Why no Intruder Alarm or Undead Alchemist?

Both are great in a typical mill deck. I will write up a full and proper description in the near future, but the goal of the deck here is to evoke a feeling of dread and confusion in my opponents, by making them second guess blocks, question if they should be countering a certain face down creature, etc, etc.

Although Phenax allows me to win through mill, my primary goal here is just to have interesting games and keep everyone guessing. Thanks for the suggestions and the +1.

Interesting deck. Curious to watch this one develop.

Thanks gobucks. I'm hoping to reuse my counterspells-on-a-stick (Wizards) through Ninjitsu and other bounce effects (Crystal Shard, Riptide Laboratory) for control, and general confusion, then win through either unblockable aggro, or mass milling from Phenax, God of Deception's granted ability.

Ghastly Conscription is a two-pronged insurance policy that lets me either manifest my opponents' good stuff, or my dead Morphs, which I can then reuse for their unflip abilities.

I love Crystal Shard, its ability is underrated and underused in my opinion. Don't forget Erratic Portal if you need additional shard effects.

Ah yes! Thanks, I knew there was another but couldn't remember the name.

I suggest to you Knacksaw Clique, Riddlekeeper(for when you're facing a lot of creatures), Eater of the Dead for a potentially large amount of milling, Rings of Brighthearth, Thousand-Year Elixir, Umbral Mantle, Cyclonic Rift, and Sadistic Sacrament.

Cool deck, +1 from me! Anyone interested in how morph looks in EDH might like my Ixidor, Reality Sculptor (Updated w/ Khans Block).

Increasing Confusion and Keening Stone are the best EDH mill cards imo. Praetor's Grasp is great fun and/or concrete answer to opponents that run Eldrazi, Colossus, or Tormod's Crypt type things for the anti-mill hate.

Thanks Moshanyana, those are certainly good cards. I don't think they're right for this deck though as they are strictly focused on the mill strategy, and don't really fit with my theme of trickery, deception and secrets. I'll certainly keep them in mind though if I do refocus on a more strictly mill-centric strategy.

I have decided to add Telepathy to the deck, because as a god, Phenax knows all, and really, He should be the only one with secrets. It will also hopefully help encourage my opponents to fight amongst themselves by sowing the seeds of dischord.

Mesmeric Orb is very good in EDH. Ive had that card win me games by protecting it and having a long game. Don't kill yourself with it though.

FGKG123 Agreed, Mesmeric Orb is really good. I had t in here at one point, but I opted to try without it. I really am not a fan of milling myself, and with all my creatures, I feel like they are a more efficient way to mill. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Disruptive Pitmage

Erratic Portal

Crystal Shard

Cloud Key

I would be careful with these types of cards, in EDH the length of the game usually means people have tons of untapped mana anyways, so they probably wont do much.

With that being said, I really admire this deck. I feel like you made it for a good reason.

+1

Also, what the HECK does Illusionary Mask do? Is it kind of like Ambiguity? Lol.

Hi awesomealex77, Thanks for the upvote and comment.

I think you may have gotten Cloud Key mixed up with something else.. I'm not sure why you included it. I'll run down your comments point by point.

Disruptive Pitmage is certainly not the strongest card, but can be a fun Gotcha card when an opponent doesn't know he's on deck. Because the Pitmage has morph, he can sit there and wait for someone to tap out and "go for it" them flip, tap, and say "Nope". Another thing to consider is that I need some morph creatures in here that are expendible that I can bluff with... If my opponent knows I have Willbender or Voidmage Prodigy, I can bait out a counterspell or piece of spot removal on something more expendable like this little guy. All that being said, I may end up replacing him with something like Glen Elendra Archmage.

Regarding cards like Erratic Portal, Crystal Shard, Equilibrium and Cloudstone Curio (which I am considering adding): These cards can pose a threat to my opponent's board state, but they are really in here to let me bounce my morphed creatures to reuse their abilities that trigger when they flip over. Part of what I hope to achieve with this deck is to neuter my opponent's defenses by making them think twice about countering someting, or target something. If you don't know for sure what that morphed creature really is, how are you supposed to know if it's worth using a counterspell? Once my creatures are in play, their abilities can't be stopped except by Stifle, Trickbind, or similar effects... Effects which are much less represented vs. typical counter magic.

Finally, Illusionary Mask is a fun, old, piece of tech. The way it works is actually pretty simple (but I'll use a lot of words to try and make it clear). Pay : Cast a creature face down as a colorless 2/2. Keep track of what colors and quantities of mana you use to pay . can be any amount, as long as it is AT LEAST the CMC of the creature you cast facedown, and enough mana of each colour to cast it like normal (this ability to pay extra is to bluff and confuse your opponent about how big a threat the card is - eg. you can pretend a Ruthless Ripper is a Wrexial, the Risen Deep by over paying, thus baiting out a counterspell). Whenever the face down creature cast this way would be dealt damage, would deal damage, or is tapped, flip it over (at this point you have to prove that you in fact paid at least it's true casting cost). What's neat about this, is that with morphed creatures, you can use the mask to cast them, them flip them over for free to use their abilities, by say, tapping them with Phenax, God of Deception's mill ability. Does that make sense?

A real theme here is to go deep on a theme of deception, trickery, and uncertainty, where nothing is as it seems.... or is it? I hope Phenax, Lord of the Lies, would approve. ;-)

That's a lot of foils! +1 for an interesting deck idea.

Ender666666 I realize why you have those cards in there now, thanks for taking the time to explain your reasoning to me. This leads me to another suggestion, Whiplash Trap and Repeal worked good for me in the Cunning deck from the Speed vs. Cunning series.

Faerie Impostor is a good card from the deck as well and Fathom Seer might be able to give you some consistent card draw.

I was going to suggest Thousand Winds as well, but you already have it.. Good choice!

Why the Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse though? Image a scenario where you have drawn two swamps, which could happen, then you basically only have a slow Island for a land drop.

Also, is Dismal Backwater worth it? Sure its two colors, but other then that its just a slow split color land that gives you 1 life, which isn't much in EDH. Same with Jwar Isle Refuge.

Dimir Aqueduct is alright, but why have yet another slow land?

Creeping Tar Pit could be a solid replacement for one of your other slow lands.

awesomealex77 Terramorphic Expanse and Evolving Wilds were actually hold outs from when the deck had mostly basic lands as a mana base. Thanks for pointing them out, I swapped them for swamps.

Those other cards look neat, but I'm not sure they're right for this deck. I'll keep them in mind though. Thanks for the suggestions.

Finally, Creeping Tar Pit is an interesting suggestion because it can't be blocked. I will give it some thought.

ian.hughes Thank! I decided it was time to fully foil out a deck and thought this would be fun. I really love the way old foils look, especially in Blue, Black, Artifacts and Lands. Would you mind hitting the Upvote button to show your support and make your +1 count?