You definitely want 4x Archive Trap , especially with Ghost Quarter

Should the Archive Trap s sit in the main board or the sideboard? They are 5 mana after all.

I would sideboard Traumatize just in case you ever face a deck that doesn't involve any searching and for the same cmc I prefer Traumatize You may also want to put in Jace's Phantasm awesome one drop or Jace Beleren also Breaking would be good

actually just saw that you have Ghost Quarter still Traumatize is a good card nevertheless

LioAME3, correct I use ghost quarter with Archive Trap and it has a wonderful interaction with fetch lands. My only issue with Traumatize is that by the time I can cast it on turn 5 or latter I have most likely already milled 1/2 of their deck.

Consider most decks are 60. A 7 card starting hand means there are 53 cards in the deck. a Glimpse the Unthinkable + Tome Scour + Mind Funeral = mill ~ 25 cards, more if Mind Funeral goes over well. 53-25=28 cards in the deck. Then a Traumatize would only mill 14 cards. I won't deny it isn't a fun card though. But I would rather spend my 5 on Haunting Echoes to exile a huge amount of remaining cards.

I actually had just taken Breaking out and replaced it with Glimpse the Unthinkable due to it being two more cards.

I do like the idea of adding Jace Beleren and was already flirting with the idea of adding Jace's Phantasm as a replacement for Thought Scour .

Thanks for the input!

You have enough dual lands, I probably wouldn't run that darkslick shores as a one of. Also, Hedron Crab is significantly less useful if you're not running fetchlands. 4x Surgical Extraction I feel is too much.

I'll prefix my recommendations with the fact that I actually play mill. I tend to make my mill decks use mill as a secondary win condition, that way it's not the only way out and I try to use cards that mill supplements, so that it's still a valid overall strategy even if they don't get milled out. This logic becomes exceptionally useful against decks like Tron, where they're almost impossible to mill out alone. If you add some control/beaters to the deck and lose some of your mill you draw out the game just a bit longer, but makes it way more flexible overall in every matchup.

I ended up removing Archive Traps from my mill deck. It was actually esper at the time, so I ran both Ghost Quarter and Path to Exile so I could punish with either. Even then, it still was overall not very effective, and even more so against aggro decks because they generally don't really need the land, and milling an aggro deck doesn't even have the chance to get rid of any bombs because in aggro tend to not have any. Furthermore, Hedron Crabs were awful against aggro decks because if the opponents were annoyed enough they'd just remove them, and without any significant milling ever occurring. So between aggro/Tron/tempo decks, milling alone was never a valid strategy.

Drop Darkslick Shores, Oboro, and both Ghost Quarter, and proxy out some Misty Rainforest in their place to see how it works for you. Being able to summon up a Watery Grave can save you.

Nextly, remove your Hedron Crab, and put Wight of Precinct Six in their place. These guys rock against aggro and become a serious obstacle for aggro decks. With them, your mill helps you two-fold. You can work on mill as a win condition, and to pump these guys up.

Next up, drop two Surgical Extraction (move the two to your sideboard, you will need all 4 against certain matchups) and add 2x more Snapcaster Mage . They allow you to recast mill from your graveyard to get more out of it, or recast your spot removal, which brings me to my next suggestion.

Drop your Archive Traps, replace them with 4x Go for the Throat . This is one of the best cards in the deck. You destroy a creature, and make your Wights of Precinct Six even stronger.

Tomb Scour is IMO the worst card in this deck, and amongst the worst in mill. I understand that it removes 5 for the cost of one, but in mill you often go through your own hand fairly quickly. So to top deck a Tomb Scour and pay 1 mana when you have a bunch left over anyways is usually a really big waste of resources. Remove them all and in their place add 2x Consuming Aberration and 2x Pilfered Plans . Pilfered Plans does at least some mill, but more importantly, you keep your card advantage so you can keep casting everything you need.

Consuming Aberration can be your win condition alone. When I get one on the field, I try to cast as many small spells as fast as possible, and just let his ability mill the opponent. It's always a solid blocker, and I rarely swing with him. Unless I happen to have a free shot, or more likely a Rogue's Passage on the field. I'd remove an island to insert one into your deck.

This setup should generalize your deck to be decent across most matchups. So now, let's talk about certain matchups. Against Storm/Tron, you need to make use of Surgical Extraction. Against Tron, you want to mill out Emrakul, then as his ability is placed on the stack, cast Surgical Extraction to get rid of him and all copies. At that point you can freely mill them out. Second option against Tron that's just as effective is getting rid of one of their Urza's lands before any have been placed on the board. Ghost Quarter should be in your sideboard and will help against both Storm/Tron decks.

Against storm it's a bit trickier, you really need to hit both Past in Flames and Pyromancer Ascension with Surgical Extraction. If both are in the graveyard and you only have one Extraction, hit the Past in Flames first. Once they figure out your game plan, they're likely going to try to overwhelm you with Empty the Warrens . If you can keep their engines off the field, you'll be fine.

Next up is UG Infect. You'll want Ghost Quarters and all Surgical Extractions. Most targets are valid for your Extractions. You may even consider siding in Duress for this matchup, because you really, really want to get rid of their hand and keep them from building up. It doesn't take them long at all. Ghost Quarters are to be used one Inkmoth Nexus whenever possible. If you happen to know of what cards are in their hand, use your extractions on a copy of the card on the graveyard.

Hopefully this has been helpful, feel free to respond to any questions, and I'm not offended if you don't want to change the overall design of your deck so drastically. These are just my experiences with playing mill, having fun playing should come first. Good luck!

Sorry for the slow response I've busy; I appreciate the feedback.

I replaced Hedron Crab with Wight of Precinct Six in the main deck. Your point is well taken; Hedron Crab loses his utility while lack fetch lands and late game is utterly useless while Wight of Precinct Six only becomes stronger.

I originally had no Archive Trap in the deck, but in my meta, everybody uses a ton of fetch lands so they are viable, and re-playable with Snapcaster Mage . I wish I had the money to buy 2x Snapcaster Mage , 4x Misty Rainforest and 4x Glimpse the Unthinkable . Unfortunately that is almost $200. I will be obtaining 4x Go for the Throat as spot removal is very much lacking, and needed.

When gatecrash was released I actually added Consuming Aberration and decided I did not care for his utility and replaced him with Jace, Memory Adept which sits in the sideboard now.

I am considering moving one Jace, Memory Adept back into the main board and moving an Archive Trap to the sideboard.

I will always run 4x Surgical Extraction until I can find more Snapcaster Mage , on that same note i would also like to pick up 4x Extirpate which I would possibly replace Tome Scour with the discard suggestion is noted and probably a good call. I have yet to see storm or infect played in my meta though. I am as far as I know the only infect player in that meta.

For starters, get rid of Tome Scour.

Tome Scour has been removed. Replaced with a Crypt Incursion & 3x Breaking

Added 2x Extirpate to the side board.

I'd just like to point out a few things-

If you play snapcaster targeting Archive Trap , you cannot play the Trap for free, even if your opponent searched their deck that turn. The card gets flashback, and that doesn't cover alternate casting costs (However, you can still pay life if the card has pyrexian mana in its casting cost).

I still really like using Hedron Crabs, and even if you don't have the fetches, you have Ghost Quarter where you could use it for some mana fixing as well as double land drop. (Overall you go down a land, but for 1 turn you help color fix if you need and trigger landfall twice.) Also if you own a pair of Oboro, Palace in the Clouds there is no reason not to run Crabs. (I personally only use 1 Oboro, but I have a few fetches too).

It sounds like you know what decks are being played in your meta, so if there is a bunch of aggro then the Wights are good. However it seems to me that aside from Zoo, Affinity, and Merfolk, most other poplular modern decks use very few creatures. I've found that the Phantasms have been enough for me to discourage attackers for a critical turn or two long enough to finish milling them out. I guess it just depends on if you want your main wincon to be beating them down or milling them out.

Your mana base looks ok. You may want to consider using a pair of Shelldock Isle to help get through your deck faster and find those mill spells. They're also inexpensive which is a plus. Darkslick Shores is a better land in the early game, and Drowned Catacomb is better late-game. I prefer making sure my early game lands come into play untapped, so I use Darkslicks over Drowned catacombs. This is mostly due to the fact that i'll play with one land hands if I have a few Thought Scour and Visions of Beyond in my opening hand to help get through my deck and find more lands. If that 1 land comes into play tapped though, I would for sure be forced to mull.

Anyway, hope some of that helped. No matter what anyone says or comments, just make sure you're playing a list that you enjoy playing. If you go competitive with it we can help steer you that way, or if it's just for fun with friends then we can offer help towards that. Keep milling!

GeminiSpartanX Thanks for that tip on Snapcaster Mage + Archive Trap . He is still useful thankfully for the many lower cost spells.

I do have an Oboro, Palace in the Clouds sitting around and could probably use to buy couple of Shelldock Isle . Would you recommend using anything like Terramorphic Expanse for deck thinning since I am unable to afford Misty Rainforest ?

I mostly play with just friends right now as class times have kept me away from FNM (which locally is at Thursday night). With classes ending I would like to resume playing again.

Last time I played the meta was very heavy with aggro or control and little to no midrange. I would have to play again to see if it changed.

Thanks for the advice!

If you use the Crabs, then in a casual setting T.Expanse or Evolving Wilds would be a nice substitute. I wouldn't get rid of your Oboro (unless I'm understanding it wrong and you have extras). Shelldock Isle has flat-out won me games when I'd otherwise lose. It's like keeping an extra mill spell in your hand but a little safer under a land (unless the people you play with use a bunch of land destruction). And if you do have the unfortune of playing against Infect decks, Darkness gives a little more game after they blow all thier pump spells.

Traumatize perhaps?

DalekCaan I started with this card a long time ago; the converted mana cost is too much, but it is an amazing card in commander decks...boom you just lost 30-50 cards = lol.

Haunting Echoes ?

denijsx90 i actually just removed that card as it was to slow, but I often use it when I play casually as its a fun card. though I will add it to the maybe-board again and possibly side board it. Thanks.

The flavor of this deck greatly amuses me. How is Surgical Extraction working out for you? I've never been impressed with it main because it's not always proactive enough. I wonder if moving it to the side and running something like Thoughtseize , Murderous Cut , Dismember , Spell Snare , or something else that lets you answer dangerous things right now might be better. You might also go up a few lands with Nephalia Drownyard ; while your curve basically tops out at 3 mana (only Damnation at 4 since Archive Trap should almost always be 0), it seems like it would always appreciate extra mana to flashback things and chain together spells.

@hawk1113 I like it but I have been debating whether or not it should be side boarded or not. Surgical Extraction wrecks decks that deal with 2-3 card combos as once you mill their combo is just exiled. On the other hand it feels like a wasted card against many aggro/control decks. I have considered adding Thoughtseize , as I agree it is much more proactive with regards to removing cards that can be devastating upfront.

I added Thoughtseize to the maybe board and swapped a Go for the Throat for a Dismember in the side board.

Mind Grind and Traumatize . That is all.

nerdmeat Traumatize is not efficient inside of this deck. Consider casting it on turn 5. Minimally, have already cast 2 mill spells ideally 3. But for the sake of math we will go with two. 1 Glimpse the Unthinkable and 1 Mind Funeral . If an opponent did not mulligan on turn one they have 53 cards remaining in their library. Glimpse takes them down to 43 and Mind Funeral on average takes 12 cards. so they have 31. If you have cast these cards by turn three or four, your opponent has drawn another 2-3 cards maybe even four depending on who went first. Leaving them with ~28 cards in the library.

You then proceed to cast Traumatize it takes 14 cards. At this point in time you can hard cast Archive Trap and mill 13 cards. For this reason Traumatize does not work well with the deck.

Mind Grind is almost exactly the same. Mind Funeral cost 3 mana to mill until you reach four lands while Mind Grind costs 6 mana to mill until you reach four lands.

Due to the previously mentioned reasons, neither of these cards are efficient enough to be used in the deck. I do thank you for your input though.

Love the deck. +1. In my opinion, Mesmeric Orb is worth a 4-of slot in every mill deck. It typically mills more than 10 during the game,so it ultimately mills more than Glimpse the Unthinkable . Also, I'm not sure you have enough ways to make opponents search their libraries so you can cast Archive Trap for 0. Splashing white is an option for Path to Exile . Of course, fetches all all over the place, so you might be able to use it all the time without having to put an effort in on your end.

celestite4 as you said fetches normally take care of it, and with khans out more people than ever have them. I've considered orb but never actually tried it. I'll add it to the sideboard again. Thanks!

why no Trapmaker's Snare ?

@Mooer What would I replace for it, the primary source of mill in the deck is the other 10 cards. It's viable I'm just not sure how I would incorporate it. I would need to add my traps.

I like the turn 0 win possible with this deck:

Opponent plays fetchland, sacs for island, casts Serum Visions . In response you quadruple Archive Trap , milling 52. Opponent drew 7 for hand, as well as the fetch out of hand, bringing him to exactly 52 cards in deck. His Serum Visions resolves, losing him the game. :)

+1 for milling happily :)