Good old Emrakul. Everyone's terrified of it and hates to fight it but nobody runs it in Modern anymore. But the wake of destruction it's capable of have never been decreased, or perhaps have even gone up due to the fact that nobody's prepared to fight it. And Progenitus is its underrated overpowered cousin. Or, of course, Griselbrand, because you know, he's Griselbrand.
So, it's Modern show and tell.
Rundown:
Abrupt Decay: Instant speed uncounterable 2 mana removal in Modern is very decent, especially since nobody really plays anything costing 4 or more.
Birds of Paradise: A turn 1 flying chump blocker that gives mana of any color. Yes please. Gives the deck speed.
Desecration Demon: A 6/6 flyer for 4 mana. The opponent will rarely sacrifice creatures to tap it. A huge threat that keeps opponents on the defensive.
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn: The main attraction of this deck is a 15/15 that flies, has protection from spells and makes you sacrifice 6 permanents every turn. Even if you do somehow kill it, it'll be shuffled right back in, ready to reign terror on you once again, along with everything else in your graveyard too.
Explore
: This cantrip gives us unremovable mana (Unlike Birds of Paradise, though it costs more mana) and helps draw into the combo pieces easier.
Forest: So broken.
Fulminator Mage: People hate this guy so much. Will attack or block as needed, and if he is about to die, blow up one of your lands in response, even if you killed it instantly when it hit the field. You mad?
Griselbrand: If Emrakul is busy getting wasted at the bar, Griselbrand shall awaken from his death at the hands of Liliana to fight alongside us. Even if he is killed by a board wipe, we've still hit them for 7, and either gained enough life to live to play another fatty, or drawn enough cars to play another one. Yay!
Inquisition of Kozilek: Being a black deck, we have one of these. See the deck they're playing, pull out any early game threats that could kill me before I get Emrakul out, that kind of shtuff.
Maelstrom Pulse: In my view, among the best removal in Modern. Blows up any nonland permanent and all the others of that on the battlefield too.
Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
: because it's strictly better than a basic forest. Those annoying times where your opponent is down to 1 life from Emrakul, than swings for game next turn. This helps stop that. Also lets Griselbrand give us that extra life.
Overgrown Tomb: So broken.
Progenitus: If Emrakul is having a pie-eating contest against Griselbrand, a 10/10 with protection from waffles will work fine.
Quicksilver Amulet: not even a Blood Moon will stop Emrakul from coming.
Summoning Trap: In my view, actually better than Quicksilver Amulet, since it triggers right away, while Amulet gives them a turn to destroy it. It also works against control decks quite well. In addition to being awesome creatures, Desecration Demon and Fulminator Mage are also in here to bait the opponent into countering a creature spell. This means that against some decks, turn 2 Emrakuls are happening. Also, looking at the top 7 cards, as opposed to the 4 in your hand by this point in the game. If there's a fatty in there, good game. If not, than thank god, otherwise you would've gone 7 turns guaranteed without one of the two fatties. If not, then at least you got a Fulminator Mage to blow up one of their lands.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse: Because it's strictly better than a basic swamp. namely, it helps at those awkward moments when your opponent has 1 flying creature to block, is fine with sacrificing 6 permanents, and can still swing for game the next turn. This makes him unblockable save artifact creatures.
Swamp: So broken.
Sylvan Caryatid: 4 Birds aren't enough. These guys drop early, don't die by blocking, can't be Lightning Bolted or Pathed and pump out mana for Summoning Trap.
Thoughtseize: Sometimes the opponents have things that cost higher than 3 mana but are still a threat, like Splinter Twin for example. To make them discard these kinds of cards and losing two life in return is a deal we're totally fine with.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth: Allows me to always have black mana even in the case of all forests,meaning I'm fine to cast Nighthawk without worry of the devotion it takes. If opponent is also black, this can benefit them as well. Therefore, this is easily sided out.
Verdant Catacombs: So broken.
Woodland Cemetery: So broken.
Sideboard:
Creeping Corrosion
: Because screw Robots. It does cost 4 mana, but I've got enough ramp to pull it off.
Damnation: It may seem like an unusual choice for this kind of deck, but Zoo, Affinity andmany other aggro decks are completely screwed over by it.
Defense Grid: Wrecks counterspells, this deck's primary weakness through playtesting. Any suggestions on things to remove for a second one would be great.
Golgari Charm: Usually against Affinity, Zoo and other aggro decks, but can also murder Bogles, whether they already have enchantments on them or not.
Leyline of Sanctity: I can get white mana from Birds and stuff, but it's even better if it's in my starting hand. Messes with burn real bad.
Pithing Needle: Shuts down Manlands, Pod, Kiki-Jiki, Planeswalkers and alot of homebrew combo decks.
Rest in Peace: Murders snaps and goyfs.
sowing salts: Death to Tron.
Torpor Orb: Deals with Pod and Splinter Twin quite nicely.
