CompostCompost | Secret Lair Art by Victor Adame Minguez

Milling Around

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another installment of Do Your Worst, where we take a popular archetype and find the most unusual home for it! I'm your host, Philomène, and in this column, we look at decks that shouldn't be – or should they?

Ah, mill.

We all have experienced the agony of this strategy at some point. I have seen my deck flash before my eyes, knowing I would perish at my next draw step. I have witnessed the full potential of my carefully selected pile of cards waste away at the bottom of my graveyard. One night, the horror became unbearable: I watched helplessly as my own creatures rose against merose against me! This nightmarish assault on my life total and sanity left me broken, shattered, spiraling down into madness.

Ahem. Sorry, I've been playing Darkest Dungeon all week. I'll return to my normal tone now!

According to the EDHREC mill theme page, mill "is a Magic deck archetype that seeks to defeat opponents by eliminating the cards in their libraries, rather than by reducing life totals to 0. It does this by ‘milling’ cards (putting the top cards of a library into its owner’s graveyard). Then, when opponents attempt to draw a card from an empty library, that player loses the game."

This strategy has a bit of a bad reputation, but honestly, in Commander, killing your opponents in this way is quite difficult, as it requires you to get rid of 300 cards! Not an easy task.

Before we try to build our off-color mill deck, let's see what are the top five colors combinations for this archetype.

Dimir wins by a lot, and the next four combinations are variations within the Sultai colors. The commanders representing this top five are Captain N'ghathrodCaptain N'ghathrod, Sidisi, Brood TyrantSidisi, Brood Tyrant, Bruvac the GrandiloquentBruvac the Grandiloquent, Jarad, Golgari Lich LordJarad, Golgari Lich Lord, and Grolnok, the OmnivoreGrolnok, the Omnivore. Green is present, but mostly in the three decks that focus more heavily on self-mill: SidisiSidisi, JaradJarad, and GrolnokGrolnok.

Boros is obviously absent from this list, and that's probably where we should begin looking. However, this article is titled Gruul Mill, so what's up with that? Let's find out.

The Research

I began the way I usually do, which is with a Scryfall search. There are 48 cards in Boros that reference the word "mill", and the vast majority of them are colorless artifacts. In fact, the most efficient ones, like Keening StoneKeening Stone, work with an activated ability. I immediately thought of Zirda, the DawnwakerZirda, the Dawnwaker's mana reduction ability and began brewing. The thing is, milling your opponents is a long process, even for supported Dimir decks. Payoffs like Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim or Consuming AberrationConsuming Aberration help you stay threatening and relevant over the course of the game. In Boros, my payoffs were minimal. If I was going to make a deck that could function and hang with regular mid-powered decks, I would have to add green into the mix. I tried to go Naya.

My next attempt was with the Partner pair of Akiri, Line-SlingerAkiri, Line-Slinger and Ich-Tekik, Salvage SplicerIch-Tekik, Salvage Splicer. In this version, AkiriAkiri could get pretty big, and I became interested in artifacts like MindcrankMindcrank and Crumbling SanctuaryCrumbling Sanctuary. The thing is, I was killing people faster by hitting them than by milling them. The deck also struggled with card advantage. Basically, I had "pockets" of synergy, but the deck as a whole felt clunky. In gaining access to green, though, I was able to play Meria, Scholar of AntiquityMeria, Scholar of Antiquity, and every time I drew the card, I felt like the deck just hummed and took off. I decided to forsake white and go with MeriaMeria as the commander. Turns out, mana generation and card advantage in the command zone is pretty good, huh?

With MeriaMeria as my commander, I could focus on my gameplan. That's the thing with off-color decks: everything is possible, but there are very few cards that do double duty. A spell like Didn't Say PleaseDidn't Say Please is good because it acts both as interaction and as a mill piece. With MeriaMeria, cards like Altar of the BroodAltar of the Brood can not only mill my opponents, but also tap for mana, so I can then dedicate other slots in the deck for utility or synergy pieces. MeriaMeria lets the deck breathe, so to speak.

Let's get into the deck in its final form then, shall we?

The Mills of the Magic Gods Grind Slowly

Now that we have our commander and our colors, let the milling begin.

Our best tools are probably Mesmeric OrbMesmeric Orb, Altar of the BroodAltar of the Brood, and Keening StoneKeening Stone. That last one takes a while to take off, but it is exponential and can be very threatening in the late game. Ghoulcaller's BellGhoulcaller's Bell and Worry BeadsWorry Beads are slow, but BeadsBeads can be tapped for mana, so that's not too bad. Speaking of, we're able to generate a lot of mana with MeriaMeria, so mana sinks, like Sands of DeliriumSands of Delirium, WhetstoneWhetstone, and WhetwheelWhetwheel, are really useful. We also have the infamous Grindstone and Painter's Servant combo in here. To round everything out, we have Sword of Body and MindSword of Body and Mind, so that MeriaMeria can get into the fray, and Ulamog, the Ceaseless HungerUlamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, because that attack trigger is pretty good!

Rings of BrighthearthRings of Brighthearth are useful in a deck with lots of activated abilities, and while we're at it, why not include its good friend, Basalt MonolithBasalt Monolith, for a little infinite mana combo? We also have our recursion crew: Myr RetrieverMyr Retriever, Junk DiverJunk Diver, Scrap TrawlerScrap Trawler, and Workshop AssistantWorkshop Assistant. They're good value and can get into some loops with Grinding StationGrinding Station!

What are our payoffs for milling our opponents?

Profane MementoProfane Memento can gain us a lot of life for just one mana. I've also been very impressed with CompostCompost. Sure, you might get into a pod without any black, but when this card pops off, it's absolutely incredible. I really like Dire Fleet DaredevilDire Fleet Daredevil as a way to cast a useful spell outside our colors. I use Klothys, God of DestinyKlothys, God of Destiny for mana most of the time, but the drain is nice too. BonehoardBonehoard scales up as the game progresses. Centaur VinecrasherCentaur Vinecrasher can be retrieved from the graveyard if you mill it and can be a decent threat later in the game. Portal to PhyrexiaPortal to Phyrexia controls the board and lets us reanimate our opponents' best creatures.

We will end up milling ourselves quite a bit, especially with Mesmeric OrbMesmeric Orb and WhetstoneWhetstone, so how can we use our graveyard for value?

Goblin WelderGoblin Welder will help us buy back artifacts from our graveyard. Conduit of WorldsConduit of Worlds is a Ramunap ExcavatorRamunap Excavator effect that gives us the option of casting a permanent from our graveyard every turn. If we do so, we can't cast any more spells that turn, but that doesn't matter when our strategy relies on activated abilities. Scrap MasteryScrap Mastery gets us back in the game after an unfortunate enemy VandalblastVandalblast or catapults us ahead when we've milled a good portion of our deck. Actually, what do we do if our own library gets dangerously low? Fear not! Gaea's BlessingGaea's Blessing and Elixir of ImmortalityElixir of Immortality are here to save us when we fly a little too close to the sun.

Run of the Mill

We are milling our opponents. Success! Now, let's make sure the deck runs smoothly by checking our essentials.

Mana

As you will see in the decklist below, we don't really run mana rocks. Heresy? Not quite. Like I said, MeriaMeria turns pretty much everything into a Moss DiamondMoss Diamond, so wasting our early turns casting mana accelerants is really not what we want to be doing. Still, Sol RingSol Ring is a must. Foundry InspectorFoundry Inspector makes an appearance, and I have found The Mightstone and WeakstoneThe Mightstone and Weakstone's modality to be quite useful.

Card Advantage

Obviously, MeriaMeria is really good at providing card advantage as well, but we don't want to rely solely on her. As I said earlier, CompostCompost can get us an insane number of cards in the right pod. Howling MineHowling Mine can be turned off by MeriaMeria's ability so that only we take advantage of it. I found Sarinth SteelseekerSarinth Steelseeker to be quite good, especially when our graveyard is an extension of our hand. Mystic ForgeMystic Forge lets us cast a good percentage of our cards from the top of our library. Combustible GearhulkCombustible Gearhulk is a pet card of mine, and, in the right situation, drawing or milling three cards will functionally be the same.

Interaction

Unfortunately, the biggest holes in our deck are in the interaction department. Still, Beast WithinBeast Within and Chaos WarpChaos Warp let us deal with any permanent. Haywire MiteHaywire Mite taps for mana until you need to use it. You Find Some PrisonersYou Find Some Prisoners can take care of a problematic artifact or exile three cards from an opponents' library; I count that as milling! The Mightstone and WeakstoneThe Mightstone and Weakstone can DismemberDismember something if need be, and Ulamog, the Ceaseless HungerUlamog, the Ceaseless Hunger can exile two permanents on cast. VandalblastVandalblast, Chain ReactionChain Reaction, and Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act will help us clear the board if it gets too cluttered.

As far as protecting our gameplan, we have options. In this deck, Welding JarWelding Jar, Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves, and Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots are all protection pieces that can tap for mana. MeriaMeria produces green mana, so instants like Tamiyo's SafekeepingTamiyo's Safekeeping, Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention, and Moment's PeaceMoment's Peace are all castable at a moment's notice. Last but not least, Tibalt's TrickeryTibalt's Trickery says "mill" on it! Wow, look at us go!

Utility

Tormod's CryptTormod's Crypt is just a Mox EmeraldMox Emerald that can get rid of a problematic graveyard. Since we'll be tapping a lot of artifacts, Voltaic KeyVoltaic Key and Unwinding ClockUnwinding Clock will generate a lot of value for us. Mycosynth LatticeMycosynth Lattice is a useful tool to have and pairs devastatingly well with VandalblastVandalblast. Titania's SongTitania's Song can create an interesting boardstate with Hair-Strung KotoHair-Strung Koto and Unwinding ClockUnwinding Clock where all your artifacts can now tap to mill a card on each player's turn. Is it good? Debatable. Is it cool? Undoubtedly.

Let's check out the decklist!

Gaea's BlessingGaea's Blessing | Art by Rebecca Guay

Going Against the Grain

Well, this was certainly a challenge! There were times when I thought we wouldn't make it, but I think the deck came out pretty well! Let's talk about some notable exclusions.

Exoskeletal ArmorExoskeletal Armor is an interesting payoff, but it's an enchantment, so it's not very synergistic with our plan. TerravoreTerravore, LhurgoyfLhurgoyf, and Undergrowth ScavengerUndergrowth Scavenger are just worse versions of Centaur VinecrasherCentaur Vinecrasher. Screaming ShieldScreaming Shield, Book BurningBook Burning, MillstoneMillstone and many other mill cards were not efficient enough to be worth an include. Without access to Rest in PeaceRest in Peace, Helm of ObedienceHelm of Obedience becomes a lot worse as well.

And there we have it! How would you build a Gruul mill deck? Did I forget to include an awesome card? Is there any hidden synergy that I missed? Do you think I should have stayed with Zirda, the DawnwakerZirda, the Dawnwaker or AkiriAkiri and Ich-TekikIch-Tekik? Let me know in the comments below! I'm Philomène, and this has been Do Your Worst. See you next time!

Philomène Gatien

Philomène is a film composer from Montréal, Canada. Her love of card games started in the late 90's with Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball Z and of course, Magic: The Gathering. Preferring a more casual kind of game in commander (art and lore being very high on her list of reasons to play cards), she satiates her competitive urges through Limited formats.