Deck Background: Hey, all. This is an update to the Jace's Tutelage Budget Mill from when my buddy first broke into Modern. The deck was surprisingly successful and liked. He ended up upgrading the deck by adding black for cards like Breaking, but we kept getting asked for an updated, more budget variant. As a result, this deck is about 60% cheaper (Paper) than the original build, with each card at about <$2 USD (at the time this list was made), and we feel like it's a lot more consistent. As before, we will be trying to improve this build as much as possible. Last price check (10/17/17) puts the deck at about $50 USD (Paper) or 5 Tix (MTGO). (Prices vary with printings and can change over time.)
Deck Construction: Mill enchantments are still the main focus of the build. We're definitely still running a set of Sphinx's Tutelage. Tutelage turns into a real haymaker against monocolored decks and is otherwise a pretty good source of mill. For one more mana, it mills at least twice as many cards as Jace's Erasure each turn. Then we received a powerful new build-around in Hour of Devastation - Fraying Sanity. We find this to very much be a replacement for Jace's Erasure in the deck because as long as you can mill one card each turn, it will mill more than Erasure, and all this deck does is mill so you get the idea. (Really, though, you can run any eight of the three and get similar results.) We're also still running creatureless because it blanks removal and they don't do much for us anyway. The deck isn't exactly turbo milling, given the budget constraints, but it is trying to mill as fast as possible while disrupting the opponent through flexible interaction. Simply put, if we can't mill fast, we want to slow the game to our pace. The creature lands aren't necessary, but can be useful if our primary strategy gets shut down or to just be blockers. If need be, they can be swapped out for other utility lands or basics. Psychic Spiral is a refresh for the deck that can mill a lot if we're behind, but it can also be cut for a card like Increasing Confusion or Fascination. Consider it the tech slot. Our sideboard still reflects our local meta, so although it's mostly the same there are two somewhat important differences. First, Relic of Progenitus was replaced by Crook of Condemnation for budget reasons. It could just as easily be any other graveyard hate card - Sentinel Totem, Tormod's Crypt, etc. Second, Laboratory Maniac was in the original sideboard so the deck could transform into self-mill if the opponent would bring in cards like Leyline of Sanctity. Since the LabMan isn't cheap, we decided to try out Kefnet's Last Word. KLW can steal a Leyline so you can continue burning your opponent's deck. The only downside is that you will run the risk of time-walking yourself, so it needs to be used mindfully. (Get it? Like Kefnet the Mindful? Hey, I chuckled.) If you're not a fan of Kefnet's Last Word, Temporal Trespass, or any other card in the sideboard, you can also run cards like Winds of Rebuke, Set Adrift, or Profane Memento, or just more countermagic in the vein of Dispel or Negate. Sideboards are meta dependent, so while our configuration might be even across many of our opposing strategies, your experience may vary.
Playtesting: Bought the deck on MTGO and took it for a spin. No tournaments this time, just a few Constructed Open games. The deck is loads of fun to pilot. Plays very controlling, but can mill aggressively. The sideboard can effectively answer a variety of strategies in my experience. Just as we had imagined, it is highly consistent. I had a mill enchantment to play "on curve" every game, which is exactly what we want to have in order to maximize our library burn. But enough of me blabbing, here are the results over four games:
Overall Record 4-0
- 2-0 vs. Skred Red
- 2-1 vs. Merfolk Tribal
- 2-0 vs. GW Bogles
- 2-1 vs. BG Aggro
I'll be continuing to play it online whenever I get the chance to work out its issues, but I haven't run across any so far.
Non-Budget Alternative: I've actually had some other folks at my LGS ask about a non-budget version of our deck. If you're looking into investing in such a mill deck, the first cards I would suggest are Archive Trap, Hedron Crab, and Jace's Phantasm. If you like, you can also add Jace, Memory Adept or Jace Beleren. Mesmeric Orb is a double-edged sword, but a big boon for the strategy and a bane for your opponents. After that, I would recommend branching into another color - black. Black gives you access to some of the hardest hitting mill spells with Glimpse the Unthinkable, Breaking, Mind Funeral, and Mind Grind, among others. It also lets you play with an impressive removal suite, including cards such as Fatal Push and Go for the Throat. Leyline of the Void and Crypt Incursion, also in black, serve as excellent graveyard hate. Beyond that, through inclusions like Darkslick Shores and Watery Grave, a good mana base can go a long way.
Suggesting: As usual, any serious suggestions are much appreciated. Hey, and if you try the deck, we'd be glad to hear your results. If you really enjoyed it, we'd be even gladder to hear it!
Thanks in advance for your contributions and have fun!
