Looks great. Have you considered adding Duskmantle Guildmage for the infinite combo with Mindcrank ? That is the fastest mill win condition in Modern that I have seen. Check out The Rumor Mill.

I too am often guilty of not letting go of cards because I just like them. It is a problem we Vorthos players have. But what is the fun of a super-focused deck that wins by turn 3 and is designed around only one win condition?

@nosoyyucateco I've considered Duskmantle Guildmage , and actually built an iteration of this deck that had him as a very strong player. I found that when ol' Dusky was included in the deck, I gravitated towards making him a focal point, and the deck turned into one that was quite different from the one you see before you- and one I wasn't satisfied with, as I feel that pure mill is a very weak mechanic at the moment, with cards like Gaea's Blessing , not to mention the Eldrazi.

I wouldn't mind him as an alternate win condition to be sure, but I'm afraid of diluting the purpose of this deck by adding it. Do you have any suggestions as to what I could take out for Duskmantle Guildmage ?

As for the vorthos thing... Yeah, I have that problem a lot. Lazav is my favorite card in the game, but he just isn't very effective in 60 card mode- and none of my friends play commander/EDH :c

I suppose i'd get rid of him, and one other thing to throw in 3 guildmages...

Maybe, though I don't know that it would hurt that much to instead swap 3 Duskmantle Guildmage for your Deathcult Rogue . The 3 mana cost for 2/2 on the rogue isn't that great (plus Inkfathom Infiltrator is just flat out better for the lower mana cost,) and the Deathcult Rogues don't have hexproof like Invisible Stalker , which is going to come in handy for your Paranoid Delusions cipher.

@nosoyyucateco True. I'll try that out. The only negative that I could see is that I -need- to proc that early mill through unblockables, so that I don't get stalled out. However, I replaced my counterspells with Propaganda , so hopefully my deck will be able to stall out much better now.

Bojuka Bog is a good land to include in a mill deck. You might want to consider that. It's a cheap card too.

I mean, it's going to weaken your Consuming Aberration (kill it, in fact, if you play it while he's down,) but if you are concerned about things like Gaea's Blessing , it might be worth sideboarding.

@nosoyyucateco It's not a bad card, but I have an intense, visceral dislike of lands that enter the battlefield tapped. I'll suffer them in more ramp based decks, but this deck is pushing it in terms of speed- any slower and it'll stall itself out.

Besides, I have Extirpate to deal with the likes of Gaea's Blessing :P

I'm kinda torn on Duskmantle Guildmage at the moment. On one hand, the OHKO is nice, but on the other they feel like kinda dead cards whenever I draw them without Mindcrank . They definitely slow down the deck, but the question is: Are they worth the slower ramp?

I wasn't aware that Mindcrank was unbanned. That's cool. The first deck I made myself was a Duskmantle Guildmage + Mindcrank combo deck. If you intend on going the combo route, I'd use some Transmute cards like Muddle the Mixture to help your consistency.

Though, Propaganda is not legal in Modern.

@Prehcise I literally just noticed that xD

That's a great suggestion, I may replace Propaganda with Muddle the Mixture . Do you think I should include some Dimir Infiltrator as well, for the transmute?

It wouldn't be a bad idea, he can also be a way to get in for that one point of damage to set off the combo. I ran 2 Dimir Infiltrator and 2-3 Muddle the Mixture . Also, a card you may want to look at is Shriekhorn . It's not good for milling, but as a way to set off the combo, it's great! I ran 2-3 of them as well.

@Prehcise Great advice, thanks! I'm still debating on whether or not I want to do the Duskmantle combo, as if I do my deck will wind up being very different than the one above. I've tried adding him into this deck as an alt. win condition, but he slowed it down quite a bit- too much. (Speed is a premium on this deck as it is)

Instead of the Shriekhorn , you could also do a Codex Shredder to set off the combo.

Instead of Doom Blade I would use Victim of Night because it hits more things. Also instead of Artful Dodge I would use Aqueous Form .

@HydraOoze Good call, although it's an interesting comparison. For one more mana, you can gain an element of surprise with Artful Dodge that Aqueous Form does not grant.

I would still go with Aqueous Form . It's what I run in my mill deck to enchant Consuming Aberration with. Plus, you get the added scry bonus (though you'll seldom need it, as your Consuming Aberration will end the game in most cases.

What about Jace Beleren or Jace, Memory Adept .

The Duskmantle Guildmage can also be replaced with Bloodchief Ascension , if you can get the 3 counters on it.

awesomeguy37, Funnily enough, I actually just came into possession of a Jace, the Mind Sculptor ...

nosoyyucateco, I reverted artful dodge to aqueous form, I'm still testing it.

Prehcise, interesting thought regarding Bloodchief Ascension ... I'll try and find a place for that!

nosoyyucateco I was just introduced to this lovely card: Trepanation Blade I wonder... do you think I could kick Mindcrank for it/find some sort of balance between the two?

Trepanation Blade would be good for your unblockables (it's a pretty awesome card), but it mills pretty slowly. Plus you have to pay 3 to drop it and 2 to equip. You'd probably be better off running a combo of Mindcrank and Quietus Spike . I still think you should add Duskmantle Guildmage though. :P

nosoyyucateco Ack, I forgot about the high equip cost. I do like some of the advantages that Trepanation Blade gives, though- mainly the fact that it gives a decent power boost -now-, although it's not a consistent one which is a big problem.

In terms of Duskmantle Guildmage ... you're wearing me down, man. Okay, I'll bite. What do you think I should kick for it? :P

(remember, Prehcise's suggestion of Bloodchief Ascension procs the combo and IMO it's a bit easier for this deck to go for that over Duskmantle Guildmage .)

I know you're attacked to your Lazav, but he is sort of the odd man out in this deck. Deathcult Rogue should maybe be replaced with Inkfathom Infiltrator . Since you have no critical equipment, and are only running Hands of Binding for ciphers, you could maybe swap out the Invisible Stalker for Duskmantle Guildmage . If your opponent doesn't have flyers for blocking, you can always cipher on one of your flying creatures as well.