Ahh... Its been so long since i've looked at this deck... Conversation on this deck is what brought me to such high a rank. :P

Well, deck advertisement could be taken as a positive sign. It could mean that you've really reached perfection so there's nothing else to suggest. lol. Just sayin. I'm bored. XP

I don't think I can get points for commenting on my own decks.. oh well :P

I guess that it could be that... but once DGM comes out (officially, I want the first time I see the cards to be in paper, then I'll look at the rest online), I'm going to have a massive post and discussion of possible additions/cuts. That'll take a while to write

take your time. :)

Breaking / Entering , The breaking side :D less than $0.90 ea. Most likely will bottom out at $0.50.

Wait 2 more days. That's when he will see the DGM cards

@ Enyeto and w999 -- A little longer to wait for a DGM discussion, but I will initiate the discussion with a post debating every possible card for the deck.

Dragon's Maze Disucssion

I ultimately wanted to wait to view the DGM cards until after I had played with them in person. However, waiting for the past few weeks has been painful, and with a date for me to even get some of the cards still waiting to be determined, I have decided to go ahead with and initiate the DGM discussion on this deck. Below I will list the cards that might have a place in the deck (and those that I dont think have a place), discuss what I like/dont like about them, and possible replacements off the top of my head. I hope that these additions will only solidify the deck, and maintain its status as a consistent, standard budget mill deck. I appreciate any input, and hope to hear any suggestions. Without further ado, let the discussion begin!

• Far / Away -- Im not in favor of the sac ability, as it lets your opponent make a choice. The only utility I see is the bounce, but I already have Cyclonic Rift for that. Probably not.
• Blood Scrivener -- I rarely have an empty hand with this deck, so another card that I dont think Ill be adding.
• Breaking / Entering -- Mill 8 for 2? They just keep getting closer to Glimpse the Unthinkable . The only replacement I can see is Mind Sculpt , however Im not sure if its actually worth it. Eh.
• Crypt Incursion -- I like it. Not for a mainboard, but Im seriously considering it for sideboard material. Against creature-heavy aggro decks, this card can seriously save the game.
• Hidden Strings -- A much better Hands of Binding , however I dont see it having a place in this deck
• Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker -- Im not sure that I like him needing to deal damage, but I can definitely see him being a replacement for Lazav, Dimir Mastermind .
• Notion Thief -- Not a bad card, but I still have the belief that every card needs to contribute to milling. Probably not
• Pilfered Plans -- I like the draw power, with the added bonus of milling for two. However, it costs two more than Thought Scour for only one additional draw power. Im hesitant about this one.
• Reap Intellect -- The sheer potential this card has is very nice, but its mana cost isnt very friendly with this deck. Despite the power, Im not too sure Ill be adding it.
• Uncovered Clues -- Again, another card that doesnt contribute to milling. Eh.
• Warped Physique -- I think they misprinted this card. If it was where X is the number of cards in your opponents graveyard, then Id consider it. Im a little disappointed that this card isnt more Dimir mill-oriented.
• Woodlot Crawler -- Uhh nope.
• AEtherling -- Nice card, but I dont think it fits here.
• Dimir Cluestone -- Dont think so.

Have I forgotten anything? I think right now, Crypt Incursion is in line for the sideboard, and Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker is in for a one-of. Thoughts? Again, Im open to any suggestions/comments!

I think you maybe wrong on the Hidden Strings you can play it and untap the exact lands you tapped to play it, thus a free card, even better you can then attack with it cipher'd onto lets say Jace's Phantasm and then untap 2 lands you will tap to add 2 to your mana pool, thus giving you two additional mana that turn and any turn you attack.This means a Consuming Aberration or Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker on turn 3, or and addition 2, 4, 6 or even 8 mana, for say Mind Grind or Increasing Confusion , as you can always tap lands while interupting a spell just to tap them again, it has sped up my mill deck alot :P

@ Pyroshade -- You are right that Hidden Strings is essentially a free card. However, it cannot provide additional mana to put towards a higher-CMC card. As the phases of the turn change, mana empties from your mana pool. .

Let's say I tap for three, and then go to my combat phase. In that phase transition, the mana pool empties, wasting the three mana previously tapped for.

Also, Hidden Strings also needs to deal damage to your opponent; this deck doesn't run any unblockable creatures or unblockable spells, so it becomes useless if your creatures can be blocked.

yeah... Breaking is a good card. better than Mind Sculpt as long as the budget approves. but i definitely think Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker is worth getting to replace Lazav, Dimir Mastermind . i feel like lazav depends way too much on the opponent's deck.

@ Tempest -- I'm still debating whether or not Breaking / Entering is worth one additional milled card, it seems arbitrary. If I could use the other half (I don't plan on splashing red), I would make the change in a heartbeat. But for now, I'm definitely changing the legendaries.

What do you think about Crypt Incursion for a sideboard card?

I have run this deck with the unbudgeted version at Perfection of Milling "Unbudgeted" and replaced Mind Sculpt with Breaking / Entering . However, as it is right now, I can't seem to find a place for Crypt Incursion . However, you can't deny it being real good for aggro, especially Orzhov reanimator and Golgari Scavenge decks. Hell I tried i t once and up 30 life instantly is no laughing matter.

it could definitely help you recover from a sticky situation. probably best against aggro/blitz and reanimator

Crypt Incursion should be main board for every mill deck. At least 2 no more than 3. Mirko Vosk is better than consuming aberration for straight mill power and if you have 8 dual lands then breaking/entering is much better than mind sculpt if you can't fit both. If you splash red for breaking/entering then adding ral zarek and the izzet champion is nice too but not necessary.

adding Breaking is good anyways. that way you can play Breaking and Thought Scour to get to ten. i think that one card does matter

Breaking definitely matters for helping solidify a turn 3 Jace's Phantasm .

As for Crypt Incursion , I think it's a great sideboard card but not necessarily for straight aggro decks. I've been using it more for the Boros decks that do direct damage with Boros Charm and other red cards because the deck has enough control IMO for a blitz. Using it for re-animators will probably be a must as well.

Breaking / Entering and Pilfered Plans

1 More than Mind Sculpt and a Divination with a 3 card mill... whoda thunk

@ ygamretuta -- Have you seen a significant benefit of the extra mill? Also, I was only thinking Crypt Incursion for a sideboard card, should I be needing the lifegain.

@ Tempest --

1. So I take that as a "should probably sideboard it?" (Crypt Incursion )
2. Even without the additional card, a T3 5/5 Jace's Phantasm is very possible. However, the one additional card makes the process require one less card, increasing consistency. Since it's a "budget" card, I'm definitely considering it.

@ tristenbruce --

1. I don't think Crypt Incursion is mainboard material. It's utterly useless against control builds, and relies on a creature-heavy deck. Even some burn decks make it useless. I think at most, it's a sideboard card.
2. Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker is not better than Consuming Aberration in every situation. For his ability to work, he has to interact with the opponents' side of the board (dealing damage). Consuming Aberration on the other hand solely relies on what I do, and doesn't require any interaction with my opponent.
3. Please note that this is a budget deck, so dual lands and Ral Zarek are not options. With that said, I don't think splashing red is the best route for this deck.

@ Davis5127 -- I agree with both statements, what changes to the sideboard do you suggest?

@ Enyeto -- I take it you're in favor of adding both of the cards you mentioned?

Just thinking out loud here.

Drop a Thought Scour and all four Mind Sculpt s for two Pilfered Plans and three Breaking / Entering ? I'd like to squeeze another Pilfered Plans in here though.

Also, thoughts on adding a singleton of Reap Intellect ?

I'm not sure what you should change out of your sideboard to add Crypt Incursion , I figured you would just be stacking it on. Maybe the Fog Bank s?

As for the Pilfered Plans , I personally would want to keep 4 Breaking s if at all possible...

But what about the Mind Grind s? I like them soo much less now that we have all these new mill cards. You could try 4 Breaking / Entering , 3 Thought Scour , 2 Pilfered Plans and a singleton Mind Grind which you could exchange for another Pilfered Plans or Reap Intellect .

My first attempt at a hard mill deck looked something very very similar to this. Breaking really does help with consistency for getting Jace's Phantasm to 5/5 faster. Now the bad news, it was too slow. I can't tell you how many FNM events that I was a hair pin close to winning, but couldn't get it done. I was constantly finishing 3-2 or 2-3 and most matches I was getting opponents down to less than 15 in their deck and under 5-10 life before the deck would sputter, and I would loose. Getting THAT close almost everytime was beyond frustrating. It hinges so much on the turn 5 Consuming Aberration . I found myself rarely milling to death, and relying almost completely on the Jace's Phantasm for a turn 7-8 win (as you put the clock on them turn 3-4). I eventually morphed into Esper control / Mill, and have had better success. Sorry if this comes across as ney-saying. Just hoping to save you a headache, trying to figure out why it isn't working...

@ Davis5127 -- Dropping Fog Bank was what I was thinking for the sideboard - they are both to deal with creature-heavy decks. Hmm. I like your suggestions for modifications, but I don't like having only 2 of a card like Pilfered Plans . Is there some place else I could drop a card?

@ nickcrabbs -- Was your build as control-oriented as this deck is? I don't play at sanctioned FNM events, but I play all different types of decks that you'd see at them, and I fair pretty well. My deck is currently one of the top decks in my plapygroup, and I can usually hold the board down until I can drop a game-winning card such as Consuming Aberration or a large Mind Grind .

I suggested having just a singleton Mind Grind in exchange for the 3 Pilfered Plans because using a Mind Grind for 3-4 mana will not be near as good as using a Pilfered Plans for 3 mana. The only time you will be using the Mind Grind will be for a late game finisher like you mentioned above so might as well just keep one in there. Another point in my argument would be that you now have 1 Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker in place of your missing Mind Grind , probably milling away more lands than it would have early-mid game anyways.

If you can't stand to get rid of one of the mind grinds you could possibly do away with another Thought Scour or a Codex Shredder . But then you wouldn't like having only 2 of those cards either. I dunno man it might just take some play-testing to see which last card you want to drop...Maybe even diving into one of your control cards?

ducttapedeckbox you can't really outright call it significant but that is still one extra card. as a miller every card milled matters, and I see no reason why you wouldn't want to replace it. cmc is both 2, m13 will soon rotate out, so why not?

Notion Thief will sideboard against Sphinx's Revelation users and other solid card draws. Woodlot Crawler will contribute to your sideboard vs. heavy green decks. Your creatures grow pretty big early game, so may I suggest Disciple of Bolas . He refills your hand, gets your life back, and gives an offset against aggro. Pilfered Plans can replace Codex Shredder . I believe Grisly Spectacle is too heavy as a removal card, so I think Far / Away can be a replacement. It costs a total of 5, bouncing one creature then sacrificing the other. Usually a player will have at least 2 creatures in play, so it's effective. Have time to think.

Ricochet I agree with Notion Thief as sideboard but not just against Sphinx's Revelation . It can pretty much steal draws from Think Twice and Sign in Blood so it goes as a sideboard against control decks.

Though Grisly Spectacle is expensive, it is in this deck for a reason: removal with mill. He can opt to go for Murder which is faster and costs less but he opted for additional mill.

Also, I don't think Pilfered Plans can ever replace Codex Shredder . It is a constant reliable mill and can bring back a card from the graveyard for emergency situations. The former I think is just a beefed up Divination .

Also Woodlot Crawler is not good. Like Fog Bank it can die to Searing Spear and Pillar of Flame . It can also be removed by black ever so easily. I think Essence Scatter is a more viable alternative to both Fog Bank and Woodlot Crawler .