Open Skull Lobotomy

Modern Competitive Infinite Combo Mill UB (Dimir)

TheSurgeon

Instant (24)

• 4x Apostle's Blessing
• 3x Mana Leak
• 4x Muddle the Mixture
• 3x Peek
• 4x Shred Memory
• 2x Turn Aside
• 4x Vapor Snag

Land (19)

• 4x Drowned Catacomb
• 6x Island
• 5x Swamp
• 4x Watery Grave

Creature (4)

• 4x Duskmantle Guildmage

Sorcery (9)

• 3x Despise
• 3x Duress
• 3x Scour All Possibilities

Artifact (4)

• 4x Mindcrank

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Sideboard

Instant (12)

• 2x Annul
• 3x Darkness
• 2x Dispel
• 3x Fatal Push
• 2x Shred Memory

Sorcery (3)

• 3x Void Snare

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"The procedure is quite an art, really.

Peeling back the dermis from the cranium isn't as easy as one might imagine -the blood, you see.. it makes things quite slick. It takes a certain.. technique. One, I'm afraid, that you won't have the privilege of appreciating in posterity.

The skull -and yours is a most wonderful specimen -is a magnificently designed vessel. Nigh thicker than a copper piece, it protects everything you are, all knowledge you possess, and every insignificant memory ever made. At the conclusion of this step, several different blades will have been used to ensure a symmetrical, 45 degree incision into the skull's cranial cavity.

(Sigh) Unfortunately, that's where the finesse ends. After I remove your skullcap and split away the meninges, I'm going to crawl my fingers around your brain, and, very slowly, pull it out of your skull.

If you don't mind satisfying one curiosity for me, please describe this sensation in detail. And.. do try to stay alive as long as possible?"

-Circu, Dimir Lobotomist

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My homebrew baby! This Modern combo deck works by sabotaging the opponent with early game disruption and hand-hate, then using Mindcrank (Lifeloss = Mill) and Duskmantle Guildmage's first ability (Mill = Damage).

One triggers the other, and if the opponent has a life total less than the number of cards in his/her library, they die.

Should the player have more life than library, they lose the next time they go to draw from their library.

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Lobotomy 101
(Piloting Notes)

Ideally, the combo can destroy your opponent as early as turn 4:
Turn 1: Drop a land.
- Get a Peek at the opponent's hand, or take a stab at thier first play with Duress or Despise.
Turn 2: Drop an untapped land. Play Mindcrank. Pass turn.
Turn 3: Land play. Play Duskmantle Guildmage.
- Keep 1 mana open for Apostle's Blessing, or Turn Aside.
Turn 4: Optional land play...
From here, you have several options: -Duress or Despise the opponent for .
Before it resolves, but after passing priority, pay the cost of Duskmantle Guildmage's first ability. When the opponent discards the card, they will lose.

- Vapor Snag a creature. As above, activate DGM. When the opponent takes the 1 damage, they will lose.

- The combo can be used to win in a purely reactive manner. It prohibits your opponent from:
1. Casting Instant or Sorcery spells
2. Discarding cards for any reason
3. Sacrificing permanents
4. Paying/losing any life (Damage causes loss of life).

All of these are mundane actions in magic, turned lethal.

For example:
Your opponent is Lightning Bolting the guildmage. In response, activate DGM's ability. When Lightning Bolt resolves, it will kill DGM, but his effects still last the end of the turn. So, when Bolt goes to the graveyard, the opponent will die.

However, if mindcrank is removed any time before or during the combo, the process will fail. Unlike Guildmage, Mindcrank's ability only lasts as long as it's on the battlefield. It is recommended to have a Apostle's Blessing or Turn Aside in hand to protect it.

Here are some other piloting tips:
Take some damage - Some people get over-excited and make the mistake bouncing a creature back to the opponent's hand in the first two or three turns, even when the creature is only doing 2-3 damage. Don't do that. Stay focused on getting and protecting the combo.

Artifact first, then the creature - Since most decks run creature removal, I think it's wise to play Duskmantle Guildmage when your opponent is tapped out; hellbent; when you have a counter spell in hand; or with the mana to also pay for DGM's ability.

The Card Rundown

Apostle's Blessing- Simply THE best card for protection for this deck. It's able to target Duskmantle Guildmage or Mindcrank from both targeting and nontargeting spells/creatures/artifacts. Can also be tutored with Muddle the Mixture or Shred Memory.

Despise- 1-cost hand hate against Creatures and Planeswalkers. Duress- 1-cost noncreature, nonland hand hate. Duskmantle Guildmage- Combo piece. Can be tutored with Muddle the Mixture or Shred Memory.

Mana Leak- Early game disruption/counter. The deck runs fast, so this should work well for most of the game. Mindcrank- Combo piece. Can also be tutored with the transmute cards Muddle the Mixture and Shred Memory.

Muddle the Mixture- Instant/sorcery counter and transmute.

Peek- Sneak one at your opponent's hand before making key moves.

Scour All Possibilities- Scry 2, then draw. Combo piece search, or sets up protection.

Shred Memory- Transmute card, and Graveyard hate for those pesky Flashback and Reanimator Decks.
This also protects combo pieces from Modern staple GY/Library removals Extirpate and Surgical Extraction.

Turn Aside- Counters targeted removal spells at your combo.

Vapor Snag- Bounce with the added benefit of tripping the combo.

The Sideboard

The sideboard is designed to keep you alive when facing more specialized deck mechanics. Of course, switch out the main/sideboard cards as you see fit, as it is built for my meta. Here's some tips on replacing/playing the sideboard cards:

annul: ETB effects and enchantments aren't usually a problem for this deck, but when they are, here's the answer.

Darkness: Buys a turn against an array of aggro decks.

Dispel-To counter counterspells aimed at your combo pieces from ETB.

Fatal Push- 1 cost removal, and win trigger.

Void Snare: Opponent managed to sideboard and play Leyline of Sanctity, Pithing Needle, Chalice of the Void, or some other bullshit turn one? Send it back to their hand, then counter or hand-hate it later.

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Like this deck? Then please the card below!

-TheSurgeon

Top Ranked	Achieved #1 position overall 10 years ago
Date added	10 years
Last updated	5 years
Exclude colors	WR
Legality	This deck is Modern legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 3 Rares 11 - 5 Uncommons 30 - 7 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	1.63
Folders	net, Deck Ideas, 2 cost mill modern, To Show to Friends, decks i like, Cool Decks, Interesting, Potential decks, Budget, Decks to Try