Classic U/W Millstone

[Whimsical]

I feel like I'm betraying mah red roots by cobbling together a control-freak deck like this ... <grins> But hey ... know your enemy, as that ole fogie Sun Tzu said.

Say "Please"!: (18)
4 Counterspell
4 Prohibit
4 Arcane Denial
2 Dismiss
2 Quash
2 Arcane Laboratory

Pest Removal: (12)
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Wrath of God
2 Disenchant
1 Teferi's Moat
1 Jester's Cap

Now where the beebles is it?: (4)
2 Fact or Fiction
2 Mystical Tutor

Take away these cards and it sucks to be me: (3)
1 Grindstone
2 Millstone

Mana from above:
11 Islands
10 Plains
2 Mishra's Factory

I suppose the FoF's could be dropped in favor of Enlightened Tutor. Other than that, it's a typical U/W Miller. <laughs> I'm doing this off the top of mah head ... maybe I should go research those netdecks you people seem to be so fond of. At the very least, it'd improve mah skill ... or not. <laughs> According to Mister Zadok sir's "The Spark" article ... I'd probably be classified as a Bad Player (TM) without the spark.

Comments? Criticisms? Flames? Emotionally overwrought angst-ridden poetry? Okay, maybe not the poetry...

[Edited by Whimsical on 10-16-00 at 01:41 PM]

 

[Spiderman]

If this is Type 1 (or even 1.5):

• Howling Mines are good
  More Arcane Labs so they can't cast stuff from the Mine
  Force of Will is good
  Island Sanctuary is probable better than Teferi's Moat
  The blue/white dual land is good
  Maybe a Strip Mine to take care of some annoying land
  Feldon's Cane so you don't deck yourself
  Sol Ring/Fellwar Stone/other mana accelerators probably are needed

 

[Whimsical]

Howling Mines are good ... but harder to find than an intelligent date on a Friday evening.

I'd run with 4 Arcane Labs maindeck IF I had at least 2 Howling Mines. As it is, mah card drawing is stuck with Arcane Denials (that's why its there and not Mana Leak), Dismiss, and FoFs.

I don't have Force of Will. Waaaaahhhhhh. 2 would be nice in the deck. <resumes wailing> I gave up mah blue and white cards during Mirvlite in favor of red and black. That taught me that I should be a hoarder. <laughs for a moment and then resumes wailing about Force of Will>

I'd prefer Moat over Island Sanc, actually. Same effect but I don't have to skip much-needed card draws. Since Moat is a horror to find though ... Teferi's sub-optimal version will do.

U/W Dual. <sighs> Wish I had those. And yes, the Coastal Tower U/W dual is a hindrance here since it comes into play tapped.

I've played the deck repeatedly over mah vacation ... and not once has it decked itself (though it came dangerously close to doing that several times). I'll think about the Cane.

Strip Mine/Dustbowl IS a good idea in the deck. But it's strictly sideboard material ... and I rarely use sideboards. <laughs> The only two lands that'll really give me a fits are the Evil Kjeldorans Breeding Pit Land and the Dustbowl. Whenever I run into those decks ... I smile, concede, and pull out the Goblin deck.

Artifact mana acceleration has occured to moi several times while cobbling the deck together ... but the end result was too tight to fit in the artifacts. <sighs> I really should research those netdecks ... at least it'll give moi a comparison.

Thanks for the help, Spidey dahling!

 

[Spiderman]

Well, I realized when I looked this over that this might have been made from your current cardpool so I guess those older cards are "wishlist" type stuff...

The Sanctuaries are pretty much only good with Mines so if you don't have the Mines, I guess you gotta go with the Moat.

I'm thinking you can do with a Wrath and the Jester's Cap to fit in some Fellwar Stones or Diamonds.

I don't know about Fact or Fiction; is that good in this deck?

Do you have any Gemstone Mines or Undiscovered Paradises?

Do you have Soldevi Digger or Soldevi Excavation? They might be worth a shot....

Do you use the Prohibits a lot? Maybe take out one and put in a Capsize for bounce control.

If you want to get REALLY wacky what about Reins of Power for a surprise alternate win?

 

[Whimsical]

I suppose I could try and cram in a couple of Diamonds ... though Seashell Cameo (U/W Artifact!) might be a better bet. Got to think about that...

The Jester's Cap is too handy though. <laughs> At the minimum ... it's a free tour through your opponent's library. AND you get to fish around for something awful like Evil Kjeldorans Breeding Pit Land, Dustbowls, or even those incredibly pesky Phoenixes ... no offense intended, Apollo dearie.

FoF is still debatable ... but I think it's rather useful. At the very least, it lets me dig (sorta) five cards deeper into the library. Much better than Brainstorm (which I had initially placed before Invasion hit the stores).

Soldevi Excavations! Thanks for reminding me, Spidey dahling! I have a couple of those nifty lands I lent to mah blue-playing friend. Must hunt him down and mug him for mah cards.

I experimented with Capsizes before ... way too mana intensive for the deck. Ditto for Whispers of the Muse (while not bounce, it's still a key part of most blue decks). Washout though... hmmm.

I like to think of Prohibit as a souped-up Spell Blast ... in the same vein that Mana Leak/Miscalculation is a souped-up Power Sink. I initially considered Mana Leak ... but noticed that the games dragged on for so long that paying the additional 3 mana was laughable. Hence, Prohibit. 2cc spells are the very common ... 4cc too ... anything else (which Prohibit is useless for) can be dealt with using the other counters.

Reins of Power would be an amusing addition to freak the opponent out with though. I'd have to add a pair of Story Circles to delay the creatures (and let me live in the interim) in order to pull that stunt off.

And speaking of Story Circle ... any thoughts about it? I've been wondering if I should put in a couple of those enchantments...

 

[Spiderman]

I don't know any of the Invasion artifacts so I didn't mention them.

Are you saying you usually have 7 mana available to cast and use the Cap in the same turn? If not, your opponent is letting you keep the Cap for an extra turn? 'Cause if the former's the case, you should have mana for Capsize. If it's the latter, well, your opponent must pray for a Disenchant or something

I'm not sure why you need the Story Circles if you include Reins of Power. I mean, your opponent is going to have creatures anyway, right? And presumably your counters and Moat will keep them at bay... the Reins is just for a surprise (maybe after you beat him down with the Factories).

I don't know about the other counters, I just mentioned mine in case yours didn't work out <shrug> If yours do, then no biggie.

 

[Duel]

4 Counterspell
4 Prohibit
4 Arcane Denial (mana leak?)
2 Dismiss
2 Quash
2 Arcane Laboratory
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Wrath of God
2 Disenchant
1 Teferi's Moat
1 Jester's Cap
3 Grindstone
3 Millstone
4 Enlightened tutors

Mana from above:
9 Islands
10 Plains
3 Mishra's Factory