Jund was arguably the best deck of last season, and this list is reminiscent of Jund in many ways...
Thoughtseize and Rakdos's Return team up to aggressively disrupt the opponent's gameplan. Thoughtseize isn't exactly Liliana of the Veil, but it does cut straight to the point and won't enable any Loxodon Smiter shenanigans.
One this this deck has going for it that Jund never had is good digging tools. That deck was notorious for being in a constant state of topdeck mode. This deck has most of the threat density of Jund to be able to operate in topdeck mode, but it also utilizes the full battery of scry lands and some Read the Bones to ensure we hit gas reliably. These dig effects also help the deck keep riskier hands, which prevents unnecessary mulligans.
Blood Baron and Obzedat do a decent Thragtusk impression, gaining us some life and being resilient beaters.
Speaking of life gain, the deck really needs it due to all the damage it does to itself between Thoughtseize, Read the Bones, and shock lands. In all, it usually can balance itself quite nicely, and I'm convinced the risk is well worth the reward.
I'm not entirely sold on Rakdos Keyrune, but it helps with mana fixing, occasionally ramps into the 5-drops a turn early, and can act as board presence when needed.
The spot removal is kinda skimpy mainboard in favor of Anger of the Gods. This is a mostly a meta choice, but I'm quite fond of the interaction Anger has with Boros Reckoner. My absolute favorite line of play so far was my Reckoner staring down his Firedrinker Satyr; I swing, the opponent takes 3, post-combat Anger of the Gods for another 6 to the dome.
I've considered cutting Soldier of the Pantheon, but I just see too much value in him. He can help hold down the fort against a wide range of threats and is ridiculously mana efficient. He's even likely to earn you some extra Read the Bones fuel at some point.
The sideboard is all over the place right now. Part of me likes it this way, but I know it needs to be whittled-down once some tournament results are in.
