(Varina, Lich QueenVarina, Lich Queen | Art by Igor Kieryluk)
Unlimited Power
Did you know that EDHREC has an EDH Wiki? Go check it out, if you haven’t already; it’s written by the community for the community, and there’s a lot of cool stuff in there! Deep Analysis is series where we learn about an archetype using its Wiki page, then apply this new knowledge to build a deck.
In this article we'll be covering the Self-Mill archetype.
"Self-mill is a strategy that focuses on placing as much of one’s own library into the graveyard as quickly as possible, most commonly for the purposes of using cards in that graveyard for additional resources, recursion, and/or reanimation."
Self-Mill is a flexible archetype because, while the name describes our general gameplan, it doesn't really tell us what we're doing with it. The most common types of Self-Mill decks are either Spellslinger-based or creature-based; both of these have similar patterns, but their payoffs are different.
Color Identity
Dimir
Dimir is the core color combination for Self-Mill. Blue offers plenty of enablers, while black provides both enablers and payoffs.
Golgari
Golgari loves building up a graveyard for their usual shenanigans. Green works very similar to black, providing a solid combination of enablers and payoffs, which makes the color combination work. It's important to note that this color combination somewhat locks decks leaning towards this archetype into being more creature-centric.
Sultai
Sultai has all the Golgari/Dimir goodies, coupled with some of the most powerful commanders out there. One nice thing about this color combination's commander pool is how they tend to be build-enabling, making each deck unique.
Grixis
Grixis is an undervalued color combination for this, even though it has Kess, Dissident MageKess, Dissident Mage, which is a very popular commander for the strategy. The addition of red to Dimir makes the archetype that much more explosive, and having more wheel and discards effects really smooths out the early/ mid-game.
An Example Deck
There are plenty of different directions that we can take. Varina, Lich QueenVarina, Lich Queen, for example, is a great commander for a Self-Mill strategy: she's in a good color combination and she supports Zombies, a tribe that really benefits from the archetype. However, even though she's a great tribal commander, I tend to enjoy playing her more in control shells (I even wrote an article about her a couple years back). Varina is a great mana sink that allows us to play an effective reactive game where we eventually start creating Zombie tokens that can be used to dig through our deck, fueling Varina even more, gain life, and establish a prominent board state.
Self-Mill Varina
View on ArchidektCommander (1)
- 1 *Varina, Lich Queen*Varina, Lich Queen
Artifact (11)
- 1 *Codex Shredder*Codex Shredder
- 1 *Sol Ring*Sol Ring
- 1 *Wand of Vertebrae*Wand of Vertebrae
- 1 *Arcane Signet*Arcane Signet
- 1 *Fellwar Stone*Fellwar Stone
- 1 *Mesmeric Orb*Mesmeric Orb
- 1 *Perpetual Timepiece*Perpetual Timepiece
- 1 *Talisman of Dominance*Talisman of Dominance
- 1 *Talisman of Hierarchy*Talisman of Hierarchy
- 1 *Talisman of Progress*Talisman of Progress
- 1 *Skyclave Relic*Skyclave Relic
Creature (10)
- 1 *Stitcher's Supplier*Stitcher's Supplier
- 1 *Mire Triton*Mire Triton
- 1 *Screeching Skaab*Screeching Skaab
- 1 *Armored Skaab*Armored Skaab
- 1 *Hullbreacher*Hullbreacher
- 1 *Egon, God of Death*Egon, God of Death
- 1 *Notion Thief*Notion Thief
- 1 *Risen Executioner*Risen Executioner
- 1 *Wonder*Wonder
- 1 *Narfi, Betrayer King*Narfi, Betrayer King
Enchantment (3)
- 1 *Training Grounds*Training Grounds
- 1 *Court of Cunning*Court of Cunning
- 1 *Anointed Procession*Anointed Procession
Instant (21)
- 1 *Mental Note*Mental Note
- 1 *Opt*Opt
- 1 *Path to Exile*Path to Exile
- 1 *Stubborn Denial*Stubborn Denial
- 1 *Swords to Plowshares*Swords to Plowshares
- 1 *Thought Scour*Thought Scour
- 1 *Arcane Denial*Arcane Denial
- 1 *Counterspell*Counterspell
- 1 *Cyclonic Rift*Cyclonic Rift
- 1 *Despark*Despark
- 1 *Disdainful Stroke*Disdainful Stroke
- 1 *Dovin's Veto*Dovin's Veto
- 1 *Heartless Act*Heartless Act
- 1 *Heliod's Intervention*Heliod's Intervention
- 1 *Mission Briefing*Mission Briefing
- 1 *Anguished Unmaking*Anguished Unmaking
- 1 *Frantic Search*Frantic Search
- 1 *Empty the Pits*Empty the Pits
- 1 *Fact or Fiction*Fact or Fiction
- 1 * Commit // Memory* Commit // Memory
- 1 *Dig Through Time*Dig Through Time
Planeswalker (1)
- 1 *Narset, Parter of Veils*Narset, Parter of Veils
Sorcery (15)
- 1 *Preordain*Preordain
- 1 *Serum Visions*Serum Visions
- 1 *Discovery // Dispersal*Discovery // Dispersal
- 1 *Day's Undoing*Day's Undoing
- 1 *Bond of Insight*Bond of Insight
- 1 *Day of Judgment*Day of Judgment
- 1 *Deep Analysis*Deep Analysis
- 1 *Dread Return*Dread Return
- 1 *Wrath of God*Wrath of God
- 1 *Final Parting*Final Parting
- 1 *From Under the Floorboards*From Under the Floorboards
- 1 *Unburial Rites*Unburial Rites
- 1 *Echo of Eons*Echo of Eons
- 1 *Merciless Eviction*Merciless Eviction
- 1 *Treasure Cruise*Treasure Cruise
Land (38)
- 1 *Adarkar Wastes*Adarkar Wastes
- 1 *Arcane Sanctum*Arcane Sanctum
- 1 *City of Brass*City of Brass
- 1 *Clearwater Pathway*Clearwater Pathway
- 1 *Command Tower*Command Tower
- 1 *Drowned Catacomb*Drowned Catacomb
- 1 *Exotic Orchard*Exotic Orchard
- 1 *Fabled Passage*Fabled Passage
- 1 *Fetid Pools*Fetid Pools
- 1 *Ghost Quarter*Ghost Quarter
- 1 *Glacial Fortress*Glacial Fortress
- 1 *Godless Shrine*Godless Shrine
- 1 *Hallowed Fountain*Hallowed Fountain
- 1 *Irrigated Farmland*Irrigated Farmland
- 1 *Mana Confluence*Mana Confluence
- 1 *Morphic Pool*Morphic Pool
- 1 *Prismatic Vista*Prismatic Vista
- 1 *Sea of Clouds*Sea of Clouds
- 1 *Tectonic Edge*Tectonic Edge
- 1 *Underground River*Underground River
- 1 *Watery Grave*Watery Grave
- 1 *Westvale Abbey*Westvale Abbey
- 8 Snow-Covered IslandSnow-Covered Island
- 4 Snow-Covered PlainsSnow-Covered Plains
- 4 Snow-Covered SwampSnow-Covered Swamp
Self-Mill
These cards are our enablers; they feed Varina and allow us to do play some nice payoffs. There are basically two types: consistent and one-shot.
Consistent Self-Mill
These are slower sources of Mill; their value lies in either providing constant value or having some secondary effect also attached to itself, or both.
- Codex ShredderCodex Shredder
- Mesmeric OrbMesmeric Orb
- Wand of VertebraeWand of Vertebrae
- Egon, God of DeathEgon, God of Death
- Perpetual TimepiecePerpetual Timepiece
- Court of CunningCourt of Cunning
One-Shot Self-Mill
One-shot effects are great for setting us up in the earlier portions of the game. After that, their value rapidly diminishes because we can fuel our graveyard just by playing cards. Plus, the consistent sources can also keep a constant flow of cards. One thing to notice is that they're all Zombies, which interacts pretty well with our commander.
- Armored SkaabArmored Skaab
- Mire TritonMire Triton
- Screeching SkaabScreeching Skaab
- Stitcher's SupplierStitcher's Supplier
Self-Mill Payoff
We run low on payoffs, but it's a more of a conscious choice than a lack of options. It's pretty easy to find them with all the Milling going around, so, by putting fewer in, we have a more consistent deck.
- Narfi, Betrayer KingNarfi, Betrayer King
- WonderWonder
- Empty the PitsEmpty the Pits
- Dread ReturnDread Return
- Unburial RitesUnburial Rites
Thieves Combo
The thieves combo is the combination of a "thief" effect, like Notion ThiefNotion Thief, and a wheel effect. This combo is great because we can have access to both parts of it in our graveyard, and they help us control our opponents by denying them cards. Now, it's important to recognize that some wheel effects reset our graveyard, which might be seen as counterproductive, because it undoes all the self-mill work we've done. However, I think we should look at this as an opportunity, since filling the graveyard is what helps us find this combo in the first place, and after all, we'll have to discard lots of cards right back into the graveyard afterward!
- HullbreacherHullbreacher
- Notion ThiefNotion Thief
- Narset, Parter of VeilsNarset, Parter of Veils
- Commit // MemoryCommit // Memory
- Echo of EonsEcho of Eons
- Day's UndoingDay's Undoing
Now let’s go check what we should be looking out for when playing with a Self-Mill deck.
"Self-mill decks are exceptionally vulnerable to effects that exile cards from graveyards, such as Relic of ProgenitusRelic of Progenitus. Such effects can wholly undo an entire game's worth of work from a self-mill deck and significantly hamper their strategy by eliminating an enormous pool of card advantage.
Self-mill decks that focus on eliminating their entire library run the risk of losing the game when they attempt to draw a card from an empty library if they do not locate a game-winning card such as Laboratory Maniac. This can make the self-mill deck hyper-reliant on a few key cards, which allows opponents to vastly incapacitate their strategy if those linchpin cards are removed."
Graveyard hate is something that we should always worry about; some of our most effective pieces of our gameplan consist on using them either to fuel Varina or to cast spells from the graveyard. However, there's one silver lining: our commander is a powerful engine that can help us recover from bad situations, although we often need a little push to get started, and she offers a clear line of play that isn't as reliant on the graveyard.
Decking out is certainly something that we should worry about in longer games. We do have some three different TimetwisterTimetwister effects, and they do help us, but it's still dangerous.
If you like making Zombie tokens but aren't particularly fond of the control shell above, Sidisi, Brood TyrantSidisi, Brood Tyrant is a great commander that has a somewhat similar kit.
If the spellslinger/control aspects are more your thing, Kess, Dissident MageKess, Dissident Mage is a powerhouse option.
If you want something very different, but which still retains the above deck's flexibility, Lazav, the MultifariousLazav, the Multifarious is a toolbox commander you may enjoy.
Commander-Specific and Color-Specific Cards
If you do decide to give self-mill a try, but don't know which cards in the list above are strictly there for self-mill or just for that commander, I've compiled some parting lists to help sort it out!
Commander-Specific cards
- Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession
- Training GroundsTraining Grounds
- From Under the FloorboardsFrom Under the Floorboards
- (Both Zombie lords are kind of reliant on having the Zombie tokens)
Color-Specific cards: White
- Talisman of HierarchyTalisman of Hierarchy
- Talisman of ProgressTalisman of Progress
- Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession
- Anguished UnmakingAnguished Unmaking
- DesparkDespark
- Dovin's VetoDovin's Veto
- Path to ExilePath to Exile
- Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares
- Day of JudgmentDay of Judgment
- FragmentizeFragmentize
- Merciless EvictionMerciless Eviction
- Unburial RitesUnburial Rites
- Wrath of GodWrath of God
And that’s it for this article. Now I want to hear from you! Share your thoughts on this list or on Self-Mill based decks in general. What archetype do you want to see covered next?
While this series will focus on just archetypes, there’s a ton of other cool community-built content in the Wiki. Check it out, and feel free to contribute, if you’d like!
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