@ajacobik I have only pulled him a couple of times with Sharuum. IIRC I turned him down by zero and exiled all of the tokens from the board and lightening bolted another player before he ate it. On one hand he's a bigger threat which is persistent, it gets around Sigarda, and he opens up additional lines of play over All is Dust. The drawback is you need to be mindful of activating him with some of your own colored permanents; don't wanna exile Thopter Foundry. I just haven't seen him enough to say conclusively.
Wurmcoil Engine: It is redundant with Sphinx of the Steel Wind, but it's still strong enough on it's own to merit a slot. It's a strong blocker, and it allows me to go agro. Obviously SoSW is stronger, but we're playing 100 card singlton here. I very much appreciate the tokens it leaves behind after dying as well.
Baleful Strix: I would be lying if I said that I was 'always' happy to see it - that's just the nature of magic. I generally prefer to see it early game where it's a reasonable deterrent from attacks which replaces itself. Late game it cantrips through the deck and is either sac fodder or card draw with the coffin. I consider it a 'flex' spot.
Blue Sun's Zenith: I use it on myself when I need to refill my hand, or I can use it as a kill option. I've even got a convoluted win condition that kills an entire table, but have only used it once. Blue Sun can get you more cards into your hand than Frantic Search. However, it's more of a late game card and doesn't help get anything into the discard pile. Really, I see them serving two different purposes.
Staff of Domination: if you were running Metalworker and other infinite mana combos then it might turn into a convenient victory vector. I don't think I'd run power artifact however.
@SerenadeSSBM I use Roar of Reclamation because enchantments such as Ground Seal, Rest in Peace, and Blood Moon are increasingly common in my meta.
Whispering Madness: It's windfall number 2. Even at the cost of 4 it's incredibly powerful early on, and being able to cipher it on Baleful Strix is a nice way to double-tap it if you don't like what you drew or were able to push it out so quickly.
Wurmcoil Engine no longer merits a slot for me. I need to lower the deck's curve with Karn Liberated coming in, and every 6+ cost card can be absolutely bonkers without excessive effort...other than the Wurm. If the board is threatening enough to merit a Wurm, he doesn't get to attack. Search yourself up a Sphinx of the Steel Wind instead and hardcast her with Cavern of Souls if you need to, pretty much every spell that hits her hits the Wurm worse (white exile, anything other than sweepers really). Jostin loves the Flying and First Strike on SOTSW, but the Vigilance is just as important. The first two abilities are more powerful, but without the third you wouldn't ever get to beat down with your flashiest card.
@Serrasin Interesting about the second windfall effect. I'll see if it has use replacing FoF, cycling everyone's hands two to four times seems hilarious.
P.S. Are y'all buying out Tawnos's Coffins? CardKingdom ran out right after they processed my trade-ins and I just barely managed to get the last NM coffin on TCGPlayer.
EDIT: SOTSW is just too good. niche utility lands aren't too important.
I think the answer to the Dust Bowl question is how often you feel the need to blow up lands. I never need to blow up anything not named Cabal Coffers, so I would find it unnecessary with my two Strip lands.
I'm testing a build with both Conjurer's Closet and Tawnos's Coffin, and it's been going all right. I have the choice of blinking for cheap vs. removal - low decks, and having both means you can spend the Coffin on shutting down a general. It takes the Venser slot.
In the same vein of less using mana, I'm considering Witchbane Orb instead of Elixir of Immortality. There are a lot of grave hate effects at my tables, and I'd rather play one do-nothing and be done with it than spend 1 less total mana on an Elixer activation that requires I hold up 2 mana every turn. I figure if I have Artificer's Intuition or Tezzeret, I have more important things to be doing with them than getting an Elixir.
On second thought, Elixir's Salvaging Station interaction is what really makes it valuable, isn't it? It seems silly to waste a Sharuum activation on an Orb. I think I'll keep the Orb in the sideboard for those ridiculous metas where all three other players have 2+ pieces of graveyard hate (not to mention the main control deck wins via Blue Sun's Zenith). A lot of players dislike the idea of a sideboard in EDH, but there are a few ingrown playgroups where "mediocre except in X situation" might be great choices. Besides, since we don't have too many optimal cards to discuss, we can get into cards like these with the understanding that they aren't the best overall.
Wait...in a very combo-heavy meta isn't Witchbane Orb actually pretty good? We already dodge the stack and can stop combat, and Witchbane stops almost every non-combat combo in its tracks. Platinum Angel is a bad card, but a non-creature Platinum Angel that also protects your graveyard seems borderline playable.
Other than weird niche stuff, I feel like my current build is a pretty good place to stop buying cards. The main nonland upgrades are Timetwister, Lion's Eye, Mana Crypt, and Transmute Artifact, and I just don't need that level of power in a friendly, casual format. It feels like it has almost all of the lines of play of Jostin's deck with less speed and resiliency, and I'm satisfied with that.
I'll add an Ensnaring Bridge or Rings of Brighthearth if they get reprinted and an All Is Dust if my group still has one to give away, but outside of that there won't be any big changes.
Serenade, I prefer Elixir because it can be pitched and recurred more easily later in the game when needed and because it's easier to tutor for. Orb isn't a bad choice, but I prefer to keep my overall cmc lower and it doubles down on that by letting me spread the (3) over multiple turns.
Can Hurkyl's Recall be viable as either a one-sided semi-wipe or protection against wraths?
Do you have situations when you'd rather have your artfiacts in your hand than in the graveyard? What kinds of artifact decks (ironically) would be strongly hindered by the same happening to them? I'm interested in the situations you've played in that make it worth considering.
Side note - I learned recently that Soulbond is a triggered ability, not a clone-type instant effect. Therefore, you can respond to a Deadeye Navigator's ETB with a kill spell or even with an Æther Spellbomb to stop someone threatening infinite. (It doesn't target, so you don't get much from killing its bonding partner.) In addition, Soulbond only works with creatures you control...so if your opponents try and team up with some Terastodon nonsense, you can notify them of the rules and not get crippled via a dozen Elephants like I did yesterday.
What's the consensus on Ad Naus? Avvina (who is playing Sharuum again!) has been playing it and described it as a "19/10." I agree that it is very good. Thoughts?
It is my favorite card in my deck and probably my favorite foil. Always over performs, never under. My curve is also far lower than everyone else's though.
It's a great card in combo lists that look to win in a single turn. The more competitive the list, the lower the curve tends to be, and the better Ad Nauseum gets. I dont think its a great card draw spell in the engine based lists that focus more on recursion that the combo win.
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Played some games today, found a new rules question.
I had a Toxic Deluge and no other creature removal in hand, and a Kaalia player had an Iona on the field naming black. He killed us off one by one until it was just me left (the rest of us had terrible draws), and I topdecked a Voyager Staff to bounce the Iona to wipe the board.
If I pay 7 life, does Iona die when it re-enters the battlefield? Toxic Deluge hasn't hit its "end of turn" point yet, but by "all creatures" does the spell mean "all creatures on the battlefield when this spell resolves"? Would a Wurmcoil Engine and its resultant tokens die by that Deluge?
After that I topdecked a land to Mindslaver the Kaalia into a Bust and a Mortify to clear out the Iona, leaving me with 4 artifact & Darksteel Citadel mana vs. a single Boros Signet. I have no idea if Mindslaver is optimal, but it sure is fun to do things the deck otherwise could never do. I think I'll play it as long as I think the manabase can support it.
ajacobik: Dust Bowl seems very different in 1v1 lists than free-for-all. When you asked us about it, which situation were you considering?
It's my understanding that Toxic Deluge would only affect creatures present on the board when it resolves, in the same way that Overrun only gives creatures you control as it resolves trample and +3/+3, and not anything else that you play afterwards. Iona would not get -X/-X when it etbs because at that point, Toxic Deluge's effect has already resolved and there's nothing on the stack to affect Iona.
Yes, all cards have to resolve in order, I think the only way you can arrange what you mentioned would be to Tawnos' Coffin it, cast toxic deluge and then untap the coffin in response. Ioana is a ***** and I am not looking forward to my metas having easier access to her :[
Whomever asked about Ugin, I'd like to offer my persepctive on it. I was playing it as a replacement for Decree of Pain (specifically a colorless one), which my deck was actually playing for a totally different reason. Its been extremely good, especially as an enabler for Tidespout Tyrant (a combo I play, unlike most people here) because I'm already playing like 18 rocks, and its rare that he doesn't resolve for a win. As far as Ugin on a base board, hes really good but will probably be cut because 8 mana will never outpace the 3cmc Toxic Deluge. While not exiling, its so much better just on the cmc that they can't be compared. Plus, I'm playing Ad Naus despite having a build very, very similar to whats going on here.
With KCI in my build, I'm able to instantly turn the longroll engine gameplan into an infinitely looping machine, and that transition from slow to fast (or the switch from fast to slow) is probably the most important part of how I run the deck. Its unquestionably tuned for the long game, but is threatening a win from all angles at all points of the game, allowing me to slowly assemble a value engine until I reach the point where I can toss four different interlocking combos at the board, knowing one will stick because nobody has an answer to Intuition followed by Ad Nauseum followed by Clone to set off a Karn combo followed by Cavern'd Sharuum to reanimate the clone for the infamous combo. Its just way too many different approaches all at once.
The fundamental difference between Ugin and Toxic Deluge is that one is a threat, and the other an answer. You've already noted that the mana in your deck supports high casting costs, so it seems obvious that Ugin is the superior choice.
It doesn't matter how many rocks you run, every deck has its curve. When you're running Karn, All is Dust, Tezzeret, Open the Vaults, Roar of Reclamation and more, eventually something's gotta give. I agree with cutting Ugin - the 1 extra mana is huge and the exile hurts us.
Sure, threats are better than answers after they both resolve, that's why they cost so much more. When you don't have Mana Crypt or Workshop to make up the difference, sometimes you gotta choose the answer.
@Avvina, what is the clone Karn combo? Do you mean cloning a Salvaging station?
Enchantments give me a headache! Especially Aura Shards. Our only interaction is through Karn, Dispeller's Capsule, and All is Dust, and I think the 7 mana cards are too versatile to hold back just to kill an enchantment. Is Esper Charm a viable card for dealing with the pesky card type? It replaces itself quite nicely when not needed, and its discard can even be useful if we find the game reduced to a 1v1.
Utter End? It isn't card advantage when you want it, but I guess four mana isn't the worst to get rid of a permanent. I might as well play it over Unexpectedly Absent with the commander change, so good idea.
I think that if you want Enchantment removal, its pretty wrong to use Vindicate over Utter End. The difference between instant and sorcery speed is huuuuuuge, especially when staring down something like a Wave of Vitriol with an on-board Rest in Peace. Which is, unfortunately, a fairly common occurrence in my less-competitive meta, where the flavor of the month is always some new way to hate out my decks.
Ah, you misunderstood my comment; my less competitive of the two playgroups is the one that metagames me hard. My competitive group involves a nasty Derevi, Jarad, and Momir (plus a fair number of other decks) that all have vaguely unlimited budget and no holds. There, Sharuum is probably the third or fourth at best.
Vindicate's ability to hit a land is really nice, but again, the decks where I'm most afraid of their lands (cradles, nykthos's, coffers) all require that I have an instant-speed answer to their land anyway, or I'm just as screwed. I'd much rather have the timing than one mana, because I am very pointedly not playing the control deck with Sharuum. If I'm going to waste mana and a card to destroy something, I'd like to make it able to deal with one-turn wins and unequivocally permanent instead. The other difference, the exile I just mentioned, is also extremely relevant because of other graveyard decks. I see a lot of Jarad, a Mimeo, etc, and putting things in their yard isn't the best plan. Clearly, like you said, the difference between Vindicate and Udder End is a meta call.
That aside, I play neither. My Sharuum doesn't care about control other than defensively, and I don't want to invest resources into cards that cannot be used to further my plans for world domination. Doesn't fit my decks plan.
Yep, actually IMO instant-speed is more valuable in the fast combo decks than in the control decks, because the fast-combo decks want to cast it EOT on something stopping them from going off (think Rest in Peace, Null Rod, Pithing Needle) and untap into a combo, but the control decks are more likely to have counterspells for must-answers and can answer slower threats at sorcery speed.
I'd much prefer having an instant speed removal spell than a sorcery.
1) We (or atleast I) are already running Strip Mine and company; so land removal is covered.
2) The frequency of mana cost difference between the two spells is fairly insubstantial for the majority of most games.
3) Some combos require immediate interaction and sharuum is already heavy on permanents.
4) Exile is far more definitive; especially against recursive strategies, or indestructible.
As a Sharuum player which are you more afraid of? Instant exile, or sorcery destroy? One of these interacts with you in a meaningful way, the other doesn't.
Ultimately it comes down to local meta and personal choice. They're both fine cards, but they have slightly different trade-offs. It's the same with Ugin vs All is Dust. In my deck, Ugin is the only board wipe in the entire deck and it does just fine.
Edit: I'll add that there is A LOT of spot removal and wiping going on in my games that unless you start with a win combo in the opening hand then it will be dismantled before it is fully assembled. Basically with my group, you have to feed into the removal to burn it out before finally stabilizing, and that can take several turns. At least 30% of the cards played in my games are removal or counterspells.
Despite the similarity in mana costs I don't think the discussion should be between Utter End and Vindicate. They, as you have discovered, have quite different uses.
I think Utter End takes the Unexpectedly Absent slot, a slot most of you don't run. If you argue that "sometimes things should be taken care of more permanently and quickly than destruction," you'll choose between these two. If you argue that "sometimes value permanents should be destroyed early," you'll choose Vindicate or a counterspell.
Most permanents don't need such permanent removal; if you've Aether Spellbomb'd a general t4 only to have it never reenter the battlefield you know that tempo is its own type of removal. I think I'll eventually drop the "stronger removal" slot myself when I better understand the deck.
I'd slot Dimir Charm over Esper Charm because it honestly hits more problem cards for me than Esper would. Rest in Peace and friends aren't as common in my meta though so that could be it. I've just found Oblation the way to go because the card advantage usually doesn't make a difference because I win next turn.
Yeah, if you need spot removal in Sharuum your best non-artifact spells tend to be stuff like Oblation, since it will deal with everything really well. The card advantage is a non-issue, and it works supremely well with a Consecrated Sphinx in play.
Serenade: I don't think that cutting Unexpetantly Absent is a great call, if its been doing well for you. Tuck is still a huge thing, even if Commanders cannot get library'd.
Wurmcoil Engine: It is redundant with Sphinx of the Steel Wind, but it's still strong enough on it's own to merit a slot. It's a strong blocker, and it allows me to go agro. Obviously SoSW is stronger, but we're playing 100 card singlton here. I very much appreciate the tokens it leaves behind after dying as well.
Baleful Strix: I would be lying if I said that I was 'always' happy to see it - that's just the nature of magic. I generally prefer to see it early game where it's a reasonable deterrent from attacks which replaces itself. Late game it cantrips through the deck and is either sac fodder or card draw with the coffin. I consider it a 'flex' spot.
Blue Sun's Zenith: I use it on myself when I need to refill my hand, or I can use it as a kill option. I've even got a convoluted win condition that kills an entire table, but have only used it once. Blue Sun can get you more cards into your hand than Frantic Search. However, it's more of a late game card and doesn't help get anything into the discard pile. Really, I see them serving two different purposes.
Staff of Domination: if you were running Metalworker and other infinite mana combos then it might turn into a convenient victory vector. I don't think I'd run power artifact however.
@SerenadeSSBM I use Roar of Reclamation because enchantments such as Ground Seal, Rest in Peace, and Blood Moon are increasingly common in my meta.
Whispering Madness: It's windfall number 2. Even at the cost of 4 it's incredibly powerful early on, and being able to cipher it on Baleful Strix is a nice way to double-tap it if you don't like what you drew or were able to push it out so quickly.
@Serrasin Interesting about the second windfall effect. I'll see if it has use replacing FoF, cycling everyone's hands two to four times seems hilarious.
current decklist for the curious.
Artifact Creatures:
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
5 Karn, Silver Golem
5 Kuldotha Forgemaster
6 Duplicant
6 Sharuum the Hegemon
7 Magister Sphinx
7 Myr Battlesphere
8 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Mana Rocks:
0 Mox Diamond
0 Mox Opal
0 Lotus Bloom
0 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
2 Grim Monolith
2 Azorius Signet
2 Dimir Signet
2 Orzhov Signet
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Darksteel Ingot
5 Gilded Lotus
Draw Spells:
3 Day's Undoing
3 Thirst For Knowledge
3 Windfall
4 Fact or Fiction
5 Memory Jar
5 Mind's Eye
Tutors:
1 Entomb
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Artificer's Intuition
2 Demonic Tutor
2 Transmute Artifact
3 Intuition
4 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
5 Tezzeret the Seeker
5 Venser, the Sojourner
7 Karn Liberated
Station Package:
6 Salvaging Station
0 Tormod's Crypt
1 Æther Spellbomb
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Expedition Map
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Voyager Staff
Other Artifacts:
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Voltaic Key
2 Sword of the Meek
2 Thopter Foundry
2 Time Sieve
3 Rings of Brighthearth
3 Sculpting Steel
4 Clock of Omens
4 Tawnos's Coffin
4 Trading Post
6 Mindslaver
Other Instants/Sorceries:
2 Cyclonic Rift
3 Bitter Ordeal
3 Toxic Deluge
5 Unburial Rites
6 Open the Vaults
7 All is Dust
7 Roar of Reclamation
Lands - 36
Fetchables:
0 Flooded Strand
0 Marsh Flats
0 Polluted Delta
0 Hallowed Fountain
0 Watery Grave
0 Godless Shrine
0 Plains
0 Island
0 Swamp
0 City of Brass
0 Command Tower
0 Forbidden Orchard
0 Glimmervoid
0 Reflecting Pool
0 Tarnished Citadel
0 Glacial Fortress
0 Drowned Catacomb
0 Isolated Chapel
0 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Mana Ramp:
0 Ancient Tomb
0 Crystal Vein
0 Gemstone Caverns
Artifact Lands:
0 Ancient Den
0 Darksteel Citadel
0 Seat of the Synod
0 Vault of Whispers
Utility Lands:
0 Academy Ruins
0 Buried Ruin
0 Cavern of Souls
0 Cephalid Coliseum
0 Homeward Path
0 Inkmoth Nexus
0 Phyrexia's Core
0 Strip Mine
0 Tectonic Edge
0 Tolaria West
EDIT: SOTSW is just too good. niche utility lands aren't too important.
Sharuum List 1/22/2017
UW Tron ListI'm testing a build with both Conjurer's Closet and Tawnos's Coffin, and it's been going all right. I have the choice of blinking for cheap vs. removal - low decks, and having both means you can spend the Coffin on shutting down a general. It takes the Venser slot.
In the same vein of less using mana, I'm considering Witchbane Orb instead of Elixir of Immortality. There are a lot of grave hate effects at my tables, and I'd rather play one do-nothing and be done with it than spend 1 less total mana on an Elixer activation that requires I hold up 2 mana every turn. I figure if I have Artificer's Intuition or Tezzeret, I have more important things to be doing with them than getting an Elixir.
Edit: cleaned up
Sharuum List 1/22/2017
UW Tron ListWait...in a very combo-heavy meta isn't Witchbane Orb actually pretty good? We already dodge the stack and can stop combat, and Witchbane stops almost every non-combat combo in its tracks. Platinum Angel is a bad card, but a non-creature Platinum Angel that also protects your graveyard seems borderline playable.
Other than weird niche stuff, I feel like my current build is a pretty good place to stop buying cards. The main nonland upgrades are Timetwister, Lion's Eye, Mana Crypt, and Transmute Artifact, and I just don't need that level of power in a friendly, casual format. It feels like it has almost all of the lines of play of Jostin's deck with less speed and resiliency, and I'm satisfied with that.
I'll add an Ensnaring Bridge or Rings of Brighthearth if they get reprinted and an All Is Dust if my group still has one to give away, but outside of that there won't be any big changes.
Do you have situations when you'd rather have your artfiacts in your hand than in the graveyard? What kinds of artifact decks (ironically) would be strongly hindered by the same happening to them? I'm interested in the situations you've played in that make it worth considering.
Side note - I learned recently that Soulbond is a triggered ability, not a clone-type instant effect. Therefore, you can respond to a Deadeye Navigator's ETB with a kill spell or even with an Æther Spellbomb to stop someone threatening infinite. (It doesn't target, so you don't get much from killing its bonding partner.) In addition, Soulbond only works with creatures you control...so if your opponents try and team up with some Terastodon nonsense, you can notify them of the rules and not get crippled via a dozen Elephants like I did yesterday.
Sharuum List 1/22/2017
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I had a Toxic Deluge and no other creature removal in hand, and a Kaalia player had an Iona on the field naming black. He killed us off one by one until it was just me left (the rest of us had terrible draws), and I topdecked a Voyager Staff to bounce the Iona to wipe the board.
If I pay 7 life, does Iona die when it re-enters the battlefield? Toxic Deluge hasn't hit its "end of turn" point yet, but by "all creatures" does the spell mean "all creatures on the battlefield when this spell resolves"? Would a Wurmcoil Engine and its resultant tokens die by that Deluge?
After that I topdecked a land to Mindslaver the Kaalia into a Bust and a Mortify to clear out the Iona, leaving me with 4 artifact & Darksteel Citadel mana vs. a single Boros Signet. I have no idea if Mindslaver is optimal, but it sure is fun to do things the deck otherwise could never do. I think I'll play it as long as I think the manabase can support it.
ajacobik: Dust Bowl seems very different in 1v1 lists than free-for-all. When you asked us about it, which situation were you considering?
Sharuum List 1/22/2017
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With KCI in my build, I'm able to instantly turn the longroll engine gameplan into an infinitely looping machine, and that transition from slow to fast (or the switch from fast to slow) is probably the most important part of how I run the deck. Its unquestionably tuned for the long game, but is threatening a win from all angles at all points of the game, allowing me to slowly assemble a value engine until I reach the point where I can toss four different interlocking combos at the board, knowing one will stick because nobody has an answer to Intuition followed by Ad Nauseum followed by Clone to set off a Karn combo followed by Cavern'd Sharuum to reanimate the clone for the infamous combo. Its just way too many different approaches all at once.
#moneypile
BUG Tasigur GUB
#buglyfe
Sure, threats are better than answers after they both resolve, that's why they cost so much more. When you don't have Mana Crypt or Workshop to make up the difference, sometimes you gotta choose the answer.
@Avvina, what is the clone Karn combo? Do you mean cloning a Salvaging station?
Enchantments give me a headache! Especially Aura Shards. Our only interaction is through Karn, Dispeller's Capsule, and All is Dust, and I think the 7 mana cards are too versatile to hold back just to kill an enchantment. Is Esper Charm a viable card for dealing with the pesky card type? It replaces itself quite nicely when not needed, and its discard can even be useful if we find the game reduced to a 1v1.
Sharuum List 1/22/2017
UW Tron ListJarad Graveyard Combo[Primer]!
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Sharuum List 1/22/2017
UW Tron List#moneypile
BUG Tasigur GUB
#buglyfe
Vindicate's ability to hit a land is really nice, but again, the decks where I'm most afraid of their lands (cradles, nykthos's, coffers) all require that I have an instant-speed answer to their land anyway, or I'm just as screwed. I'd much rather have the timing than one mana, because I am very pointedly not playing the control deck with Sharuum. If I'm going to waste mana and a card to destroy something, I'd like to make it able to deal with one-turn wins and unequivocally permanent instead. The other difference, the exile I just mentioned, is also extremely relevant because of other graveyard decks. I see a lot of Jarad, a Mimeo, etc, and putting things in their yard isn't the best plan. Clearly, like you said, the difference between Vindicate and Udder End is a meta call.
That aside, I play neither. My Sharuum doesn't care about control other than defensively, and I don't want to invest resources into cards that cannot be used to further my plans for world domination. Doesn't fit my decks plan.
#moneypile
BUG Tasigur GUB
#buglyfe
Jarad Graveyard Combo[Primer]!
Sidisi ANT!
Playing Commander to Win - A guide on Competitive, 4-player EDH
LandDestruction.com - An EDH blog
1) We (or atleast I) are already running Strip Mine and company; so land removal is covered.
2) The frequency of mana cost difference between the two spells is fairly insubstantial for the majority of most games.
3) Some combos require immediate interaction and sharuum is already heavy on permanents.
4) Exile is far more definitive; especially against recursive strategies, or indestructible.
As a Sharuum player which are you more afraid of? Instant exile, or sorcery destroy? One of these interacts with you in a meaningful way, the other doesn't.
Edit: I'll add that there is A LOT of spot removal and wiping going on in my games that unless you start with a win combo in the opening hand then it will be dismantled before it is fully assembled. Basically with my group, you have to feed into the removal to burn it out before finally stabilizing, and that can take several turns. At least 30% of the cards played in my games are removal or counterspells.
I think Utter End takes the Unexpectedly Absent slot, a slot most of you don't run. If you argue that "sometimes things should be taken care of more permanently and quickly than destruction," you'll choose between these two. If you argue that "sometimes value permanents should be destroyed early," you'll choose Vindicate or a counterspell.
Most permanents don't need such permanent removal; if you've Aether Spellbomb'd a general t4 only to have it never reenter the battlefield you know that tempo is its own type of removal. I think I'll eventually drop the "stronger removal" slot myself when I better understand the deck.
I wish we had multiples. Colored artifacts were seen as a major design flaw, so we'll probably never see this kind of power on a cog again.
Still no love for Esper Charm? For those of you that have tried it, what was its main downside?
Sharuum List 1/22/2017
UW Tron ListURXSurf's Up, Mizz Magnus!XRU
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Serenade: I don't think that cutting Unexpetantly Absent is a great call, if its been doing well for you. Tuck is still a huge thing, even if Commanders cannot get library'd.
#moneypile
BUG Tasigur GUB
#buglyfe