I'd like to know why
Hunt the Weak is better than
Prey Upon in this decklist. Could you explain that choice, please?
It's partially a thematic concession as it uses counters. As I implied with not considering Beastmaster, I've put a few personal constraints on the build, though those are the only ones. The rest of the deck is optimised. I suppose I should have stated Hunt was part of that consideration too.
It does however combo very well with DS and the Sadist, and as a lot of my creatures are low end and tokens, Prey Upon wouldn't be sufficient in many scenarios, or would always 2 for 1 me, and by the time I can guarantee a kill with larger creatures, I can afford Hunt instead. So I stand by it partially, especially as I need removal and my only other options would be Black. Having 3 copies of it rather than 2 is probably the main issue.
I don't think it can support more than 2 Ulcerates though due to not having lifegain, and Tribute is ofen a bust. That leaves me with
Flesh to Dust, and as Hunt is 1 cheaper and I'm already quite an expensive build, and busy at the 5 mana spot, we roll back to considering that for matters of curve.
As I state in the last bit of my description, apart from Beastmaster, the removal suite is the only real issue here and therefore open to customisation based on personal taste as I think every available option has a drawback. The answer, really, is that
neither Prey or Hunt are great here, but neither are the alternatives, and at least Hunt can have a side benefit.
EDIT - Totally forgot
Dead Weight existed. Gone to 2 x Hunts and 3 x Weights instead.