This is a Pili-Pala-Grand Architect combo deck with a midrange backup plan a la Wurmcoil Engine. Ideally, the deck gets a turn 2 Pili-Pala. On turn 3, attack, play an Architect, and tap it to untap the Pili-Pala for U. Use the Architect to make the scarecrow blue and, with the infinite mana, cast either Exsanguinate, Blue Sun's Zenith, or Memnarch. The first card gets you a ton of life and kills the other player, the second decks them, and the third one takes control of all of their permanents (yes! even lands).
All the removal in Modern makes that an unlikely scenario, and it also requires quite a bit of luck.
To solve the removal problem, we have a few copies of Postmortem Lunge. As long as the Pili-Pala does not get exiled, this gives an extra chance to combo off and, with haste, lets you combo immediately rather than waiting for summoning sickness to wear off. Along this same vein, Hall of the Bandit Lord gives haste which allows a combo on the same turn Pili-Pala is played. Phyrexia's Core gives a chance to protect your Pili-Pala from exile and, in a pinch, can be used to combo immmediately by sending it to your graveyard and then using Postmortem Lunge to grant it haste. Finally, there are copies of Spell Pierce and Spellskite to make it more difficult to disrupt the combo.
Since luck isn't a good strategy, every piece of the combo can be tutored. Muddle the Mixture tutors for Pili-Pala or Exanguinate and can also help protect the combo. Perplex tutors for Grand Architect or Blue Sun's Zenith and helps protect the combo. Treasure Mage can grab Memnarch. In addition to the tutoring, there are a few copies of Serum Visions and Halimar Depths. Both help draw into combo pieces and make top decking more viable.
If all else fails, Treasure Mages can pull out Wurmcoils which, with Grand Architect, can be played as early as turn 4, though usually not until turn 5. Hall of the Bandit Lord makes Wurmcoils even more threatening, even with the loss of life. Phyrexia's Core can protect the Wurmcoils from Path to Exile, making them harder to truly remove. We even have some recursion with Academy Ruins. If we can't combo off, the Wurmcoils, Treasure Mages, and Grand Architects can still put a surprisingly fast clock on an opponent.
Lastly, we added Smother to the deck to deal with many early creatures that cost us the game if left unchecked (Dark Confidant, Tarmogoyf, Aven Mindcensor, and anything fast, red, and annoying).
