Not entirely true. The Aberration itself is huge mill, with counters to keep him on the field.

Baleful Eidolon isn't worth his cmc at all. Nighthowler is much better.

I don't want to run more creatures, and it seems like early mill means nothing if this deck can't last against aggro, which is why I need early control and mill later on.

Lord007, my 5 drop is already pretty heavy right now. Still throw in Traumatize ? I was thinking of replacing Mind Grind with it, actually. And leave the rest of the milling to the Aberration and Jace.

I think the thing people forget about mill decks is you can't just mill a person an expect to live. Their deck will still play out how it's supposed to based on their opening hand, and you need to have disruption or an acceptable backup plan.

Consuming Aberration is a great back up plan. Not only can it get enormous, it also mills whenever you cast anything. So even though it has no evasion (w/o Rogue's Passage ) it just grows and grows.

I would consider adding another Jace, Memory Adept but I'd be aware of how many five drops you have. 5 is a pretty good number for that and I'd be hesitant to take anything else out when bestowing a Nighthowler on an Omenspeaker could make for a decent sized beater in it's own right.

Overall, it looks like a pretty solid Dimir control deck that has two very solid and synergistic win-cons. +1.

Mind Grind over Traumatize . Traumatize is only really good once, and less so if you've spent time milling before that. Mind Grind gets better in the late game, where this deck plans to go.

Thanks MindAblaze!, might test out all my changes tonight. I've also been thinking about adding in another Jace, Memory Adept , but I too am nervous about the 5 drop count. What would you suggest taking out to fit the Jace in?

And another question, which do you think is better, Traumatize or Mind Grind ?

MindAblaze!,

Well that answers my question. :P Should have refreshed before responding.

If you were looking at taking something out for another Memory Adept, I'd consider one Nighthowler . Your primary game plan isn't beat-down, and if you needed to Consuming Aberration will do that fairly well anyway.

Jace can draw you cards and is less likely to just die to a removal spell. The flexibility of a planeswalker is always good.

First guy I played with my mill deck laughed and said "I don't think Mill is viable in standard anymore." He had tried and failed.

I am still working on more than just the mill win con. I took 1-1 against a Simic deck, and 1-0 against an esper control. The one I lost I had him milled down to the last 4 cards. I don't depend on the Consuming Aberration or Jace, Memory Adept . I have a mill-control feel. Plenty of bounce, removal and counter. I am thinking of doing a true Dimir control, less Mill more creature, more control.

I think Mind Grind deserves two slots and I also run two Traumatize . I'd look into Nightveil Specter or Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker .

I need to update my deck based on last weeks changes after FNM, but I don't use many creatures because I do my best to control the board long enough to mill down HARD.

Sorry guys, but you are leading her in the wrong direction. Both Traumatize and Mind Grind are GARBAGE and the slots they fill are much better filled with more control cards to keep you alive. A competitive mill deck in Standard should need ZERO mill cards other then 3 Jace, Memory Adept followed by a suite of removal, bounce, draw and counters, and potentially a few creatures depending on the build. And DimirPlagueLord, the guy that said that is correct, at least coming from a competitive stand point. The only reason mill was viable in the last Standard was because Nephalia Drownyard allowed for the entire decks slots to be filled with control, not to mention Augur of Bolas , Restoration Angel and Snapcaster Mage , all of whom are unfortunately gone. If you tried to bring a dimir mill deck with the people I play with, you would not win, maybe a match or 2, but you will never win the night, it's just not strong enough. Going Esper control to have Supreme Verdict and Detention Sphere and swapping in Memory Adept instead of Architect would probably be the closest to competitive mill in the current environment. Yet, with decks like GR ramp that can have 20+ mana on turn 4-5 those decks without wrath effects are too slow. Sorry I sound like I'm coming down hard on Dimir mill, but I play very competitively and even being a big fan of mill (I used to play Millstone and Howling Mine back in the mid 90's, this archetype isn't going to win big FNM's or even further onto PTQ's and GP's. Best of luck to you guys though, cheers! I'll post what I would use for the basic shell of a mill deck right now.

3x Jace, memory adept, 2x elspeth, sun's champion, 4x supreme verdict, 4x sphinx's revelation, 4x azorius charm, 4x hero's downfall ,3x far / away, 2x syncopate, 3x dissolve, 1x cyclonic rift, 2x detention sphere 2x obzedat, ghost council, 4x hallowed fountain, 4x watery grave, 4x godless shrine, 4x temple of deceit, 4x temple of silence, 2x island, 1x plains, 2x mutavault

Sideboard

3x sin collector, 3x thoughtseize, 1x aetherling, 1x glare of heresy, 2x pithing needle, 2x celestial flare, 1x solemn offering, 2x blood baron of vizkopa

That's what I whipped up in about 7 minutes, and I think a shell with something like that is a much stronger, more viable option, albeit more expensive too, but that's how this game works. Cheers!

The only problem with Esper Control is I am trying to trade the cards up that I need. My mill deck isn't for competition, it's for fun. Generally Dimir gets beef in the second set of the three set release. I don't expect it to be a viable play mechanic until the Feb set drops. Itzmogz makes good points. I disagree with just using Jace, I don't ever feel comfortable with waiting for one big boom to win. But any more than 2 Grind or Trauma your screwing yourself. I am playing heavy control, heavy mill, no creatures. You have to sacrifices somewhere. But mill being a win con, your not going to have an answer for everything. Don't get me wrong I love mill, I just think that unless it gets a boost in the new standard block it won't be viable for competition.

Honestly, most control is hurting with the rotation. I am patiently waiting the next set to see how the mechanics and cards in the set boost control.

I'm on the same page as DimirPlagueLord.

Itzmogz, you're probably right about that being the best way mill can be viable in standard right now, but I do want to stay true to the milling. Only having 3 relevant cards makes it almost purely Esper control, which isn't what I'm looking for. I'd probably just dump the Jaces at that point and go full Esper with AEtherling . Thanks for your help though, if I ever choose to go that way, I'll definitely think about your suggestions.

One interesting (and cheap) option if you're having trouble dealing with faster decks is Wall of Frost . Its surprisingly effective at slowing down creature heavy aggro decks and buying you a couple turns to get the mill machine working. I've been playing around with a (pretty) strict mill deck that you're welcome to look at. Mostly just for personal enjoyment, but with a few tweaks could be viable competitively. My deck: Mill

Thanks kmcree, I actually had Wall of Frost in my deck at one point. At turn three, though, aggro decks have too many creatures out for the Wall to be effective. Additionally, it's a defender, whereas my Omenspeaker isn't, and I can bestow Nighthowler on her to have a pretty decently sized creature.

Hello, I too love milling and am a fan of Consuming Aberration as well as Nemesis of Reason . I found myself in a similar situation with my milling decks. I suggest checking out my deck, Jace's Grinding Machine. I've gotten my avg CMC down to 2.68, which is key to a good start. Hope this helps. Also, let me know what you think of it. Thanks

I'm playing Standard, not Modern :(

Yeah, I was reading some of the talk here. I work nights so I haven't had a chance to play at FNM. I'm going to look into a modern version and see if I think it's still a viable option to make a standard mill deck. I had noticed Theros was quite stingy with the mill cards :(

There's still some very good options. Seems to be the best way to do things is control mill. Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver can be pretty terrifying as well.

Ashiok also seems to be the only thing in Theros close to mill that doesn't just feed off of milling...

Yeah. But I really do like Nighthowler as well.

Nighthowler is nice, but Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver can steal you some big bombs while milling their other stuff

Yup, me too. Already have a couple. In fact, that's what I was referring to for feeding off milling :p Still, unless I missed something... That's pretty much it, no?

So far, hopefully there are a couple more with Born of the Gods. But take a look at my deck Milling Grixis yes it is grixis not dimir but it's for extra removal.

I have this feeling that they won't drop much milling til Journey into Nyx ><

I'm thinking Born of the Gods will be the big U/B mill set.