Ah Enyeto, I think you miss the point.

Efficiency is not always based on mana usage.

Although in terms of mana for effect in terms of card draw alone, you are correct. However, by using Think Twice you are able to cast the same card twice, thus triggering Consuming Aberration's ability twice.

Technically, when Think Twice is paired with Consuming Aberration's ability it is more efficient milling.

@ Rage!!! (sorry, I'm unsure how to link your name and not the deck), Enyeto, and dream_cast -- I will respond to this mini conversation at once.

Ultimately, I like Thought Scour for the draw power. It's one mana for one card, at instant speed. The mill two is a bonus, that just happens to fit with the deck perfectly. Casting spells at instant speed is a must in this deck in order to leave mana open for counters, and for the fear-factor of opponents thinking you have a counter spell. Cards like Increasing Confusion require me to tap out on my turn for full effectiveness, which is why I do not run it. I'm even hesitant sometimes with Mind Grind.

Now back to Think Twice. Agreed, it works better with Consuming Aberration, given that I actually have it out. But, when I do not have it out, I think Thought Scour is much better for a solid card draw - it costs less, and mills two. And, with this deck, I am very rarely in need of card draw; Thought Scour provides about as much as I need.

@dream_cast yep, completely missed the synergy of those two. Great call!

Mind Grind and/or Increasing Confusion are usually finishers. Cast if you can win that turn.

Thought Scour is the nuts for this deck. I agree that is is better than Think Twice. However, being able to cast 2 things from 1 card is always beneficial. Which is why I'm going to suggest running Increasing Confusion over Mind Grind. Try it out, and then place your judgement.

On a different, more important note, have you considered Snapcaster Mage? Or have you ACTUALLY considered Snapcaster Mage? The card is not only overpowered in casting kill spells when you need them, but also mill cards like Mind Sculpt and bouncing with Cyclonic Rift again. Not to mention, its another body on the field to attack or block. Snapcaster Mage also enables Consuming Aberration's ability to trigger twice. I'm aware that you shouldn't focus a deck around one creature (Consuming Aberration), but Snapcaster Mage is so versatile, he helps you do exactly what you need to do, and when. He has a strong place in this deck, despite what anyone has to say about him.

If anything, I'd like to hear why he ISN'T a good card for this deck... I'll argue any angle, except budget. Because budget is the only reason i can see why he wouldn't be in this deck.

I will try out Increasing Confusion both in games and in just simple analysis, and let you know how it turns out!

And you won't be arguing anything, he's not in here because of budget. I refuse to make a standard deck that I plan on assembling in paper over $50 :P

I have gone outside the budget ;p and added a couple snapcaster's. So many times, I thought, if I had Snapcaster Mage I could really Traumatize them! So I added a couple hehe.

Haha! That's totally ok then! I was not aware budget was the reason, but since it is, let me suggest taking out Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, and replacing him either with Duskmantle Seer (whose price when down) or even, for cheaper purposes, Sands of Delirium.

Both do really great things for this deck, let me elaborate.

Duskmantle Seer

Draws both players cards every turn. This does two things for you:

One, it allows you some card advantage ON YOUR TURN. Not necessarily in number, because your opponent will also be drawing, but in ability. Control decks, like yours, have more manipulation in what you can do with your spells. Counter anything... kill anything. Other decks either play creatures or ways to get more creatures. Your cards will be able to counter anything they play before they will be able to attack (generally speaking here... haste is an all-together different matter). Just remember, you get to draw on YOUR turn, giving you the advantage.

Two, it is 'basically' milling your opponent 1 card each turn. You may not think of this as milling, since the cards do go straight to their graveyard, but you are seeping cards out of their deck slowly. This is how Turbo Fog decks gain the advantage. No matter how many cards the enemy draws, the Turbo fog deck has the best answers for any card they may play. Eventually, the enemy is low on cards, and the mill game strikes in full force.

Third, three things actually, with Duskmantle Seer. Whenever you draw, and your opponent draws, you each lose life. In a deck like yours, you have the advantage again. Only 3 other cards cost more than 3 mana. And that's when you don't draw land. Having a 4/4 flier, and potentially a 5/5 Jace's Phantasm make him ANOTHER threat your enemies have to deal with. And soon. Otherwise you'll be able to win with damage... in a mill deck... and that's hilarious. Alternate win conditions are a MUST in control decks.

Sands of Delirium

Mainly, one strong thing with this card. You basically mill when you want, or when you have nothing else to do. In a deck with all instants, you're usually playing on their turn. If they don't do anything, you don't usually have things to play. However, if you have a lovely Sands of Delirium sitting on the field, you can use that unused mana to mill them even further. And, eventually, tap out to mill to finish them off.

Granted, your opponent will not see this as a threat right away and will most likely ignore it. But, smarter opponents will focus this thing down ASAP. Which can be good for you, actually. If the enemy destroys it, that means they lost a spell to kill your other things. I've actually had good use out of Sands of Delirium in the past. And it is a lot better than you'd think.

I actually pulled a Duskmantle Seer this past weekend, so I can start play testing in person! I will try out both, and let you know how it works out. Thanks for the in depth suggestions!

If you're going to play Duskmantle Seer you should get cards that off sets your life loss like Vampire Nighthawk and Tribute to Hunger. Vampire Nighthawk + Runechanter's Pike = Instant Kill. D-Seer + Dimir Charm combo will work really well.

Look at the new Dimir control deck I made Control of the D-Seer. Here's the link: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/control-of-the-d-seer/

I'm not sure that I like Duskmantle Seer yet. I need to do some more testing. I'm not convinced that he fits in the deck, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind and Sands of Delirium might be the better options. I will check your deck out though!

Being a 1-of, i feel that Duskmantle Seer would have the greatest impact... but overall, only being 1 card, its not going to alter your deck that much. Play with whatever you want and your deck will still be the same :)

I think I will be keeping the Seer in. I have so few high-CMC cards that it makes the life loss worth it. Especially against my friend who runs Skarrg Goliath for fun :P

What about Wight of Precinct Six? With milling, it gets big quick.

@ canuckkat -- Wight of Precinct Six is a valid suggestion, but whether or not it gets big is conditional. Let's say you're playing against a control build, or even a deck similar to this one. Most of those decks won't run more than 5-10 creatures, leaving Wight of Precinct Six rather small until you mill out their entire library. It also doesn't have any form of evasion/protection (i.e. flying, hexproof, first strike) or an ability that makes it worth running (i.e. Consuming Aberration). At most, I'd say it's a good sideboard card when playing against aggro and other creature-heavy type decks. Thank you for the suggestion!

Good point! My FNM meta is mostly aggro, so I keep forgetting about other builds :)

Ever thought about Balustrade Spy or Destroy the Evidence?

@ dbrannon -- Yes, I have considered both of those cards. Balustrade Spy isn't great because it's ability isn't repeatable in this type of deck. Once he ETB, Jace's Phantasm is a much better choice for a flying creature. I don't like Destroy the Evidence because it costs way too much, I don't care to destroy my opponent's lands, and it cannot be cast at instant speed. Leaving mana open for counterspells, instant-speed mill cards, and kill spells is a necessity. Thank you for the suggestions!

Destroy the Evidence was pretty sweet when I used it. It's basically a Balustrade Spy for one more except instead of a creature, you destroy a land. Very very effect against any deck with red. Drop them mountains baby!!

@ Enyeto -- What did you drop for Destroy the Evidence when you playtested?

This is one of the better mill decks I've seen on here so far. I definitely agree that Balustrade Spy and Destroy the Evidence are too overpriced and do not work well or quickly. I believe the creatures in a mill deck should be very limited. Especially since the current Standard format only allows Consuming Aberration as a real BIG NASTY. I use them in my mill deck, though only as blockers along with Jace's Phantasm. I mainly use them to protect Jace, Memory Adept and myself. All your milling needs can come from casting spells, some artifacts (which I do not use), and Aberration's spell casting ability. Good Job ducttapedeckbox!!

@ eslaton7751 -- Thanks for the comment! You mentioned that you don't use the artifacts that I do, which I'm assuming to be Codex Shredder. I'd highly recommending testing it out - it has become my favorite 1-drop to play with this deck, and my favorite card to see in my opening hand. Thank you again for the support and don't forget to +1 if you haven't!

Perhaps you are right ducttapedeckbox, I kinda dismissed Codex Shredder as it only mills one at a time. I will splice some in to my deck and see how I like it since I do admire the retrieval ability. Get ready for a +1

@ eslaton7751 -- I did the same. I saw the "T: Mill one" and immediately said no to it. However, by T5 you'll have milled 5 cards, and then you can return ANY card to your hand. I am only running 2x Mind Grind, but I can usually cast it at least 2-3 times per game with Codex Shredder. KrazyCaley's article, linked at the beginning of the description, provides a more in-depth discussion and analysis of Codex Shredder if you're interested.

Hey, this is a great deck, great score. This is a good starter place, you should put up a finished product of the deck, how you would run it with the additional, more expensive cards. Both your perfection decks are well thought out. Check out my simmilar U/B deck Mill for the kill and let me know what you think.

+1! Great job.

Cheers mate, ChewEmUp33

Also: epic agreement with you on invisible stalker and cipher!!!

Still using Lazav, Dimir Mastermind i see...