Self Mill deck mana help
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on July 21, 2022, 8:27 p.m. by wschlobohm
I need help speeding up mana, fetch lands etc. here's the deck thx.
3 Arcane Sanctum 1 Archaeomancer 1 Craterhoof Behemoth 1 Dinrova Horror 4 Elvish Visionary 4 Forest 1 Gravedigger 3 Hedron Crab 2 Island 1 Laboratory Maniac 4 Necromancer's Assistant 3 Opulent Palace 3 Plains 1 Planar Cleansing 1 Resolute Archangel 1 Rune-Scarred Demon 3 Sandsteppe Citadel 4 Satyr Wayfinder 3 Seaside Citadel 1 Shadowborn Demon 1 Spider Spawning 3 Sultai Soothsayer 3 Swamp 3 Treasured Find 3 Wall of Omens
Welcome to the club, wschlobohm!
The win conditions here are Laboratory Maniac and Spider Spawning, is that correct? If so, you're going to want more than one of each. I recommend 3-4 of each.
As Balaam__ says, there are a few cards here that aren't in many self-mill decks, and some of them are pushing your average mana value up. Craterhoof Behemoth, Rune-Scarred Demon, and Resolute Archangel in particular are probably not going to help that much. This deck has almost no way to generate mana quickly, so those cards are going to be sitting in your hand for a long time before seeing use. Cutting them and replacing them with less mana-hungry cards will be a strong first step.
Archaeomancer isn't really living up to its potential here, with a total of five instants and sorceries. It can come out and be saved for a more spell-centric deck.
Third thought, you have only two white cards in here, and I already suggested cutting one of them. If you take out Planar Cleansing as well, that should tighten up your mana immensely.
This point will require a higher budget, but take a look at multicolor lands that enter untapped. Anything from Llanowar Wastes to Drowned Catacomb to Breeding Pool will accelerate your deck, since you can use lands the turn they're played.
My final thought for the moment is to take a close look at every card and ask, Does it put cards in my graveyard? Does it take advantage of cards in my graveyard? Does it directly win me the game? If the answer to all of these for any card is no, then that card can probably be taken out and replaced with a card that does advance your game plan.
Look to get four copies of the cards you want to use most. This will increase your odds of drawing those cards.
If you want to look into more competitive decks along these lines, check out Dredge and Reanimator decks. Both of these strategies are based around filling your graveyard as quickly as possible and using it as a new resource. Alternatively, Laboratory Maniac and its friends Thassa's Oracle and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries are the centerpiece of a common instant-win Commander strategy, if you prefer that angle
And above all, have fun!
July 21, 2022 9:09 p.m.
wallisface says... #4
General pieces of advice:
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your deck is only at 58 cards, you’ll need 60 to be legal.
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most modern decks can’t justify running more than 3-4 cards costing 4 mana, and often run nothing above this. You’ve got a whopping 12 cards costing 4-or-more, which is waay too much and will lead to some very slow/clumsy hands. Considering you’re trying to play very fast, your highest costing card should probably only be 3 mana.
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added to the above, you have almost nothing to do turn 1, giving you really high odds of basically starting a full turn behind your opponent. That’s a really bad place to be. Aim for more turn-1 plays.
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a LOT of your deck is 1-ofs. This is going to lead to a lot of consistency issues. Most decks should have the vast majority of their cards as playsets. Get rid of all this chaff and just run playsets of the cards that matter.
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your decks plan feels very disjointed, it feels like a lot of cards aren’t actively helping you achieve your primary goal. I think you need to apply more focus to your brew.
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I don’t think your landbase is realistic for running 4 colours smoothly, and I would suggest dropping down to only using 2 or 3 colours instead.
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When you playtest/goldfish your deck, you should be aiming for it to win on turn-5 at the latest. If it can’t attain that reliably, then I would suggest it needs more tinkering/changes to be made to get it streamlined.
Balaam__ says... #2
For ease of reference: turbo mill
At a glance there are quite a few cards here that, to put it one way, aren’t traditionally played in any mill decks. Things like Rune-Scarred Demon etc. I’d refine the core build first before worrying overmuch about the mana base.
July 21, 2022 8:45 p.m.