The goal of the build is to mill yourself and fill your grave for fast card advantage.
Turns one and two are typically devoted to filling the grave. You won't want to start a game without at least two mill engines in your hand, as well as the land to play them both. Triggers like Narcomoeba, Bloodghast, and Prized Amalgam may earn you significant presence in just the first couple of turns, but if you don't hit those you'll at least have Haunted Dead in the grave.
Haunted Dead is a super important card. It lets you set up the grave before it returns so you can ensure yourself the Prized Amalgam or Bloodghast you may have stuck in your hand, and you can do it during your opponent's combat phase to block with the token.
Once you hit turn three or four you should have a sizeable board presence. By this time, you should switch gears towards using Dread Return to get your Mirror-Mad Phantasm on the field. This card will effectively mill you for all you've got, and can do so repeatedly until you're running on empty.
Once your library is down to single digits, you'll want to Dread Return your Inverter of Truth. The last few cards are exiled and you start over with a full board and a library full of mill engines. At this point, usually turn four or five, you'll have about 20-30 swinging, as well as the ability to direct all of your mill at your opponent without impeding yourself.
A few things to consider when piloting this deck:
Dread Return won't fly in competition, but Unburial Rites will. It takes a significant amount of speed out of the build but we do what we have to.
Try to do as much as possible before dropping any lands, as you'll want to trigger as many Bloodghasts as possible.
Try not to let through damage that you don't have to; Vengeful Pharaoh isn't optional and will destroy any card that you let damage you. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it can result in a dead draw and you may want to save him to handle bigger threats. If you know he's on top of your library, try to dredge up a Dakmor Salvage or drop a Dream Twist between the untap and draw steps.
When using Dread Return on your Mirror-Mad Phantasm, try to use Prized Amalgam, Bloodghast, or Haunted Dead and its token. These are all cards that are easy to get back, especially your Prized Amalgam, which comes back automatically when used for Dread Return.
When returning a Haunted Dead or using a Dream Twist during your opponent's turn, be careful not to wait too long. If you do it during combat your Prized Amalgam will trigger and enter at the end of your opponent's turn, giving you an Amalgam untapped and ready to attack at the start of your next turn. However, if you wait until your opponent's end of turn, your Amalgams will trigger and enter at the end of your turn instead. You will be sad.
Lastly, when using Dread Return on your Inverter of Truth, there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, you'll want to save your Sword of the Meek for this. You'll probably have three or four in your grave by now, and should return a Haunted Dead to the field while you still can. This should give you a free 4/7 or 5/9 flyer, and then you won't feel guilty starting over on all your progress. Try to use your Narcomoeba as tribute for your Dread Return, as whatever goes into your grave right now will be shuffled into your deck. For this reason, it is important not to use your Bloodghast or Prized Amalgam to summon your Inverter of Truth.
Any help, suggestions, or advice would be super helpful. Currently trying to find a replacement for Vengeful Pharaoh. Give it a playtest and let me know what you think!
