Poppin' Tags
This is a Mill deck I have been tinkering around with. Its previous build is now considered Modern, with the main cards nixed being Fog Bank, Mind Sculpt, and Thought Scour. Even with the advance to the Theros block, this deck remains budget-conscious. After all, I only got twenty dollars in my pocket.
Introduction
Survivability and heavy milling is the name of the game for milling thrift shop style, because you are unlikely to hit multiple trump cards and win within 10 turns. Fog Bank WAS key for chump blocking (sans arrest mechanics) but has been cycled out, in addition to Jace's Phantasm. You can still run them in Extended/Modern, which is a great format for Mill decks. To supplement, Wight of Precinct Six is full 4x. Nightveil Specter seems especially great facing a Blue deck, but I'm still a little on the fence about him. To add to survivability, Crypt Incursion makes an appearance, which tends to be an unpopular choice for mills. However, +30 health buys more milling time and feels essential. I probably need to look into more counters for the sideboard to help with burn/control.
The Hook
Doom Blade is in full force to deal with aggro, albeit useless versus black. I am needing a good alternative besides the pricey Hero's Downfall. I find myself pondering Cancel vs Negate vs something else for additional control.
Pilfered Plans
and previously Thought Scour help with the inevitable hand depletion given a low mana curve, which can kill momentum of a mill deck. AIN'T GOT NO TIME FOR THAT. People give Pilfered crap, but drawing two cards is clutch, particularly in the absence of scour. Read the Bones seems like a possibility, although it would depend heavily upon Crypt Incursion.
Milling
One of the few great cards added to the Ravinica block is Breaking / Entering. It's actually quite obscene as far as CMC and the effect goes. Combined with Mind Grind, Tome Scour, and Traumatize, milling is still pretty effective overall. I have looked into
Paranoid Delusions
due to the cheap-ish cost for a mill 3 plus Cipher, which becomes amazing with Nightveil Specter. Finally, Consuming Aberration and Jace, Memory Adept make an appearance, although these are the pricier cards. Even for a budget deck, 1x of each is worth considering, because any mill deck needs a couple heavy hitters.
A Reminder
Once again, I cannot stress enough that this deck is meant for a budget. Cards exceeding $5 in value, besides my boy Jace, are unlikely to be added. In an ideal world, I might bump up to 2-3x Mind Grind and 2-3x Consuming Aberration if I can skimp it. Thanks for any input, especially with the retirement of the Innistrad/M13 block.
