This deck is made entirely of cards banned in Modern. It's made possible with support from Throne of Eldraine, Mirrodin, and graveyard mechanics like Dredge, Delve, and Escape, along with other broken bits and pieces. It has reliably explosive set-up, but actually slows down a little bit after turn 2, if you haven't found a Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis. Most cards banned in Modern are either utility cards that reduce the variance of the deck, like Sensei's Divining Top and Preordain, or cards that give resources for free, like Mox Opal and Once Upon a Time.
After Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath got banned, this deck has another, more reliable finisher. With the best (worst) parts of Dredge, Control, and Artifact Ramp, this deck has explosive power into a solid turn 4 finish.
Even though Lurrus of the Dream-Den was banned from Modern on March 7, 2022 and Yorion, Sky Nomad on October 10, 2022, adding either of them would require a huge revision. Lurrus's Companion requirement is too tight, and Yorion doesn't offer enough to this build. As such, this deck will remain companionless for now.
Preordain is unbanned as of August 7, 2023. I was hoping for some good bans to juice this thing up (The One Ring especially), but this is a non-event for this deck. And then patience pays off. Four months later, we get some action! Still no movement on The One Ring or Orcish Bowmasters, but Fury is very welcome.
As Scam bids its last farewell to Modern, I welcome Grief to the deck. Just one, since the Not Dead After All-type cards are still legal, but it's another useful tool. Nadu, Winged Wisdom is on-color, but this deck doesn't have enough creature-targeted effects to support it.
...December 16, 2024. This might be the end of an era, at least for this strategy. Huge shake-up, with The One Ring, Amped Raptor, and Jegantha, the Wellspring joining our band of misfits and outcasts. But these gifts come at a cost--Faithless Looting, Green Sun's Zenith, and most critically Mox Opal are unbanned in Modern, and can't be used in this deck. I can't use Jegantha as a companion without kicking Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis, Fury, and Grief. It's going to take some time to figure out a path forward.
