If you add blue and want your opponents to hate you, restrict them to casting instants during their upkeep with Opposition. (Acts as pseudo removal, too!)
I think that Invisible Stalker with double strike from Shu Yun and ciphered with Voidwalk, attacking alongside Aurelia, the Warleader, is another infinite phases combo. Note that if you go for more of those combat damage stuff and cipher cards, Stalker is an incredibly important card. Aurelia is cool! Now I wanna try that -- shame she's not black, I've been thinking about a Jeleva cipher deck.
Note that all of the blue cipher cards are cool: Voidwalk and Stolen Identity you've seen, Last Thoughts and Hands of Binding are both just plain excellent, and if you use more tap abilities, Hidden Strings is actually surprisingly good, not to mention being sort-of ramp in nonramping colors. (We don't mention the abomination that is Trait Doctoring.)
Phyrexian Ingester: Maybe he's expensive, and he won't do as much outside of Mimeoplasm (because nothing does so much outside of Mimeoplasm, that awesome general) but if your curve fits, I always say that, outside of reasonably competitive metagames, anything goes, and creatures that act as removal (that blink, no less!) are always useful.
I wouldn't use Zedruu here. He's cool, but he needs a TON of building around.
Yeah, Numot might be best purely through the virtue of being best in a position where none of the generals available to you in your colors will actually encourage blinking.
Also: if you want blink in your deck... and you're using a general that wants to deal damage to players... please, please, please use Voidwalk. (I try to pawn off cipher cards on everyone I see, but I have to say, this is the only place I've actually found a use for Voidwalk. Squee!) Also, try Stolen Identity as even better blink.
Actually, if you try that... I think this could be cool. A combat damage, creature-oriented, combat-damaging, Jeskai deck sounds interesting...
You know... this looks like a perfect EDH deck idea. And seriously, large decks and one-ofs for the sake of variety? That is the epitome of EDH deck design.
If you don't know what EDH is, the basics are:
-The Commander: This one card starts separate from your deck, in the "command zone." You can cast it from there. When it dies, is exiled, is bounced, or really leaves the battlefield in any way, you may choose to put it back into the command zone, and after that it costs 2 colorless more to cast per time it's died. It must be a legendary creature (I would recommend Sharuum the Hegemon or Oloro, Ageless Ascetic for your commander).
-The deck: 99 cards. Only one copy of any given card is allowed, except for basic lands. (This adds to variety.)
-You start at 40 life.
EDH is awesome, and was really designed for deck ideas like this. Plus, since games go way longer, you have a much better chance of casting all of your expensive sphinxes.
"The youths prattle on about heroic deeds, but avoiding the noose is a feat more daring than their entire careers."
-Basarios the Blade, on Prowler's Helm.
My deck turned out a lot better than I expected, but only if I'm given about eight turns to set up by self-mill and getting zambies.
What about something like Arashin Cleric instead of Goldenglow Moth? It doesn't have flying -- we can probably find something better elsewhere, but I just figured that it blocks better and is linkable, unlike the Moth. Aven Riftwatcher is also an option, although that no longer counts as a cheap blocker.
I think that Opposition counts. With enough tokens, it's essentially preventing them from casting non-instants (tap lands during upkeep) AND sorta removal for their best creatures or artifacts. It is also one of the worst locks to play against, since you sort of have a hope of winning... but not really.
I'm not sure whether you've got the creatures to abuse it, but seriously, it hurts way worse than it looks.
Aye, BBB is really hard without expensive lands or skewing your land base towards it. Still, it'd be decent. Also, there are tons of other options for similar things -- I found a list in the MTG Salvation Wiki under "Capping". There are also several cards that make them reveal their hand, let you exile a card from it, and then search their library for and exile other cards from it (the flagship card for that type being Lobotomy).
By Deathcult Rogue as an 'ideal', do you mean do the forums think that it could be built around as a deck, or be put in this deck? I don't know how others would feel about this, but personally, I think that A) the unblockable deck is really cool, with things like Helm and cipher cards, but B) I really don't know if there's space in this deck. Maybe two decks?
My first deck that I really loved and worked to build was based on the awesome Gatecrash Dimir deck and was UBW cipher-extort, so I've always loved the Dimir colors. Good luck!
I know cutting spells for lands is hard, but you really need to if you want to be able to cast your other cool Dimir spells.
I might cut the Dimir Infiltrator. I know it's an awesome card -- seriously, I play it and love it, it blocks, attacks, and searches -- but here you don't have quite enough things to search for with it at two mana. Alternatively, you could cut the Helm of the Ghastlord -- it's an awesome card, but is a bit 'win-more' in that, although it's great when your board is ahead or at parity, it does very little when you're behind. (Here's an article about this from Level One: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/li/quadrant-theory-2014-08-20.
Also: If you want to remove their best cards, would you consider something like Stain the Mind to search for individual cards in their library and exile them? It could be used to directly get rid of their best cards, and Sadistic Sacrament kicked mills them enough to be a win con.
This looks like a really cool deck -- whatever you decide, it'll be interesting!
I would say, most of all, work on your lands. Even with 2 Dimir Signets, I'd have 24 lands, especially in a semi-control deck. You don't necessarily need expensive mana-fixing lands like Watery Grave, but you do need enough lands.
As for cuts: honestly, that depends on what your deck wants to do, beyond simply being a Dimir deck. Which, by the way, I think is actually a pretty cool idea for a deck: but it still doesn't tell you what the deck does. If you want to focus on mill, really double down on that. If you want Top Control, work more on the control aspects of the deck and take out most of the things that don't emphasize that aspect. (Also, would Dimir Machinations be good here, or too expensive?)
Dimir also has a variety of other things it can do: you could focus on cipher (btw, Paranoid Delusions would be good in a mill deck anyway even if you don't focus on this. Whispering Madness is cool too, although not if you move more in a control direction, since often it'll help your opponent more than you in such decks.) Cipher would also work with things like Circu, Dimir Lobotomist and Consuming Aberration. t
You could use lots of unblockables. This also works with cipher, and you could use your things like Helm of the Ghastlord with them.
Most of all, using true control I think would usually imply a LOT more removal and less creatures. A bit more removal might be good no matter what -- maybe an Aetherspouts? -- and you've already got some counterspells and card draw.
Regardless of what you decide, I'd take out Belltower Sphinx. It doesn't do enough to mill or to attack, and blocking isn't usually what you want to be doing with your valuable five-mana slot unless you've got a REALLY good blocker.
Is Hidden Strings too cute? Because I've always loved it purely for the sake of it accelerating me mana (sort of), and it seems like it could be good in an Inspired deck with enough evasive creatures.
EDIT: Sorry! Missed the later pages of this discussion. Ignore this post.
Presumably he's using the second ability on both of the cards. it doesn't go infinite since Magosi enters tapped, but he does get 2 turns for everyone else's turns, assuming he can keep sacrificing artifacts. It's not broken -- arguably better than, say, Opposition or Time Warp -- but still really annoying.
Tasigur would be a cool commander. Use Deadbridge Chant with him.
Are there any ways to give buyback or something to delve spells?
This is a really cool deck concept.
Note that all of the blue cipher cards are cool: Voidwalk and Stolen Identity you've seen, Last Thoughts and Hands of Binding are both just plain excellent, and if you use more tap abilities, Hidden Strings is actually surprisingly good, not to mention being sort-of ramp in nonramping colors. (We don't mention the abomination that is Trait Doctoring.)
Phyrexian Ingester: Maybe he's expensive, and he won't do as much outside of Mimeoplasm (because nothing does so much outside of Mimeoplasm, that awesome general) but if your curve fits, I always say that, outside of reasonably competitive metagames, anything goes, and creatures that act as removal (that blink, no less!) are always useful.
I wouldn't use Zedruu here. He's cool, but he needs a TON of building around.
Also: if you want blink in your deck... and you're using a general that wants to deal damage to players... please, please, please use Voidwalk. (I try to pawn off cipher cards on everyone I see, but I have to say, this is the only place I've actually found a use for Voidwalk. Squee!) Also, try Stolen Identity as even better blink.
Actually, if you try that... I think this could be cool. A combat damage, creature-oriented, combat-damaging, Jeskai deck sounds interesting...
If you don't know what EDH is, the basics are:
-The Commander: This one card starts separate from your deck, in the "command zone." You can cast it from there. When it dies, is exiled, is bounced, or really leaves the battlefield in any way, you may choose to put it back into the command zone, and after that it costs 2 colorless more to cast per time it's died. It must be a legendary creature (I would recommend Sharuum the Hegemon or Oloro, Ageless Ascetic for your commander).
-The deck: 99 cards. Only one copy of any given card is allowed, except for basic lands. (This adds to variety.)
-You start at 40 life.
EDH is awesome, and was really designed for deck ideas like this. Plus, since games go way longer, you have a much better chance of casting all of your expensive sphinxes.
EDIT: Also, does Conjurer's Closet with Tidehollow Sculler really let you have the card back? It looks like the same wording as Cloudshift.
"The youths prattle on about heroic deeds, but avoiding the noose is a feat more daring than their entire careers."
-Basarios the Blade, on Prowler's Helm.
My deck turned out a lot better than I expected, but only if I'm given about eight turns to set up by self-mill and getting zambies.
EDIT: *linkable -- flickerable
I'm not sure whether you've got the creatures to abuse it, but seriously, it hurts way worse than it looks.
EDIT: Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord works wonders with big stuff. Persist combos are also annoying.
By Deathcult Rogue as an 'ideal', do you mean do the forums think that it could be built around as a deck, or be put in this deck? I don't know how others would feel about this, but personally, I think that A) the unblockable deck is really cool, with things like Helm and cipher cards, but B) I really don't know if there's space in this deck. Maybe two decks?
My first deck that I really loved and worked to build was based on the awesome Gatecrash Dimir deck and was UBW cipher-extort, so I've always loved the Dimir colors. Good luck!
I might cut the Dimir Infiltrator. I know it's an awesome card -- seriously, I play it and love it, it blocks, attacks, and searches -- but here you don't have quite enough things to search for with it at two mana. Alternatively, you could cut the Helm of the Ghastlord -- it's an awesome card, but is a bit 'win-more' in that, although it's great when your board is ahead or at parity, it does very little when you're behind. (Here's an article about this from Level One: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/li/quadrant-theory-2014-08-20.
Also: If you want to remove their best cards, would you consider something like Stain the Mind to search for individual cards in their library and exile them? It could be used to directly get rid of their best cards, and Sadistic Sacrament kicked mills them enough to be a win con.
This looks like a really cool deck -- whatever you decide, it'll be interesting!
As for cuts: honestly, that depends on what your deck wants to do, beyond simply being a Dimir deck. Which, by the way, I think is actually a pretty cool idea for a deck: but it still doesn't tell you what the deck does. If you want to focus on mill, really double down on that. If you want Top Control, work more on the control aspects of the deck and take out most of the things that don't emphasize that aspect. (Also, would Dimir Machinations be good here, or too expensive?)
Dimir also has a variety of other things it can do: you could focus on cipher (btw, Paranoid Delusions would be good in a mill deck anyway even if you don't focus on this. Whispering Madness is cool too, although not if you move more in a control direction, since often it'll help your opponent more than you in such decks.) Cipher would also work with things like Circu, Dimir Lobotomist and Consuming Aberration. t
You could use lots of unblockables. This also works with cipher, and you could use your things like Helm of the Ghastlord with them.
Most of all, using true control I think would usually imply a LOT more removal and less creatures. A bit more removal might be good no matter what -- maybe an Aetherspouts? -- and you've already got some counterspells and card draw.
Regardless of what you decide, I'd take out Belltower Sphinx. It doesn't do enough to mill or to attack, and blocking isn't usually what you want to be doing with your valuable five-mana slot unless you've got a REALLY good blocker.
It ignores the actual mill goal and just works on the "top control" to prevent them from ever drawing anything good.
If nothing else, please put in Dimir Charm. It looks like it'd be awesome here AND it fits your Dimir theme.
EDIT: Sorry! Missed the later pages of this discussion. Ignore this post.