Now that the full spoiler is done, I want to post what I have been playing with on untap.in, and start getting feedback and comments on what others have been doing. This is a fun deck concept to me, and I am glad it is at least somewhat playable in Standard. Thanks for any advice in advance!
You're putting very few creatures in the GY, I don't think Scarab God works in this build. I'd rather see it in a U/B Zombies deck w/Cryptbreaker. I could get behind it a bit more if Rise From the Tides wasn't so expensive.
The main milling effects are all centered in blue, so you can do U/X/X easily and not lose out on anything very good. Fraying Sanity, Compelling Argument, Startled Awake and Winds of Rebuke are all you need. The rest of the shell is a question.
You can stay mono blue and go all in on the combo, Manic Scribe, Implements and Puzzleknots to help get delerium, but not much of an alternate win plan. Crush of Tentacles and maybe a copy of Approach of teh Second Sun splashed in off Prophetic Prisms and Aether Hubs are a possibility.
You can go Bant and merge the mill cards with a TurboFog deck.
You can go Temur and have Fevered Visions as a secondary gameplan, but also keeping your hand filled to keep milling them faster. Hour of Devastation helps keep the board clear as well.
Sultai gets the Fogs from Green and kill spells from Black.
Esper has board wipes in Hour of Revelation and Fumigate, as well as a bonus fog in Dazzling Reflection.
You can also stay mono blue and merge the mill plan with a Gearhulk control deck.
I like the mono blue ideas and leaning hard on Engulf the Shore for protection. The Puzzleknot version just runs Woodweavers to help stay alive. I like that you can run 2 Dunes of the Dead in addition to the 4 Ipnu Rivulets in the mono blue build and not lose anything, plus it gives you a couple extra deserts to sac so you don't just get rid of the land that provides that ability.
The Scarab God is there to rob the other player's GY, not mine. It is a solid finisher/secondary win-con in this deck, I have found (when you can't finish with Mill for whatever reason).
You say the main mill effects are those four spells; I would definitely argue that Minister of Inquiries needs to be included in that list as well, as MoI actually drives the only turn 4 win capability (t1 MoI, t2 MoI, t3 Fraying and mill 12; t4 mill another 12 and Startled Awake to hit exactly 50...even better possibilities exist in candy land where you draw all three MoI)
I don't like Manic Scribe. I feel like it is too hard to get delirium in the deck for it to do what you want it to. Maybe if I experimented with Puzzleknots or other artifacts/artifact creatures, it could be good, but with what I have experimented with so far, it's a no-go. The whole suggestion path you make in this paragraph suggests a huge grind-fest, which based on my experience with the deck so far, is better won with Scarab God.
TurboFog is a great consideration, but not really *my* flavor.
Temur and Fevered Visions is an interesting suggestion, but that said, FV and Fraying Sanity occupy the same spot on the curve, and a bad one at that. Might be too "win-more"?
The current land base is pretty good for everything except Yahenni's Expertise (on occasion the low B count makes it hard to hit double B). I feel like going three color would dilute things too much.
Torrential Gearhulk cannot cast any of the 11 sorceries (8 of which are part of the mill core) from GY. I feel like that is a huge weakness of it, as the instants in this deck frankly are not all that powerful except situationally. I don't really feel that in its current incarnation, a Gearhulk build is appropriate.
Dunes of the Dead - I agree that it would be great to have extra sac outlets, and the 2/2 zombie for Scarab God might be great as well. That seems like a good addition, and I might modify to add it. (it just got spoiled this morning, so no time to test with it yet)
Yes, the fact that none of the mill cards are instant speed is a bit of a bummer, but really that doesn't matter. The Gearhulk interacts w/the card draw and countermagic (and Engulf) that you use to stay alive and choose your spots to do chunks of milling. Plus, you likely end up able to drop a Fraying here and there and have multiples in play before that build even bothers to start doing much milling.
The Fog decks takes a lot from an early Approach deck I was working on. The Full On Combo version uses some of the same artifacts that are used in my Aetherflux Reservoir deck to dig and help get delerium for Manic Scribe. There is so much removal floating around the format right now that MoI feels very underwhelming to be relying on him, for me anyway. I'd rather setup a little bit, then when things are safe and you choose your spot, do big chunks of milling.
1)
T4: Fraying Sanity on the board. Compelling Argumentx2. Mills a total of 20 (5+5+10).
T5: Startled Awake. Mills a total of 26 (13+13)
2)
T5: Fraying Sanityx2 on the board. Compelling Argument, Sac Ipnu Rivulet. Mills a total of 36 (5+4+9+18)
T6: Winds of Rebuke, Sac Ipnu Rivulet. Mills a total of 24 (2+4+6+12
3)
T5: Fraying Sanityx2 on the board. Startled Awake. Mills a total of 52 (13+13+26)
4)
T4: Fraying Sanity on the board. Compelling Argument, Sac Ipnu Rivulet. Mills a total of 18 (5+4+9).
5)
T6: Fraying Sanityx3 on the board. Compelling Argumentx2, Winds of Rebuke. Mills a total of 84 (5+5+2+12+24+36).
Friend is supposed to come over this weekend and I will get some opportunities to test the Gearhulk version.
So during prerelease I had gotten Fraying Sanities as my promo and throughout the night me and my friends were discussing if it could have a place in standard. I thought what if we went into energy and ran Dynavolt Tower, Glassblower's puzzleknot, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner. Since we want to run mill cards in our deck it doesn't answer our opponents threats but if we have a tower then we can mill and answer our opponents threats at the same time. With the puzzleknot and glint-sleeve it makes it so that we can find our fraying sanities/mill quicker. So I put this a quick list together and this is what i came up with.
I like SSquirrel's Gearhulk control deck, but I would emphasize board interaction a little more than countermagic because you would have to lower your shields to play Fraying Sanity.
3 Minister of Inquiries
3 The Scarab God
Instants (14)
4 Fatal Push
3 Censor
4 Winds of Rebuke
3 Supreme Will
Enchantments (6)
2 Vessel of Paramnesia
4 Fraying Sanity
4 Compelling Argument
4 Startled Awake
3 Yahenni's Expertise
Lands (23)
4 Ipnu Rivulet
11 Island
4 Aether Hub
4 Fetid Pools
1 Minister of Inquiries
4 Essence Scatter
4 Negate
4 Disallow
1 Vessel of Paramenesia
1 Supreme Will
The main milling effects are all centered in blue, so you can do U/X/X easily and not lose out on anything very good. Fraying Sanity, Compelling Argument, Startled Awake and Winds of Rebuke are all you need. The rest of the shell is a question.
You can stay mono blue and go all in on the combo, Manic Scribe, Implements and Puzzleknots to help get delerium, but not much of an alternate win plan. Crush of Tentacles and maybe a copy of Approach of teh Second Sun splashed in off Prophetic Prisms and Aether Hubs are a possibility.
You can go Bant and merge the mill cards with a TurboFog deck.
You can go Temur and have Fevered Visions as a secondary gameplan, but also keeping your hand filled to keep milling them faster. Hour of Devastation helps keep the board clear as well.
Sultai gets the Fogs from Green and kill spells from Black.
Esper has board wipes in Hour of Revelation and Fumigate, as well as a bonus fog in Dazzling Reflection.
You can also stay mono blue and merge the mill plan with a Gearhulk control deck.
I like the mono blue ideas and leaning hard on Engulf the Shore for protection. The Puzzleknot version just runs Woodweavers to help stay alive. I like that you can run 2 Dunes of the Dead in addition to the 4 Ipnu Rivulets in the mono blue build and not lose anything, plus it gives you a couple extra deserts to sac so you don't just get rid of the land that provides that ability.
You say the main mill effects are those four spells; I would definitely argue that Minister of Inquiries needs to be included in that list as well, as MoI actually drives the only turn 4 win capability (t1 MoI, t2 MoI, t3 Fraying and mill 12; t4 mill another 12 and Startled Awake to hit exactly 50...even better possibilities exist in candy land where you draw all three MoI)
I don't like Manic Scribe. I feel like it is too hard to get delirium in the deck for it to do what you want it to. Maybe if I experimented with Puzzleknots or other artifacts/artifact creatures, it could be good, but with what I have experimented with so far, it's a no-go. The whole suggestion path you make in this paragraph suggests a huge grind-fest, which based on my experience with the deck so far, is better won with Scarab God.
TurboFog is a great consideration, but not really *my* flavor.
Temur and Fevered Visions is an interesting suggestion, but that said, FV and Fraying Sanity occupy the same spot on the curve, and a bad one at that. Might be too "win-more"?
The current land base is pretty good for everything except Yahenni's Expertise (on occasion the low B count makes it hard to hit double B). I feel like going three color would dilute things too much.
Torrential Gearhulk cannot cast any of the 11 sorceries (8 of which are part of the mill core) from GY. I feel like that is a huge weakness of it, as the instants in this deck frankly are not all that powerful except situationally. I don't really feel that in its current incarnation, a Gearhulk build is appropriate.
Dunes of the Dead - I agree that it would be great to have extra sac outlets, and the 2/2 zombie for Scarab God might be great as well. That seems like a good addition, and I might modify to add it. (it just got spoiled this morning, so no time to test with it yet)
The Fog decks takes a lot from an early Approach deck I was working on. The Full On Combo version uses some of the same artifacts that are used in my Aetherflux Reservoir deck to dig and help get delerium for Manic Scribe. There is so much removal floating around the format right now that MoI feels very underwhelming to be relying on him, for me anyway. I'd rather setup a little bit, then when things are safe and you choose your spot, do big chunks of milling.
Temur Mill
4 Fraying Sanity
4 Startled Awake
4 Compelling Argument
3 Winds of Rebuke
1 Supreme Will
2 Pieces of the Puzzle
2 Negate
1 Crush of Tentacles
4 Fevered Visions
2 Radiant Flames
4 Commencement of Festivities
4 Haze of Pollen
3 Forest
2 Island
2 Mountain
4 Ipnu Rivulet
4 Aether Hub
2 Botanical Sanctum
3 Cinder Glade
2 Lumbering Falls
3 Spirebluff Canal
Bant Mill-Fog
3 Glimmer of Genius
4 Commencement of Festivities
4 Haze of Pollen
1 Commit / Memory
2 Fumigate
4 Fraying Sanity
4 Startled Awake
4 Compelling Argument
3 Winds of Rebuke
1 Approach of the Second Sun
4 Irrigated Farmlands
4 Aether Hub
1 Canopy Vista
1 Port Town
4 Fortified Village
4 Lumbering Falls
2 Island
2 Plains
2 Forest
Gearhulk Control Mill
3 Torrential Gearhulk
Spells: 32
4 Fraying Sanity E
4 Startled Awake S
4 Compelling Argument S
1 Crush of Tentacles S
1 Pull from Tomorrow -
2 Winds of Rebuke
2 Engulf the Shore
4 Glimmer of Genius
3 Censor
2 Negate
2 Disallow
2 Hieroglyphic Illumination
1 Commit // Memory
14 Island
2 Dunes of the Dead
4 Aether Hub
4 Ipnu Rivulet
1 Blighted Cataract
2 Dispel
3 Essence Scatter
3 Dynavolt Tower
1 Sphinx of the Final Word
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 Kefnet the Mindful
2 Engulf the Shore
2 Supreme Will
Full on Mill
4 Manic Scribe
Spells: 31
4 Fraying Sanity
4 Startled Awake
4 Compelling Argument
3 Winds of Rebuke
4 Implement of Examination
2 Prophetic Prism
3 Woodweaver's Puzzleknot
2 Pieces of the Puzzle
2 Negate
2 Engulf the Shore
1 Crush of Tentacles
4 Aether Hub
4 Ipnu Rivulet
2 Cradle of the Accursed
1 Blighted Cataract
14 Island
2 Dispel
2 Essence Scatter
3 Dynavolt Tower
1 Sphinx of the Final Word
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 Kefnet the Mindful
2 Engulf the Shore
2 Supreme Will
1 Crush of Tentacles
Fun Mill Math:
1)
T4: Fraying Sanity on the board. Compelling Argumentx2. Mills a total of 20 (5+5+10).
T5: Startled Awake. Mills a total of 26 (13+13)
2)
T5: Fraying Sanityx2 on the board. Compelling Argument, Sac Ipnu Rivulet. Mills a total of 36 (5+4+9+18)
T6: Winds of Rebuke, Sac Ipnu Rivulet. Mills a total of 24 (2+4+6+12
3)
T5: Fraying Sanityx2 on the board. Startled Awake. Mills a total of 52 (13+13+26)
4)
T4: Fraying Sanity on the board. Compelling Argument, Sac Ipnu Rivulet. Mills a total of 18 (5+4+9).
5)
T6: Fraying Sanityx3 on the board. Compelling Argumentx2, Winds of Rebuke. Mills a total of 84 (5+5+2+12+24+36).
Friend is supposed to come over this weekend and I will get some opportunities to test the Gearhulk version.
Here is a budget mono-blue version posted by SBMTG:
Deck Tech
4 Fraying Sanity
4 Startled Awake
Cycling Package
4 Censor
4 Compelling Argument
2 Countervailing Winds
4 Hieroglyphic Illumination
1 Abandoned Sarcophagus
3 Unsummon
4 Winds of Rebuke
4 Engulf the Shore
Other Counters
2 Essence Scatter
3 Disallow
Lands
3 Ipnu Rivulet
18 Island
1 Unsummon
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Dispel
4 Spontaneous Mutation
3 Negate
1 Essence Scatter
2 Crook of Condemnation
1 Baral's Expertise
C Long Live Eldrazi C
4x Minister of Inquiries
4x Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
Enchantments
4x Fraying Sanity
Artifacts
3x Glassblower's Puzzleknot
3x Dynavolt Tower
Instants
3x Censor
3x Harnessed Lightning
3x Glimmer of Genius
3x Fatal Push
4x Startled Awake
4x Compelling Argument
Lands
4x Aether Hub
4x Spirebluff Canal
4x Ipnu Rivulet
3x Choked Estuary
2x Swamp
3x Island
2x Mountain
Maybe something like this?
2 Torrential Gearhulk
4 Compelling Argument
4 Supreme Will
3 Void Shatter
4 Fraying Sanity
3 Glimmer of Genius
4 Engulf the Shore
4 Commit // Memory
4 Startled Awake
4 Ipnu Rivulet
16 Island
Maybe take out the Aether Hubs if you need more islands for Engulf the Shore.
C Long Live Eldrazi C
4x push
4x compelling argument
4x manic scribe
1x Negate
4x Paramnesia Vessel
4x Winds of Rebuke
4x Fraying Sanity
4x Startled Awake
3x Bontu's Last Reckoning
4x Aether Hub
2x Desert of the Mindful
2x Evolving Wilds
2x Fetid Pools
4x Ipunet Rivulet
2x Sunken Hollow
4x Swamp
4x Island