#mtgarticle

"I work hard for it honey....." - Donna Summer

    Maybe another misquote, but it's close enough and gets my point across.

  After a series of frustrating match-ups and a pile of play-tested cards. After plenty of games casual and not so. After a major tourney to boot (GP Detroit). I knew what I needed. I needed to have more interaction with the board. I had to not only put forth the strategy of how I wanted to succeed in games, but also be able to stop my opponents, or at the very least, slow them down. After all, it's a Mill deck! Strip and exhaust resources till there's no hope. But what could help me? What was the interaction I was looking for? I scoured through a ton of Modern legal Blacks and Blues, but I found that most of these cards were to high in casting cost, weren't synergistic with the deck, and weren't permanent solutions to the task at hand. I need to branch out. I need a splash of color.

    "Cover the Earth" - Sherwin Williams

    Looking for resale value and appeal, I eventually decided on White as the much needed color splash to add. The much needed resistance piece. White has some of the best hose cards in Magic and most are relatively cheap to cast. This solution may very well have been the difference in a day two showing at GP Detroit with a record of 7-2 rather than 2-7. Although GP Detroit was a ton of fun, I was blown away by the field; losing to all Tier 1 and 2 decks. My fellow teammates questioned my choice thinking it was too rogue and otherwise a losing deck. How correct they were. I however was not blown out every match. I won several games and almost a couple series. I Lost to Tron and the Eldrazi trigger, Twin with their turn four win and Grim Lavamancer upkeep wins after I milled them to zero. Jund just ripped apart my hand and beat me down with powerful Goyfs. So after a losing day and record of 2-7, I went back to the books. I Took all the lessons I learned and settled on what I thought was a better Mill deck. On another note, but same song, don't drop out after you know its a loss. This is perfect time for a "grind". Take all the lessons, hard beats, and hit the books.

    Counts : 60 main / 15 sideboard

  Creatures:6

4 Hedron Crab

2 Snapcaster Mage

  Spells:31

4 Path to Exile

4 Serum Visions

4 Thoughtseize

2 Breaking//Entering

4 Glimpse the Unthinkable

4 Remand

3 Mind Funeral

4 Archive Trap

2 Surgical Extraction

  Lands:23

3 Ghost Quarter

2 Hallowed Fountain

3 Island

2 Marsh Flats

2 Misty Rainforest

1 Nephalia Drownyard

1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds

1 Plains

2 Scalding Tarn

2 Swamp

1 Temple of Deceit

3 Watery Grave

  Sideboard:15

4 Leyline of the Void

1 Spellskite

2 Stony Silence

1 Suppression Field

2 Crypt Incursion

3 Ensnaring Bridge

2 Mindbreak Trap

  "With great power comes great responsibility" - Spiderman/Voltaire

    White gave me great reach against resolved creatures via Path to Exile, plus it works really well with Archive Trap for decks that don't run Fetchlands; this also goes for Ghost Quarter. Ghost Quarter not only works with Trap, but with Hedron Crabs as well. I have won many a game by destroying my own land to mill another three cards FTW! This card selection allowed my deck to have synergy that it didn't have in previous two-color builds. Ensnaring Bridge allowed me a lot of time in Aggro match-ups and against decks with Goyf and other larger than life creatures. It was a good stall tactic against Eldrazi as well, but I needed something better to handle them before they hit the board. Surgical Extraction was my answer for that. Not only did it remove the Eldrazi from the graveyard but also all other copies everywhere. It let me see my opponents hand, library and make better decisions throughout the match. Surgical Extraction grants you the super power of foresight. Knowing what subtype of Tier 1 deck and little twists are added is an enormous advantage. Plus, with it being a free spell (2 life aside) I could tap-out milling, and still be able to answer the threat that doesn't let my deck win. I did toy around with Leyline of the Void but really didn't want extra copies languishing in my hand. At least this way I was a little more proactive and it let the opponent try things like Snapcaster into Bolt. I was more than happy to take one less damage, or none at all, remove their play, and future Bolts.

  "Time is on my side" - Rolling Stones

  Over the next few months I made more changes but nothing drastic. I felt Remand was underwhelming and didn't really put me in a better position even though I sometimes only needed a turn or two to win. I needed to not only stop the opponents threats outright, but also throw down some of my own. So out with Remands and in with Jace's Phantasm. I’ve had great success with the added one-drop 5/5 flyer and see him as part of the shell. He has wonderful synergy with all the Mill cards; especially Trap. A first turn creature at that power level beats out most anything your opponent does within the first three turns, and is leaps and bounds better than the Delvers I tried. I was quite happy with the moves I was making, but I wanted to match some of the other decks out there in terms of power level when it came to creatures. But what could I drop from the deck without hurting the shell? I went with Thoughtseize as a dispensable card. Don't get me wrong, this is a powerful card in Black, in Modern and currently Standard, but something I could go without. Remember, I'm thinking of synergy not just stall tactics. I also wanted a better cantrip other than Serum. Currently in Modern it is one of the best in Blue but I felt setting up my next turn or two was too slow and I really didn't want to choose between an immediate answer and tossing away a needed land or vice versa (at the time I ran twenty land). Thought Scour came to mind, which ended up being quite nice. It is synergistic with most of the creatures, and being able to Surgically Extract the key piece of an OPPs deck on the first turn is amazing, plus it hurts when you mill that kept card from their Scry. But don't take all the cute win-cons to heart. They happen few and far between, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Most of the time you Scour on turn one and then drop a crab or weak Phantasm. But Thought Scour doesn't do anything near Serum and was only useful to me early game. Then I remembered Visions of Beyond. This card was what I was looking for. It has synergy, huge draw power, and is great late game. Nothing says Vintage/Legacy/Ancestral Recall like this in Modern. AND YOU CAN RUN FOUR! Sorry for screaming but I wanted to make sure you heard me. Visions has a home in this deck. So after some more testing, this is what I felt had a better chance at facing the meta and what I felt would be very competitive at the top tiers:

      Counts : 60 main / 15 sideboard

  Creatures:13

4 Hedron Crab

4 Jace's Phantasm

2 Snapcaster Mage

  Spells:24

2 Surgical Extraction

4 Path to Exile

4 Thought Scour

4 Visions of Beyond

2 Breaking // Entering

4 Glimpse the Unthinkable

3 Mind Funeral

4 Archive Trap

  Lands:23

3 Ghost Quarter

2 Hallowed Fountain

3 Island

2 Marsh Flats

1 Creeping Tar Pit

2 Misty Rainforest

1 Nephalia Drownyard

1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds

1 Plains

2 Scalding Tarn

2 Swamp

3 Watery Grave

  Sideboard:14

1 Grafdigger's Cage

2 Disenchant

1 Echoing Truth

2 Stony Silence

1 Suppression Field

2 Crypt Incursion

2 Ensnaring Bridge

1 Leyline of Sanctity

2 Mindbreak Trap

    "If you can’t lick ‘em, jine ‘em,". - Senator James E. Watson

  ...and

"Short story short...#$@! YOU Tarmogoyf"! - Magic Community

    After so many crushing defeats, at my very own hands nonetheless, I had to make a change. I needed an answer and threat wrapped up in a beautiful care package for my foe. Many of you may have noticed the mentioning of Tarmogoyf. That's good. I have mentioned him as a threat to this deck due to my win-con and this creatures use of that. I thought to myself that having a splash of green shouldn't be that hard. I already removed my playset of Thoughtseize and had some space. This is almost reminiscent of the Hedron Crab deck back in Extended, but not really. I'm not using Explore and ramping to Titans. But in a way it is. It's about the synergy that was already there. The synergy that was working against me. Why not have this troublesome creature work for me instead of against. With this addition, I put myself in great contention against creature decks and others that use Tarmogoyf. I now have thirteen creatures and four removal. I now have more synergy and reach within my second win-con of damage.

  Now we can fast forward another two months. Fast forward through numerous losses, close calls or otherwise. Fast forward through the sweet victories and the opponents left stunned by the fact they lost to Mill in the first place. I noticed that I needed more threats, so read over my notes of countless battles and this is what I have landed on:

  Counts : 60 main / 15 sideboard

  Creatures:14

4 Hedron Crab

4 Jace's Phantasm

1 Snapcaster Mage

4 Tarmogoyf

1 Dimir Doppelganger/Grimoire Thief/Ashiok

  Spells:23

4 Path to Exile

1 Surgical Extraction

3 Thought Scour

4 Visions of Beyond

4 Glimpse the Unthinkable

3 Mind Funeral

4 Archive Trap

  Lands:23

2 Breeding Pool

2 Ghost Quarter

2 Hallowed Fountain

5 Island

2 Marsh Flats

2 Misty Rainforest

1 Nephalia Drownyard

1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds

2 Scalding Tarn

1 Swamp

3 Watery Grave

  Sideboard:15

1 Engineered Explosives

1 Grafdigger's Cage

1 Pithing Needle/Damping Matrix

1 Defense Grid

2 Disenchant

1 Echoing Truth

1 Stony Silence

1 Suppression Field

1 Torpor Orb

2 Crypt Incursion

1 Ensnaring Bridge/Ghostly Prison

2 Mindbreak Trap

  Some would call for the dropping of Mind Funeral, saying it's too unreliable and I should take the promised numbers that Glimpse, Archive and Breaking give. But Mind Funeral is a gut shot to the decks that run low land counts. So after some collaboration with my teammates and of course more play testing, I found I could afford to drop B//E and still keep the shell strong for Mill. I now need to pick up two cards. Something that could make a difference, but being a one or two of, something I could afford to not draw every game. I actually set my eyes on several cards. Some weren't Mill at all, but card advantage like: Dark Confidant and Night's Whisper. And others were exiling cards that seem to work against the whole point of Mill and Graveyard bonus, but they added two important aspects to the interaction against other decks: countering spells and casting creatures. Seems weird that you can use an opponents deck to counter spells and cast creatures, but you can. By play testing Grimoire Thief and Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, I found that this also took some heat off me and my other powerhouse creatures. Grimoire lets you contend with counter-magic and other threats your main isn't set up to handle; Never underestimate the ability to counter a spell at a moments notice. Ashiok puts some added pressure on Aggro, giving them a choice between you and a planeswalker and also removing threats from their deck; putting them to use on your side. Plus, with pretty much all creatures in Modern clocking in at a whopping three mana or less, you hardly put a dent in Ashiok. Another one I have been trying out is Dimir Doppleganger. She's very useful and much more powerful than I thought she would be. Being able to copy a bomb from your OPPs graveyard and use it against them is pretty boss. You can mill an Eldrazi and then promptly remove him from the game, but as an added bonus, your Doppleganger is now an Eldrazi and ready to battle. Sure the opponent gets their graveyard put back into their library, but who cares when you have 15/15 flyer with annihilator six. She is along the lines of a mana dump as is the Nephalia Drownyard.  I was also thinking of Ghostly Prison in the sideboard as well as Damping Matrix. I believe with Affinity out there, there is more artifact hate than enchantment, but if someone can cast an Eldrazi I'm pretty sure they can pay two to attack with it. But it is a cheaper option over ensnaring bridge dollar-wise. Pithing needle can also be used over Damping Matrix but most of the time it's an after the fact card and you never know if a Twin player is going to use Pestermite or Deceiver. But it is a very useful card and is worth the thought. Currently I'm still torn with what I should utilize in these slots, but I'm sure the meta will tell me what to do. This has been the journey I was hoping it would be. This archetype has given me the most joy out of the game so far to date. It's taking a casual deck and makes it more than what it was; a casual archetype.  

  Happy tapping,

I have been piloting this combination of colors since before BotG and with great success! It not only utilizes amazing creatures that have a strong board presence from all of the available colors but also some of the best removal in standard. You get Red and Blacks board and spot removal, plus Whites artifact and enchantment hate. The creatures work quite well with each other. Desecration Demon, Boros Reckoner and Mogis handle so many of your opponents creatures and puts a lot of pressure early on enough to where the opponent may not be able to come out from under them. Having Reckoner as a hybrid mana cost not only smooths out his ability to be on the board by turn three, but really goes a long way with activating Mogis. Blood Baron, Stormbreath, and Obzedate are great at dodging removal (color restrictive for the odd couple of course). Obzedat is a gem against control and bypasses the board sweeps (don't forget to exile him if not needed). He forces them to use spot removal on him which may have been used up earlier on the Demon and Reckoner.

  As the meta changes so has my removal and creatures. Once I ran with Wear//Tear, now I rock Revoke Existence (much better at handling Gods, especially against MonoU and the splash White version). Bile Blight was great against Rats and other Aggro decks, but I felt it was horrible if there were more than three different creatures out, essentially turning into a Doom Blade, so I switched to Anger of the Gods. As for Hero's Downfall and Dreadbore they can stay; far superior over most removal in those colors in the format. We also have access to Mizzium Mortars, giving the added protection against a resolved Blood Baron who just happened to get by our Thoughtseize and the Lifebane Zombies from the sideboard.

  When it comes to a full meta breakdown and when to board cards OTP or OTD (on the play and on the draw) I'm not the writer who breaks it down to the nitty gritty. I present what I have or will be running and give some insight on my card choices. I let the player make up their own mind on what to play. Plus, this way you get to read about a deck in the quick and not get bored with all the nuances/ins and outs if you aren't going to play it. So that being said, let's talk shop a bit.

  Many of you may have noticed the one off Pithing Needle in the main. This is great observation skills, keep it up. I like Pithing Needle way too much and don't understand why I don't see it more often. When I hit my Needle game one against control and toss it down before they hit four mana, I see so many looks of disgust. Turning off their Jace before they are able to somewhat sculpt their hand is great. And Pithing needle coupled with Boros Reckoner against control is possibly a game changer. They make the control player think on wether they should use Detention Sphere on a creature or the needle. If they need to dig for cards like Supreme verdict, Rifts, Charms or more Spheres, this leaves you with Reckoner and his team of big baddies that will follow. This also allows you to not over extend leaving you in a tight spot after a board wipe. Pithing Needle is good against Rats, Mutavaults, Gods, Planeswalkers and a whole bunch of cards that hate you. With the rise of BUG Superfriends it may seem like another is needed in the board. That deck is a beast against creatures.

  Illness in the sideboard is for MonoU and Master of Waves. Not only do I want to stop all his tokens, I want to do it once and not hope to draw yet another board wipe. An added bonus to the card was against MonoB. I was up against a formidable army of Rats and just couldn't draw Anger or Mortars. When finally I drew into a second Reckoner with my Chandra and dropped the Illness on the same turn (I was thankful for the extra card off Chandra). This let me breath another turn which gave me yet another draw off Chandra and into a Mizzium Mortars. The stars aligned for me that game, but with Illness out it was easy to kill his Rats after that 'cause the token comes in a weakling and is easily handled with Chandra's number one spot. As for Chandra, she as of right now is taking place of the two Underworlds I played main. She's easier to remove but has more options.

  All in all I really enjoy the deck. The colors are strong right now and all they need is the right deck to give them a voice...nobody puts Oros in the corner. I hope you enjoyed this weeks article on Standard as much as I enjoyed doing all the play-testing for it. Next up: Modern Mill and whether or not to use Tarmogoyf or Pyromancers Ascension.

  Happy Tapping,