Can Phenax make mill good again?
Standard forum
Posted on Jan. 30, 2014, 9:50 p.m. by DrLitebur
Well, the title of the article says it all. The aforementioned card I speak of is Phenax, God of Deception , and let me tell you this is the card I am most excited for out of the set. I will have three of these buggers before the February 7th "debut" of born of the Gods in Standard, and I debut my new mill deck. The real question is of course, can mill hold its own against the other archetypes in Standard format? In all honesty, I think this card changes the game for that. With something that turns each and every creature you control into a miller, you can make a viable mill deck in standard format now. Combine it with some good spells like Triton Tactics , decent counterspells like Dissolve and Dispel as well as the "fatties" needed to make it work, and of course the mill master himself in Jace, Memory Adept and honestly I think mill can be super competitive in Standard now.
Thoughts, comments?
Servo_Token says... #3
I think it's got a fair chance against the 2 devotion decks, but watch out for UW Elixir decks. That one card, I believe, is one of the major downfalls of mill strategies. Whenever one becomes popular, literally every deck that has a mana base can slip a couple in and be virtually protected.
January 30, 2014 10:04 p.m.
I don't think that Phenax on his own will be able to make a mill-devoted deck viable to be truly competitive. Main reason here is this...cards like Jace's Phantasm
and Consuming Aberration
are traps because they divert you from the original goal of milling your opponent out by giving you a creature to swing with that gets big from milling. Phenax is the same trap...you are now relying creatures again to help the milling along.
January 30, 2014 10:09 p.m.
miracleHat says... #5
"Can Phenax make mill good again?" The problem with that question is that mill hasn't in my knowledge ever been a top tier deck. So buy that standard, no, mill won't be good. If you want to play it casually at the kitchen table, then yes. i am sure that a turn 2 Wall of Frost into a turn 4 Desecration Demon , turn 5 phenax will do just fine there.
January 30, 2014 10:31 p.m.
No offense, but has mill ever been "good" to begin with? I'll admit that it is a good backup strategy in a control mirror, but unless it's self mill or infinite combo mill I don't think I've ever seen it make top 8 in anything relevant. (Aside from rogue decks makin an impact because of a deck not being ready for it.
Phenax will be fun to play with though. A defender deck might come up for a while.
January 30, 2014 10:48 p.m.
capriom85: I agree, which is why in my mill decks, I do not play Consuming Aberration . If Jace's Phantasm was Standard-legal, I'd play with 4 of them just because they synergize well with the deck.
ThatBlueMage: I agree! but in M14 they reprinted the counter to the Elixir of Immortality , Tormod's Crypt . Yes, it is all a timing issue, but still, it will stop that card cold. There is also Crypt Incursion for creature exile and life gain...
Droxium: I understand your skeptism, but I honestly think it can hold its own. Yes it is going to be a difficult row to hoe, but it will work.
January 30, 2014 10:51 p.m.
ThatBlueMage: I apologize, I was mistaken. Tormod's Crypt was not reprinted in M14. But Crypt Incursion still works.
January 30, 2014 11:01 p.m.
Blizzicane says... #10
If only they would reprint Mind Funeral and Glimpse the Unthinkable ...
January 30, 2014 11:56 p.m.
snowstorm: Glimpse the Unthinkable would be great, but the Breaking part of Breaking / Entering is pretty good. The only downside is for EDH/Commander play. As for Mind Funeral , it is basically a Mind Grind where x=4, and that is overpowered. At 2UB, it is better balanced IMHO.
Another card to splash red for is Rakdos Charm , to get rid of pesky graveyards at instant speeds.
January 31, 2014 12:24 a.m.
AJtheConquerer says... #12
i made a deck before born of the gods came out on here with Phenax. here, ill link it
Prophet of Mill Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 1 | 3 COMMENTS | 123 VIEWSFebruary 2, 2014 5:28 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #13
Mind Funeral and Glimpse the Unthinkable are great, but I already miss Jace's Phantasm the most.
February 2, 2014 11:31 p.m.
MaliciousMac says... #14
I think it's easily viable, but using Duskmantle Guildmage .
Turn 1: Cloudfin Raptor
Turn 2: Duskmantle Guildmage /Murmuring Phantasm
Turn 3: Wall of Frost
Turn 4: Desecration Demon
Turn 5: Phenax, God of Deception
Next turn, mill for the win after triggering the Guildmage's damage effect. I mean, this is just a rough idea. But backing it up with countermagic and actual mill spells, it doesn't sound awful.
February 3, 2014 1:53 a.m.
The thing I have found with the Duskmantle Guildmage in my own mill deck featuring four of Jace, Memory Adept is he has a big fat target on him. Walls usually don't. The deck I am thinking of running will run 2-3 of Jace, 2-3 of Phenax, God of Deception , 2 Arbiter of the Ideal , 2 Tromokratis (love the hexproof, perfect for this type of mission), and just for laughs, Pontiff of Blight . Why him? So all my walls have extort in addition to mill.
Interesting, yes?
February 3, 2014 7:47 a.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #16
@ DrLitebur -- That deck sounds like a lot of fun, but from the cards you've mentioned, I hope you plan on running a lot of ramp.
mckin says... #2
I think an esper control shell would be ideal, using dsphere and jace for devotion, mutavaults as additional mill, the obvious Psychic Strike and Pilfered Plans
January 30, 2014 10 p.m.