Please pay attention to my maybeboard. I am really keen on getting to use those cards in the mainboard but have difficulty deciding which cards to take out.

How about Cemetery Puca and Ghastlord of Fugue ?Or Mask of Riddles ...I'm sure I can think I more tomorrow. There's definitely Sword of Body and Mind +1 back at ya!

Thanks for the suggestions. Those cards could have been useful to me a few months back but I have chosen to take a different approach and not rely too much on attacking since I play mostly multiplayer games. Considering the large number of board wipes, removals, etc., combos seem to be the easiest way (not to mention a lot more exciting) to win.

Hmm...well how about Rhystic Study to get you some card advantage be draw combos quicker?

Oh, you already have it XD

Yep. Took out Blue Sun's Zenith and replaced it with Rhystic Study. I must say it is very effective in multiplayer games especially if I am able to play it early in the game.

Thinking of taking out Sepulchral Primordial in exchange for Spin into Myth.

I also like Seizan, Perverter of Truth , personally.

Hmmm.. Draws cards and has synergy with Bloodchief Ascension. I'm going to put that on my maybeboard. I'm having a hard time picking out cards I can replace.

Thnking of replacing Mana Vault and Jace, Memory Adept with a Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth combo. Not sure if it will be worth it. Hope to hear yours thoughts on this, guys.

Really cool deck man.

Although I think you should cut the Liliana's Caress and cards of the like combo. I think those cards to waaaaay to little on there own and even when they do go off I think they're still just a little too cute. You'd be better off putting some of that maybe board in instead. Looks really fun though.

Also you know that Mindcrank and Duskmantle Guildmage is a thing right?

And cards like Szadek, Lord of Secrets , Jace's Erasure and Memory Erosion are good cards that could help your mill theme.

Thanks. Believe it or not, I've actually won a lot more games with that combo than with mill. My mill pieces (Mind Crank, Bloodchief Ascension) draw a lot of group hate so they hardly stay on the board long enough to help me win. I usually cipher Whispering Madness on Lazav. He more often than not gets a flyer or a really good creature to copy which I can use to hit another player causing everyone to discard and draw all over again. Done early or right after an overloaded Cyclonic Rift, it more or less ensures a win for me but you're right in saying the discard pieces become dead cards in any other situation so I'll think about it.

Jace's Erasure used to be in the deck but had to take it out. It seemed to slow for me especially since I play mostly multiplayer games.

Yeah, Mindcrank + Duskmantle Guildmage is a "thing". Only Mindcrank draw so much hate so I get to use Duskmantle Guildmage with Traumatize o Tunnel Vision more often than I do with crank. I'm all smiles when the crank + guildmage combo gets through though. Lol

Well I can see how it works and if it wins you games then hey more power to ya haha.

Hmm I can see how mindcrank can get a lot of hate. That's sucks. Well you do run Academy Ruins haha.

Have you thought about putting in Plague Wind or Decree of Pain ? I think those are both better then Life's Finale .

Dude you need a Mind Twist and a Painful Quandary ! Those can rock with the discard theme!

My upside for Life's Finale being if the have any infinite combos that use a creature or one that provides a potential halter to your deck you can get them out of the way.

You do have to be careful though, a friend playing my deck with it the other night hit my scavenging ooze and dark impostor with it, and I just happened to have a Reveillark in hand...

I could be overlooking something cool, but I personally would swap Arcane Denial for something in your maybe board; Hinder feels good.

Lastly, think of Curse of the Swine over Pongify

scarbrought93, we're starting to get on the same page. Lol

Hinder for Arcane Denial sounds good. I only keep Arcane Denial because of it's casting cost and the drawback of allowing an opponent to draw cards seems ok when Rhystic Study or Consecrated Sphinx is in play but I will be trying Hinder for now.

I really like your Curse of the Swine suggestion. That will work nicely against indestructible creatures and skythrix. Only downside is it's a sorcery ang Pongify only costs one blue mana so I might look for something else to replace. Evacuation maybe (i'm just looking at the casting cost here)? That will give me a hard time against token decks though so I will need to think about it more but Curse of the Swine will be seing action in the deck.

Life's Finale is just perfect especially since I have Lazav as my commander. I just attach Darksteel Fullplate to him, cast Life's Finale and look for the best creature I can find. If that creature happens to be a Gisela, Blade of Goldnight , Lazav most likely gets to stay on the board for the rest of the game. Lol

I was using Plague Wind before but never got to use it in the game. The casting cost just seems out of reach everytime I get to draw that card.

ShaneC4, Mind Twist was one of my favorite cards back when I started playing. I have a soft spot for monoblack decks because I was playing beatdown then discarder then Necro back then. Fun times! Too bad I just can't find a spot for that or Painful Quandary in this deck. Unless it's a spell that is an upgrade-of-sorts to one I am already using or one that can win me games, I just can't see what else can be removed from the current list.

Keep the suggestions coming. I really appreciate them. I'm not very good with balancing my mana base so that might be an area of improvement for the deck.

Your mana base is pretty close, I'd say switch an island for an extra swamp.Also consider River of Tears

Have you considered adding Planeswalkers? I think Liliana Vess would be perfect in this deck.

I had Jace, Memory Adept in the deck a few days ago. My deck gets a lot of group hate because of I have a number of combos that can kill everyone in one go. Jace MA seems to be the best fit, as far as planeswalkers go since I don't expect my planeswalker to last long and I can get the most out of Jace the moment it hits the board.

Besides, i'm kind of an old school player who still hasn't gotten my mind around the entire planeswalkers in the deck idea. In short, the only planeswalker this deck needs is ME. Lol

I'm thinking of replacing Black Sun's Zenith with Death Cloud . Comments?

I meant Toxic Deluge

Illusionist's Bracers + Tidewater Minion

As cool as that combo seems, I don't think I have a spot for it in the deck.Thanks for the suggestion though. I think i'll be using those cards in another deck I am planning to make.

Love combos. Considered some infinite mana and forced draw cards? Kills them just a little bit quicker than milling their whole deck with Mind Grind , and can be used on yourself if you're running out of gas. +1 because awesom milling, and the originality of using Lazav, Dimir Mastermind ! First Lazav deck I've seen.