First attempt at creating a competitive modern mill deck. As of 1/14/2020, the deck list isn't complete. The cards in the sideboard and maybe board are all up for possibilities.
- The initial goal is to decide the optimal quantity of lands to be used in the deck.
Land Base (~21 Lands)
Fetch Lands:
Ideal in this deal not only for flexibility as far as land, but as well as being able to trigger
Hedron Crab
's mill ability.
4x
Polluted Delta
- Obviously the choice of a U/B deck, but added synergy, as mentioned above.
2x
Prismatic Vista
- Not quite as flexible as
Polluted Delta
, but still does a good job of providing land options.
Non-Basic Lands:
4x
Watery Grave
- Shock lands. On top of being able to targeted by
Polluted Delta
, it can also add precious mana.
1x
Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
- Great card to trigger
Hedron Crab
's ability even when you haven't drawn a card that turn. Another good bonus option is to trigger abilities like
Fatal Push
.
2x
Ghost Quarter
- This land is critical in terms of driving the game in your favor. On top of just the basic function of being able to destroy the most problematic lands, it can also direct how your opponent plays. In the Modern Meta game where Fetch lands are common, it can lean an opponent to search their library, allowing another opportunity to play
Archive Trap
.
Basic Lands:
2x
Island
3x
Swamp
Creatures (6)
4x
Hedron Crab
- Probably the most important card in the Modern Mill game and probably even a little over powered. The one mana cost means you can cast it on the first turn of the game, allowing for maximum card discarding, but also 2 Toughness means they can chump block the 1/1 creatures that are being cast without worrying about dying in most situations. Of the current 591 creatures with a 1 CMC, only 62 (10.4%) of them have a power greater than 1. On top of this, milling for 3 cards every land drop means a single crab can potentially mill your opponents for 6 cards in a single turn.
2x
Snapcaster Mage
- Not quite as critical for this deck as the crab, but useful, nonetheless. The mage becomes increasingly useful in games that take longer and you really want to play a spell again. Even if you don't have mana to spare for a spell, then options like
Surgical Extraction
or
Archive Trap
are both available to cast for free (potentially).
Enchantments (4)
4x
Fraying Sanity
- Easily the best enchantment for a mill deck. What's better than putting 4 cards in your opponent's graveyard? Putting 8 cards in their graveyard.
Artifacts (2)
2x
Mesmeric Orb
- This is great for controlling the tempo of the game. It forces your opponent to decide if it is necessary to untap a land, artifact, or creature. One of the downsides is that it also effects you, so use it wisely. On the other hand, using
Snapcaster Mage
can allow you cast one of these cards if needed. Combining this with artifact with
Fraying Sanity
can cause your opponent to mill numerous cards without spending a single mana.
Instants (17)
4x
Drown in the Loch
- This is a great utility spell that helps us by serving two different purposes. While it may cost more than
Fatal Push
, in a mill deck it means you aren't limited a 2 mana creature, making it closer to a
Terror
or
Doom Blade
. This spell also doubles as a counterspell, but for the same CMC as a
Counterspell
.
2x
Crypt Incursion
- Another great option in terms of surviving a game in the long term. While it doesn't provide any offensive power it can mean the difference between lasting 5 turns and 12 turns. If you are matched up with a deck that doesn't have many creatures, then you can switch it out with some
Extirpate
s or
Tome Scour
s.
