gold, i guess you havent played survival mode since 1.3.1 came out.
they added in that everyone dies at the end of the round (doesnt count towards your death), so that everyone can respawn at the same time. this addition prevented annoying spawn camping, and flag camping (in ctf, spawning on the flag and running to your flag)
having one less death doesnt do much to helping you win (getting more points), its just for better K: D ratio. i just think like an extra 5 points or something would help the survivals feel more "rewarded" for staying alive
as for survival deathmatches and stuff, u13 has one. and i think theres a couple team matches.