I’m a firm believer we are the best Fulminator Mage deck, and that we have an awesome MU Against the Jace decks. Hoping someone will have the right build here soon
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late to the party because i am not focused on magic since january.
bbe and jace got unbanned.
as an observer i think most people will play jund this Saturday, some will try to jam jace into every deck they can but soon realized control decks doesn't belong in modern.this is a boon and a threat.
jund matches will be favorable to us. they are weak to fulminator mage and blood moon also being a creature based deck without counter spell makes them extremely vulnerable to living end
on the other hand jace unbanning means more jace fanboys will pick up control deck (duh).
does this mean we need to main deck blood moon since the 2 top dog are weak to it?
does more control deck means we need 3-4 ricochet trap on the sideboard again? i only have 2 on the sideboard most of the time
how will our sideboard look like now?
Was having a hard time against control, especially UW control with their counters and wraths.
What do you guys think about boil and choke with control becoming more popular.
Choke costs less but can die to their mainboard d-sphere
Boil is instant speed but costs 4.
against control you card of choice would be fulminator mage, blood moon and ricochet trap (in your sideboard).
i think its already explained in the primer, but basically your line of play would be cycling for lands needed to start hardcasting your cyclers while using fulminator mage and blood moon to shut off their mana. your aim is not to go off as soon as possible but to successfully land a living end that would end the game.
boil and choke are narrow sideboards. unless you meta is infested with merfolk i dont see why would you bring those card in the sideboard.
If anyone actually cares, I can post my decklist... but I recently took this deck to a FNM-like tournament with a lot of Spikes and went 4-0! I think the deck is very well suited for the new BBE/JTMS meta. Here is my tournament report:
Round 1 - Living End vs U/B Faeries
So I'm paired up against Mr. Suitcase guy to start the night. He is this hippy dude that carries his whole collection with him in a metal locked-up suitcase everywhere he goes. He is the type of guy that brags about playing since the game's inception and flaunts Power 9 in your face just to make you feel like less of a man... which always works on me
Game 1: He wins the die roll and plays an insignificant Faerie to start off. I drop a Turn 2 Blood Moon (That's right, I maindeck that) with the assistance of SSG. He proceeds to flounder with nothing but non-basics and I ruin him with an army of Living Ended fatties.
Game 2: He elects to go first and starts the game with a few basics. I drop another Turn 2 Blood Moon... but he has enough basics to play around it. I proceed to lose to some dinky faerie beatdowns and a Spellstutter that countered what would have been a clutch game-stealing Living End.
Game 3: I go first on a Mull to 5... and for the third time in a row I windmill slam a Turn 2 Blood Moon! My opponent was noticeably peeved, as the only lands he produced the whole game were non-basic. After slowly killing him with two hardcasted SSGs attacking each turn, I overhear him talking to a friend complaining that I must have cheated. He thought that there was no other way I could plop a Turn 2 Blood Moon every game like that. I couldn't help but laugh at his despair.
Round 2: Living End vs R/G Eldrazi
This time I have to go up against Mr. State Champ. He won the State Championship one time, and he won't let you forget it. This guy plays with the Champ playmat facing towards you every match so that you are fully aware of his Champ status in case you didn't already know. I stroke his ego a bit and pretend to be really impressed by the art on the mat (which he loved to talk about) and we proceed to play out our games
Game 1: He wins the die roll and proceeds to go first. He plays a Turn 2 Matter Reshaper with the help of Eldrazi Temple... I drop a Turn 2 Blood Moon again thanks to SSG! I look around hoping that Mr. Suitcase guy saw it too, but unfortunately he was nowhere to be seen. I proceed to cycle like a madman and overwhelm him with a slew of recurring Fulminator Mages blowing up lands and Cerodons beating his face off my resolved Living End. He revealed a BBE after losing the Reshaper, indicating that he was probably playtesting how well BBE can hang with the Eldrazi
Game 2: I overwhelmed him with Fulminator Mages and an assault of cyclers off LE pretty quickly. He never really got going and don't remember him playing anything relevant other than Ancient Stirrings and a few Noble Heirarchs that he had to sac to the LE. The land destruction really put him down in this one because he kept what looked to be a slower hand.
Round 3: Living End vs. Mardu Pyromancer
Next, I had to play this guy that was visibly older than my Father. I don't have anything against old people, but I find it funny the age range that the game attracts sometimes.
Game 1: I lose the die roll again, but end up winning this game by the skin of my teeth (literally at one life point when I finished him off). He threw a couple of Bolts at my face early in the game, and I was pooping my pants because I thought this meant he was on Burn, which is an auto-loss for the deck (he even started off with Sacred Foundry and Mountain to my chagrin). Never in my life have I been so happy to see someone drop a Blackcleave Cliffs and cast a Turn 3 Lingering Souls in my life. I immediately cycle the two Street Wraiths I was hoarding (didn't want to help my opponent out by losing unnecessary life if he was playing Burn) and used one of his Spirit Tokens as a much needed Demonic Dread Target. He flashbacked the Lingering Souls to stall off for a bit, but the onslaught of my cyclers were too much in the end.
Game 2: I drop a Turn 2 Blood Moon like a champ. He gets a basic Swamp, but I blew it up with Avalanche Rider (Yes, I run that trash). He gets a Pyromancer online and produces some tokens... but the mana denial was too much for him. Old man couldn't eingenner a comeback.
Round 4: Living End vs. Grixis Control
For the Final Match, I had to play this College kid that was obviously ripping adderall before coming to the store. He was super hyper and jittery, yet focused the whole match. He had tunnel vision and was pretty curt with me when I tried to make small talk... As 3-0's fighting for perfection, we prepare for epic battle. I won the die roll.
Game 1: That's right, Turn 2 Blood Moon again. You really can't make this crap up. I thought he was going to weasel his way out when he played a Turn 2 Basic Island and Search for Azcanta to maybe help dig out his other basics... but luckily for me he couldn't do it. I dropped a Turn 3 Fulminator, and a Turn 4 Avalanche Rider blowing up his only basic. He was dead in the water when I returned them again with other beaters off a LE.
Game 2: I literally dropped this Game due to JTMS. He fetched out basics early rendering my Blood Moon useless (which I played much later than Turn 2), and could never deal with Jace when it entered the battlefield. It also didn't help that I drew all 3 Ingot Chewers I sideboarded in since I was expecting Graveyard hate... which I never saw the whole match. So, I had 3 dead cards in hand, and my opponent kept Brainstorming for counterspells and fatesealing me into oblivion with Jace. Every LE attempt I made was soundly countered and I was locked out the whole game.
Game 3: I think going first was the decider in this one. I played a Turn 2 Fulminator blowing up a non-basic, and did a Turn 3 EOT Beast Within on another land he had setting up My Turn 4 Demonic Dread Target for the game winning LE. Afterwards he was complaining that he obviously "had me" if he drew into Damnation. Such is life.
Living End is fast, competitive, and super fun. I feel like the new decks that BBE and JTMS usher in put us in a good spot in this meta... especially if you play aggressive
UW is inherently difficult, counters plus two colors meaning a competent player will liberally fetch basics and dodge fulminator while not being punished all too much in access to colors by being inherently two colors. Access to supreme verdict and settle the wreckage complicates the matter even further.
Regardless, the key to the matchup is managing mana across turns unless you can rush out an early living end (bunch of street wraiths on T2 for instance). Beast within really shines here as being both instant and being able to take out any land means opponents have to be really careful in holding up enough counter magic mana and it's really easy to get complacent holding up just exact mana for something like a cryptic only to have one of the crucial lands needed blown up EOT.
If your meta is absolutely swamped with UW/x decks, i'd run boil or choke. But if it's just one or two in a field of other decks, ricochet trap is sufficient.
I really had problems against a rather casual looking spirits deck that ran 4 Mausoleum Wanderer, 3 Selfless Spirits and 4 Spell Queller.
As you can Imagine, he countered and Sacked his dudes in response to Living End and even when I played my anger of the Gods from my sideboard, he just made some guys indestructible. + All his creatures had Flying. I have 3 Faerie Macabre after sideboarding but I just can't win.
Does anyone know what I could have done? Or is this just a horrible matchup?
Also: I had the Idea playing with "Krosan Grip" in the sideboard because I can destroy the Relics without the opponent activating them AND the Leylines. But I am not sure.
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"Affinity is like the Christian religion. You got the old testament and the new. The old one was full of real affinity cards and then the new testament Metalcraft came along. Now with Hardened Scales the new Church of Affinity split up in two, just like the Catholics and Protestants." BRG Living End BRG G Hardened Scales Affinity G
Both shriekmaw (and beast within to a lesser extent) and faerie macabre work well in this matchup, hold shriekmaw for wanderers if it gets too big or hold it for queller sitting on a living end (you can then elect to cast it that way). When your opponent sacs their creatures in response to living end, faerie macabre them out of the graveyard.
Since the deck is three colors, you can also add land destruction in the mix to keep them off crucial colors or hold them back a turn or two.
Don't be afraid to fire off living ends that relieve pressure more so than putting creatures on the field, that can come later as those types of decks have a tougher time rebuilding the board post wipe as they often commit most of their hand to the field by then.
I still find it hard, because I don't know what they are going to sideboard. Including to the hard Main board, they could go Rest in Peace (then i would just Living End, because they loose the creatures too) but some lists also run Negate. I may change my sideboard so I have 1 more Shriekmaw. I used to be a very big fan of Anger of the Gods, but against humans it just gets stolen or it costs 4 Mana because of Thalia and the ony deck where Anger is really good is against dredge (at least I can not think of another right now)
In general: What would be a good sideboard list right now?
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"Affinity is like the Christian religion. You got the old testament and the new. The old one was full of real affinity cards and then the new testament Metalcraft came along. Now with Hardened Scales the new Church of Affinity split up in two, just like the Catholics and Protestants." BRG Living End BRG G Hardened Scales Affinity G
I saw William Northrup running and old list and felt like I would try it out. I went 3-1 and lost to Burn, but won against Affinity, U-Tron and Ad Nauseam. Burn was rough, went 1-2 and Boar was all star. The only highlight was when I casted Living End, brought back the creatures in the graveyard and used the turn after Demonic Dread to deny Monastery Swiftspear to block my creature for lethal attack Tron was pretty easy with Beast Within and Fulminator Mage, so 2-0. Ad Nauseam was fun also with land destruction. It felt good!
I had a really great night at my LGS last night. Went 4-0, and won every round in two. I'll do a quick rundown rather than a full write-up.
I'm running a pretty standard list with what may or may not be considered some exceptions.
-I've gone up to 4x Faerie Macabre MB and haven't looked back since.
They over perform all the time. An absolutely amazing card. When they're not applicable my other SB cards usually are, which makes SBing really easy. 4x Faeries out, 4x something else (like Shriekmaw) in.
-I went down to 7x cascade spells (like the old lists) and have not regretted it one bit.
-I've been running Kessig Wolf Run and am extremely glad y'all convinced me to. I did have to mulligan a hand last night because my only land was Kessig instead of a R or Bproducer which would have made the hand just fine. I had plenty of cyclers in it. Apart from this the card was a house. The trample was applicable, the instant speed extra point or two of damage won me games, and there were a couple of times when I was just praying I could draw one because it seal the deal. It's great with the Faerie too.
-I'm running one Grove of the Burnwillows but would like to acquire another because I don't think I've ever been sad to see it other than times when I would be sad to see any land off the top. I like it WAY more than I thought I would.
-I've been testing out a singleton Kolaghan's Command MB per y'all's suggestion and I've been pretty happy with it. I haven't had any scenarios where it was just a blow-out draw, but it does have some great utility. It did help me end a close game where an opponent went down to 2 life because they weren't expecting any burn from a LE player.
I've recently changed my SB to match what I've been seeing at my LGS and it performed very well last night. Right now I am running:
-I don't like Shriekmaw in the MB, but when he's good he's amazing. He often shines where Macabre doesn't, so that's an easy swap game-two.
-I never seemed to have room for the 3rd Ricochet Trap when SBing, so I went down to two.
-Sometimes I'm not ready to LE but I need a board cleared NOW. Anger has filled this role well. There's enough Humans, Mardu Pyromancer, Elves, etc. in my local meta to warrant two.
-Krosan Grip is so much better than I used to think. I have destroyed a disproportionate number of Relic of Progenitus and Nihil Spellbombs before my opponent could sac them. I'd like to find a second slot for another of this amazing catch-all.
-I'm not sure if Boil is cute and a little good or just absolutely amazing. My first and most effective strategy against control is keeping their land-count down. After using Beast Within and Fulminator Mage to work towards this end and then dropping a Boil it's usually straight up game over. Even better than that is when I get to use it on a Scapeshift player who brings in Prismatic Omen. So far I've a gotten to do that on two occasions and it's an amazing feeling, especially when they're probably going to kill you the next turn.
-I'm thinking I may want a 4th Fulminator Mage in the SB moving forward. Haven't decided for sure yet.
Last night's MU's:
Round 1 (2-0):
MonoW Hatebears
Game 1: Managed to play through a Thalia, Guardian of Thraben for the win.
Game 2: Shriekmaw and AotG were way too much for him.
Round 2 (2-0):
Mardu Pyromancer
Game 1: A very close game. Had to suspend LE and survive his clock long enough for it to go off. Macabre was ESSENTIAL.
Game 2: Another very close game. EXTREMELY grindy. Jund LE did what it can do extremely well, which, funny enough, most people don't realize it can do: GRIND. I was hardcasting dudes, hitting him with those Macabre/Kessig beats, and suspending LE. A very enjoyable game. This is what modern should be, IMO. Blue LE looks cool, but I'm certain it can't grind like Jund LE can. This deck is so resilient.
Round 3 (2-0):
Esper DS
I don't really remember these games enough to talk about them. I remember Macabre being important. Anyway, got the round in two.
Round 4 (2-0:
Jeskai Control
I don't remember the games enough to give much of a report, other than the fact that I beat the deck the usual way. Land destruction, land destruction, land destruction, cast Beast Within/Violent Outburst at their Eot, go off my next turn. I kept them off Supreme Verdict the whole time, which was important because I wasn't ever able to get a cascade off on their Eot. They always had a main phase before I had a chance to swing.
I was pretty pleased, to say the least. Everyone at my LGS has been practicing all week for a big tournament in Fort Worth, so I've been getting a lot of games in because they all wanted at least some LE practice and I'm the only LE player there. So last night I also got three practice rounds in against a Humans player and a GR Tron player.
Practice Round 1 (0-2):
Humans
I just could not get through all the Thalias, Meddling Mages, Kitesail Freebooters, and Phantasmal Images. They kept me down both games long enough for his critters to get in there for lethal. He got it in two. The second practice round I played against him was a different story.
Practice Round 2 (2-0):
Humans
Game 1: I had to cascade early with only two creatures in the yard, but it was enough. He couldn't come back from the board wipe and my two fatties got in there for lethal.
Game 2: I drew two Ingot Chewers for his Aether Vial and Ethersworn Canonist, and two Shriekmaws for his two Thalias. He didn't stand a chance.
Practice Round 3 (1-2):
GR Tron
I was bummed about this one. All three games were close, but as much as I did to destroy his lands and fight off his Relics, it wasn't enough. I couldn't finish him off fast enough, and you know what Tron does when the game goes on too long. Oh well. It happens.
Fun Night. Oh, one last thing. Archfiend of Ifnir is a house and is our best hardcast. I would never go below one.
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MODERN: BRGJUNDGRB---BRHOLLOW ONERB---BGELVESGB---BRGLIVING ENDGRB---GWBOGLESWG EDH: BRGKARRTHUS, TYRANT OF JUNDGRB
So got 3rd/4th in Hunter Burton Tournament today out of 427. Got into top 8 with final score of 8-1-1 with only loss to tron in round 8, then lost to burn in semifinals. Opponents decks in order were Tron, Affinity, Mono Green Aggro, Tron, RUG Scapeshift, Mill, Burn, Tron, Jund, then an ID. Played Tron player from round 8 again in quarter finals. Too tired to build actual decklist so here is a link with my list Https://m.imgur.com/a/I9nQN.
Is anyone running two Krosan Grips? If so what are your thoughts? Has that card performed as well for everyone else as it has for me? I'm thinking heavily about adding a second in my SB.
Also, do we need Fulminator Mage number four now if the meta shifts to more control and three-color midrange decks? Are two Blood Moons and three Fulminator Mages enough?
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MODERN: BRGJUNDGRB---BRHOLLOW ONERB---BGELVESGB---BRGLIVING ENDGRB---GWBOGLESWG EDH: BRGKARRTHUS, TYRANT OF JUNDGRB
Brindleboar is typically a better option when you have no way to make white in your deck and do not have a full 4 slots to devote to it. Your really don't want to have to mulligan an otherwise good hand.
18 land and 3 SSG is somewhat brave though, as is 3 main deck faeries unless you really know the meta.
I only have 18 lands in deck because whenever i have 19 i always seem to flood out.
I like brindle boar more because i can actually play it if i draw it after opening hand. Also have had games where opponent brought in wear//tear or destructive revelry and i just set them back one turn.
I feel that shriekmaw, ingot chewer, and ricochet trap really need no explanation. Brindle Boar explained above. Avalanche riders were for all the tron and control players (DFW area has a lot of them). Jund Charm is mostly used for other graveyard decks or as an instant speed pyroclasm against say dredge or affinity.
I have always found faeries to be more useful in main rather than sideboard. I would of probably lost to the mill player game 1 when he surgical extractioned the living end he milled except for the fact that i had faerie macabre in hand. They were also very useful in the mono green aggro game to stop his vengevine and strangleroot geist and in the affinity game when he got arcbound ravager out both games. I lost round 8 against the Tron player because i sided out the faeries as i had no way to death with his thragtusk or wurmcoil engine game 2 (Him having turn 1 Relic of Progenitus both games didn't help either).
Faerie is a high risk/reward sorta card in the first game, so if you know the meta its not specifically a wrong choice. It's just that there are some games where it is deader than dead. Like it does a hell of a lot of nothing against burn lists, and I'm gonna say its subpar against jund. Considering your record it does not seem to be the wrong call for this event though.
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bbe and jace got unbanned.
as an observer i think most people will play jund this Saturday, some will try to jam jace into every deck they can but soon realized control decks doesn't belong in modern.this is a boon and a threat.
jund matches will be favorable to us. they are weak to fulminator mage and blood moon also being a creature based deck without counter spell makes them extremely vulnerable to living end
on the other hand jace unbanning means more jace fanboys will pick up control deck (duh).
does this mean we need to main deck blood moon since the 2 top dog are weak to it?
does more control deck means we need 3-4 ricochet trap on the sideboard again? i only have 2 on the sideboard most of the time
how will our sideboard look like now?
What do you guys think about boil and choke with control becoming more popular.
Choke costs less but can die to their mainboard d-sphere
Boil is instant speed but costs 4.
i think its already explained in the primer, but basically your line of play would be cycling for lands needed to start hardcasting your cyclers while using fulminator mage and blood moon to shut off their mana. your aim is not to go off as soon as possible but to successfully land a living end that would end the game.
boil and choke are narrow sideboards. unless you meta is infested with merfolk i dont see why would you bring those card in the sideboard.
Round 1 - Living End vs U/B Faeries
So I'm paired up against Mr. Suitcase guy to start the night. He is this hippy dude that carries his whole collection with him in a metal locked-up suitcase everywhere he goes. He is the type of guy that brags about playing since the game's inception and flaunts Power 9 in your face just to make you feel like less of a man... which always works on me
Game 1: He wins the die roll and plays an insignificant Faerie to start off. I drop a Turn 2 Blood Moon (That's right, I maindeck that) with the assistance of SSG. He proceeds to flounder with nothing but non-basics and I ruin him with an army of Living Ended fatties.
Game 2: He elects to go first and starts the game with a few basics. I drop another Turn 2 Blood Moon... but he has enough basics to play around it. I proceed to lose to some dinky faerie beatdowns and a Spellstutter that countered what would have been a clutch game-stealing Living End.
Game 3: I go first on a Mull to 5... and for the third time in a row I windmill slam a Turn 2 Blood Moon! My opponent was noticeably peeved, as the only lands he produced the whole game were non-basic. After slowly killing him with two hardcasted SSGs attacking each turn, I overhear him talking to a friend complaining that I must have cheated. He thought that there was no other way I could plop a Turn 2 Blood Moon every game like that. I couldn't help but laugh at his despair.
Round 2: Living End vs R/G Eldrazi
This time I have to go up against Mr. State Champ. He won the State Championship one time, and he won't let you forget it. This guy plays with the Champ playmat facing towards you every match so that you are fully aware of his Champ status in case you didn't already know. I stroke his ego a bit and pretend to be really impressed by the art on the mat (which he loved to talk about) and we proceed to play out our games
Game 1: He wins the die roll and proceeds to go first. He plays a Turn 2 Matter Reshaper with the help of Eldrazi Temple... I drop a Turn 2 Blood Moon again thanks to SSG! I look around hoping that Mr. Suitcase guy saw it too, but unfortunately he was nowhere to be seen. I proceed to cycle like a madman and overwhelm him with a slew of recurring Fulminator Mages blowing up lands and Cerodons beating his face off my resolved Living End. He revealed a BBE after losing the Reshaper, indicating that he was probably playtesting how well BBE can hang with the Eldrazi
Game 2: I overwhelmed him with Fulminator Mages and an assault of cyclers off LE pretty quickly. He never really got going and don't remember him playing anything relevant other than Ancient Stirrings and a few Noble Heirarchs that he had to sac to the LE. The land destruction really put him down in this one because he kept what looked to be a slower hand.
Round 3: Living End vs. Mardu Pyromancer
Next, I had to play this guy that was visibly older than my Father. I don't have anything against old people, but I find it funny the age range that the game attracts sometimes.
Game 1: I lose the die roll again, but end up winning this game by the skin of my teeth (literally at one life point when I finished him off). He threw a couple of Bolts at my face early in the game, and I was pooping my pants because I thought this meant he was on Burn, which is an auto-loss for the deck (he even started off with Sacred Foundry and Mountain to my chagrin). Never in my life have I been so happy to see someone drop a Blackcleave Cliffs and cast a Turn 3 Lingering Souls in my life. I immediately cycle the two Street Wraiths I was hoarding (didn't want to help my opponent out by losing unnecessary life if he was playing Burn) and used one of his Spirit Tokens as a much needed Demonic Dread Target. He flashbacked the Lingering Souls to stall off for a bit, but the onslaught of my cyclers were too much in the end.
Game 2: I drop a Turn 2 Blood Moon like a champ. He gets a basic Swamp, but I blew it up with Avalanche Rider (Yes, I run that trash). He gets a Pyromancer online and produces some tokens... but the mana denial was too much for him. Old man couldn't eingenner a comeback.
Round 4: Living End vs. Grixis Control
For the Final Match, I had to play this College kid that was obviously ripping adderall before coming to the store. He was super hyper and jittery, yet focused the whole match. He had tunnel vision and was pretty curt with me when I tried to make small talk... As 3-0's fighting for perfection, we prepare for epic battle. I won the die roll.
Game 1: That's right, Turn 2 Blood Moon again. You really can't make this crap up. I thought he was going to weasel his way out when he played a Turn 2 Basic Island and Search for Azcanta to maybe help dig out his other basics... but luckily for me he couldn't do it. I dropped a Turn 3 Fulminator, and a Turn 4 Avalanche Rider blowing up his only basic. He was dead in the water when I returned them again with other beaters off a LE.
Game 2: I literally dropped this Game due to JTMS. He fetched out basics early rendering my Blood Moon useless (which I played much later than Turn 2), and could never deal with Jace when it entered the battlefield. It also didn't help that I drew all 3 Ingot Chewers I sideboarded in since I was expecting Graveyard hate... which I never saw the whole match. So, I had 3 dead cards in hand, and my opponent kept Brainstorming for counterspells and fatesealing me into oblivion with Jace. Every LE attempt I made was soundly countered and I was locked out the whole game.
Game 3: I think going first was the decider in this one. I played a Turn 2 Fulminator blowing up a non-basic, and did a Turn 3 EOT Beast Within on another land he had setting up My Turn 4 Demonic Dread Target for the game winning LE. Afterwards he was complaining that he obviously "had me" if he drew into Damnation. Such is life.
Living End is fast, competitive, and super fun. I feel like the new decks that BBE and JTMS usher in put us in a good spot in this meta... especially if you play aggressive
Regardless, the key to the matchup is managing mana across turns unless you can rush out an early living end (bunch of street wraiths on T2 for instance). Beast within really shines here as being both instant and being able to take out any land means opponents have to be really careful in holding up enough counter magic mana and it's really easy to get complacent holding up just exact mana for something like a cryptic only to have one of the crucial lands needed blown up EOT.
If your meta is absolutely swamped with UW/x decks, i'd run boil or choke. But if it's just one or two in a field of other decks, ricochet trap is sufficient.
As you can Imagine, he countered and Sacked his dudes in response to Living End and even when I played my anger of the Gods from my sideboard, he just made some guys indestructible. + All his creatures had Flying. I have 3 Faerie Macabre after sideboarding but I just can't win.
Does anyone know what I could have done? Or is this just a horrible matchup?
Also: I had the Idea playing with "Krosan Grip" in the sideboard because I can destroy the Relics without the opponent activating them AND the Leylines. But I am not sure.
BRG Living End BRG
G Hardened Scales Affinity G
Both shriekmaw (and beast within to a lesser extent) and faerie macabre work well in this matchup, hold shriekmaw for wanderers if it gets too big or hold it for queller sitting on a living end (you can then elect to cast it that way). When your opponent sacs their creatures in response to living end, faerie macabre them out of the graveyard.
Since the deck is three colors, you can also add land destruction in the mix to keep them off crucial colors or hold them back a turn or two.
Don't be afraid to fire off living ends that relieve pressure more so than putting creatures on the field, that can come later as those types of decks have a tougher time rebuilding the board post wipe as they often commit most of their hand to the field by then.
In general: What would be a good sideboard list right now?
BRG Living End BRG
G Hardened Scales Affinity G
if you are going blind most likely it will feature:
3-4 ricochet trap
2-3 ingot chewer
1-2 shriekmaw
0-3 blood moon
3 anti burn stuff (brindle boar, kitchen finks, leyline of sanctity etc)
anti graveyard stuff (faerie macabre, leyline of the void, ravenous trap)
anti combo stuff (lost legacy or slaughter games)
personally i think we can bench anti combo stuff until the meta settles, most player will be playing either control decks or bbe decks in a few weeks.
4 Fulminator Mage
4 Simian Spirit Guide
2 Architects of Will
3 Deadshot Minotaur
4 Monstrous Carabid
4 Street Wraith
4 Desert Cerodon
1 Pale Recluse
1 wisted Abomination
1 Jungle Weaver
Spells (13)
3 Living End
3 Beast Within
3 Demonic Dread
4 Violent Outburst
1 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Blooming Marsh
2 Copperline Gorge
1 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
2 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
3 Wooded Foothills
3 Brindle Boar
2 Faerie Macabre
3 Ricochet Trap
2 Slaughter Games
3 Ingot Chewer
2 Shriekmaw
I saw William Northrup running and old list and felt like I would try it out. I went 3-1 and lost to Burn, but won against Affinity, U-Tron and Ad Nauseam. Burn was rough, went 1-2 and Boar was all star. The only highlight was when I casted Living End, brought back the creatures in the graveyard and used the turn after Demonic Dread to deny Monastery Swiftspear to block my creature for lethal attack Tron was pretty easy with Beast Within and Fulminator Mage, so 2-0. Ad Nauseam was fun also with land destruction. It felt good!
Aggro: Naya Burn RWG
Combo: Scapeshift RG
Control: Jeskai Control UWR
Legacy
Control: Miracles UW
Aggro: Burn R
I had a really great night at my LGS last night. Went 4-0, and won every round in two. I'll do a quick rundown rather than a full write-up.
I'm running a pretty standard list with what may or may not be considered some exceptions.
-I've gone up to 4x Faerie Macabre MB and haven't looked back since.
They over perform all the time. An absolutely amazing card. When they're not applicable my other SB cards usually are, which makes SBing really easy. 4x Faeries out, 4x something else (like Shriekmaw) in.
-I went down to 7x cascade spells (like the old lists) and have not regretted it one bit.
-I've been running Kessig Wolf Run and am extremely glad y'all convinced me to. I did have to mulligan a hand last night because my only land was Kessig instead of a R or Bproducer which would have made the hand just fine. I had plenty of cyclers in it. Apart from this the card was a house. The trample was applicable, the instant speed extra point or two of damage won me games, and there were a couple of times when I was just praying I could draw one because it seal the deal. It's great with the Faerie too.
-I'm running one Grove of the Burnwillows but would like to acquire another because I don't think I've ever been sad to see it other than times when I would be sad to see any land off the top. I like it WAY more than I thought I would.
-I've been testing out a singleton Kolaghan's Command MB per y'all's suggestion and I've been pretty happy with it. I haven't had any scenarios where it was just a blow-out draw, but it does have some great utility. It did help me end a close game where an opponent went down to 2 life because they weren't expecting any burn from a LE player.
I've recently changed my SB to match what I've been seeing at my LGS and it performed very well last night. Right now I am running:
3x Ingot Chewer
2x Ricochet Trap
2x Anger of the Gods
2x Blood Moon
1x Krosan Grip
1x Boil
-I don't like Shriekmaw in the MB, but when he's good he's amazing. He often shines where Macabre doesn't, so that's an easy swap game-two.
-I never seemed to have room for the 3rd Ricochet Trap when SBing, so I went down to two.
-Sometimes I'm not ready to LE but I need a board cleared NOW. Anger has filled this role well. There's enough Humans, Mardu Pyromancer, Elves, etc. in my local meta to warrant two.
-Krosan Grip is so much better than I used to think. I have destroyed a disproportionate number of Relic of Progenitus and Nihil Spellbombs before my opponent could sac them. I'd like to find a second slot for another of this amazing catch-all.
-I'm not sure if Boil is cute and a little good or just absolutely amazing. My first and most effective strategy against control is keeping their land-count down. After using Beast Within and Fulminator Mage to work towards this end and then dropping a Boil it's usually straight up game over. Even better than that is when I get to use it on a Scapeshift player who brings in Prismatic Omen. So far I've a gotten to do that on two occasions and it's an amazing feeling, especially when they're probably going to kill you the next turn.
-I'm thinking I may want a 4th Fulminator Mage in the SB moving forward. Haven't decided for sure yet.
Last night's MU's:
Round 1 (2-0):
MonoW Hatebears
Game 1: Managed to play through a Thalia, Guardian of Thraben for the win.
Game 2: Shriekmaw and AotG were way too much for him.
Round 2 (2-0):
Mardu Pyromancer
Game 1: A very close game. Had to suspend LE and survive his clock long enough for it to go off. Macabre was ESSENTIAL.
Game 2: Another very close game. EXTREMELY grindy. Jund LE did what it can do extremely well, which, funny enough, most people don't realize it can do: GRIND. I was hardcasting dudes, hitting him with those Macabre/Kessig beats, and suspending LE. A very enjoyable game. This is what modern should be, IMO. Blue LE looks cool, but I'm certain it can't grind like Jund LE can. This deck is so resilient.
Round 3 (2-0):
Esper DS
I don't really remember these games enough to talk about them. I remember Macabre being important. Anyway, got the round in two.
Round 4 (2-0:
Jeskai Control
I don't remember the games enough to give much of a report, other than the fact that I beat the deck the usual way. Land destruction, land destruction, land destruction, cast Beast Within/Violent Outburst at their Eot, go off my next turn. I kept them off Supreme Verdict the whole time, which was important because I wasn't ever able to get a cascade off on their Eot. They always had a main phase before I had a chance to swing.
I was pretty pleased, to say the least. Everyone at my LGS has been practicing all week for a big tournament in Fort Worth, so I've been getting a lot of games in because they all wanted at least some LE practice and I'm the only LE player there. So last night I also got three practice rounds in against a Humans player and a GR Tron player.
Practice Round 1 (0-2):
Humans
I just could not get through all the Thalias, Meddling Mages, Kitesail Freebooters, and Phantasmal Images. They kept me down both games long enough for his critters to get in there for lethal. He got it in two. The second practice round I played against him was a different story.
Practice Round 2 (2-0):
Humans
Game 1: I had to cascade early with only two creatures in the yard, but it was enough. He couldn't come back from the board wipe and my two fatties got in there for lethal.
Game 2: I drew two Ingot Chewers for his Aether Vial and Ethersworn Canonist, and two Shriekmaws for his two Thalias. He didn't stand a chance.
Practice Round 3 (1-2):
GR Tron
I was bummed about this one. All three games were close, but as much as I did to destroy his lands and fight off his Relics, it wasn't enough. I couldn't finish him off fast enough, and you know what Tron does when the game goes on too long. Oh well. It happens.
Fun Night. Oh, one last thing. Archfiend of Ifnir is a house and is our best hardcast. I would never go below one.
BRGJUNDGRB---BRHOLLOW ONERB---BGELVESGB---BRGLIVING ENDGRB---GWBOGLESWG
EDH:
BRGKARRTHUS, TYRANT OF JUNDGRB
Also, do we need Fulminator Mage number four now if the meta shifts to more control and three-color midrange decks? Are two Blood Moons and three Fulminator Mages enough?
BRGJUNDGRB---BRHOLLOW ONERB---BGELVESGB---BRGLIVING ENDGRB---GWBOGLESWG
EDH:
BRGKARRTHUS, TYRANT OF JUNDGRB
18 land and 3 SSG is somewhat brave though, as is 3 main deck faeries unless you really know the meta.
Http://www.fantasticneighborhood.com/
Comedy gaming podcast. Listening to it makes you cool.
I like brindle boar more because i can actually play it if i draw it after opening hand. Also have had games where opponent brought in wear//tear or destructive revelry and i just set them back one turn.
I feel that shriekmaw, ingot chewer, and ricochet trap really need no explanation. Brindle Boar explained above. Avalanche riders were for all the tron and control players (DFW area has a lot of them). Jund Charm is mostly used for other graveyard decks or as an instant speed pyroclasm against say dredge or affinity.
I have always found faeries to be more useful in main rather than sideboard. I would of probably lost to the mill player game 1 when he surgical extractioned the living end he milled except for the fact that i had faerie macabre in hand. They were also very useful in the mono green aggro game to stop his vengevine and strangleroot geist and in the affinity game when he got arcbound ravager out both games. I lost round 8 against the Tron player because i sided out the faeries as i had no way to death with his thragtusk or wurmcoil engine game 2 (Him having turn 1 Relic of Progenitus both games didn't help either).
Http://www.fantasticneighborhood.com/
Comedy gaming podcast. Listening to it makes you cool.