spudshaver

You shouldn't be rushed to cast Exsanguinate; the "best" way to play it would be as a finisher. You would check what you can cast it for vs their life total each turn, until it wins.

I did the same land!
4 Star (check)
4 Sphere (check)
4 Map (check)
This is what I conjured up:

(above)
4 conjurer's bauble
2 mind stone
4 night's whisper
2 dismember
3 dead drop
4 disciple of the vault
3 steel hellkite
4 exsanguinate
2 worst fears

extra turns?

I dont think Sandsteppe Citadel is your best bet for that void.
Perhaps drop Triplicate Spirits for another cheap creature?

A lot of what you wrote is true, but your describing issues of Magic, not issues specific to this deck. Making a deck faster at the expense of endurance, is simply making a deck faster; if someone replaces a card choice to make the deck more durable and faster, the previous card was simply a bad card.

For a moment, consider UG or BUG Infect in Modern. Infect isn't a top tier deck but it can sweep many decks. Infect is often dead in the water if a creature is removed in response to being boosted - similar to if probe was destroyed. However, creature control is in the main board. Artifact removal is in the side board.

Further, Affinity is a top deck in Modern and has been popular for a while. If a card like Stoney Silence hits the field, Affinity is done. A lot of decks can be crushed by one card, that is the nature of Magic. Combo risks dead draws, the cards are important together, not separately. This deck has a lower risk of dead draws than a fair amount of combo decks, and if you improved upon this base, you'd find a lot more stability. As is, vs other $15 or $20 builds in modern, the deck does fair well, with heavy aggro being is hardest matchup. It fairs well vs combo and has a good game 1 vs control.

Also, you haven't mentioned Psychic Surgery. The deck doesn't have to have Probe to get going. Once Psychic Surgery is on the field, you don't have to worry about your opponent drawing into anything helpful. That buys more time than anything else can in this case. And there are other ways to get around problems of time vs resources besides stalling. You could look into draw like Sleight of Hand to help speed things along.

But non of these truths make combo inherently inferior.

I like it. I don't think you need Fleecemane Lion or Spirits, though. I'm not sure what you would do with those 6 slots atm.

A lot of what you're saying applies to "combo" in general, though; I'd recommend not playing combo if that is how you feel. Cards like Loaming Shaman, etc. may perform better vs aggro but they don't necessarily keep you alive. If you played budget burn for example, you would want the fastest cheapest shufflers. If you played vs other budget combos, you wouldn't need almost any creatures, you would simply want to stay ahead of their combo. If you're in a heavy aggro meta, I'd recommend maxing out your creature options to compete with that, but this base build has a blend to help storm out which cards are more tuned to your preference and play group.

You could take that rout, but you would have to slide in more early control outside the combo so you don't simply get tempoed or raced.

If you get Elvish Mystic, it's really not bad.
If you go Ephemeral Shields, it is faster, but I think you should go all in combo in that case. I suppose your next step is if you want to all in combo, or have some aggro/combo hybrid. I wouldn't have more than 1 Chord if you go all in.
The plus of not all in is space for casting Chord to get a nest to block with, playing Raise the alarm, and being able to play ajani's to negate swings and spot removal. I'd think on it.

x4 Elvish Mystic
x4 Raise the Alarm
x4 Midnight Guard
x4 Hornet Nest
x3 Chord of Calling
x4 Setessan Tactics
x4 Ajani's Presence
x9 SLOTS
x24 LAND
-------------------------------------
I simply missed Ephemeral Shields at the glance before, but you should go Ajani's.

But simply casting another one seems better, you get another body and the effect.

You're in for the long haul with this design, sir. I think you should trim to a 15 card core and rebuild. You curve is all over and the card order is all crazy. I like the idea, but this one needs a redraft :(

Maybe start with:
x4 Elvish Mystic
x4 Raise the Alarm
x4 Hornet Nest
x3 Chord of Calling
and decide what you would add if you were unable to choose anything else from the above. See what happens.

Nykthos! Bleh! Ramp into what, sir?

You need more benefit from life gain or stronger finishers; without Ajani's Pridemate, your deck is in for a struggle.

I'm also not sold on Cloudshift or Flickerwisp here.

That being said, I like where it's headed.

Thanks for the feedback; it is always nice to hear! Depending on your play testing group / meta, you can encounter a variety of problems with this deck, and as you put it, "fixing it" is a necessary step. If you are playing vs aggro, the self damage will make a race near impossible. Versus aggro start by maxing out creatures, even consider Riftsweeper as mentioned by FaQfUce (above).

If you happen to play a lot of combo, you could begin to consider cards like Chancellor of the Tangle or Gemstone Caverns - maybe even Serum Powder.

The main value from starting with the version here is that it helps you figure out which way you want to take it.

In reference to Cranial Archive, it should be cast after you spent the rest of your hand; Cranial Archive should be played as a 4-cost directly from one's hand as a shuffle and draw that won't hurt you.

Thanks for your contribution, and I hope this helped!

Depending on how you piloted the deck, it could be quite the play. It's not my style, but I approve.

Are you saying you would still prefer to play other cards or are you saying Serene Remembrance and Memory's Journey are not reliable?

I'm not convinced by your use of "any."

"if the opponent has nothing in his grave, he won't shuffle"
The rulings on shuffling are specific; if a specific card is meant to be shuffled but is not there, there is no action; however, if a zone is shuffled, it is still shuffled when it contains zero cards.

Surgical Extraction would work very well, and in a more competitive deck I would recommend it. The idea here is to create a very cheap base for testing and for players who don't want to spend money.
and @ jessie: you also rock!

It's not a bad idea, but I wouldn't play it. It does help find a missing piece, put fabricating turn 3 and casting turn 4 means that you aren't hurting their library or life until turn 4. With x8 cards that making the shuffle in your favor, I think it's best to just go with what you have access to. Perhaps it is just a difference in preference.