon is also at 6). The mines can't take that sort of consistent use. If you opt for the mines, I would recommend cutting the archfiends and possibly fulminators while adding a spirit guide and one-mana cyclers to try and go for a fast-combo approach. I also much prefer Fairie Macabres over the Ravenous traps, as they can eliminate key creatures for a second living end, or pick off street wraiths from the death's shadow decks that are swarming the meta. If all else fails you can discard them in response to living end, or just hard cast to use as a demonic dread target since you only run 2 beast within main. Hope this helps, I'm really interested to hear how the deck goes.

July 12, 2017 2:56 p.m.

Zaueski says... #2

I have already updated the sideboard in person, just not on here and I agree Faerie Macabre is the better choice. I'll update this list soon to better reflect that. Forbidden Orchard has actually proved to be 100% insane in testing as it guarantees that I can always have a target for Demonic Dread. As for the Gemstone Mines, yes they aren't super consistent but I'm very hesitant to replace them with City of Brass because of how weak I am to burn anyways. I've played about 20 games with this list so far and I've only been screwed by Gemstone Mine once. If there's a better rainbow land that gets printed it'll be the first to go, but as is, the consistency it gives has helped more than its hurt so far.

July 12, 2017 3:36 p.m.

Sexy_Stud says... #3

Oh I love the exotic orchards, the demonic dread target must be nice as well as the tokens getting wiped after a living end. If the mines are working for you that's fantastic. My meta has 3 grixis control/death's shadow, eldrazi tron, 2 abzan, one jund, a jeskai control list, an esper control list, as well as several affinity players, and a naya burn deck. For everyone but burn and affinity I have to have the gameplan of slamming ifnirs and cerodons until they run out of paths. I don't know your meta, but I run 4 macabre mainboard as well as 4 ifnir. I've gone 3-1 the past 5 weeks so I just wanted to help share what's been working for me :D An all-star sideboard card if your meta has death's shadow/anything that plays anglers and tasigurs is Dead/Gone. The bounce is killer when combined with macabres, they just can't resolve a fatty.

July 12, 2017 4:10 p.m.

Sexy_Stud says... #4

If you're curious this is my list:

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/12-05-17-CUB-living-end/

July 12, 2017 4:13 p.m.

As another living End player I love that you're trying this 4 color list. The new cards are great for it. I'm just wondering how you fare against burn? Considering that is already one of our weakest matchups, having 8 lands that shock you must make it pretty difficult.

July 25, 2017 2:05 p.m.

Zaueski says... #6

It actually hasn't been too hateful GreenisGod. The deck is so much faster and more consistent that they need to have a really good hand of all spells. If they've got a creature based hand I usually win pretty easily.

July 25, 2017 5:50 p.m.

I may have to try it out, although mainboard faerie macabre has been great to me

July 25, 2017 8:53 p.m.

Zaueski says... #8

If you want mainboard Faerie Macabre then I'd swap it for Fulminator Mage and Beast Within or the Archfiend of Ifnirs. Currently I'm testing a version without Archfiend and instead running Monstrous Carabid for even more fast cycling. The name of this variant is speed and its been running well for me.

July 25, 2017 8:57 p.m.

Love the End

Yeah this is what I run right now. Just took first at a competitive event with 64 players. I'm honestly not too in love with fulminator mage. I've really wanted to add in blue though

July 25, 2017 10:02 p.m.

Bloodweb says... #10

I like it but do you have a back up win con if they counter living end and surgical extraction it or is that gg?

October 2, 2017 9:41 p.m.

Zaueski says... #11

The answer to a Surgical Extraction on Living End is to discard Faerie Macabre or Violent Outburst in response. If it resolves then the game is indeed over.

October 2, 2017 10:30 p.m.

EmblemMan says... #12

Why do you think blue is worth it? What does curator do over Archfiend of Ifnir ? Also I recommend Ingot Chewer over wear/tear

October 3, 2017 12:19 a.m.

thunderlicous says... #13

I second EmblemMan's suggestion of Ingot Chewer. It just plays better with Living End strategies, and most enchantments that are in the meta aren't worth dealing with, as most decks have resorted to Grafdigger's Cage, which doesn't interact with the combo at all, and Relic of Progenitus/Nihil Spellbomb, which we try to just make them crack early and rebuild from there. I also recommend trying to get all 4 Fulminator Mage in the 75 somewhere. I'd expect to see a lot of E-tron at an SCG open, and the ability to hit their lands and slow them down is what made the Living End match-up so good.

As an aside, why the 2/2 split of Architects of Will and Monstrous Carabid? Most lists I see will go with the carabid as it doesn't die to most 1 mana removal at the cost of having to attack each turn. Also, most moved away from Architects as it's a non-bo with Ingot Chewer.

October 3, 2017 2:05 p.m.

Zaueski says... #14

Ingot Chewer doesn't evoke at instant speed, and it doesn't hit Rest in Peace. The body is substandard and, as you guys mentioned... it's a definite nonbo with Architects of Will.

Blue offers me kill speed, with only Jund as an option I'm forced to use more creatures like Deadshot Minotaur which are just pathetic. Curator of Mysteries is highly evasive and the combo with Horror of the Broken Lands is unbelievably powerful. Striped Riverwinder is just a beast at 5/5 and having hexproof to boot is incredible.

Archfiend of Ifnir was originally in Monstrous Carabid's spot but got replaced due to speed. Cycle is hard on this deck because its goal is to go off faster with more power in the graveyard than Jund LE. I sacrificed resiliency for speed in Game 1 and in game 2 we have different options than most people expect so I can clear out their hate easier. Wear / Tear being able to hit Rest in Peace and Blood Moon is huge.

Architects of Will stays in instead of Monstrous Carabid 3-4 because of the effect. It's easy to cycle and burying a card they need to stop you is crucial.

Realistically, I can't afford another Fulminator Mage before the Open, but the Nimble Obstructionist is the most flex spot in the sideboard so I'm not opposed to having a 3rd Fulm

October 3, 2017 10:15 p.m.

Xica says... #15

Hitting Blood Moon with Wear / Tear is a pretty hard task, even if half the deck cycles and its a 4 of.

The problem is that Blood Moon is most often played in
You have 1 shot at killing the enchantment as you need to float white - and due to blue being present there is a very high chance of you spell simply getting countered.
(by cheap stuff like Dispel)

If Surgical Extraction is a trouble, then just imagine facing Extirpate - that is assured doom.

October 7, 2017 11:25 a.m.

Zaueski says... #16

Wear / Tear and Violent Outburst means I have 8 instant speed answers to a Blood Moon. It's all about increasing your outs.

Storm is the only UR deck on Blood Moon, and the card is still played in numerous other places.

Extirpate would indeed be a lot worse. But it's easier to play around than Surgical Extraction and no competitive deck runs it.

October 8, 2017 4:49 a.m.

Xica says... #17

No competitive =/= no popular...

October 8, 2017 6:49 a.m.

thunderlicous says... #18

If you're that worried about Blood Moon, why not drop 1-2 Demonic Dread and play 1-2 Kari Zev's Expertise? It has all the same needed conditions as Demonic Dread (creature on board to target), and can be played easily after a Blood Moon sticks. I know it's been used in the Jund lists that main board Blood Moon to great effect. The only downside is having to have a Living End in hand to cast for the full effect, and even though all Living End players hope and pray that it doesn't happen to them, it's going to happen due to variance, and having something that can use that usually terrible drawback of a card is good in a large tournament like this.

October 8, 2017 2:08 p.m.

svnichols says... #19

How does Cascade work with Wear // Tear? With the new changes isn't the CMC of the card 3 anytime other than when it is being cast?

December 20, 2017 1:01 p.m.

thunderlicous says... #20

As of April 4th, since it's not on the stack, it's viewed as a 3 CMC spell, so it will not be a viable target for the cascade.

source: Amonkhet Split Card Rules Changes

December 20, 2017 11:26 p.m.

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