19 lands instead of 18, which means putting one Faerie Macabre elsewhere, but where exactly?
Krosan Grip or 3rd Beast Within in Side?
3 Ingot Chewers or 3 Shriekmaw( leaning toward more Shriekmaws, I believe I'll see at least one Humans decks. Affinity, I'm not so sure. and Shriekmaw covers more decks. But I've never see a list with only two Ingot Chewers and there may be a reason for that.)
Do not hesitate to share what you think of it and all that, that's my first very big Modern Tournament!
Just played a game against Traverse Shadow, kept a hand with faerie and Living End post side, the guy played t2 Inquisition, discard my LE, and then Thoughtseize and Surgical extraction. That was a pretty feel bad moment.
Here are two Jedi shenanigans that I learned while playing Living End. I suppose most of you already know them but Iùll post them for other new players because the second one is not obvious.
Look at what you reveal in your cascade spell.
Of course if you only reveal 2 cards that doesn't count, but when you reveal a ton of cards, you can guess what are the cards that are still on the top of your deck. Cascading 40 cards for the first cascade spell while having all 3 Living Ends in the deck tells you that you may want to crack a fetch fast because you're likely to draw another Living End soon. It's even better post sideboard because you know if your SB cards are on the top of your library or not.
Shriekmaw and Violent Outburst Shenanigan.
If you have 5 Mana, a Shriekmaw and a Violent Outburst, you can play Shriekmaw, put the sacrifice trigger on top of the ETB trigger; Let the sacrifice Trigger resolve, then play Violent Outburst(And Living End) before the ETB trigger resolves. Of course this one will fizzle but you will resurrect your graveyard with the Shriekmaw in it and get a new Shriekmaw ETB trigger that will allow you to get rid of a creature on the opponent's side. This is really cornercase but I snatched two wins with this so I share the trick here.
Thanks for your knowledge of the deck, it really helps!
Quick Question : Isn't Damping Matrix a good answer against Affinity and Lantern? can be played t2 with SSG and any lands and it's basically a stony silence. The only problem I see is that it also turns off Fulminator Mage.But It also works against some lower tiers decks ( bant knightfall, Eldrazi Displacer, OOze, Clues, shuts off Oblivion Stone and of course TRON artifacts, a lot of elves non-mana abilities (not that we care), Sakura-Tribe Elder , Relic of Progenitus, etc.)
The fact that it shuts off Fulminator is bad, but it also has a broad range of decks it's affecting. Has anyone tried it at one point?
Some people from my LGS landed me some Leylines and Blood Moon for the GP Lyon. This way, I'm sure to have access to all the cards I may want and I'll have access to all the cards I need. ALl I need to do is buy a Kolaghan's command in Lyon for me. Speaking of which, I tried it and indeed it is never useless. It saved me from Burn by killing a Goblin Guide + discarding a Bolt from my opp hand, and is useful in pretty much any situation. It makes me even wonder if it would not be useful to have a second one in the Sideboard, seeing how flexible it is.
I'll be waiting for the results of GP Toronto to ask you what you think of the general Modern orientation for a LE side. While Waiting, I'll continue training against pretty much every Modern deck
I wonder about Leyline of Sanctity in the SB. The good thing is, I can't even think about it because I don't have the budget for 4 of those so whatever. But it is the only real Sideboard card against Burn and Storm that does wonders. Anyway, I like the list even if 2 Beast Withins is low.
NullMage Sheperd is Magical Christmas Land. You basically need to have it in the yard and resurrect 4 other creatures or play it and 4 other creatures, have it not being exiled, and obviously have it not blocked by one of those 3 pithing needles ( that can be tutored at instant speed). There's no way that it could be better than Ingot Chewer, Krosan Grip and potentially Shatterstorm if you want something good against Lantern. Shatterstorm has the advantage of not being discarded by inquisition and is very funny aginst Affinity, if you're not already dead when you can cast it.
Testing more and more with 19 lands and really considering to let down one of my two archfiends for it. I love Archfiend but you don't have that much use for two in the GY, so the second one just improves your chances of drawing it. In the end, it's either 1 Archfiend/1 SHriekmaw MB or 2 Archfiends MN and the Shriekmaws in the SB
Raymond Detiveaux was not on Day 2 of the Pro Tour, neither was he actually in this Pro Tour at all. Cristian Ortiz Ros who came 2 in Gp Copenhagen was also not there, so it's someone else.
It's a rather straightforward simulator so the numbers are not the whole truth. As said in it, it does not consider the color requirements nor the lands you need to cycle for obtaining the t3 cascade. Do not expect a perfect truth from this.
I also really hesitate about 18 and 19. I don't have as much experience as you but clearly, playing with 18 lands presents risks of being short on mana. I recall a lot of games where I was mana screwed while playing with 18 lands. Less when I was playing with 19. Of course I wouldn't go up to 20 even though that was what the guy who arrived in the oklahoma top 8 did. But seeing how he played against Valakut I don't know if it is a good reference.
I first wanted to use a HyperGeometric calculator and show you the results, but after starting it I realized It would be much more complicated than anticipated.
What I can do though if you're interested, and I'll do it for myself anyway because I'm curious, is creating an Excel Table showing you the chances of :
*Having a starting hand with X lands or more but also Y lands or less ( 2,3 or 4 lands for example)
*Knowing the odds of having three lands and a cascade spell on turn three depending on the number of cyclers and if you consider SSG as a land or not.
*Basically any other thing you may be interested in.
Excel is basically my job so I'm pretty confident in being able to do it and make it easy to use. Tell me if there are some maths you may want to know.
Hey guys, sincere question here : How much do you think it is reasonable to plan for a meta for a GP or a very big tournament? I see all of you changing bits of your decks for each big tournament and in other pro articles I see people telling not to plan for meta because Modern is too diverse for that. Though I am 100% for planning for a LGS-size meta, I must admit than after seeing the plethora of different decks you play against in each of your reports, I wonder how much impactful can those little changes make. Again, this is not a negative remark on your decklists, I have been playing Magic for much less time than you do so I'm just asking the question, especially because I've been preparing for GP Lyon for a few months and wonder if I'll change my deck depending on the potential meta or not (which will be decided by PT RIX and GP Toronto very soon).
I will try Kessig Wolf Run after seeing that victory you got with it, never thought about using it. Same for Boil instead of a third Blood Moon.
Ken, if I may ask, how do you feel about your 1-ofs sideboard? For sure we draw a lot of cards, but do you feel the risk of not drawing your unique piece outweighs the number of options? I really have some trouble having 1-ofs unless they're split with the MB or have another near-similar card in the SB (Blood Moon / Boil, Ingot Chewer/ Krosan Grip, Lost Legacy / Slaughter Games).For this reason, kodieyost's kind of sideboard seems safer to me. Your experience on the subject may bring some new light on the matter.
Thanks in advance for your answers, I'll keep prepping for the GP!
I think your judgment is pretty harsh on Land Destruction : For each of the Matchups you talk about, other than Dredge , I've always won multiple games against them because of repetitive fulmi mages and beast withins. I could take all the MU you talk about and explain how land destruction is great against them (again, other than Dredge. I deeply believe LD is useless against them). I wouldn't play 4 Beast within either way but for consistency reasons.
As for the Archfiend, the more I play with and without it for testing, The less I really know how I feel about it. Sometimes it is crazy good and sometimes horribly bad.
What I believe is lacking here is a real deep analysis on the upsides and downsides of each possibilities that we have in those 4-6 flex slots. My feeling is, whatever we take, the deck will still be good because we're talking about 10% of the cards. But on the other way, as any spike wants to do, it is all about that tiny little edges we can grab. Therefore Here I will try to analyze and understand each upside and downside of what I believe are the 4 different cards that fit in these slots.
[u]Introduction to the analysis[/u]
I do not believe I have here the truth, neither do I believe that everything I write is 100% correct. I will forget some details and maybe write stupid things but I will update this post depending on your different answers and additions.
The goal of this analysis is to show the differences between four cards that are put in main board in the living end and that are often different in the decks. These cards are the most flexible slots and because people believe different things about different cards, it is a good idea to put all of that here to compare.
Note that Obviously, you can split your flexible spots between 2 or 3 different cards. You don't have to play 4 shriekmaws, 4 faerie macabre or 4 archfiends. but you also can do that If you want to.
Your opponent can't get rid of the LE in your graveyard if you have a faerie macabre in hand.
[u]Can be cast for 3cmc[/u]
This is especially relevant against control decks or decks without creatures when you have a Demonic Dread in hand. Happens more often that you'd think.
Rarely relevant, but I won games thanks to that possibility.
[u]Downsides(From greatest to least important)[/u]
[u]Doesn't cycle[/u]
This is by far the most annoying downside. I can't remember how any times I ended up drawing Faerie when I wish I could cycle that card to dig further into the deck.
[u]Small body[/u]
Okay it flies but that's a 2/2. Every other possibility here has a bigger body.
[u]Good against unaware opponents, less against those who anticipate it.[/u]
The surprise component of Faerie macabre is really important.
[u]General Conclusion[/u] Faerie macabre is a good card but has a body that is not that relevant. The amazing upside is the huge number of shenanigans you can do with it, from saving yourself from a surgical to removing past in flames from an opponent's storm deck. Note that if you play Leyline of the Void in the Sideboard, you may not want to play Faerie Macabre for obvious reasons.
the fact that archfiend flies is the main reason why it's played. Having a good creature with evasion really does wonders. It cuts the path to opponent's evasion (Mantis Rider) and can pass through opponent's board when they manage to put opposition post LE( Happens often if you use Demonic Dread)
[u]Very good ability[/u]
You can remove blockers easily by cycling multiple creatures, which clears the path to victory. Sometimes it is irrelevant but from my observations, after Resolving an LE thanks to Demonic Dread, this ability is quite useful. Better after Demonic Dread than Violent Outburst for sure.
[u]Amazing when hardcasted[/u]
For me, this is the main reason why I like Archfiend. Though hardcasting creatures should not be your priority at all, it does happen, and a giant flying body that clears the opponent's side is huge. That's why I would recommand playing more lands(19-20) if you have Archfiend in your deck, because you must face the possibility of having to hardcast it on turn 5-6 if you're unlucky or against a very controlling matchup.
[u]Cycles for colorless mana.[/u]
Of course the cost of 2 is a huge downside but hey, you can use your forest!
[u]Downsides(From greatest to least important)[/u]
[u]2 cycling[/u]
Here we are, the only reason why there is division about this card. It is a real downside, and for one good reason : what do you prefer between cycling paying two, binning two creatures and drawing two cards, or paying two, binning one creature, and drawing one card?
I believe this argument is valid, but has also flaws. For example, how many times will you really be able to cycle two creatures instead of one? and above that, we already play all the good 1 mana cycling creature, so what are the other cycling options? Architects of Will and Deadshot minotaur. I really don't like Deadshot because his ETB trigger happens so rarely and even kills your faeries, but Architects is a real option. So ask yourself: what would you prefer between cycling two architects or one archfiend? this is harder for me to answer and I don't know if there is one good answer to it.
If you use this slot for a non cycling option, then you must consider the fact that Archfiends lets you draw. If you compare it with Shriekmaw for example, you don't draw a card but kill a creature for the same cost in the end. Think about how many times you would prefer one option to the other, and you already have a lead about which option to take. Don't forget that you can also have 2 Archfiends AND 2 Shriekmaws for example.
[u]General Conclusion[/u]
the 2 cycling cost is a real downside but the upsides are also very good. from what I have been able to observe, Archfiend is good if you LE with Demonic Dread (removing the creatures your opponent may play on his turn before you can attack) and when hardcasted. When using violent outburst, it deals 5 damage, which is less than 6 with two architects for example.
May it be because your opponent is controlling a threatening fast creature(Goblin Guide), a creature that will win him the game if not answered( Baral, Chief of Compliance, Primeval Titan) or a creature that locks you from playing your Living End (Meddling Mage, Eidolon of Rethoric, Thalia Guardian of Thraben), Shriekmaw is a perfect 2cmc answer to these. For these reasons, it is sometimes a good MB card and overall a good SB card anyway. The fact that it can kill the same creature again after the Living End is what makes it really good.
[u]It has Evasion[/u]
Which means that your opponent can't wallbrick him nor kill him when you attack with it most of the times.
Cascading into LE then killing a blocker the next turn with a shriekmaw you have in hand for the victory is a valid strategy.
[u]with 5 mana, you can cast shriekmaw with evoke, put his sacrifice trigger first, let him die, then cast violent outburst to basically kill a card in the opponent's graveyard without having to use shriekmaw on the same target twice[u]
that's a funny shenanigan that doesn't appear that much but it can really steal games.
[u]Downsides(From greatest to least important)[/u]
[u]It doesn't cycle[/u]
This means that playing shriekmaw over a cyclers diminishes the consistency of finding a cascade spell. It is up to you to decide whether the upside is worth it or not.
[u]It is useless against some matchups[u]
Of course, any low creature deck, but also : Affinity, Original Tron, Death Shadow, any black creature, etc. it feels bad to have a useless shriekmaw in your hand. Think a lot about your meta before putting this card in your mainboard. Then, again, it is always good to have some in your sideboard.
[u]It only attacks for 3[u]
But At least it has evasion, which is a real upside.
[u]General Conclusion[/u] shriekmaw is always good in the sideboard, and really a meta call above anything else in your mainboard. look at your LGS, what people play in your FNM, or what you think the metagame will be in the next GP, because against the matchup when it does nothing, for sure every other option here is better.
Really, that's the only reason it is on this list while Archfiend of ifnir also is. 1 mana cycling is the bread and buter of Living End, so the more you have, the more consistent your deck is at cascading into LE.
[u]It manipulates your draws or your opponents'[/u]
this really depends on the opponent's deck, but against UW control or decks with damnation, being able to prevent your opponent from drawing Damnation or Supreme Verdict is the difference between win and loss. also, post sideboard you can try to grab your answers with this capacity.
[u]Downsides(From greatest to least important)[/u]
[u]bad body[/u]
when you cycle 6/4 cerodons for 1 mana, this sure looks like a weakling. it dies to bolt and to triggered fatal push.
[u]You can't hardcast it[u]
Of course, it is really the last card you would like to hardcast, but sometimes you need a blocker to survivre one more turn or because you need a target for Demonic Dread, and architects sure does not help you do that.
[u]General Conclusion[/u]
I like architects for its cool ETB ability, and I dislike it a lot for its easy-to-kill body and the fact that you can't cast it. Nevertheless, it cycles for 1, and that's important.
I hate the fact that it can kill your faeries and that it only has 3 attack, but it is the only creature that cycles for green and it can be hardcasted when architects of will cannot.
If you like destorying lands every time, sure, you can go up to 12 Land Destruction cards with this. but it is very slow and modern has some very fast decks. Avalanche rider will do nothing against most decks that will already have played their threats before you can slam that Rider on the battlefield.
It cycles for one mana and can be hardcasted, hits for 4, but that 2 endurance is... bad.
[u]General General Conclusion[/u]
From what we can see here, shriekmaw and, to some extent, faerie macabre are meta calls when in the main board. they will always, however, be good sideboard cards. On the other hand, Archfiend and Architects give your more consistency but do nothing outside of participating in your next Living End. The choice is completely up to you to put those cards how you want in your decks. I can't give you the perfect answer but at least I tried to give you the reasons for putting or leaving each of those cards!
Hope that did help you!
EDIT : I don't know why my html doesn't work... does anyone have an idea?
I've been tweaking a lot with the deck for a few days, kind of preparing for the GP Lyon that I'll participate in but also to get a clear view of the sideboard possibilities.
I've tried main board Shriekmaw and it is bonkers. Currently, there are only two tier 1/2 decks that play zero creatures, and that is Lantern Control and Ad Nauseam. Shriekmaw is very useful against Storm, Humans, Eldrazi Tron and Burn which are from my tests pretty bad MU in general.
As for Kolaghan's Command, I am not a huge fan of it. Mainly because it isn't as versatile as Beast within and cannot kill a land. I really want my 7 land killers.
On the other hand, I love Kari Zev's Expertise, but that's mainly because I don't know why, but something like 75 % of my starting hands containg Living End (even if I only play 3). It also has allowed me to win victories out of nowhere by stealing a blocker and attacking with it.
The main concern is the Sideboard : You can say whatever you want about the main deck being pretty much fixed, the sideboard options are various and hard to choose from.
I didn't like Krosan grip over Ingot Chewer at first, but the ability to hit enchantments and the split second that kills Relic and its likes is very valuable. Being able to kill an Arcbound Ravager without the opponent being able to sacrifice anything in response is amazing.
Dead//Gone is very good. With a good starting hand, you can even kill Goblin guides on the first turn of your opponent by exiling a SSG. It is useful against Storm, Humans, Merfolk, Infect and Burn. People may prefer Anger of the Gods but I find it too slow, especially if your goal is to kill Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
As for the Lost Legacy/ Slaughter Games, I tried it just to test a few games. I really like this combination because Lantern Control is clearly one of the most horrible matchups to play against (even post sideboard) only because of Ensnaring Bridge. Lost Legacy can't hit it, but Slaughter Games can. On the other hand, Slaughter Games is too slow for Storm.
I don't think this will be my final sideboard but I really appreciate all the discussion here and wanted to give my experiences trying different sideboards. Keep playing the best deck ever!
Hey guys! I'm starting modern and am currently building a Living End.
The LGS i'm in authorizes proxies, so I can try any sideboard, which is pretty cool.
From the decks I saw, I may face :
Boros Burn or UR Storm,
Kiki-Chord,
Classic Tron or Affinity,
Grixis death Shadow,
Merfolk,
Lantern Control,
I don't know for the others. Maybe UR Delver, not that sure about that one.
I'm thinking about :
4 Ingot Chewer (affinity/lantern/tron)
4 Leyline of Sanctity ( Burn/Storm/Lantern)
and then I'm not sure :
4 Leyline of the void(Storm/Affinity/Death Shadow)?
Ricochet Trap against Merfolk, storm and grixis?
Jund Charm instead of leyline of the void?
Shriekmaw for early Burn/Merfolk?
and that's it. Mind that I have access to any card, so any suggestion is okay. I am not that used to playing modern even if I know most of the decks, so I prefer asking you for help regarding the sideboard.
Here is what my list currently looks like for GP Lyon. Remember, no new (un)banlist until Monday so it's not affected!
// 29 Creature
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Fulminator Mage
4 Monstrous Carabid
4 Horror of the Broken Lands
4 Desert Cerodon
2 Archfiend of Ifnir
3 Faerie Macabre
4 Street Wraith
// 7 Instant
4 Violent Outburst
1 Kolaghan's Command
2 Beast Within
// 18 Land
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blooming Marsh
2 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground
2 Swamp
1 Forest
3 Demonic Dread
3 Living End
// 6 Creature
1 Faerie Macabre
2 Ingot Chewer
3 Shriekmaw
// 6 Enchantment
2 Blood Moon
4 Leyline of Sanctity
// 3 Instant
1 Krosan Grip
2 Ricochet Trap
There are a few things that I'm not sure of yet:
Do not hesitate to share what you think of it and all that, that's my first very big Modern Tournament!
Here are two Jedi shenanigans that I learned while playing Living End. I suppose most of you already know them but Iùll post them for other new players because the second one is not obvious.
Thanks for your knowledge of the deck, it really helps!
The fact that it shuts off Fulminator is bad, but it also has a broad range of decks it's affecting. Has anyone tried it at one point?
I'll be waiting for the results of GP Toronto to ask you what you think of the general Modern orientation for a LE side. While Waiting, I'll continue training against pretty much every Modern deck
Here is the list : https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/923128#paper
I wonder about Leyline of Sanctity in the SB. The good thing is, I can't even think about it because I don't have the budget for 4 of those so whatever. But it is the only real Sideboard card against Burn and Storm that does wonders. Anyway, I like the list even if 2 Beast Withins is low.
Testing more and more with 19 lands and really considering to let down one of my two archfiends for it. I love Archfiend but you don't have that much use for two in the GY, so the second one just improves your chances of drawing it. In the end, it's either 1 Archfiend/1 SHriekmaw MB or 2 Archfiends MN and the Shriekmaws in the SB
BTW, here it is, the probability calculator : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aRahs8Tz8pAoY8MBFz716tLxedQfQKUr2kYpjRr3JjE/edit?usp=sharing
It's a rather straightforward simulator so the numbers are not the whole truth. As said in it, it does not consider the color requirements nor the lands you need to cycle for obtaining the t3 cascade. Do not expect a perfect truth from this.
I first wanted to use a HyperGeometric calculator and show you the results, but after starting it I realized It would be much more complicated than anticipated.
What I can do though if you're interested, and I'll do it for myself anyway because I'm curious, is creating an Excel Table showing you the chances of :
*Having a starting hand with X lands or more but also Y lands or less ( 2,3 or 4 lands for example)
*Knowing the odds of having three lands and a cascade spell on turn three depending on the number of cyclers and if you consider SSG as a land or not.
*Basically any other thing you may be interested in.
Excel is basically my job so I'm pretty confident in being able to do it and make it easy to use. Tell me if there are some maths you may want to know.
I will try Kessig Wolf Run after seeing that victory you got with it, never thought about using it. Same for Boil instead of a third Blood Moon.
Ken, if I may ask, how do you feel about your 1-ofs sideboard? For sure we draw a lot of cards, but do you feel the risk of not drawing your unique piece outweighs the number of options? I really have some trouble having 1-ofs unless they're split with the MB or have another near-similar card in the SB (Blood Moon / Boil, Ingot Chewer/ Krosan Grip, Lost Legacy / Slaughter Games).For this reason, kodieyost's kind of sideboard seems safer to me. Your experience on the subject may bring some new light on the matter.
Thanks in advance for your answers, I'll keep prepping for the GP!
As for the Archfiend, the more I play with and without it for testing, The less I really know how I feel about it. Sometimes it is crazy good and sometimes horribly bad.
What I believe is lacking here is a real deep analysis on the upsides and downsides of each possibilities that we have in those 4-6 flex slots. My feeling is, whatever we take, the deck will still be good because we're talking about 10% of the cards. But on the other way, as any spike wants to do, it is all about that tiny little edges we can grab. Therefore Here I will try to analyze and understand each upside and downside of what I believe are the 4 different cards that fit in these slots.
[u]Introduction to the analysis[/u]
I do not believe I have here the truth, neither do I believe that everything I write is 100% correct. I will forget some details and maybe write stupid things but I will update this post depending on your different answers and additions.
The goal of this analysis is to show the differences between four cards that are put in main board in the living end and that are often different in the decks. These cards are the most flexible slots and because people believe different things about different cards, it is a good idea to put all of that here to compare.
Note that Obviously, you can split your flexible spots between 2 or 3 different cards. You don't have to play 4 shriekmaws, 4 faerie macabre or 4 archfiends. but you also can do that If you want to.
[u]1st : Faerie Macabre[/u]
[u]Upsides(From strongest to least important)[/u]
[u]Downsides(From greatest to least important)[/u]
[u]General Conclusion[/u]
Faerie macabre is a good card but has a body that is not that relevant. The amazing upside is the huge number of shenanigans you can do with it, from saving yourself from a surgical to removing past in flames from an opponent's storm deck. Note that if you play Leyline of the Void in the Sideboard, you may not want to play Faerie Macabre for obvious reasons.
[u]2nd : Archfiend of Ifnir[/u]
[u]Upsides(From strongest to least important)[/u]
[u]Downsides(From greatest to least important)[/u]
I believe this argument is valid, but has also flaws. For example, how many times will you really be able to cycle two creatures instead of one? and above that, we already play all the good 1 mana cycling creature, so what are the other cycling options? Architects of Will and Deadshot minotaur. I really don't like Deadshot because his ETB trigger happens so rarely and even kills your faeries, but Architects is a real option. So ask yourself: what would you prefer between cycling two architects or one archfiend? this is harder for me to answer and I don't know if there is one good answer to it.
If you use this slot for a non cycling option, then you must consider the fact that Archfiends lets you draw. If you compare it with Shriekmaw for example, you don't draw a card but kill a creature for the same cost in the end. Think about how many times you would prefer one option to the other, and you already have a lead about which option to take. Don't forget that you can also have 2 Archfiends AND 2 Shriekmaws for example.
[u]General Conclusion[/u]
the 2 cycling cost is a real downside but the upsides are also very good. from what I have been able to observe, Archfiend is good if you LE with Demonic Dread (removing the creatures your opponent may play on his turn before you can attack) and when hardcasted. When using violent outburst, it deals 5 damage, which is less than 6 with two architects for example.
[u]3rd : Shriekmaw[/u]
[u]Upsides(From strongest to least important)[/u]
[u]Downsides(From greatest to least important)[/u]
[u]General Conclusion[/u]
shriekmaw is always good in the sideboard, and really a meta call above anything else in your mainboard. look at your LGS, what people play in your FNM, or what you think the metagame will be in the next GP, because against the matchup when it does nothing, for sure every other option here is better.
[u]4th : Architects of Will[/u]
[u]Upsides(From strongest to least important)[/u]
[u]Downsides(From greatest to least important)[/u]
[u]General Conclusion[/u]
I like architects for its cool ETB ability, and I dislike it a lot for its easy-to-kill body and the fact that you can't cast it. Nevertheless, it cycles for 1, and that's important.
[u]Honorable mentions[/u]
[u]General General Conclusion[/u]
From what we can see here, shriekmaw and, to some extent, faerie macabre are meta calls when in the main board. they will always, however, be good sideboard cards. On the other hand, Archfiend and Architects give your more consistency but do nothing outside of participating in your next Living End. The choice is completely up to you to put those cards how you want in your decks. I can't give you the perfect answer but at least I tried to give you the reasons for putting or leaving each of those cards!
Hope that did help you!
EDIT : I don't know why my html doesn't work... does anyone have an idea?
I've been tweaking a lot with the deck for a few days, kind of preparing for the GP Lyon that I'll participate in but also to get a clear view of the sideboard possibilities.
I've tried main board Shriekmaw and it is bonkers. Currently, there are only two tier 1/2 decks that play zero creatures, and that is Lantern Control and Ad Nauseam. Shriekmaw is very useful against Storm, Humans, Eldrazi Tron and Burn which are from my tests pretty bad MU in general.
As for Kolaghan's Command, I am not a huge fan of it. Mainly because it isn't as versatile as Beast within and cannot kill a land. I really want my 7 land killers.
On the other hand, I love Kari Zev's Expertise, but that's mainly because I don't know why, but something like 75 % of my starting hands containg Living End (even if I only play 3). It also has allowed me to win victories out of nowhere by stealing a blocker and attacking with it.
The main concern is the Sideboard : You can say whatever you want about the main deck being pretty much fixed, the sideboard options are various and hard to choose from.
My Sideboard currently looks like this :
2 Faerie Macabre
2 Krosan Grip
2 Dead // Gone
2 Slaughter Games
I already have two Faerie Macabre mainboard.
I didn't like Krosan grip over Ingot Chewer at first, but the ability to hit enchantments and the split second that kills Relic and its likes is very valuable. Being able to kill an Arcbound Ravager without the opponent being able to sacrifice anything in response is amazing.
Dead//Gone is very good. With a good starting hand, you can even kill Goblin guides on the first turn of your opponent by exiling a SSG. It is useful against Storm, Humans, Merfolk, Infect and Burn. People may prefer Anger of the Gods but I find it too slow, especially if your goal is to kill Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
As for the Lost Legacy/ Slaughter Games, I tried it just to test a few games. I really like this combination because Lantern Control is clearly one of the most horrible matchups to play against (even post sideboard) only because of Ensnaring Bridge. Lost Legacy can't hit it, but Slaughter Games can. On the other hand, Slaughter Games is too slow for Storm.
I don't think this will be my final sideboard but I really appreciate all the discussion here and wanted to give my experiences trying different sideboards. Keep playing the best deck ever!
The LGS i'm in authorizes proxies, so I can try any sideboard, which is pretty cool.
From the decks I saw, I may face :
Boros Burn or UR Storm,
Kiki-Chord,
Classic Tron or Affinity,
Grixis death Shadow,
Merfolk,
Lantern Control,
I don't know for the others. Maybe UR Delver, not that sure about that one.
I'm playing the list from paulo vitor : After testing, it is by far the fastest and most consistent one I've tried online : https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/a-new-living-end-with-amonkhet-2/
I'm thinking about :
4 Ingot Chewer (affinity/lantern/tron)
4 Leyline of Sanctity ( Burn/Storm/Lantern)
and then I'm not sure :
4 Leyline of the void(Storm/Affinity/Death Shadow)?
Ricochet Trap against Merfolk, storm and grixis?
Jund Charm instead of leyline of the void?
Shriekmaw for early Burn/Merfolk?
and that's it. Mind that I have access to any card, so any suggestion is okay. I am not that used to playing modern even if I know most of the decks, so I prefer asking you for help regarding the sideboard.
Thanks in advance!