Domain Zoo decks are nothing new to Modern. The presence of Triomes and Leyline of the Guildpact makes maximizing Domain cards incredibly easy. However, have you ever wondered what a Domain Zoo deck with a Living End package would look like?
Well, you’re in luck. Just recently, a five-color Zoo/Living End hybrid deck managed to make day two of the Spotlight Series main event in Utrecht. This comes shortly after the deck boasted an undefeated run in a Magic Online Modern League. It may seem strange to mash these two ideas together, but the archetype works better than you might expect.
Zoo Package
- Mana Value: 12
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 4/4
- Card Type: Artifact Creature- Dragon
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 2
- Card Text: Domain– This spell costs 2 less to cast for each basic land type among lands you control. Flying. Each creature you control has vigilance if it’s white, hexproof if it’s blue, lifelink if it’s black, first strike if it’s red, and trample if it’s green.
As is traditional for Domain Zoo decks in Modern, this deck utilizes playsets of both Leyline of the Guildpact and Scion of Draco. These two cards synergize perfectly together.
First of all, Leyline lets you reliably cast Scion for two mana. Second, Leyline makes Scion all colors once it’s in play. As a result, Scion isn’t just a 4/4 flier. It also has vigilance, first strike, trample, and most importantly, lifelink and hexproof. This means that you can’t remove Scion with typical kill spells until you get Leyline off the table, and racing is exceptionally difficult.
From there, you’ll also find four copies of Leyline Binding. Leyline Binding is an elite removal spell. For just one mana, you can answer anything from Ocelot Pride to Grinding Station.
Living End Package
- Mana Value: 1R
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 3/1
- Card Type: Creature- Human Berserker
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 2
- Card Text: Bloodbraid Marauder can’t block. Delirium– This spell has cascade as long as there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard. (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom of your library in a random order.)
Interestingly, though, outside of a couple copies of Territorial Kavu, the rest of the deck is not focused on these Zoo elements. Instead, the rest of the deck is built to incorporate a Cascade package involving Living End and Bloodbraid Marauder.
Bloodbraid Marauder is an interesting design. Once you get Delirium, you can reliably Cascade into Living End when casting it. This is because no other card in the deck has mana value less than two.
To fuel Living End, you’ll find a handful of big cycling cards that can rule the battlefield once in play. Both Generous Ent and Oliphaunt can be discarded for one mana, while helping you hit your land drops in the process. Being able to search for Triomes or Shocklands can come in handy when it comes to reducing the cost of Scion of Draco when you don’t have Leyline in your opening hand.
Glassdust Hulk is the final cycler in the deck. Counting as an artifact and a creature is incredibly important when trying to achieve Delirium as soon as possible.
The last group of creatures that can be discarded at will are the pitch Elementals. Four copies of Endurance show up between the maindeck and sideboard. Endurance lines up nicely against Underworld Breach. It’s cheap enough to hard cast against Boros Energy as a surprise blocker, too.
Digging for Marauder and Scion
- Mana Value: 1G
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Card Type: Sorcery
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 3
- Card Text: Reveal the top four cards of your library. You may put a permanent card from among them into your hand. Put the rest into your graveyard. Create a 0/1 colorless Eldrazi Spawn creature token with “Sacrifice this creature: Add colorless.”
Most Living End shells in the past have used three-mana Cascade cards like Shardless Agent instead of Bloodbraid Marauder. While a bit more expensive, these cards are more reliable since you don’t have to set up Delirium first.
The main appeal to playing Bloodbraid Marauder, though, is that you get access to two-mana cards that don’t conflict with your Cascade gameplan. Here, the most important two-mana card without a doubt is Malevolent Rumble.
Malevolent Rumble does exactly what you want. It digs for either Scion or Bloodbraid Marauder, depending on the situation. It fuels Delirium as well as Living End. You even get an Eldrazi Spawn out of the deal, which can make it easier to cast multiple spells on the same turn.
Besides Malevolent Rumble, you’ll also find copies of Incubation/Incongruity and Eladamri’s Call. Incubation gives you an efficient way to look for Scion or Marauder and gets you halfway to Delirium by counting as both an instant and a sorcery in your graveyard. Eladamri’s Call only shows up as a one-of, but it can find you whatever creature you need.
A Dual Threat
- Mana Value: 1
- Rarity: Common
- Card Type: Artifact
- MTG Sets: Shards of Alara, Planechase, Modern Masters, Eternal Masters, The Brother’s War Commander, Mystery Booster 2
- Card Text: Tap: Target player exiles a card from their graveyard. 1, Exile Relic of Progenitus: Exile all graveyards. Draw a card.
The nice thing about this smattering of archetypes, even if it looks strange, is that it makes it difficult for the opponent to hate out. As powerful as Living End is, it’s vulnerable to hate cards. Relic of Progenitus is extremely popular right now due to the emergence of Orzhov Ketramose shells, so having a way to sidestep hate by slamming a Scion can be the difference between winning and losing.
At the same time, having access to Living End gives you a one-card win condition versus creature decks in game one. Getting to sweep away all of Boros Energy’s threats and bring back a slew of huge haymakers can win games on the spot, something typical Domain Zoo decklists can’t do.
I’m still skeptical of playing a deck that’s reliant on Delirium in a field dominated by graveyard hate. Players are packing hate for Breach, so ending up in the crossfire isn’t ideal.
Regardless, this deck’s versatility is what gives it its edge. Perhaps a ban in some way to Grinding Breach (which feels inevitable) could help give this deck a boost. For now, it’s at least cool to see an innovative deck like this perform admirably in a hostile environment.
