@ Davis5127 -- Mind Grind for 3-4 can easily mill upwards of 10-20 cards, while Pilfered Plans mills two. However, the draw power is nice, but usually unnecessary in this deck, and the draw power needed is usually provided by Thought Scour . If I were to add in Pilfered Plans , I'd probably drop Thought Scour . Three copies of Codex Shredder is too valuable to not have in this deck.

@ ygamretuta -- M13 is in for a bit longer I believe, so I'm not worrying about it rotating out. But I will most likely replace Mind Sculpt with it, despite the slight price gap.

@ riccochet & ygamretuta -- What changes would you make to include Notion Thief and when would you sideboard it in? I'm definitely keeping Grisly Spectacle and Codex Shredder . I was actually thinking Crypt Incursion for a replacement to Fog Bank actually.

What do you think about dropping a Mind Grind for a Reap Intellect ?

I Have a mill standard deck, but I run Invisible Stalker with ciphers, still I use 4x Breaking with a splash of red in shock lands allows me to grab back my fatties or even the enemy fatties on late game, plus is amazing against reanimators and other graveyard decks and I dont have to worry so much about helping them with the mill.

Also I droped Mind Grind , instead I use Breaking and Mind Sculpt because they leave the mana open to activate guildmage and deal alot of damage, I did this because I got raped trying to mill in standard tournaments, now I go for duskmage/mill combo. A single attack by Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker or Jace with Duskmage active can kill in 1 turn. Alternatively you can play full defense back casting cheap removal/utility/counters like Unsummon / Ultimate Price / Thought Scour / DreamTwist with aberration and/or duskmage also deals great damage while protecting them, you can do it at the end of enemy turn, leaving mana always open for counters and just play bodyguard for your aberration/duskmage.I win most of the time with damage from Invisible Stalker + Jace's Phantasm and a couple duskmage/mill combos, other times I just get to attack with huge aberration or direct damage with Essence Harvest .

If you have the money for it going grixis opens alot more options with better removal and planeswalkers plus guttersnipe for backup plan. If you want to stay U/B and cheap think about duskmage, less mill, and more removel/counter/control to protect your creature combo. Essence Harvest ftw! it helps alot even if you only got the 5/5 phantasm, with aberration it becomes crazy good.

Almost forgot to mention, Fuse cards if cast both sides trigger aberration twice.. so they are very useful, Away particularly as it keeps in the control/removal theme and 5 mana is not that hard when your playing control. Also you can use it to save your creatures from removal. Trading 1 removal for 1 removal + aberration trigger or ideally if you have 5 mana you get 2 aberration triggers while saving it from that Supreme Verdict !

I'll remove Glaring Spotlight to make room for Notion Thief . Against control I would board out 1x Consuming Aberration and 1xJace's Phantasm , as mostly control decks would always have answers for creatures, and it is quite dangerous to always tap out for Consuming Aberration .

also, Mind Grind for Reap Intellect , IMO, is not worth it. The biggest issue with Reap Intellect is that it may only be effective in the 5th turn and up, it is counterable, and would often go against hands that have 2-3 cards or worst, no cards. Mind Grind is a finisher, and even not used as one, it can still be so valuable with the amount of mill it gives, considering it's a mill deck you are running.

@ acceleratum -- Using the Invisible Stalker s and Duskmantle Guildmage is a very different strategy than what I am using in this deck. Usually if I cast a large Mind Grind , I'm in a position that allows for me to end my turn tapped out. I win the same two ways you mention; either full-out mill or direct damage with Consuming Aberration . I'm hesitant on Far / Away , but what do you suggest for a change?

@ ygamretuta -- Hmm I agree with the sideboard change for Notion Thief . I still see Reap Intellect as a "mill card," as it can take a significant chunk out of your opponents' hands. But, I agree that late-game, it wouldn't have as much potential as Mind Grind , so I'll hold off on that change for now.

For now, I have made the following changes:

• 2x Glaring Spotlight ---> 2x Notion Thief (SB)
• 4x Mind Sculpt ---> 4x Breaking / Entering
• 2x Fog Bank ---> 2x Crypt Incursion (SB)

Barter in Blood might need consideration instead of Far / Away since you only have eight creatures; otherwise I like Far / Away . Pilfered Plans I could take or leave; it's about as good as any other mill card. Reap Intellect is just too expensive, if you ask me.

I'd try to fit in some Wight of Precinct Six . It can get just as powerful as Aberration.

I think Pilfered Plans is great. Thought scour gives you 1 card advantage and mills two. It is also a instant. Plans just draws you one more. You are overall getting double the card advantage than you would from Scour. I understand Scour is for the EoT draw etc. , but definitely consider it. You will draw into things you need faster than you would scour.

@ KrazyCaley -- Out of the three I like Far / Away the most. Even though I run few creatures, I want to have the opportunity to use the card I add anytime, opposed to being forced to sac' something. But yea, I feel the same way about Pilfered Plans and Reap Intellect - just not completely sold on their uselessness. What do you think I should drop in place of Far / Away ?

@ Cdbwater -- It really can't. Wight of Precinct Six relies on creatures in the grave, and that may not be possible against some control builds. It is also very open to removal, and has no evasoin (i.ie flying)

@ Trumbone -- You make the instant speed of Thought Scour sound bad. That is the main reason why I am reluctant to drop it for Pilfered Plans . Plans also costs an additional two for just one draw, which I don't believe is worth it.

Hard to say what to drop in favor of Far / Away . I'm not sure there ARE any non-creature spells that it's really better than for your deck. MAYBE Grisly Spectacle , but I hate to get rid of that card. If it were my deck, I'd cut Consuming Aberration , but that's definitely a judgment call. You might be at the point where Far / Away is great, but the cards actually in the deck are better.

Re: Wight of Precinct Six - It's usable in a creature/mill build, but mixing mill and kill is usually a bad idea.

Re: Thought Scour vs. Pilfered Plans - I think these cards are at about the same power level, but I think Thought Scour fills the need of a control deck a lot better than Pilfered Plans . Two cards is nice, but costing 3 and being sorcery speed is kinda bleh. Makes it hard to use our kill spells, counterspells, etc. I'm in the Thought Scour camp.

@ KrazyCaley -- Hmm that sounds accurate. I think that the addition of Far / Away will just have to come through testing, to see if it's really needed. I also agree with you on Thought Scour . I'm disappointed that Pilfered Plans isn't an instant, which would make the decision much harder.

Have you thought that using Hidden Strings you can untap terrains, and also it triggers Consuming Aberration hability

id feel like a dick when i beat my friends with this. that is all

@ pssk -- What do you mean by "terrains?" Do you mean lands? I'd prefer to run a card that contributes to control, which Hidden Strings does not. It also requires the creature to deal damage, which makes it work much better with unblockable creatures.

@ ThEdUnCeCaP -- I can't tell if that's a compliment or an insult...

hey, id like to ask you something about Dimir Guildgate do you think they slow too much? or they are nice? im scared to draw only one kind of mana, so im thinking to add them.

I made my deck with lots of idea from yours. really nice guide and explanation.

@ doukychou -- The Guildgates are not my first choice, but on a budget they definitely help. They provide enough mana fixing in a two-color deck that the ETB tapped doesn't really affect your play too much. Determining when to play them is determined by your hand; look for the turn that you don't need all your mana to play something, and drop the Guildgate.

Why didn't you add Jace, Memory Adept ? You can mill 10 cards each turn after only paying 5 mana. I'm not asking in a condescending way, just curious.

If I'm not mistaken, he left out Jace, Memory Adept because this deck started out as a 'budget friendly' milling deck. I think when they did the 'workshop' breakdown of this deck on the main site they added in non-budget cards for you to pick up if you wanted to go that route.

@ dead_king1007 -- bcoots is correct with his statement. This deck is a budget deck, which to me means that the cost of the deck does not exceed $50. Jace, Memory Adept takes up a large percentage of that, and is more of a luxury than a necessity.

Oh okay, thank you for answering. How successful has this deck been at FNM?

Undead Alchemist .

Am idea i have started to use in my aggro mill deck, is Undead Alchemist and Undercity Informer , the tokens generated from milling and exiling, by the Undead Alchemist can be sacrificed to mill till they get to a land, and most likely generate more tokens, sort of like a cheaper and re-usable Mind Grind I don't think it'd fit so well in your deck but it could be something to think on, or maybe an idea for a different deck, it's definately a budget combo xP

@ dead_king1007 -- I haven't had time to play in an official FNM, but I do play against friends who play decks that you'd see. They're not $500 decks running playsets of shocklands, but they're good decks. This can beat any one of the decks without a problem. That is not me saying that it wins every game though.

@ Demarge & Pyroshade -- The Undead Alchemist and Undercity Informer combo is for a creature/mill deck while this is a control/mill deck. The addition of the combo would require a complete revamp of the entire deck and strategy, which I am not prepared to do. It is not a bad deck idea though, and is definitely worth exploring in a deck.

Oh okay, I am currently trying to duplicate your deck to see how good it works for me/ how effectively I can play it because the main mechanic I play is Mill. Please keep me informed for how well you do at an FNM with this deck (that is if you play it).

Also, why only have x1 Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker ?