I should note that the sideboard is not actually part of my deck yet, and instead is cards that I am considering adding.
I am a bit new to MTG and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for this deck, such as cards I can add to improve it, what I should remove, potential combos, etc. I do not need it to exclusively follow Modern Format rules, but this is the closest format that I play with.
As it stands now, I am going to remove Memory Sluice and replace it with the two Mind Sculpts currently in my sideboard.
Current strategies I am aware of and take advantage of:
Making a player discard a semi-large amount of cards by any means and then using Dream Salvage in order to draw several cards which would trigger Sphinx's Tutelage.
This link will take you to the best information we have on modern format mill.
but enough of that Im here to help you with your deck. lets start by what I would cut.
p.s. MY FIRST DECK I EVER BUILT WAS MILL AND IT LOOKS SIMILAR TO YOURS.
also okay reading over your combo and strategy guide section and read your deck list.
I dont think your deck is streamlined enough. im just not sure about the synergy and the chance of pulling off each combo. that said im not huge into mill. however i like my decks to be as streamlined and redundant as possible. just too many combo and to low of a probability of them going off (dont ever go to magical Christmas land.)
also some players choose to go only mill with few creatures but you can still make some exceptions for fun
your decks just not linear enough to many strings of cards laying everywhere. i would go either straight fast mill with no creatures or one with very few but power creatures.
ill build you the deck with creatures.
-----WHO DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT-----(THE CARDS I WOULD REMOVE)
1. Propaganda-its not modern legal . and its only really good in streamlined prison decks. you don't need to go aggro,control and mill. thats way too broad magic kind is like evolution decks become more and more specialized. however remember if you over specialize and you breed in weakness.---as to say the format could get shook up out of no where ,but is unlikely.
2. Szadek, Lord of Secrets-- he cost too much he is 7 mana! your not hitting 7 mana in modern without some form of mana acceleration. i.e. - urza lands, land ramp, or rituals, etc.
3. Dream Salvage-- this card has no place in a mill strategy. its for a strategy called discard i.e. (8 rack).
4.Grisly Spectacle-- this card is terrible its its 4 mana for some mill and a kill spell. its too slow. its terrible on tempo. for it to be mana efficent it would need to mill 9-10 cards and kill a creature and im not sure if there are enough death's shadow for it to matter cut it there are better things we can be doing.
5. Imprisoned in the Moon this time its three mana and its a sorcery speed kill spell that also happens to give them ramp. -its a terrible card maybe if you were in mono blue and absolutely had to have a kill spell. you need to play something like doom blade or go for the throator even hero's downfall and if you've got the cash and understand the rules Fatal Push.
6.Extract from Darkness-- not modern legal. also you should read more about the formats because how can you build a sideboard without knowing your meta? also this card is just bad in modern here is why. the thing is a reanimation spell. reanimation spells need to target you graveyard for them to be good else how do you know what creature you will get. so what im saying is you need to mill your self and then have a giant creature in your deck that happens in your graveyard. /----- this deck doesn't work that way. this deck is attacking through mill and damage its has no real use here.-- I think though I know how you perceived this card because when I first read it I had to do a double take on it..
7. Startled Awake-- It's cute... its also really slow. we have to cut it for better things.
8. Duskmantle Guildmage-- " Creating an infinite loop of milling and damage with Mindcrank and Duskmantle Guildmage." your never gonna make this work in modern its to fragile and because of chaos theory ,complex strategies like this tend to fall apart. your investing 11 on a plan that involves a 2/2 guy in the format of modern. a competitive and smart player would never let it happen.
9.Aetherspouts this one has to go, its not linear enough. . funny looking through this list I remember designing decks with these same problems. This card's bad because its a 5 mana board wipe. and you playing black which has Damnation Well thinking about it you can cause this card to create a one sided board wipe but its 5 mana.....---...... five is rough for most magic decks you cant have many 5 mana spells and honestly if your paying 5 mana for a spell in modern it better do something amazing! 5 mana cards need to be able to win games on there own. or cause such a vacuum in board position that its impossible to defeat.
thats gonna teach you a lot about card value and mana costs.its very important to learn.
also the card itself 5- its just to much for this deck you might find a crazy jank deck that uses it. (not to be confused with "jund or junk". but maybe there might be some one who has it working.
okay so those are the main cuts you have to make they are just not good enough.
A proper competitive mill deck should look like this.
you should also know that burn and mill are very similar for example for the philosophy of fire. you have seven cards at the beginning of the game if your playing burn that means that you would love to have every spell deal 3 damage because 7x3 = 21 and thats enough damage to kill your opponent but you also have to factor in mana.because your deck has lands in it! so lets say your deck is 20 mountains and 40 lightning bolt
lets assume then your opening hand is 2 mountain and 5 lightning bolt.
turn 1-lay mountain burn for 3
turn 2 draw mountain, lay mountain, burn for 6= 9 damage total half way to a win on turn two
turn 3 draw lightning bolt lay mountain burn for 9.
turn 4 draw lightning bolt burn for 3 win the game!
so what does 3 damage equate to in terms of mill. how would you win the game in 4 turns using only mill cards?
well, that's easy math. each player has 20 health and each usually has a library of 60 cards so 20x3 =60
so that mean its 3 times large so 3x3 =9 every card in your mill deck should mill for 9 because 9x7=(7 being your hand size.) means that in 4 turns you could mill the person to death by casting 7 mill cards for 9 mill per card. 9 mill x 7 cards= 63 and 63>60 = you win the game turn 4
so all in all I'm saying that each card in your deck needs to be of very high value obviously some are always better than others
I suggest these cards.
1.Mind Funeral-card does work assume most decks run 22-23 lands at 22 thats just over a 3rd of the deck being lands which means thats its going to be between 3-4 cards per land which equates to this cards says mill 9-12 cards depending on the deck your facing.
Hello Wes0SPECTRALself, and thanks for the warm welcome!
I was worried no one would reply, so thank you so much for helping me out! I did what you recommended and remove all the cards you had listed. There are some cards that cause concern for me to add however. I'll list them out for simplicity's sake:
Mesmeric Orb; this would be harmful to me would it not? When I untap lands this would cause me to discard.
Damnation; this is not a problem that should concern anyone but me, but that card is very expensive. The ones I have found run for around $20-$30. Do you know of any cheaper alternatives, or should I just not use it at all.
I would like to make it clear that the intention of my deck is to mill someone while using creatures and spells that benefit from milling, such as Jace's Phantasm.
Any more feedback on this I am happy to hear. Thanks for everything so far!
EDIT: Just wanted to supply a new list of the deck now altered with your recommendations.
Hey, your welcome man! glad to help.
so youve not been playing long but there are philosophizes to deck building. and i dont even know them all but i know enough of them. anyways thats something your going to pick up over time. and honestly the fastest way to get better is just have fun, build what you want. and the go read about a deck using cards from your deck. some stuff is harder to come by online or maybe im just to lazy to look.
as a friendly suggestion If i were you I would ask my play group what format they play.
don't need to waste money if you don't gotta. modern is cheaper long term but standard is cheaper short term. and vintage and legacy are for billionaires.
also as a person memoir. all i play is modern....the shop by my house there is no modern only edh-format...
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here is my deck. the first deck I ever built...of course I've made changes to it over the years.
but yeah this list is budget. its not going to win any tournaments in modern but it can still kick butt in a kitchen table game with friends.
Okay, so let me give you the game plan for this deck and explain how it works.
so , I started from a "top down" design, which just means I started by finding one card I like and built around it. this card ----> consuming aberration
the other term is called "bottom ,up" which means you started with a broader idea for a game plan. as and example maybe, I want to build a deck based around the ability "first strike" Well if im going to do that im going to visit
this website------ (Amazing resource! best place in the world to find out about card interactions and rulings --and find new cards!------ http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Default.aspx
visit this website and look up every creature ever printed with "first strike"!
and build my deck from the data base.
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Let me also first say that this deck is in know way related to the level of deck building i am at right now! I built this six years ago I am much better now!
-----------THE GAME PLAN-----------------
Objectives
==========
1. win the game. (via an onslaught of huge creatures and MILL!) -p.s. when build a deck you should choose a speed and style. i.e.- (Tempo, Aggro, Control, Combo,) or any hybrid variations!
but if you know Magic you know that the color blue generally is the slowest color in the game.-- its about control, and knowledge. (blue is one of my least favorite colors.) i like "jund" colors-red,black,green.
but i still play and build blue decks its just my least favorite but i still play it.
Black---more of a mid-range color----not slow not fast. (but thats not to say a black deck cant be fast or a blue deck cant be fast) --there are exceptions.
2. consuming aberration is a big guy he's five mana. and a lot of decks dont go any high than that...unless your playing -urza, nykthos, rituals or ramp-- they can make like 18 mana turn 5. (not really.. okay maybe nykthos.) so I knew I had to stay alive long enough to cast this. so i looked for cards that would interact well with him. and slow the game down and clogg up the board. thats when I added Kraken Hatchling fog bank,hover barrier,wight of precinct six- THESE CARDS ARNT GREAT. but they do stall the game out. yeah read fog bank again ... it requires a kill spell it cant be killed in combat. so that was i planned to slow down the game. so basically there are three ways to get a big creature into the game 1.- mana acceleration 2. stall tactices 3.cheat it into play i.e. Quicksilver Amulet
etc.
these were some of the best mill spells at the time except glimpse the unthinkable always wanted it but it was 30$ forever.
4.----my tricky little crab----(they use to call me the crab wizard.....no joke.) Hedron Crab so i have a little trick with this guy-- he has a pet rock. this is his pet rock dimir aqueduct --- and this guy doesnt like it when you touch his pet rock. infact he hates it. okay so here is the trick any time this deck is in top deck mode(i have no cards in hand)----and i have at least 5 lands on the battlefield. (obviously 5 is the biggest thing i have so we stop at five) anyways every turn after 5 i can lay this land downn...the rules then say to pick a land back up so i just pick it back up .....and i do that every turn. and every turn it triggers my hedron crab--the best thing is they cant do anything about this unless they kill the creature.like its just a nice 3 card mill every turn plus what ever you cast. I also run evolving wilds because it triggers hedron crab twice the turn you use it. so turn
turn 1. lay island play hedron crab
turn 2 lay evolving wilds play it, trigger hedron crab--mill 3--sac it and go find a swamp. lay it down and trigger mill again. so 6 cards. then with the one island play tome scour mill -5. //////thats milling 11 cards on one mana!
also if you like them try. nephalia drownyard you might like it.
so this strategy is what I use in the extremely late game. you want every card to do something at the end of the game pulling a land when you need a spell is terrible soo.... What we do is make our lands have abilities or tricks! so there is a greater chance of me drawing a card that does something even if that card is a land.
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SO AS A YOUNG DESIGNER , I DIDNT UNDERSTAND THAT REAL COMPETITIVE MAGIC IS FAST AND POWERFUL AND EVERY CARD SHOULD BE AMAZING IF ITS IN A DECK. --there needs to be a reason for everything a streamlined strategy and thats why mill with big monsters is not considered the best option because. its not focused enough. its not ramp, its not control, its spread thin. but but but but
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I know where your coming from and I've been there and i think we can make this deck competetive enough for you to win games and be happy with it on a budget.
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Im going to build your deck list online tonight and try it and refine it. so its both competitive and still pleasing the johny in you----here this explains.
at least from my perspective now i understand that. when is saw consuming aberration I was trying to really cheat in a giant creature by using mill......If thats the case he needs to be unblockable
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okay first before I even test this you said you wanted life gain and mill in your original title.
So you were worried about Mesmeric Orb don't because they are going to run out of cards long long long before you will this is an amazing card. and lets combo that with. Profane Memento this is a great lock combo. they have to pay 1 mill and 1 life for any move they make and thats awesome.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
also ,i will have to suggest not using Spoils of Evil instead use crypt incursion, just for the modern format I have to say that. Since we are in that section of the forum.
20 land is way to few for this deck
20 land is reserved for aggro decks
so you have to cut 4 of something and its hard to choose, I would suggest. Sphinx's Tutelage at 2 because it has 0 board presence and bring protective bubble to 2
NOTES
be good to yourself and buy Drowned Catacomb good lands are a great investment this will smooth out your deck and help it become more consistent.atm cost 15 for all 3 though.
Breaking // Entering is better than mind sculpt as long as you have black mana up. - you just want this card for the breaking part.
protective Bubble This card will protect your creatures from being destroyed while also creating a win condition on the large ones.....-- wish it cost less. but that's why we only run two.
-----play these cards in multiples of 4 they are amazing! seriously they win games!!
profane allows you to stall the game while mesmeric feeds your game plans.
well thats all for tonight its late.. if you have any question feel free to ask
also please try the last deck out its really really good and besides those lands its very cheap.
p.s. think of this as a slower control deck that use huge unkillable unblockable creatures as its win condition. Psychic strike offers a tiny bit of permission which is good in modern.
---------------------------------------
one last final note Dream Salvage is used in discard decks not mill decks. it would be used in conjunction with this card --wrench mind--- MILL occurs to the top of the library . DISCARD happens to the cards in your hand.
OH ALSO AS A GENERAL RULE, NEVER USE AURA ENCHANTMENTS UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE PRIMER ON BOGGLES.
Thanks for all the help again! Though, I do have some concerns about your suggestions, plus some other cards I would like your opinion on:
Crypt Incursion would break creatures like Wight of Precinct Six, as creatures from opponents graveyard(s) would be removed, and his ability removed as well.
Would Avatar of Woe be worth adding to this deck, considering the cheap cost (after milling), and the tap ability to destroy creatures? (This is a continuous method to destroy creatures, and may be a worthwhile alternative to Damnation, since it costs ~$30).
Mesmeric Orb would cost about ~$80 for all four cards, which is a bit out of my price range at the moment. Are there any other beneficial artifacts important to mill?
Other than that, I see no problem with your suggestions. In general, I still want to thank you for all the help you've given me so far. It's been awesome working on this with someone who knows a lot about the game like yourself. So really, thanks!
Thanks for all the help again! Though, I do have some concerns about your suggestions, plus some other cards I would like your opinion on:
Crypt Incursion would break creatures like Wight of Precinct Six, as creatures from opponents graveyard(s) would be removed, and his ability removed as well.
Would Avatar of Woe be worth adding to this deck, considering the cheap cost (after milling), and the tap ability to destroy creatures? (This is a continuous method to destroy creatures, and may be a worthwhile alternative to Damnation, since it costs ~$30).
Mesmeric Orb would cost about ~$80 for all four cards, which is a bit out of my price range at the moment. Are there any other beneficial artifacts important to mill?
Other than that, I see no problem with your suggestions. In general, I still want to thank you for all the help you've given me so far. It's been awesome working on this with someone who knows a lot about the game like yourself. So really, thanks!
yeah your right about crypt incursion its a nombo. (non-combo) increasing confusion is good memory erosion is bad it comes down mid game and does do anything when it hits the board. general you want your spells to do something as soon as you cast them.
I can't believe how expensive mesmeric orb is---my bad.
haha avatar of woe looks great its perfect for your game plan. hell i may even add it to my deck
instead of damnation you could play mutilate or languish--they all have pros and cons. just your preference.
2 Consuming Aberration
4 Jace's Phantasm
4 Wight of Precinct Six
2 Szadek, Lord of Secrets
Enchantment
2 Propaganda
2 Sphinx's Tutelage
2 Imprisoned in the Moon
2 Fraying Sanity
Land
11 Island
8 Swamp
4 Dismal Backwater
Artifact
2 Mindcrank
2 Dream Salvage
2 Grisly Spectacle
2 Psychic Strike
2 Aetherspouts
4 Spell Swindle
Sorcery
2 Psychic Drain
2 Memory Sluice
2 Mind Funeral
2 Mind Sculpt
2 Mind Grind
2 Paranoid Delusions
4 Extract from Darkness
2 Startled Awake
2 Consuming Aberration
2 Duskmantle Guildmage
2 Vampiric Link
2 Profane Memento
2 Spoils of Evil
2 Devour Flesh
2 Traumatize
2 Increasing Confusion
2 Mind Sculpt
I should note that the sideboard is not actually part of my deck yet, and instead is cards that I am considering adding.
I am a bit new to MTG and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for this deck, such as cards I can add to improve it, what I should remove, potential combos, etc. I do not need it to exclusively follow Modern Format rules, but this is the closest format that I play with.
As it stands now, I am going to remove Memory Sluice and replace it with the two Mind Sculpts currently in my sideboard.
Current strategies I am aware of and take advantage of:
I am open to any suggestions, and if you have none, thanks for at least reading my post!
*One last side note, this may be in the wrong forum/area. If a moderator could correct me if that is the case, that'd be greatly appreciated.*
that said.
.
here is a link.
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/developing-competitive-modern/221596-ubx-mill
This link will take you to the best information we have on modern format mill.
but enough of that Im here to help you with your deck. lets start by what I would cut.
p.s. MY FIRST DECK I EVER BUILT WAS MILL AND IT LOOKS SIMILAR TO YOURS.
also okay reading over your combo and strategy guide section and read your deck list.
I dont think your deck is streamlined enough. im just not sure about the synergy and the chance of pulling off each combo. that said im not huge into mill. however i like my decks to be as streamlined and redundant as possible. just too many combo and to low of a probability of them going off (dont ever go to magical Christmas land.)
also some players choose to go only mill with few creatures but you can still make some exceptions for fun
your decks just not linear enough to many strings of cards laying everywhere. i would go either straight fast mill with no creatures or one with very few but power creatures.
ill build you the deck with creatures.
-----WHO DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT-----(THE CARDS I WOULD REMOVE)
1. Propaganda-its not modern legal . and its only really good in streamlined prison decks. you don't need to go aggro,control and mill. thats way too broad magic kind is like evolution decks become more and more specialized. however remember if you over specialize and you breed in weakness.---as to say the format could get shook up out of no where ,but is unlikely.
2. Szadek, Lord of Secrets-- he cost too much he is 7 mana! your not hitting 7 mana in modern without some form of mana acceleration. i.e. - urza lands, land ramp, or rituals, etc.
3. Dream Salvage-- this card has no place in a mill strategy. its for a strategy called discard i.e. (8 rack).
4.Grisly Spectacle-- this card is terrible its its 4 mana for some mill and a kill spell. its too slow. its terrible on tempo. for it to be mana efficent it would need to mill 9-10 cards and kill a creature and im not sure if there are enough death's shadow for it to matter cut it there are better things we can be doing.
5. Imprisoned in the Moon this time its three mana and its a sorcery speed kill spell that also happens to give them ramp. -its a terrible card maybe if you were in mono blue and absolutely had to have a kill spell. you need to play something like doom blade or go for the throator even hero's downfall and if you've got the cash and understand the rules Fatal Push.
6.Extract from Darkness-- not modern legal. also you should read more about the formats because how can you build a sideboard without knowing your meta? also this card is just bad in modern here is why. the thing is a reanimation spell. reanimation spells need to target you graveyard for them to be good else how do you know what creature you will get. so what im saying is you need to mill your self and then have a giant creature in your deck that happens in your graveyard. /----- this deck doesn't work that way. this deck is attacking through mill and damage its has no real use here.-- I think though I know how you perceived this card because when I first read it I had to do a double take on it..
7. Startled Awake-- It's cute... its also really slow. we have to cut it for better things.
8. Duskmantle Guildmage-- " Creating an infinite loop of milling and damage with Mindcrank and Duskmantle Guildmage." your never gonna make this work in modern its to fragile and because of chaos theory ,complex strategies like this tend to fall apart. your investing 11 on a plan that involves a 2/2 guy in the format of modern. a competitive and smart player would never let it happen.
9.Aetherspouts this one has to go, its not linear enough. . funny looking through this list I remember designing decks with these same problems. This card's bad because its a 5 mana board wipe. and you playing black which has Damnation Well thinking about it you can cause this card to create a one sided board wipe but its 5 mana.....---...... five is rough for most magic decks you cant have many 5 mana spells and honestly if your paying 5 mana for a spell in modern it better do something amazing! 5 mana cards need to be able to win games on there own. or cause such a vacuum in board position that its impossible to defeat.
10.Spell Swindle -- okay, so this one is 5 mana thats just to much you want most of your spells your deck to cost 3 mana or less. here look at this --https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/life-and-cards-i-philosophy-fire-2014-04-28
thats gonna teach you a lot about card value and mana costs.its very important to learn.
also the card itself 5- its just to much for this deck you might find a crazy jank deck that uses it. (not to be confused with "jund or junk". but maybe there might be some one who has it working.
okay so those are the main cuts you have to make they are just not good enough.
A proper competitive mill deck should look like this.
2x Darkslick Shores
3x Field of Ruin
1x Flooded Strand
2x Island
1x Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
4x Polluted Delta
2x Shelldock Isle
1x Sunken Hollow
1x Sunken Ruins
3x Swamp
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Watery Grave
4x Archive Trap
3x Crypt Incursion
1x Dismember
3x Fatal Push
3x Surgical Extraction
3x Visions of Beyond
Sorcery (10)
2x Breaking / Entering
2x Damnation
4x Glimpse the Unthinkable
2x Mind Funeral
Enchantment (3)
3x Fraying Sanity
Artifact (4)
4x Mesmeric Orb
4x Hedron Crab
3x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
3x Collective Brutality
1x Damnation
2x Echoing Truth
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Hero's Downfall
2x Pithing Needle
you should also know that burn and mill are very similar for example for the philosophy of fire. you have seven cards at the beginning of the game if your playing burn that means that you would love to have every spell deal 3 damage because 7x3 = 21 and thats enough damage to kill your opponent but you also have to factor in mana.because your deck has lands in it! so lets say your deck is 20 mountains and 40 lightning bolt
lets assume then your opening hand is 2 mountain and 5 lightning bolt.
turn 1-lay mountain burn for 3
turn 2 draw mountain, lay mountain, burn for 6= 9 damage total half way to a win on turn two
turn 3 draw lightning bolt lay mountain burn for 9.
turn 4 draw lightning bolt burn for 3 win the game!
so what does 3 damage equate to in terms of mill. how would you win the game in 4 turns using only mill cards?
well, that's easy math. each player has 20 health and each usually has a library of 60 cards so 20x3 =60
so that mean its 3 times large so 3x3 =9 every card in your mill deck should mill for 9 because 9x7=(7 being your hand size.) means that in 4 turns you could mill the person to death by casting 7 mill cards for 9 mill per card. 9 mill x 7 cards= 63 and 63>60 = you win the game turn 4
so all in all I'm saying that each card in your deck needs to be of very high value obviously some are always better than others
I suggest these cards.
1.Mind Funeral-card does work assume most decks run 22-23 lands at 22 thats just over a 3rd of the deck being lands which means thats its going to be between 3-4 cards per land which equates to this cards says mill 9-12 cards depending on the deck your facing.
2.Haunting Echoes- seems good.
3.Glimpse the Unthinkable- its great.
4. Hedron Crab pack some fetch lands in your deck and this is powerful.
5.Fraying Sanity run four, please.
6. Mesmeric Orb seems great,yet to use it though.
------------I hope i've been some help!------------- good luck!!!!!!!!!!
here is a low creature build.
4 Hedron Crab
artifacts
4 Mesmeric Orb
Enchantment
4 Fraying Sanity
spells
4 Crypt Incursion
4 Mind Funeral
4 Haunting Echoes
4 Breaking // Entering
4 Tome Scour
4 Glimpse the Unthinkable
6 Island
6 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
4 watery grave
this deck can get your opponents deck from sixty to zero in 4 turns.
there are other ways to build this deck ill post some more later.
I was worried no one would reply, so thank you so much for helping me out! I did what you recommended and remove all the cards you had listed. There are some cards that cause concern for me to add however. I'll list them out for simplicity's sake:
I would like to make it clear that the intention of my deck is to mill someone while using creatures and spells that benefit from milling, such as Jace's Phantasm.
Any more feedback on this I am happy to hear. Thanks for everything so far!
EDIT: Just wanted to supply a new list of the deck now altered with your recommendations.
2 Consuming Aberration
4 Jace's Phantasm
4 Wight of Precinct Six
2 Duskmantle Guildmage
Enchantment
2 Sphinx's Tutelage
2 Fraying Sanity
Land
8 Island
8 Swamp
4 Dismal Backwater
2 Profane Memento
Instant
2 Spoils of Evil
2 Devour Flesh
4 Psychic Strike
Sorcery
2 Psychic Drain
2 Mind Funeral
2 Increasing Confusion
4 Mind Sculpt
2 Mind Grind
2 Traumatize
2 Consuming Aberration
2 Vampiric Link
2 Paranoid Delusions
so youve not been playing long but there are philosophizes to deck building. and i dont even know them all but i know enough of them. anyways thats something your going to pick up over time. and honestly the fastest way to get better is just have fun, build what you want. and the go read about a deck using cards from your deck. some stuff is harder to come by online or maybe im just to lazy to look.
as a friendly suggestion If i were you I would ask my play group what format they play.
don't need to waste money if you don't gotta. modern is cheaper long term but standard is cheaper short term. and vintage and legacy are for billionaires.
also as a person memoir. all i play is modern....the shop by my house there is no modern only edh-format...
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here is my deck. the first deck I ever built...of course I've made changes to it over the years.
but yeah this list is budget. its not going to win any tournaments in modern but it can still kick butt in a kitchen table game with friends.
4 consuming aberration
4 Kraken Hatchling
2 fog bank
4 hover barrier
4 hedron crab
3 wight of precinct six
4 mind funeral
4 rend flesh
4 mind sculpt
4 tome scour
lands
4 evolving wilds
1 dimir aqueduct
3 nephalia drownyard
6 swamp
9 islands
Okay, so let me give you the game plan for this deck and explain how it works.
so , I started from a "top down" design, which just means I started by finding one card I like and built around it. this card ----> consuming aberration
the other term is called "bottom ,up" which means you started with a broader idea for a game plan. as and example maybe, I want to build a deck based around the ability "first strike" Well if im going to do that im going to visit
this website------ (Amazing resource! best place in the world to find out about card interactions and rulings --and find new cards!------
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Default.aspx
visit this website and look up every creature ever printed with "first strike"!
and build my deck from the data base.
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Let me also first say that this deck is in know way related to the level of deck building i am at right now! I built this six years ago I am much better now!
-----------THE GAME PLAN-----------------
Objectives
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1. win the game. (via an onslaught of huge creatures and MILL!) -p.s. when build a deck you should choose a speed and style. i.e.- (Tempo, Aggro, Control, Combo,) or any hybrid variations!
but if you know Magic you know that the color blue generally is the slowest color in the game.-- its about control, and knowledge. (blue is one of my least favorite colors.) i like "jund" colors-red,black,green.
but i still play and build blue decks its just my least favorite but i still play it.
Black---more of a mid-range color----not slow not fast. (but thats not to say a black deck cant be fast or a blue deck cant be fast) --there are exceptions.
2. consuming aberration is a big guy he's five mana. and a lot of decks dont go any high than that...unless your playing -urza, nykthos, rituals or ramp-- they can make like 18 mana turn 5. (not really.. okay maybe nykthos.) so I knew I had to stay alive long enough to cast this. so i looked for cards that would interact well with him. and slow the game down and clogg up the board. thats when I added Kraken Hatchling
fog bank,hover barrier,wight of precinct six- THESE CARDS ARNT GREAT. but they do stall the game out. yeah read fog bank again ... it requires a kill spell it cant be killed in combat. so that was i planned to slow down the game. so basically there are three ways to get a big creature into the game 1.- mana acceleration 2. stall tactices 3.cheat it into play i.e. Quicksilver Amulet
etc.
3. the instants and sorceries-
4 rend flesh
4 mind sculpt
4 tome scour
these were some of the best mill spells at the time except glimpse the unthinkable always wanted it but it was 30$ forever.
4.----my tricky little crab----(they use to call me the crab wizard.....no joke.)
Hedron Crab so i have a little trick with this guy-- he has a pet rock. this is his pet rock dimir aqueduct --- and this guy doesnt like it when you touch his pet rock. infact he hates it. okay so here is the trick any time this deck is in top deck mode(i have no cards in hand)----and i have at least 5 lands on the battlefield. (obviously 5 is the biggest thing i have so we stop at five) anyways every turn after 5 i can lay this land downn...the rules then say to pick a land back up so i just pick it back up .....and i do that every turn. and every turn it triggers my hedron crab--the best thing is they cant do anything about this unless they kill the creature.like its just a nice 3 card mill every turn plus what ever you cast. I also run evolving wilds because it triggers hedron crab twice the turn you use it. so turn
turn 1. lay island play hedron crab
turn 2 lay evolving wilds play it, trigger hedron crab--mill 3--sac it and go find a swamp. lay it down and trigger mill again. so 6 cards. then with the one island play tome scour mill -5. //////thats milling 11 cards on one mana!
also if you like them try. nephalia drownyard you might like it.
so this strategy is what I use in the extremely late game. you want every card to do something at the end of the game pulling a land when you need a spell is terrible soo.... What we do is make our lands have abilities or tricks! so there is a greater chance of me drawing a card that does something even if that card is a land.
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SO AS A YOUNG DESIGNER , I DIDNT UNDERSTAND THAT REAL COMPETITIVE MAGIC IS FAST AND POWERFUL AND EVERY CARD SHOULD BE AMAZING IF ITS IN A DECK. --there needs to be a reason for everything a streamlined strategy and thats why mill with big monsters is not considered the best option because. its not focused enough. its not ramp, its not control, its spread thin. but but but but
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I know where your coming from and I've been there and i think we can make this deck competetive enough for you to win games and be happy with it on a budget.
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Im going to build your deck list online tonight and try it and refine it. so its both competitive and still pleasing the johny in you----here this explains.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/timmy-johnny-and-spike-2013-12-03
at least from my perspective now i understand that. when is saw consuming aberration I was trying to really cheat in a giant creature by using mill......If thats the case he needs to be unblockable
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okay first before I even test this you said you wanted life gain and mill in your original title.
So you were worried about Mesmeric Orb don't because they are going to run out of cards long long long before you will this is an amazing card. and lets combo that with. Profane Memento this is a great lock combo. they have to pay 1 mill and 1 life for any move they make and thats awesome.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
also ,i will have to suggest not using Spoils of Evil instead use crypt incursion, just for the modern format I have to say that. Since we are in that section of the forum.
2 Consuming Aberration
4 Jace's Phantasm
4 Wight of Precinct Six
artifacts
4 Profane Memento
4 Mesmeric Orb
4 Sphinx's Tutelage
4 Fraying Sanity
3 protective bubble
Instants Sorceries
4 Psychic Strike
4 Mind Funeral
3 Breaking // Entering
8 Island
8 Swamp
4 Dismal Backwater
comments on the deck.
20 land is way to few for this deck
20 land is reserved for aggro decks
so you have to cut 4 of something and its hard to choose, I would suggest. Sphinx's Tutelage at 2 because it has 0 board presence and bring protective bubble to 2
so it should look like this
2 Consuming Aberration
4 Jace's Phantasm
4 Wight of Precinct Six
artifacts
4 Profane Memento
4 Mesmeric Orb
2 Sphinx's Tutelage
4 Fraying Sanity
2 protective Bubble
Instants Sorceries
4 Psychic Strike
4 Mind Funeral
3 Breaking // Entering
8 Island
8 Swamp
4 Dismal Backwater
3 Drowned Catacomb
NOTES
be good to yourself and buy Drowned Catacomb good lands are a great investment this will smooth out your deck and help it become more consistent.atm cost 15 for all 3 though.
Breaking // Entering is better than mind sculpt as long as you have black mana up. - you just want this card for the breaking part.
protective Bubble This card will protect your creatures from being destroyed while also creating a win condition on the large ones.....-- wish it cost less. but that's why we only run two.
4 Profane Memento
4 Mesmeric Orb
profane allows you to stall the game while mesmeric feeds your game plans.
well thats all for tonight its late.. if you have any question feel free to ask
also please try the last deck out its really really good and besides those lands its very cheap.
p.s. think of this as a slower control deck that use huge unkillable unblockable creatures as its win condition.
Psychic strike offers a tiny bit of permission which is good in modern.
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one last final note Dream Salvage is used in discard decks not mill decks. it would be used in conjunction with this card --wrench mind--- MILL occurs to the top of the library . DISCARD happens to the cards in your hand.
OH ALSO AS A GENERAL RULE, NEVER USE AURA ENCHANTMENTS UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE PRIMER ON BOGGLES.
AURA enchantments are in general terrible.
oh yeah you could run whispersilk cloak i would think it a a superior card in most situations over protective bubble
still editing this page just saving as i go
Other than that, I see no problem with your suggestions. In general, I still want to thank you for all the help you've given me so far. It's been awesome working on this with someone who knows a lot about the game like yourself. So really, thanks!
yeah your right about crypt incursion its a nombo. (non-combo)
increasing confusion is good
memory erosion is bad it comes down mid game and does do anything when it hits the board. general you want your spells to do something as soon as you cast them.
I can't believe how expensive mesmeric orb is---my bad.
haha avatar of woe looks great its perfect for your game plan. hell i may even add it to my deck
instead of damnation you could play mutilate or languish--they all have pros and cons. just your preference.
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/200166-black-board-wipes
i think your on the right path though
if you like this strategy look into dredge decks. stinkweed imp
oh yeah their is millstone in artifacts, and im sure a few more. but its not good