I know some other people have voiced concerns over the effectiveness of sorcery speed removal, but (at least in my local meta) there have been a number of Erebos decks and other decks that run gods (if not as commander than as part of a combo, like Purphuros and a token generator). That is why I have to start running Ashes to Ashes, which I feel is the best of the lot. Unfortunately, sometimes the point of that god is to remain an enchantment, in which case, monoblack is screwed. But this was a meta call. I just think that as we "Journey into Nyx" the likelihood of seeing more god commanders is going to increase since they are now multicolor.
I've been considering Magus of the Jar as of lately. Memory Jar is a house in this deck, offering a new hand at critical times, sealing the deal by putting Cyclonic Rift inside the jar, copying it multiple times for excellent card selection, or even killing someone by making them draw the last few cards of thier libraries. The Magus would be Necrotic Ooze friendly, and with the new Havengul Lich you'd have two jars for the turn with a haste outlet. I actually think that Magus + Necrotic Ooze + Havengul makes some kind of degenerate jar-in-jar combo, but it's by no means infinite so it's all good. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I just talked myself into it xD.
In addition to my previous point about Buried Alive and Anger, where is Sol Ring and Expedition Map. Sol Ring let's you rock a possible t2 Buried Alive to get graveyard shenanigans online quickly and e map can be crucial for Urborg /coffers retrieval.
I have a deck that is similar to this in many aspects. Two cards that have pulled their weight for me are Anger and Buried Alive. An early Buried Alive targeting Anger, Bloodghast and Gravecrawler quickly gets out of hand especially with skullclamp around.
I'm surprised you haven't covered using/not using Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker. Comes down much faster than Szadek, flies, and Mind Funerals when he gets in. I'm in the middle of finishing off my first build of a mill deck using him so I'm not sure how well he'll perform, but I've used this thread to come up with ideas for a v2 of the deck.
I use Mirko as an alternative general for my mill deck and he is amazing. Much more aggressive. I find he works best if you are running a bit more equipment, because he is a little more build-around and you _need_ to protect him.
Thinking about adding a section for those who'd want to take the deck in a more combo driven direction. There are certainly many mill combo staples that I'm not exploiting, but some may be interested in knowing them.
Thoughts?
Personally, I think that primers that explore other options/archtypes are the best. When you're new to a commander, the more info the better.
I really like your primer. I was actually beginning work for a primer candidate for Lazav Dimir Mastermill, but since you beat me to it (got busy with life, you know how it is), I'm gonna slow down on it.
That said, I love your work so far and I have lots of feedback for you. Sorry if I reiterate what others have said.
I like your deck, but I think that you have a really high curve for creatures. Your Ave CMC for the entire deck (according to the deck on the left that I input into DeckStats.net) is 3.95, which I feel is a little high even for EDH. BTW, the list of the left has 102 cards. I know that some of the big cards are fun, but creatures early on are important too, and it will speed up your deck.
You have a bunch of potential generals included in your actual list (Oona, Lazav, Dralnu). A suggestion that I have tried is to cut them from the deck (maybe in favor of some lower CMC cards) but keep them sleeved and nearby. When you feel like mixing things up, switch one in as your general for a different feel. I also include Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker in my "sideboard", but my deck has more swords and equipment. When I bring it Mirko, I often bring in a Whispersilk Cloak, and when I bring in Oona, Queen of the Fae I almost always switch in a Training Grounds and Illusionist's Bracers. This keeps the deck feeling fresh for me and my playgroup.
Below is a short list of cards that have really pulled their weight for me (I'll exclude combo enablers since you don't seem to like them. As an aside, I agree with you re: combos, but Duskmantle Guildmage is too flavorful for me to exclude).
Baleful Strix - an awesome early play and is a bit of a rattlesnake for attackers while you are getting set up.
Elixir of Immortality - I've come close to milling myself out before. It's nice to have a little out.
Relic of Progenitus - Some decks love having a big graveyard and want to take advantage of it. We want to prevent that! This does it efficiently and if you stack this ability on top of an Eldrazi trigger, it will exile the GY before it gets shuffle back in.
Vampiric Tutor or Enlightened Tutor on EOT and you can play this afterwards to mill the card they just searched out (not in response though, because that doesn't work. You wait until the tutor resolves, then priority gets passed to you before the turn actually ends and you slam this down). Nothing better than playing a spell for free.
Rhystic Study - Awesome card to lay down early and can give mad draw. Definitely consider it.
Increasing Confusion - you mentioned the power of flashback spells, well look no further. A one time Sands of Delirium that doesn't mind getting milled and is even stronger from the graveyard. Worth a second thought.
Bitterblossom - Chump blockers, or attach a sword and fly over top. Also great for skullclamp and draw. Can't recommend enough for any black deck.
Anyways, stop by my deck and take a look for ideas (sorry for the shameless plug!).
I'm also a fan of the Pulse Tracker, Nirkana Cutthroat, Child of Night and the Markov Patrician. They are all cheapish drops that can do a lot of work. The life-linkers can start your Sanguine Bond / Exquisite Blood Combo even if blocked. Pulse Tracker does damage to everyone even if blocked (and thus can start the SB / EB combo) and the Cutthroat can become a very powerful creature with just a little mana love each turn.
Thanks for coming by the thread.
All the cards you've mentioned have been under consideration in the past. In fact I only just recently made the decision to cut Blood Seeker, Butcher of Malakir and Pulse Tracker. I do like all 3 of them, and Butcher of Malakir may come back soon. Butcher is a little tough to get out and sac isn't central to the theme of the deck (although it works as a great rattlesnake). In the end he was dropped for some of the life gain stuff.
With respect to the damage enablers you mentioned, they didn't have as much board presence as I needed. They are great for starting the SB/EB when it's out, but to be honest, I've never had the issue starting it up once its out with all the other flyers and life gain spells.
Get a sylvan library and replace the mirri's guile when you get it.
I did a sort of look at the m14 on my primer take a look at it when you have the time. There are also a lot of other options you can consider when you are adding cards take a look in the cards to consider section of the primer.
Thanks for the suggestion. From my perspective, the difficulty is trying to keep 6+ decks good at the same time. I have 2 Sylvans, but they're in other decks that need them more, so Mirri is here instead.
Thanks for the feedback Darklich. I had toyed with that idea for a long time, and what effectively had prevented me from doing just that was that I had some fun artifacts lying around without a home.
Anyways, after you posted this I said "what the hell" and took out the artifacts and went full on Enchantment over the weekend (just replacing artifact/artifact search with some enchantments I had lying around such as Fists of IronwoodMolting SkinSnake Umbra). Oh boy, did I enjoy it more.
Short of it is that I'm dropping the artifacts and gonna pick up some more of the enchantment staples. Updates coming soon.
Removed the Worldslayer because it was a fun killer (if you can't end the game in another couple of turns, world resets are unfun for everyone but you).
May I suggest Jace's Archivist over Magus of the Jar? It has the advantage of being re-usable, though does not work exactly the same way as Memory Jar
Edit: spelling
I use Mirko as an alternative general for my mill deck and he is amazing. Much more aggressive. I find he works best if you are running a bit more equipment, because he is a little more build-around and you _need_ to protect him.
I run Trepanation Blade, Swiftfoot Boots, Sword of Body and Mind, Sword of Feast and Famine, Whispersilk Cloak, Lightning Greaves, and Swiftfoot Boots with him.
Personally, I think that primers that explore other options/archtypes are the best. When you're new to a commander, the more info the better.
Duskmantle Guildmage and Mindcrank - for infinite mill. Made easier to accomplish if you include Training Grounds in an Oona build.
Bloodchief Ascension and Mindcrank - you've mentioned it already and its a good one.
Gravecrawler + Altar of Dementia + Rooftop Storm + any other zombie works well if you love your zombies (Undead Alchemist?!?), especially if you run Dralnu as your commander.
That said, I love your work so far and I have lots of feedback for you. Sorry if I reiterate what others have said.
I like your deck, but I think that you have a really high curve for creatures. Your Ave CMC for the entire deck (according to the deck on the left that I input into DeckStats.net) is 3.95, which I feel is a little high even for EDH. BTW, the list of the left has 102 cards. I know that some of the big cards are fun, but creatures early on are important too, and it will speed up your deck.
You have a bunch of potential generals included in your actual list (Oona, Lazav, Dralnu). A suggestion that I have tried is to cut them from the deck (maybe in favor of some lower CMC cards) but keep them sleeved and nearby. When you feel like mixing things up, switch one in as your general for a different feel. I also include Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker in my "sideboard", but my deck has more swords and equipment. When I bring it Mirko, I often bring in a Whispersilk Cloak, and when I bring in Oona, Queen of the Fae I almost always switch in a Training Grounds and Illusionist's Bracers. This keeps the deck feeling fresh for me and my playgroup.
Below is a short list of cards that have really pulled their weight for me (I'll exclude combo enablers since you don't seem to like them. As an aside, I agree with you re: combos, but Duskmantle Guildmage is too flavorful for me to exclude).
Anyways, stop by my deck and take a look for ideas (sorry for the shameless plug!).
Cheers,
CapnBMo
Thanks for coming by the thread.
All the cards you've mentioned have been under consideration in the past. In fact I only just recently made the decision to cut Blood Seeker, Butcher of Malakir and Pulse Tracker. I do like all 3 of them, and Butcher of Malakir may come back soon. Butcher is a little tough to get out and sac isn't central to the theme of the deck (although it works as a great rattlesnake). In the end he was dropped for some of the life gain stuff.
With respect to the damage enablers you mentioned, they didn't have as much board presence as I needed. They are great for starting the SB/EB when it's out, but to be honest, I've never had the issue starting it up once its out with all the other flyers and life gain spells.
Thanks for the suggestion. From my perspective, the difficulty is trying to keep 6+ decks good at the same time. I have 2 Sylvans, but they're in other decks that need them more, so Mirri is here instead.
Mana Reflection and Primeval Bounty may go to my Kresh deck because I think it will be more effective there.
I think I could take out Fists of Ironwood Hyena Umbra and maybe Journey to Nowhere out for them.
Anyways, after you posted this I said "what the hell" and took out the artifacts and went full on Enchantment over the weekend (just replacing artifact/artifact search with some enchantments I had lying around such as Fists of Ironwood Molting Skin Snake Umbra). Oh boy, did I enjoy it more.
Short of it is that I'm dropping the artifacts and gonna pick up some more of the enchantment staples. Updates coming soon.
I'm also looking into getting Bitterblossom, and Gate to Phyrexia, which I think will replace Innocent Blood and Attrition.
I'm also contemplating adding Dark Prophecy. Thoughts on this?
Got some utility cards such as Austere Command, Eternal Witness, Land Tax, and Sun Titan.
Removed the Worldslayer because it was a fun killer (if you can't end the game in another couple of turns, world resets are unfun for everyone but you).