HolyShamgar was playing a one of Archfiend in the main. I have also questioned the low number of cycle creatures relative to traditional living end. I suppose the idea is to lean on your cycleing counterspells (remand/cryptic) and ancestrals to draw you into them. I have noticed in testing when you are going off chaining ancestrals you don't generally end up lacking in cyclers. Infact I've found it's not uncommon to discard one or two throughout the game to hand size.
The deck functions similarly to the older versions of Living End. The primary objective is to cycle a bunch of 1 mana cycling creatures in the first couple of turns and then drop As Foretold on turn three and cast Living End. This moves your previously cycled creatures from your graveyard to the battlefield while putting any creatures your opponent has played in the initial turns into their graveyard.
The secondary objective is to control the game with counter magic and draw extra cards by casting Ancestral Vision with As Foretold.
The core strength of the deck is that it can be extremely explosive while also having counter magic based interaction to draw out the game if necessary and it also takes advantage of the relatively sparse amount of enchantment hate in the modern format.
The central weakness of the deck is that it's primary strategy relies on the graveyard so is therefore susceptible to graveyard hate, however keep in mind Living End manages to dodge Grafdigger's Cage. Also drawing tons of cards with Ancestral Vision and casting Curator of Mysteries to beat down while holding counter magic backup is often effective to close out games through graveyard hate.
-------------------------------------------------
Here is 1310hazzzard's original mono blue 5-0 competitive list that Saffron Olive played on stream:
It's been performing well and is a blast to play. I've added white to improve my sideboard (making Leyline of Sanctity castable among other things) and in order to include Path to Exile for early creature interaction that exiles so I don't put creatures in my opponents graveyard (see also Condemn in the sideboard). Let me know what you think, cheers.
---------------------
List updates:
Most recent list from 1310hazzzard - 16th Dec 2017:
I've tried courier and thought it was pretty excellent, after testing courier a bit i thought of beserker as well, but they both suffer from the fact they don't hit for much in comparison to other hasty 1drops (guide, swiftspear etc). this meant that i found i was leaning more on the vengevine plan and not so much able to put together plan b of beating down quickly like a burn deck. Considering that I decided to test the Mardu brew i posted above that leans heavily on vengevine plan but has Death's Shadow as secondary plan which I've found more stand alone than burn style beatdowns. I'm pretty rubbish at death's shadow though, because i always struggle keeping my life in a proper balance, but i think the list is fundamentally solid.
Smuggler's Copter is there to be paired with lingering souls tokens and the occasional shambling vent if card selection/advantage (of which there is almost none in the deck) or evasion is needed. As a one of I'm not to worried but I could see cutting it if something better comes up.
Anguished Unmaking over path is necessary I think as an emergency out if running Demonic Pact. In aggro matchups I'm leaning pretty heavily on Wrath of God and Fatal Push but in combination with Gideon and lingersing souls to sudo 'fog' the board it has seemed to be enough. Could see going up to 4x Wrath and cutting the Copter maybe?
Demonic Pact is the reason to skew the deck in the way I have. I agree it has weaknesses and it might not prove to be worth it, but without it it would just be a different deck.
Dark Confidant I think is a bit of a hard sell with the main deck Wrath of gods but perhaps if the wrath were moved to the board and more spot removal was in the main deck i could see confidant as being really good (much needed card advantage).
Bitterblossom is an interesting idea, again kinda a nonbo with the wraths but having a couple main would mean having more blockers and could justify bringing the Smuggler's Copter count to 2?
apostle's blessing seeming interesting too, no need to worry about push (or terminate etc) v Gideon because of indestructible but against decks running path I could see bringing it in. Although you can kind of just play around path by never making Gideon a creature, or at least until you strip path from their hand with disruption.
7th Place @ SCG Modern Classic Atlanta
Apr 30, 2017
Archetype: W/R Prison by Dariusz Szylman
Came to post this. This matches pretty closely with my draft list on Page 57 (no Ajani; adding new Gideon). Cast Out made the list; which the more I think on (and the more I draft Amonkhet) the more I think it is a good fit.
I'm leaning towards moving the leylines back to the sideboard, and shifting into Cast Out. I'll be able to run new Gideon at FNM this coming Friday.
I'm particularly facinated by Boil in the sideboard. Maybe this is the solution to merfolk as we were discussing? also the choice of rest in peace despite the Emrakul nahiri discard non-bo. i've moved my Laylines to the side since DSJ seems to be a little less played at the moment in my meta. anyone else finding this?
------------------
The deck functions similarly to the older versions of Living End. The primary objective is to cycle a bunch of 1 mana cycling creatures in the first couple of turns and then drop As Foretold on turn three and cast Living End. This moves your previously cycled creatures from your graveyard to the battlefield while putting any creatures your opponent has played in the initial turns into their graveyard.
The secondary objective is to control the game with counter magic and draw extra cards by casting Ancestral Vision with As Foretold.
The reason this interaction works is because both Ancestral Vision and Living End have CMCs of 0 which means that you are able to cast them from hand through As Foretold as soon as it comes down and for subsequent turns. The other key interaction to keep in mind with this deck is the ability to tutor for any 0 CMC card by transmuting Tolaria West. This means you can fetch up cards like Living End, Ancestral Vision, Bojuka Bog, Ghost Quarter, Field of Ruin or Engineered Explosives whenever you need them most.
The core strength of the deck is that it can be extremely explosive while also having counter magic based interaction to draw out the game if necessary and it also takes advantage of the relatively sparse amount of enchantment hate in the modern format.
The central weakness of the deck is that it's primary strategy relies on the graveyard so is therefore susceptible to graveyard hate, however keep in mind Living End manages to dodge Grafdigger's Cage. Also drawing tons of cards with Ancestral Vision and casting Curator of Mysteries to beat down while holding counter magic backup is often effective to close out games through graveyard hate.
-------------------------------------------------
Here is 1310hazzzard's original mono blue 5-0 competitive list that Saffron Olive played on stream:
(1310hazzzard Twitch channel - https://www.twitch.tv/1310hazzzard)
(MTG Goldfish Twitch video - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/207586827)
3 Architects of Will
4 Curator of Mysteries
1 Drift of Phantasms
3 Street Wraith
4 Striped Riverwinder
Spells
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Living End
3 Cryptic Command
2 Disallow
3 Mana Leak
4 Remand
4 As Foretold
Lands
4 Field of Ruin
1 Ghost Quarter
12 Island
4 Tolaria West
3 Dismember
2 Dispel
2 Hurkyl's Recall
4 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Leyline of the Void
This is the latest (as of this post) list that HolyShamgar has been streaming online and tuning as he goes:
(HolyShamgar's twitch link with other iterations- https://www.twitch.tv/holyshamgar/videos/all)
3 Architects of Will
4 Curator of Mysteries
1 Archfiend of Ifnir
4 Street Wraith
4 Striped Riverwinder
Spells
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Living End
3 Cryptic Command
4 Remand
4 As Foretold
Artifacts
4 Chalice of the Void
Lands
2 Field of Ruin
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Gemstone Caverns
2 Darkslick Shores
3 River of Tears
8 Island
4 Tolaria West
1 Negate
1 Restore Balance
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Echoing Truth
2 Commandeer
2 Disdainful stroke
3 Faerie Macabre
3 Leyline of Sanctity
And this is my list I've put together and been testing:
3 Architects of Will
4 Curator of Mysteries
4 Street Wraith
4 Striped Riverwinder
Spells
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Living End
4 Path to Exile
3 Remand
2 Cryptic Command
Enchantments
2 Search for Azcanta
4 As Foretold
1 Engineered Explosives
Lands
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Bojuka Bog
4 Tolaria West
4 Flooded Strand
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Celestial Colonnade
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Seachrome Coast
2 Island
1 Plains
2 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Disenchant
2 Condemn
2 Stony Silence
3 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Faerie Macabre
It's been performing well and is a blast to play. I've added white to improve my sideboard (making Leyline of Sanctity castable among other things) and in order to include Path to Exile for early creature interaction that exiles so I don't put creatures in my opponents graveyard (see also Condemn in the sideboard). Let me know what you think, cheers.
---------------------
List updates:
Most recent list from 1310hazzzard - 16th Dec 2017:
4 Tolaria West
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Polluted Delta
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Steam Vents
1 Mountain
8 Island
Spells
4 Living End
4 Ancestral Vision
4 As Foretold
4 Remand
4 Cryptic Command
3 Blood Moon
1 Disallow
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Curator of Mysteries
4 Striped Riverwinder
3 Street Wraith
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Dispel
3 Madcap Experiment
2 Platinum Emperion
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Nimble Obstructionist
Recent (6-1) 10th place list from Kombo11408 for Modern Challenge #11063097 - 23rd Dec 2017:
2 Architects of Will
4 Curator of Mysteries
4 Street Wraith
4 Striped Riverwinder
Spells
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Living End
2 Serum Visions
4 Cryptic Command
4 Remand
2 Supreme Will
4 As Foretold
2 Search for Azcanta
1 Bojuka Bog
3 Field of Ruin
1 Ghost Quarter
9 Island
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Sunken Ruins
4 Tolaria West
3 Dismember
2 Dispel
2 Hurkyl's Recall
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Nimble Obstructionist
1 Tormod's Crypt
Competitive Modern League Jan 6th 2018, (5-0) - urzatheplaneswalker
3 Architects of Will
4 Curator of Mysteries
1 Nimble Obstructionist
3 Street Wraith
4 Striped Riverwinder
Spells
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Living End
4 Cryptic Command
4 Remand
2 Spell Pierce
4 As Foretold
1 Search for Azcanta
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Darkslick Shores
2 Field of Ruin
1 Ghost Quarter
10 Island
2 River of Tears
1 Sunken Ruins
4 Tolaria West
1 Nimble Obstructionist
1 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Collective Brutality
2 Dismember
1 Dispel
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Leyline of the Void
UW version placed top 32 at Modern MOCS - Jan 7th 2018 - Erus
4 Curator of Mysteries
1 Nimble Obstructionist
3 Street Wraith
4 Striped Riverwinder
Spells
4 Ancestral Vision
4 As Foretold
4 Cryptic Command
4 Living End
3 Path to Exile
4 Remand
1 Spell Pierce
3 Spell Snare
1 Bojuka Bog
3 Field of Ruin
4 Flooded Strand
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
1 Plains
4 Seachrome Coast
1 Snow-Covered Island
3 Tolaria West
2 Condemn
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Dispel
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Pact of Negation
1 Path to Exile
2 Stony Silence
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Tormod's Crypt
MKM Series Rome - Modern Main Event - 192 players - Mar 17th 2018
3rd place Ub Living End - Lorenzo Farotti
2 Bojuka Bog
1 Drowned Catacomb
3 Field of Ruin
8 Island
1 Sunken Ruins
4 Tolaria West
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Creatures
4 Curator of Mysteries
2 Nimble Obstructionist
4 Street Wraith
4 Striped Riverwinder
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Censor
4 Cryptic Command
4 Living End
4 Remand
2 Spell Snare
4 As Foretold
3 Ceremonious Rejection
3 Collective Brutality
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Swan Song
1 Tormod's Crypt
Competitive Modern League 22nd Jan 2019, (5-0) - UR Electro End by TSPJendrek
1 Architects of Will
4 Curator of Mysteries
1 Deadshot Minotaur
4 Desert Cerodon
2 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
4 Striped Riverwinder
Spells
4 Ancestral Vision
3 Living End
1 Abrade
3 Cryptic Command
4 Electrodominance
2 Lightning Bolt
4 Remand
1 Tormod's Crypt
3 As Foretold
2 Cascade Bluffs
2 Island
2 Mountain
1 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Spirebluff Canal
2 Steam Vents
2 Tolaria West
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Dispel
3 Dragon's Claw
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Negate
2 Surgical Extraction
----------------------------------------
Living Dominance by twinlesstwin
Competitive Modern League 2019-01-29, (5-0)
Format: Modern
Jan 29, 2019
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1618013#paper
Goryo's Vengence by Tom Medvec
Star City Games Modern Classic Baltimore, 11th Place
Format: Modern
Feb 03, 2019
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1631350#paper
Living Dominance by Hayseed
Competitive Modern League 2019-02-05, (5-0)
Format: Modern
Feb 05, 2019
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1635680#paper
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/phoenix-combo/
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/730755#paper
4 Vengevine
4 Death's Shadow
4 Hollow One
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Street Wraith
3 Gurmag Angler
Instant/Sorcery
4 Faithless Looting
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Thoughtseize
4 Lingering Souls
3 Path to Exile
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Arid Mesa
3 Marsh Flats
2 Blood Crypt
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Godless Shrine
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Ingot Chewer
2 Stony Silence
2 Anguished Unmaking
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Collective Brutality
2 Painful Truths
1 Path to Exile
What do you guys think of it's inclusion? https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/663475#paper
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Devoted Druid
2 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Eternal Witness
1 Fiend Hunter
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Noble Hierarch
2 Tireless Tracker
4 Vizier of Remedies
1 Walking Ballista
4 Chord of Calling
4 Collected Company
4 Commune with Nature
Lands
3 Forest
2 Gavony Township
4 Horizon Canopy
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
4 Razorverge Thicket
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Kor Firewalker
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
4 Path to Exile
2 Qasali Pridemage
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Selfless Spirit
Anguished Unmaking over path is necessary I think as an emergency out if running Demonic Pact. In aggro matchups I'm leaning pretty heavily on Wrath of God and Fatal Push but in combination with Gideon and lingersing souls to sudo 'fog' the board it has seemed to be enough. Could see going up to 4x Wrath and cutting the Copter maybe?
Rest in Peace is a great hoser but diminishes lingering souls. Would definitely see including it in the 75 though if the meta calls for it. At the moment I've been liking Surgical Extraction especially in combination with thoughtseize, Inqusition of kozilek and fulminator mage/Ghost quarter. Also perhaps Nihil Spellbomb could be good.
Demonic Pact is the reason to skew the deck in the way I have. I agree it has weaknesses and it might not prove to be worth it, but without it it would just be a different deck.
Dark Confidant I think is a bit of a hard sell with the main deck Wrath of gods but perhaps if the wrath were moved to the board and more spot removal was in the main deck i could see confidant as being really good (much needed card advantage).
Bitterblossom is an interesting idea, again kinda a nonbo with the wraths but having a couple main would mean having more blockers and could justify bringing the Smuggler's Copter count to 2?
apostle's blessing seeming interesting too, no need to worry about push (or terminate etc) v Gideon because of indestructible but against decks running path I could see bringing it in. Although you can kind of just play around path by never making Gideon a creature, or at least until you strip path from their hand with disruption.
Thanks for the feedback.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/deck-creation-modern/775938-bw-demonic-gideon
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/against-the-odds-gideon-tribal-modern
4 Gideon of the Trials
3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Gideon Jura
Enchantments (3)
3 Demonic Pact
Artifacts (3)
2 Heart of Kiran
1 Smuggler's Copter
Instants (6)
4 Fatal Push
2 Anguished Unmaking
Sorcery (14)
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
4 Lingering Souls
3 Wrath of God
4 Marsh Flats
4 Godless Shrine
4 Shambling Vent
2 Concealed Courtyard
2 Isolated Chapel
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Vault of the Archangel
3 Swamp
3 Plains
3 Fulminator Mage
3 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Stony Silence
1 Gideon's Intervention
2 Path to Exile
3 Surgical Extraction
I'm particularly facinated by Boil in the sideboard. Maybe this is the solution to merfolk as we were discussing? also the choice of rest in peace despite the Emrakul nahiri discard non-bo. i've moved my Laylines to the side since DSJ seems to be a little less played at the moment in my meta. anyone else finding this?
7th Place @ SCG Modern Classic Atlanta
Apr 30, 2017
Archetype: W/R Prison by Dariusz Szylman