Commander beginner
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Jan. 30, 2016, 11:35 a.m. by Censuring
Finally putting up a decklist very much in its infancy in hopes of getting some direction from this community into molding deck. Its a dimir (u/b) mill control list. Thanks for any help thats given here is the list Lasav EDH first deck help wanted
My friend gave me the idea as a he runs a mono blue control deck that locks everyone down then combos out self milling with Laboratory Maniac as a wincon. Or combo into drawing his whole deck with tutelage out. So figured id take a shot at it with his help and guidance from here
January 30, 2016 12:06 p.m.
Are you sure he doesn't just want you to make his deck win faster? :P
I'd definitely fit in some cards like Diluvian Primordial and Sepulchral Primordial to take advantage of filling up your opponent's yards, because of how hard it is to win off of mill. You could potentially mill one player out, and then kill everyone else with the stolen cards.
January 30, 2016 12:25 p.m.
If it helps any the group i play with usually consist of R/G Dragons, Mono Blue control/mill, Mono green omnath ramp, white token/equipment (damn elspeth) and one other i cant remember at this time
January 30, 2016 12:40 p.m.
MtgPenguin says... #6
Hey Censuring if you want an idea for a good control deck, take a look at my deck: Sage of the Deep Blue
It's mono blue, but it may very well provide insight for you building your own deck.It took a while for me to aquire most of the cards, but certainly worth the wait. It's complete, but I may need one more card that's a land to declare 100% finished.The land I need is called Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx.
January 30, 2016 1:26 p.m.
Typically when you see mill used in Commander it's part of an infinite combo. The commanders used for mill decks are Phenax, God of Deception, Oona, Queen of the Fae, and Ambassador Laquatus. Phenax, God of Deception combos with Eater of the Dead to tear through opponents' libraries while both Oona, Queen of the Fae, and Ambassador Laquatus turn infinite mana combos into mill engines. In 
, you also have access to combos like Deadeye Navigator+Palinchron+Altar of the Brood/Sphinx's Tutelage/a creature that mills cards when it enters the battlefield, and Mikaeus, the Unhallowed+Puppeteer Clique+Altar of Dementia.
With Lazav, Dimir Mastermind as your commander, what you may want to try is a control deck that focuses on stealing control of opponent's cards that you mill into their graveyard. Running with what xcn was saying, cards like Sepulchral Primordial, Animate Dead, Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, Geth, Lord of the Vault, Life's Finale, Wrexial, the Risen Deep, etc., can take advantage of passive milling effects like Altar of the Brood, Sphinx's Tutelage, and Hedron Crab. It's not the most competitive strategy to go with, but it is a deck style that depends on your opponents so it offers a lot of variation in gameplay. I run it as a small sub-theme in my Grimgrin, Corpse-Born and it has worked out rather well for me.
So mill can be used in Commander, but if your group does not allow infinite combos than its value drops significantly.
January 30, 2016 3:25 p.m.
Deckologist says... #8
TheDevicer is right. Mill is pretty much useless in EDH. If it is the only thing you're interested in you might want to add Oona, Queen of the Fae and Leyline of the Void to your deck so that you have better chances of getting rid of the eldrazi titans if they are running any and you also prevent things from entering the grave so if you play against reanimator style decks you dont just help them win the game.
January 30, 2016 9:32 p.m.
Alright well its at 100 now so a starting point mana base isnt up to par I know but anymore advice you guys
January 31, 2016 11:13 a.m.
Ender666666 says... #10
TheDevicer, Deckologist, with all due respect (and I DO respect you guys), Mill doesn't have to be weak. I am confidant that my Phenax deck, Lord of the Lies proves it. It has a very consistent record, and is able to comfortably take on 3-4 opponents without usually breaking a sweat.
Censuring, don't believe the h8ers. Mill is good, and king, ESPECIALLY if it makes YOU happy to play it.
I have found that the following cards are indispensable for accelerating your wins, and knocking most of your opponents' strategies off-kilter:
Dreamborn Muse + Kozilek, Butcher of Truth + Mesmeric Orb : Orb, Muse, or BOTH in play work wonders in helping you cycle through your own deck quickly (and pulling things from your Yard, especially with cards with Flashback, or creatures when you have Lazav in play copy them, or Phyrexian Reclamation or Oversold Cemetery in play to reclaim choice morsels), all while chewing through your opponents' libraries. Kozilek in your deck allows you to rinse and repeat
Sadistic Sacrament is great for removing your opponents' Kozilek, Butcher of Truth's or other reshuffle effects OUT of their deck so that you can successfully and happily Mill to your heart's content
Elixir of Immortality as a second way to refresh your library, in case Mr. Cosi is being a real Trickster and not showing up in your graveyard when you need him
Leyline of the Void, Bojuka Bog, Tormod's Crypt, Relic of Progenitus, or Nihil Spellbomb as ways to fight your opponents' decks which have graveyard focused strategies
Eater of the Dead + Phenax, God of Deception can go infinite. When facing creature light Opponents, do not be afraid to mill away most of your own deck first to load it with creatures to exile to the Eater when chewing through your Enemies' libraries
January 31, 2016 8:06 p.m.
Deckologist says... #11
Ender666666 shut the flying fu...just kidding man. That's what makes this site so great. People are allowed to disagree with each other regardless of who they are (respectfully of course) without the fear of backlash.
As for your phenax deck. You have to understand that we come from a totally different frame of mind. I may be speaking out of place but TheDevicer is a competitive player such as myself that has a hard time seeing the normal side of edh. I myself come from beginnings in a meta where if you didn't win in three turns you lost. So it's hard sometimes to see a concept or a deck that's good for the usual meta because we are so used to the top of the line super tuned decks and ideas.
I hope this doesn't sound like I'm snobbing you or trying to put you down. Just offering a rationality to our madness.
January 31, 2016 10:03 p.m.
Ender666666 says... #12
Yeah man, I totally get that. My point was that just saying "Mill sucks", and not qualifying it from the viewpoint of a hypercompetitive player/meta, is inaccurate and would be discouraging to a player looking for help ON THEIR MILL DECK. ;)
Either way, I was happy to present an alternate view point.
January 31, 2016 10:43 p.m.
Does Inverter of Truth with Laboratory Maniac make the cut as basically a wincon if hit on turn 4
February 1, 2016 8:48 a.m.
Ender666666 says... #14
If Laboratory Maniac is already in play when Inverter of Truth comes in, and you have a way to protect the maniac until you draw a card with an empty library, then yes, that could win.
February 1, 2016 10:14 a.m.
I was thinking of it as a curve out turn 2 Diabolic Tutor to get either card i need or possibly mana if i had both cards turn 3 maniac turn 4 inverter with one card to draw for the win. Gitaxian Probe wins the game if in hand on turn 4. This seems damn near impossible to me since single cards dont generate alot of consistency but hey what do i know could this work
Arvail says... #2
Mill is weak. Like reeeaaaaly weak. It's pretty much the least efficient way to manage resources in the game. This goes double when people have 99 card libraries and mana decks run effects that shuffle the yard back into the library.
If you still want to do it, be my guest, but don't expect the deck to be good enough to take on even mediocre decks.
You want recurring mill effects. Things like Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker, Whispering Madness, Consuming Aberration, Jace's Archivist, etc. let you mill more cards than one-shot sorceries. Start there. Add a light suite of countermagic and control. Do not try to control 5 players. It won't work. Instead, think of it as trying to protect your own stuff and prevent others from assuming winning positions.
January 30, 2016 11:43 a.m.