This deck has been through a lot. I originally started playing a form of this since Pod was in Modern! Heck, it isn't even the first version of this deck I've posted to this site this year.
Basically, I built this deck to kill Pod and Twin, so when both were banned, this deck had to shift dramatically to adjust (not helping is the fact I didn't have the time or money to make any changes). But now it's back and ready to rumble. I'm finally proud of it again. I was slow adjusting to Eldrazi especially and only really came around just after the Eye of Ugin ban. But I think that moving into Eldrazi has actually been extremely rewarding, at least given that I've been enjoying it since then.
Essentially, this deck demands that you play magic "fairly", i.e., playing creatures and not combo-ing for the win. Except "fairly" means "fair for me and not for you". The first two turns are ideally spent removing aggressive 1-2-drops and following it up with a hatebear, then attacking with that hatebear and following with a utility creature (or Liliana of the Veil). And the fourth and fifth turns ramp up into bigger game-winning creatures. It's not an aggro deck, more midrange. My meta is pretty slow, so this is one of the faster decks. But really, it's more about the turns 3-4-5 follow-through than about the 1-2-3 early game.
In some ways, it did sort of retain its roots as a hate deck, except the target has changed to generally noncreature strategies, especially spell-slinging. Would be nice if there were more of that in my local meta, but c'est la vie. It's not perfect or top-tier by any stretch, but it's wholly mine, fun (for me), and not total garbage. I think that's what every homebrewer really wants in the end.
CARD BREAKDOWN
Land
Marsh Flats: Fetchlands reduce the chances of drawing a land by half. If I were playing a slightly more Hatebears variant, I'd cut these for Leonin Arbiter, but I do prefer having the fetches and not drawing late-game land.
Flooded Strand: Like Marsh Flats, but it can't hit Swamps.
Godless Shrine: What's good enough for Legacy is good enough for me.
Plains/Swamp: Raise your hands if you're afraid of Blood Moon! raises own hand Thalia, Guardian of Thraben can tempo Blood Moon, and Ethersworn Canonist can prevent a lot of spellslinging, but if my opponent resolves a Blood Moon, I need to be able to still cast spells. Plus, sometimes you need to cast a spell, have a fetch to crack, but are too low on life to have Godless Shrine enter untapped. And sometimes your opponent is playing Path to Exile. And on rare occasion, I'll draw all my Godless Shrines before my fetches and want to have more fetchable targets than fetches themselves. I bring up all of this because the deck has spells and abilities that cost , and I feel I need to justify running four Basics when I could be running Caves of Koilos of a fourth Fetid Heath (which provide me with sources of , , and ).
Shambling Vent: The second this card was spoiled in BFZ, I knew I'd be playing it. It's no Celestial Colonnade, but few cards are. And yes, this could be another target to cut for [[card:]Fetid Heath]] or Caves of Koilos, but a dual with a body -- even an expensive, unimpressive body -- is worth the minor hit to the mana base.
Fetid Heath despite all my protestations about needing Basics and Shambling Vent, the filter lands are just good. My only complaint is that Fetid Heath can only tap for or given . But the cases where that issue is relevant are minimal because if I'm strapped for land, I'm already screwed. More often than not, Fetid Heath lets me turn 2 Tidehollow Sculler then turn 3 Liliana of the Veil
Eldrazi Temple: Did you know that wotc printed a sequel to Urzatron? Yeah I know, it's rare that I can turn 3 Reality Smasher, but any land that can tap for more than one mana at a time is worth playing. Plus, I was late to the Eldrazi Party and only put this together after the Eye of Ugin banning, so I didn't waste the cash on Eye (though that's only relevant to my wallet and not the deck).
Creatures
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben: Queen of WB Taxes, Thalia is just plain good against so many decks. The only decks that aren't at least put off-tempo by Thalia are other creature-heavy decks. And against Storm or Lantern Control, Thalia is a beating. And even if I am playing against a creature-heavy deck, Thalia is still a 2/1 with first strike for 2. That's not nothing.
Tidehollow Sculler: You know what Mesmeric Fiend needed? Higher P/T. Especially nice is the fact that I can blink Sculler with Restoration Angel and Eldrazi Displacer to get two cards and permanently exile of one them. If I had any complaint about this card, it's that it's an artifact creature. Yeah, that does mean it synergizes nicely with Ethersworn Canonist, but I'd happily sacrifice that to give Tarmogoyf players one fewer card type in the graveyard.
Ethersworn Canonist: Very good at shutting off UR spellslinging strategies, this card more often shuts off my opponents than it does me. But again, I would prefer this be a nonartifact creature just to hose Tarmogoyf that little bit.
Wall of Omens: Good against true aggro decks and a great target for blink effects. If I were to cut any creature in this deck, though, I'd cut this.
Aven Mindcensor: I love that this isn't a symmetrical effect. A 2/1 flash flyer for 3 is decent on its own, and having a non-symmetrical effect that shuts off tutors is delightful. It hoses card:Primeval Command, Inventors' Fair, and fetches; and it makes Path to Exile better.
Fulminator Mage: A land-hating Gray Ogre. The activation is free and instant-speed, plus it doesn't require tapping, so it can be used the turn it enters the battlefied. And the sacrifice ability synergizes with Smothering Abomination. I keep an extra two in the sideboard in case I play against a deck that really relies on nonbasic lands for fixing or a combo.
Eldrazi Displacer: Displacer can either be a repeatabe blink effect or the world's worst .Goldmeadow Harrier. That it can do both is an ode to versatility. Plus with Eldrazi Temple out, the activation cost is a pittance.
Blade Splicer: A 3/3 with first strike for 3 is pretty good. A 3/3 with first strike for 3 where you can repeatedly make more 3/3 first-strikers is pretty dang good. And getting a 1/1 as part of the deal is just value. This is a great target for Eldrazi Displacer and Restoration Angel. Plus, I can sacrifice the Splicer itself to Smothering Abomination, and the multiple bodies benefit doubly from Sorin, Lord of Innistrad's emblem.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos: I struggled with whether I wanted Brimaz or Wasteland Strangler. Strangler is at best a 3/2 vanilla for 2 (if I have Eldrazi Temple out) that kills something wen it enters the battlefield. More often than that, it's a 3/2 vanilla for 3 that can't successfully kill Tarmogoyf because it adds an exiled card back to the graveyard. Meanwhile Brimaz is at worst a 3/4 vigilance for 3. And more often than not he makes multiple 1/1 vigilance creatures (which I can sac and/or turn into 2/1s with Sorin, Lord of Innistrad). And Brimaz lives through Lightning Bolt. In a meta with heavy graveyard strategies and many Tarmogoyfs (speaking to my own local meta here), Brimaz, King of Oreskos is far and away the better option. Not to mention how powerfully he blocks planeswalkers (though I'm getting ahead of myself).
Smothering Abomination: Did you know this lil' guy can block Emrakul, the Aeons Torn? And that it turns Annihilator triggers into card draw bonanzas? And that it's a 4/3 with flying for 4? Sometimes for 3? Yeah, Smothering Abomination has won more than a few games, especially with token-generators like Brimaz, King of Oreskos and Sorin, Lord of Innistrad. It also essentially turns Eldrazi Scions into free Clues.
Sifter of Skulls: And speaking of Scions. Sifter of Skulls is far from the most powerful death-trigger token-generator (it only triggers for nontoken creatures other than itself for instance), but it has a relevant creature type, and the tokens it makes have a relevant ability. Plus a 4/3 is a decent body, even if it dies to Lightning Bolt.
Restoration Angel: Hellooooo blink effects! a 3/4 flash flying is good even if it didn't blink a creature at instant speed. And being able to save utility or hate creatures from removal or damage in combat is no small feat, to say nothing of shenanigans with Tidehollow Sculler. Earlier drafts had a full 3 Angels, but as I reduced the number of etb effects, fewer Angels made sense. And cutting it for another Eldrazi (namely Sifter of Skulls) simply made more sense.
Reality Smasher: It big. For a long time I had the synergistic Archangel of Thune in the 5-drop slot, but Reality Smasher is simply bigger and better and can be cast for cheaper (if I have Eldrazi Temple out). Plus, its ability is worded such that opponents can't use targeted removal unless they have additional cards in hand to discard. Also it has trample and haste. It big.
Noncreatures
Path to Exile: Best targeted removal spell in Modern, and one that exiles instead of sending it to the graveyard. Automatic 4-of.
Dismember: Like Path, but costs life and doesn't exile. Still good. Given the fetchlands, I would consider running Fatal Push, but that 4 cmc cutoff on Fatal Push in a local meta with Thragtusk means I want slightly more of this than Push.card:
Fatal Push: That said, Push always kills Tarmogoyf, so it has a place in here. And with careful use of my fetches, I can easily kill 3 and 4-drops with this.
Liliana of the Veil: Thank you MM17! I have been waiting to add this to the deck since I made it back when Pod was legal. She's the best Edict in Modern, which is essential with Infect and Hexproof. Plus she plays very nicely with selective card removal like Tidehollow Sculler and Thoughtseize. Yeah, I don't have any uses for discarding my own cards, but my deck is fast enough that I can get my hand empty so Lili doesn't sting too much. And again, she's mostly there for her edict ability.
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad: He's a token-generator (relevant for Smothering Abomination) that can also make my board bigger (which plays nicely with the other token-generators and first-strikers) and gains me life. And he protects himself. Very, very good card, and saving on the financial cost was worth the ugly printing.
Sideboard
Thoughtseize: Budget Inquisition of Kozilek.
Fulminator Mage: Like the one in the main board, except two more now.
Rest in Peace: I would play at least three of these even if half my meta weren't graveyard decks. It just hoses so many possible strategies. And also, half my meta is graveyard decks.
Leyline of the Void: Did I mention half my local meta is graveyard decks? Because it it.
Kataki, War's Wage: He doesn't play nicely with Ethersworn Canonist or Tidehollow Sculler, but that's why he's in the sideboard and not the mainboard. My meta is also pretty Lantern Control and 8-Rack heavy, so having artifact hate that can turn sideways is essential.
Stony Silence: I mentioned Lantern Control, so let me again repeat: Lantern. Control. Plus, Stony Silence doesn't have any impact on Tidehollow Sculler or Ethersworn Canonist because neither have activated abilities. Sculler only has triggered abilities.
