Okay, so it seems like this deck idea is starting to get a few views, so I thought I should really try to break down the idea, because I think it's a really fun tier 2-3 deck that could be better if mill was ever properly supported in the current standard :) I really appreciate all of the feedback, please let me know if you have any ideas on how to improve the deck.
The Basic Shell
The deck's only win condition is
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
, while abusing a combination of
Lich's Mastery
and
Bolas's Citadel
. Essentially,
Stitcher's Supplier
,
Discovery / Dispersal
,
Search for Azcanta
,
Fblthp, the Lost
, and
Drowned Secrets
work together to mill yourself and filter your draws. The early game goal is essentially to put up a series of chump blockers and mill yourself to the point that you can take full advantage of
Lich's Mastery
. After gold-fishing the deck dozens of times, I generally can get 20-40 cards in the graveyard before I have
Lich's Mastery
and
Bolas's Citadel
out, and from there I can exile useless cards from my graveyard to pay to play out my entire deck. Usually once I get the pieces out, I can win on the same turn I play them.
Narcomoeba
and
Creeping Chill
are there to buoy your life total/provide blockers for an early Jace.
Problems with the Deck
The main issues that I see for the deck is that there are so few mill enablers on a reasonable curve, that it makes it difficult for me to find slots for spot removal or board wipes. At one point in the deck-building process I had multiple copies of
The Eldest Reborn
, which would handle planes-walkers from War of the Spark, and have a way to recur copies of
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
. Ultimately however, I cut them and included 3 copies of
Wall of Lost Thoughts
as a concession to the high prevalence of Red Deck Wins and other aggro strategies. That way, I could swap out some of my more useless creatures in those match-ups for copies of
Cry of the Carnarium
, or other spot removal. I'm also at a bit of a loss on how to make sure I have some amount of recursion for
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
and
Bolas's Citadel
, in case I mill all my copies accidentally, or they get removed. I'm not really worried about
Lich's Mastery
because it's not entirely necessary for me to win, and if it gets removed, I lose the game anyway :)
Additionally, I am unsure if it would be worth it to cut the
Search for Azcanta
for
Narset, Parter of Veils
, because it seems to be an all-star so far in the current standard meta. However, I ultimately feel that the recurring nature of
Search for Azcanta
is more beneficial to the deck's synergy than the passive from Narset, and she will most likely just become a pivotal part of my sideboard. However, I will need to play plenty of games against Esper and Dimir Control before I know for certain. I also believe that
Ashiok, Dream Render
could be a solid sideboard option against Izzet Control or Four-Color Dreadhorde, and I would love some feedback on that inclusion.
My final dilemma I'm facing is whether or not to include counter-spells or hand disruption in the main board/sideboard.
Thought Erasure
would be the obvious go-to piece of removal, but I am worried that it is just too slow to be in the main. Additionally, I believe I should have some main board counter-spells to protect my counters, but again I think it would interrupt the synergy of the deck. I'd love to have a few copies of something like
Spell Pierce
, but it will be useless by the time I need to cast my expensive six drops. If there's a counter you think would work, please let me know.
Moving Forward
Ultimately I think this deck can be a really fun and semi-competitive option for a Local Game Store. I still need to finalize a main-board removal package, and a cohesive sideboard. Thanks for reading the ravings of a life-long mill junkie, and I hope you enjoyed the read!
