That's right, Mirko's here. Let's see what we can do about that drink.
For a peek back into Magic history, check out this card:
In Magic, one way you can lose the game is by drawing a card when there is no card to draw. In other words, if you can run your opponent out of cards he would lose the next time he had to draw. Millstone was one way to speed things down that path. Every turn, you could slowly "mill" away at your opponent's library. Thematically, "millstone" is a great name for what was happening. It wears away at "what your opponent knew." This became known as "milling" and there are a lot of variations on this throughout Magic's history. Mirko is the walking (flying), talking (skulking), rock god (creepy dude) incarnation.
Running everyone at the table out of cards is tricky for a lot of reasons - especially in Commander format because the decks are so big - but doing it without being a jerk is damn near impossible. Did I do it?
For a current decklist, check it on out tappedout.net: Dimir State of Mind... Drinker
The astute among you will notice that the deck contains several infinite combos that border on douchbaggery. That's not exactly on purpose, but rather a byproduct of what I needed to do to keep the deck in-theme and flavorful (with one exception).
For example, Mindcrank and Duskmantle Guildmage combo to damage (or mill) a guy out. But, I like both of those cards for this deck. They fit with the theme. They work with the other cards, too. Besides, it's a two card combo that relies on a small creature and requires either 7 mana to start or 3 mana when someone takes damage. Furthermore, it smokes one guy - not the entire table.
Okay, so what about that "one exception" I mentioned? Rings of Brighthearth (which is awesome with the fetchlands) and Basalt Monolith make unlimited colorless mana. That's all fine and good, but it gets downright silly with Oona, Mindshreiker, or Mind Grind. It's my get-out-of-jail combo for when the going gets tough. In Commander, you need something that takes your deck over the top when things go long. This is my way out.
If you are building a deck like this and want to avoid the unlimited mana, switch out Rings of Brighthearth with Strionic Resonator and smack people by copying all of your crazy triggers. Pull the Basalt Monolith and put in another counterspell for added protection. I may end up going this route myself.
So, what is this deck doing? It's all about the synergy! Let's look at some of the cards.
This is basically a (bad) control deck coupled with a (bad) combo deck. It draws all kinds of hate because you are actively "attacking" the libraries around the table. Players often feel like you are cutting them off from the cards they "could have drawn" if only you didn't mill them. Plus, in addition to taking forever to actually knock someone out, milling does almost nothing to keep people from killing you. Don't play this deck if you want to win. You have been warned.
With that out of the way, what's happening here? We need to play some defense.
No Mercy, Forcefield, Maze of Ith, and Vengeful Pharaoh team up to make us a slightly less attractive target. Coupled with the handful of counterspells we run, we have a shot at stopping terrible things from happening to us along with some protection from combo. It's not much, but politics is a thing. Just nod knowingly at the guy playing reanimator. That usually works. They love getting milled, right up until the last card.
If we are going to be milling anyway, is there anything else we can do to really twist the knife?
Consuming Aberration and Guiltfeeder both love a full graveyard. An active Bloodchief Ascension is bad news all around. Oversold Cemetery, Volrath's Stronghold, and Beacon of Unrest give my guys a second chance to make a first impression. Sepulchral Primordial brings friends to the party. Lest we forget the humble Crucible of Worlds to ensure that we never miss another land drop. Good God Y'all if Liliana gets to her ultimate.
All good things, but what else can we do?
Building around cards that look for cards drawn gives this deck a little shove. Teferi's Puzzle Box is a fun little card. Add Psychosis Crawler to the mix and things get interesting. When you draw a grip of cards from the box, everyone gets smacked. Speaking of which, Windfall, Whispering Madness, Jace's Archivist, and Memory Jar can turn this into a one-two punch. It's relatively easy to cast-then-trigger-cast Whispering Madness in a surprise, single turn. Oh, and don't forget Underworld Dreams.
Building around cards that look for cards discarded gives the deck an even bigger shove. Liliana's Caress, Megrim, the aforementioned Bloodchief Ascension, and Sangromancer lap it up. In addition to the Windfall, Whispering Madness, Archivist, and Jar all causing multiple discards Forced Fruition really packs a wallop. Try to cast your way out of this and see where it gets you.
Which brings me to good old-fashioned mill.
Every deck slot is precious. Cards that only mill (and nothing else) need to be incredibly good to make the cut, simply because they don't do anything on their own. In this deck, I have some of the best. They either hit everyone at the table, hit one guy really hard, or play nice with the other cards.
In the single target department, Traumatize (or a well-targeted Telemin Performance) can be devastating, especially when backed up by Keening Stone. Nemesis of Reason and Jace, Memory Adept both come with a handy, repeatable 10-card deck flip. Alter of Dementia can turn your massive Consuming Aberration into a surprise library-eater. With enough mana, Oona can eat library and crap out blockers. Lord of the Void is no slouch either. I like to think of him as Oona's counterpart. And Mirko swings for the quad-land-mill!
In the multiple target department, Consuming Aberration's triggered ability can work wonders if you can stack multiple spells in a single turn. Mind Grind or Mindshreiker pumped with enough mana will work a table over, too. Dreamborn muse is both sexy and flips over cards, big time. But the crowning jewel here is Mesmeric Orb. It's a beautiful, simple, and savage card.
Undead Alchemist is happy to get his jambi meat-hooks on all of this hot milling action, turning creature after creature into cold zombie death. This can get out of hand pretty quickly if you drop a big mill right after the Alchemist.
Which brings me to good old-fashioned beat down.
If you can get a big Consuming Aberration to connect, it's usually too much to handle. With 3-4 opponent's at the table and a couple of mill spells, the monster will be huge. Remember, when you cast Traumatize (for example), everyone is going to mill to a land from the Consuming Aberration trigger. That's good for roughly 10-15 power right there. Then the Traumatize resolves and Dreads didn't know what hit him. That's likely another 30-40 power.
The Consuming Aberration (and Guiltfeeder) can go from "eh" to "lethal" in seconds. Dauthi Embrace, Rogue's Passage, Sword of Body and Mind, and Whispersilk Cloak give you a way to push that damage through. These also helps keep Mirko alive and working away. He's no good if you can't connect. Dauthi Embrace has the added fun effect of being able to give your opponents' creatures shadow, too. If you are paying attention, you can use it to kill people by giving an attacker shadow before the other guy declares blockers.
What's wrong with this deck?!?
It's already in a bad position by relying on a tactic that draws attention (and hate) from the table. Layer on that quite a few cards in the deck don't do much to affect the immediate board state or help you put up a fight, and it's easy to get blown out. If you find that you need to cram in counterspells and tutors to make a deck work, that's not a good sign (or at least not the spirit of the Commander format).
But, this deck does create some "edge of the seat" moments. I've had eyeballs on short, short libraries the turn before I got ran over. I've double Whispering Madness into an active Bloodchief Ascension. I machine-gun-preachered someone with the Duskmantle Guildmage. And I've ran people over with a massive, clicking, skittering, Consuming Aberration. Fun stuff. Now I'm thirsty.
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