Over time, traditional Living End decks in Modern have become less prevalent. The banning of Violent Outburst and Grief forced players to try to adapt.
Fortunately, players have been up to the challenge. A sweet Jund Living End variant went undefeated in a Magic Online Modern League yesterday, and it’s very different from builds we’re used to seeing in the past. This deck has the capability of ending games in a flash thanks to the inclusion of a good Dog that’s finally getting time in the spotlight. Let’s dive in and see what makes this decklist stand out.
Building Towards Delirium
Unlike many previous iterations of Living End, this deck is not looking to cast a three-drop with Cascade (such as Ardent Plea) to nab Living End on command. Instead, this decklist utilizes Bloodbraid Marauder as the enabler of choice. There are a number of tradeoffs for building your deck this way, but one thing you gain is access to prominent two-drops.
Ardent Plea builds couldn’t run any spells with mana value two or less because they would conflict with Ardent Plea’s ability to reliably Cascade into Living End. By contrast, Bloodbraid Marauder shells get access to Malevolent Rumble and Grisly Salvage as cheap ways to fuel Living End in short order. On top of that, these cards dig for Bloodbraid Marauder, so you have a good chance of finding your necessary two-drop.
Other two mana plays you gain access to include Fear of Missing Out and Defense Grid out of the sideboard, the latter of which makes it easier to beat counter magic. The main downside is that you do need to set up Delirium in order to maximize Bloodbraid Marauder, but this isn’t too difficult considering how many cards with multiple card types are featured in this deck.
We mentioned Fear of Missing Out, which serves as an enchantment and a creature in your graveyard if you Mill over it. The same can be said for Overlord of the Balemurk, which also fills a similar role as Grisly Salvage and Malevolent Rumble. Twinshot Sniper is a nice tool that acts as an artifact and a creature in your graveyard, all while giving you the option of discarding it to kill a small creature on the opponent’s side.
Once you factor in the presence of Fetchlands and Cyclers like Street Wraith and Generous Ent, it isn’t hard to fill your graveyard.
The Role of Enduring Courage
The way this deck is constructed is certainly intriguing, and we haven’t even reached the most interesting inclusion. That honor goes to Enduring Courage. While Enduring Curiosity and Enduring Innocence have become household names since their printings in Duskmourn, Enduring Courage hasn’t had a big impact in Constructed. Now, it’s getting a chance to shine.
Just like Overlord of the Balemurk and Fear of Missing Out, Enduring Courage gets you halfway to Delirium. You aren’t looking to cast this card in most games. Instead, your goal is to Mill over it and resurrect it with Living End.
In doing so, all of the creatures in your graveyard enter at the same time. As a result, Enduring Courage’s first ability will trigger for each of your other threats that enters. Then, your copy of Bloodbraid Marauder on the stack will resolve, giving you an extra beater. You’ll get a huge attack in this way that’s likely to be lethal altogether.
This may not sound like a big deal. However, given how fast the Modern format is, getting Enduring Courage into play can be the difference between winning and losing. Whether you’re facing Amulet Titan or Ruby Storm, you’ll need to be quick. You also won’t expose yourself to board wipes if you’re able to win the game on the same turn you cast Living End.
Delirium Downsides
Up to this point, we’ve mostly talked about the benefits to building your deck to incorporate the Bloodbraid Marauder and Enduring Courage package. Yet, it’s worth noting some of the deck’s flaws.
As expected, one major weakness comes when you have to face down graveyard hate. There’s no doubt that graveyard hate cards like Tormod’s Crypt are good against all Living End variations.
Still, because you have to set up Delirium first before casting Bloodbraid Marauder, even if you find a copy of Foundation Breaker and can force your opponent to sacrifice the Crypt in response, it’ll take some time for you to rebuild before Cascading. Urza’s Saga decks like Affinity are quite popular, so you’ll need to be prepared to face down these pieces of hate.
Missing out on blue cards is also a downside when playing against combo decks. Force of Negation is an excellent option you’re eschewing.
In this sense, Jund Living End is far from foolproof. Nonetheless, it’s cool to see underplayed cards like Enduring Courage get some love, and there’s a lot to like about how the deck is built. If you’re a fan of graveyard combo strategies, consider giving Jund Living End a shot.
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