"Mind Milling 1: The Instants and Sorceries"
by:
Virgilio F. De leon Jr.
Milling has always been a concept that an elite segment of the magic community consistently plays and there have been traditionally strong cards that are put out in every set to promote this particular concept. Milling cards are normally sorceries , instants , artifacts , creature or Planeswalker abilities that force a player to put cards from his or her library unto his or her graveyard.
The term milling comes from the Artifact Milling stone that has eroded libraries 2 cards at a time. Since a players library in Magic is his potential to create action. A representation of a planeswalkers mind. A constant milling effect deteriorates the players capability to cast spells for offense of defense. And since the library also represents a players mind , once he or she is no longer able to draw cards then that player loses the game. No potential action. No action at all. Empty minds cannot play magic after all.
Of course this is just another aspect of the game , an alternate win condition that requires a great sense of timing as well as skill to pull off. Another win condition that doesn't require creatures to smash their way through for the victory. And this is where the diversity of magic comes in because some people easily get bored with a lack of variety especially if they have been using a very aggressive deck that wins on a consistent basis. This is the reason why magic has consistently developed alternative win conditions over the years. There is nothing like an alternate win so that long time players would keep on coming back for more. I would like to focus on the more famous Sorceries , Instants and Planeswalkers that promote mill.
The term milling comes from the Artifact Milling stone that has eroded libraries 2 cards at a time. Since a players library in Magic is his potential to create action. A representation of a planeswalkers mind. A constant milling effect deteriorates the players capability to cast spells for offense of defense. And since the library also represents a players mind , once he or she is no longer able to draw cards then that player loses the game. No potential action. No action at all. Empty minds cannot play magic after all.
Of course this is just another aspect of the game , an alternate win condition that requires a great sense of timing as well as skill to pull off. Another win condition that doesn't require creatures to smash their way through for the victory. And this is where the diversity of magic comes in because some people easily get bored with a lack of variety especially if they have been using a very aggressive deck that wins on a consistent basis. This is the reason why magic has consistently developed alternative win conditions over the years. There is nothing like an alternate win so that long time players would keep on coming back for more. I would like to focus on the more famous Sorceries , Instants and Planeswalkers that promote mill.
Sorceries and Instants in Modern:
Milling actually works on standard based decks that is a deck containing 60 cards . For example if you were able to use Glimpse the unthinkable 4 times (which makes a player mill 10 cards per copy!)...it would mean that 40 of that 60 card deck would go to the grave in no time. Add to the fact that in Magic you have an initial draw of 7 cards and 1 card draw at the beginning of each of your turns. So in doing the math on this (assuming that there is no missed land drop for you and that you can draw or are already holding the 4 copies of Glimpse the Unthinkable) your opponent will now have 51 cards in the grave and only 9 more to go before their figurative mind becomes blank. All of this could possibly happen on your 4th turn too. Granted it has to be a "God Draw" (perfect draw) and your opponent has no way to counter you then all you need to do is wait 9 more turns or the player can already concede the game because all his game pieces are beyond his reach.
There is one classic combination that a lot still want to pull off even today. This is a 2 card combo involving the blue card Traumatize and black card Haunting Echoes. It has been the go to combination for a lot of successful Mill decks. Traumatize lets you mill half of your opponents deck(imagine doing this in EDH!) and the Haunting Echoes removes all the non-land cards in your opponents graveyard along with all the copies in his or her library of the said card as well. This ensures that all your opponents combinations and well thought out plans all go exiled as well as their hopes of pulling them off. Once this combination is achieved most players would rather scoop up their cards and try harder in the next game. Let us just say that when it hits you , it hits you really hard.
Archive trap is an all time favorite of mine. I have seen it in action and the look on a players face when this card is pulled off is priceless. Archive Trap flushes 13 cards per pop but it has to be triggered in a certain way. Players need to search their libraries. The priceless play I saw was when someone played an evolving wild , used it to search a basic land and his opponent had 3 Archives traps in his hand (which was not unheard of) that player found 39 of his cards in graveyardville in one response. Watching the panic on that guys face was priceless. 39 cards milled on turn one! Insane. Another situation where scooping up cards and shuffling for the next game is the order of the day.
Mind Funeral is another fan favorite at one black , one blue and one colorless mana this has caused a lot of anguish for opposing players. It just states that a player needs to put cards from his or her library unto the graveyard until 4 lands are put there. Normally if all the lands are bunched up in the bottom of a library it takes out all the effective pieces of that deck and leaves just land to be drawn in the successive turns. And if the first barrage doesn't work then there are 3 more where that came from.
Milling the Planeswalker way:
Milling actually works on standard based decks that is a deck containing 60 cards . For example if you were able to use Glimpse the unthinkable 4 times (which makes a player mill 10 cards per copy!)...it would mean that 40 of that 60 card deck would go to the grave in no time. Add to the fact that in Magic you have an initial draw of 7 cards and 1 card draw at the beginning of each of your turns. So in doing the math on this (assuming that there is no missed land drop for you and that you can draw or are already holding the 4 copies of Glimpse the Unthinkable) your opponent will now have 51 cards in the grave and only 9 more to go before their figurative mind becomes blank. All of this could possibly happen on your 4th turn too. Granted it has to be a "God Draw" (perfect draw) and your opponent has no way to counter you then all you need to do is wait 9 more turns or the player can already concede the game because all his game pieces are beyond his reach.
There is one classic combination that a lot still want to pull off even today. This is a 2 card combo involving the blue card Traumatize and black card Haunting Echoes. It has been the go to combination for a lot of successful Mill decks. Traumatize lets you mill half of your opponents deck(imagine doing this in EDH!) and the Haunting Echoes removes all the non-land cards in your opponents graveyard along with all the copies in his or her library of the said card as well. This ensures that all your opponents combinations and well thought out plans all go exiled as well as their hopes of pulling them off. Once this combination is achieved most players would rather scoop up their cards and try harder in the next game. Let us just say that when it hits you , it hits you really hard.
Archive trap is an all time favorite of mine. I have seen it in action and the look on a players face when this card is pulled off is priceless. Archive Trap flushes 13 cards per pop but it has to be triggered in a certain way. Players need to search their libraries. The priceless play I saw was when someone played an evolving wild , used it to search a basic land and his opponent had 3 Archives traps in his hand (which was not unheard of) that player found 39 of his cards in graveyardville in one response. Watching the panic on that guys face was priceless. 39 cards milled on turn one! Insane. Another situation where scooping up cards and shuffling for the next game is the order of the day.
Mind Funeral is another fan favorite at one black , one blue and one colorless mana this has caused a lot of anguish for opposing players. It just states that a player needs to put cards from his or her library unto the graveyard until 4 lands are put there. Normally if all the lands are bunched up in the bottom of a library it takes out all the effective pieces of that deck and leaves just land to be drawn in the successive turns. And if the first barrage doesn't work then there are 3 more where that came from.
Milling the Planeswalker way:
Another way of winning the mill way is to have the original Jace Beleren use his ultimate planeswalker ability. The ultimate ability allows 20 cards to go down the drain never to be seen again. Of course this strategy has to be supported by other cards otherwise it would be hard to pull off.It is rather easy to run over an undefended Jace on the battlefield. Jace really does a number on your foes in his other reincarnations as well. The Jace , Memory Adept , mills you for opponent for 1 card and allows you to draw one card as well with his first ability but he also Mills your foe with his second ability...10 cards at a time and all possibly at turn 5. Jace the Mind Sculptor has the Ultimate ability that makes a player exchange his library and hand. Most players would wait until their foes have an empty hand and pop them with this. Killing them on the next turn. What a headache Jace tends to give everyone. Literally.
The Miller in Standard:
The recent Innistrad block has given Millers a lot of new cards to toy with like Increasing Confusion , Thought scour , Dream twist and Chill of foreboding as well as the enchantment Curse of the Bloody tome. These are among the strongest milling spells in standard. Increasing confusion and Dream twist also has the flashback mechanic and in the case of Increasing confusion mills twice as much when cast from the grave. Even with a creature-less deck in standard this can be very bloody indeed.
M13 also brings Mindsculpt that mills 7 cards. Now that is a card almost as strong as Glimpse the Unthinkable but this one is found in the common slot and can be readily bought at any store.
These are just a few of the Instants and Sorceries and Enchantments that Millers prefer however for those who want to have an aggressive component in the mix there are creatures that would gladly smash face for you and mill your opponents as well. Check out Mindmilling 2 as I talk about these awesome creatures.
The Miller in Standard:
The recent Innistrad block has given Millers a lot of new cards to toy with like Increasing Confusion , Thought scour , Dream twist and Chill of foreboding as well as the enchantment Curse of the Bloody tome. These are among the strongest milling spells in standard. Increasing confusion and Dream twist also has the flashback mechanic and in the case of Increasing confusion mills twice as much when cast from the grave. Even with a creature-less deck in standard this can be very bloody indeed.
M13 also brings Mindsculpt that mills 7 cards. Now that is a card almost as strong as Glimpse the Unthinkable but this one is found in the common slot and can be readily bought at any store.
These are just a few of the Instants and Sorceries and Enchantments that Millers prefer however for those who want to have an aggressive component in the mix there are creatures that would gladly smash face for you and mill your opponents as well. Check out Mindmilling 2 as I talk about these awesome creatures.
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