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Explorer Mono Blue Mill Deck Guide: Perfecting the Opponent’s Minds

Love making your opponents lose their mind? Skura is here to say that it's too easy now! Find out why Mill is a viable strategy in Explorer and the best practices to play it like a master day one!

Mill is a popular strategy across multiple formats. It’s been played in Modern, Pioneer, and now Explorer. With Phyrexia: All Will Be One, Jace, the Perfected Mind was introduced and I reckon he’s one of the most powerful toys that the mill strategy could get. Inspired by his addition to the format, I came up with a strong Mono Blue shell that’s also very budget friendly.

Arguably the biggest reason to play mill in the first place is the fact that it attacks from a completely different angle. For all intends and purposes, it does not care about the opponent’s life total, cards in hand, or board position. These are all characteristics that you’d also find in a combo deck. The biggest difference between mill and a full-on combo deck is that this shell cannot be easily disrupted and can interact. While with combo there are key pieces that the opponent can remove, discard, or counter, here all your cards help you achieve the same goal. Additionally, you are not simply dead to some aggressive draws from monored decks, as you can block, counter their spells, or bounce their creatures. I’ve laddered with this deck a ton and can confidently say it’s a real deal.

Mono Blue Mill
by Skura
Buy on TCGplayer $148.84
Explorer
best of 3
4 mythic
9 rare
24 uncommon
23 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (4)
Creatures (8)
4
Ruin Crab
$5.96
Instants (16)
4
Spell Pierce
$3.16
4
Fading Hope
$5.96
4
Into the Story
$1.40
Sorceries (8)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (20)
15
Island
$5.25
2
Field of Ruin
$0.98
2
Ipnu Rivulet
$0.78
60 Cards
$145
15 Cards
$7.97

If you want to watch the deck in action, make sure to check out my newest video on my YouTube channel:

Deck Tech

Let’s look at Jace, the Perfected Mind first, as the hottest addition to the shell.

Everything Jace, the Perfected Mind does works great with what we want to achieve. However, let me start with arguably the most impactful part – he costs three mana. The fact that he can be deployed so early flips the script in many games, warping the game around himself. The opponent will feel pressured into removing him, which buys you and your life total more time.

With that out of the way, let’s look at each ability individually.

The +1 is the best thing to do when your opponent is putting active pressure on you. It works exceptionally well if there is only a single threat staring at you, which is very possible if it’s as early as turn two or three. I have -3/-0-ed my fair share of Bloodtithe Harvesters. In conjunction with Ruin Crab or Merfolk Secretkeeper, it really does create a wall that’s difficult to break through.

The -2 is an excellent impersonation of Visions of Beyond. These addtionally-milled three cards are not irrelevant. I have had multiple games where you have to calculate every single card milled and I don’t think I need to explain the power of drawing three cards on a planeswalker ability. What I will add though is that you can use the -2 twice in a row if you’ve played Jace on full loyalty. In longer games, you’d be able to do it even more than twice, but from my experience the game is over already if you’ve drawn 6 cards off Jace.

The -X is our insurance policy for when you draw multiple Jaces. You can easily cash one in for the max X and play another one. It’s not even that desperate, as the ability is quite strong. Getting to mill 15 for 4 mana as its floor is pretty good. It also basically ensures that subsequent Jaces’ -2 is an actual Visions of Beyond.

You might sometimes have to perform a delicate dance between Jace’s abilities. Against decks that want you dead and seem to tunnel vision on Jace, I keep -3/-0-ing for as long as it keeps Jace alive. When I know that using +1 does not accomplish anything in terms of Jace surviving, I -2 to draw cards if I meet the condition or -X if I don’t. The final outcome is that you’ve saved yourself a bunch of damage and got some mill action at the end of it.

In the Modern version, you also get Hedron Crab, but we will have to do with just Ruin Crab. This is the absolute best card in the deck, hands down. I have to try hard to mulligan a hand that contains Crab(s) as they block and mill three every turn – exactly what this deck needs. Like in Burn where creatures are at a premium since they provide a constant source of damage, Crab is a constant source of mill. Don’t get too attached to it though, as it will die as soon as the opponent has the ability to remove it.

With just those four copies, I am on the fence about whether I want to play Fabled Passage just for the additional mill in a Mono Blue deck. So far, I haven’t missed them.

Merfolk Secretkeeper is a combination of Tome Scour and Kraken Hatchling. Against aggressive strategies, it absolutely shines. When you are paired against a Red deck, you will see how tough it is for them to remove a creature with 4 toughness.

Don’t focus on eeking every bit of value out of it though. In some games, especially on the draw, you may not have enough time to cast the mill-five part. Don’t hesitate to just play it as a one-mana 0/4 blocker.

Interaction

This deck is very much an interactive shell. The already mentioned creatures block and Jace’s +1 is a soft removal spell but there is more. Let’s take a look at three key purely reactive cards.

A temporary removal spell. With mill as a clear end goal, you don’t need to remove the creature permanently. With 0/3 and 0/4 blockers, you can be more picky when it comes to which creature you remove. You can focus on the ones that are most expensive to replay or provide non-combat benefits like Sheoldred, the Apocalypse.

If you do play it early though, you’re getting Scry 1, which is always nice. Smoothing out your draw is particularly key against decks where Fading Hope shines already – strategies that want to get you dead as soon as possible.

Don’t forget about the hidden mode of saving your creatures from removal spells. It has come up way more than you’d expect.

If you have been writing my articles, you know much I love Spell Pierce, regardless of the format. I love how it punishes people tapping out for expensive stuff, providing you with a tempo advantage. In this deck, it will usually counter removal that was meant for Ruin Crab, help push through your own spells in the face of opposing permission, or stop the opponent from doing their thing such as countering Enigmatic Incarnation, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, or Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

Infrequently was I unhappy to have drawn Spell Pierce. Even if you have redundant copies, you can convert them by using them on a single spell. In those spots, the opponent will have the mana to pay for the first copy yet won’t for the other.

The only double-faced modal card in the deck, but it does the job. It has been useful very often when you have a slower start and need contain whatever the opponent is doing. In the early turns, most people just tap out to play on curve, and this is where Jwari Disruption shines. I can tell you that Censoring Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is just chef’s kiss.

Mill Effects and Payoffs

Naturally, Ruin Crab and Jace, the Perfected Mind are not the only ways to mill the opponent. In this section, we will dive deeper into what the deck is capable of.

Maddening Cacophony is a very simple effect, it mills eight cards. That’s it. There will be very few games where you’ll get to kick it, as it it quite expensive. You should treat it as a one-shot mill spell. Simple, clean.

I am unsure how many I want, but overall Founding the Third Path has been very good. The usual play pattern would be deploying it on turn two, casting Fading Hope or the aforementioned Cacophony off it, milling the opponent for four on the subsequent turn, and at the end flashing back that same Fading Hope or Maddening Cacophony.

I see it as a modal spell of sorts, whose baseline is milling four cards. I think it’s worth a couple of slots.

If you draw it in the later stages of the game, you will usually skip the first chapter and go straight to the mill part and flashback. The best spells to copy are Tasha's Hideous Laughter and Into the Story, both of which I will talk about below.

Arguably both the strongest and the most variance-prone card in the deck. As lands count as 0, it card can mill upwards of 10, sometimes up to 20 cards on its own. I have played against low-to-the-ground aggressive shells where it would get rid of half of the opposing library. On the flipside, you can play against shells with Shark Typhoon, some reanimator decks with expensive threats, random double-faced modal cards like Turntimber Symbiosis, and Tasha won’t do that much.

The fix to this issue is quite simple though – side it out whenever you come across a deck with very expensive cards.

The added bonus is that it exiles instead of actually milling. It means that those cards cannot get shuffled back in and you may incidentally hit some key parts of their deck to, say, make them unable to combo off altogether.

I have seen versions with Drowned Secrets, but I reckon Teferi's Tutelage is better. You will rarely play multiple spells in a single turn and this is where Drowned Secrets would shine. I prefer Tutelage as it kind of keeps doing something if the game progresses and provides a bit of filtering when it enters play. On top of that, it works great with the draw effects we have in the deck. When you draw three off Jace, you will trigger Tutelage three times. It’s even stronger when you have more than one Tutelage.

Overall, it’s a great card to deploy on turn three as a static way to keep advancing your game plan.

This is a game-changer card. Drawing four cards is immense value and pulls you ahead by a mile. It makes up for the lost card advantage when you played Fading Hope or maybe double Spell Pierce on one spell. The sheer presence of Story in the deck, gives you a very strong late-game plan. Potentially, you’re always a top-decked Story away from turning the corner.

Naturally, it works exceptionally well with Teferi's Tutelage as it triggers it four times.


Best of One

Mono Blue Mill Bo1
by Skura
Buy on TCGplayer $147.24
Explorer
best of 3
4 mythic
9 rare
24 uncommon
23 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (4)
Creatures (8)
4
Ruin Crab
$5.96
Instants (16)
4
Spell Pierce
$3.16
4
Fading Hope
$5.96
4
Into the Story
$1.40
Sorceries (8)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (20)
15
Island
$5.25
2
Field of Ruin
$0.98
2
Ipnu Rivulet
$0.78
60 Cards
$145

The Best of One list is the same as Best of Three. The main plan is linear and streamlined enough that it’s not an issue.


Budget

Mono Blue Mill Budget
by Skura
Buy on TCGplayer $108.52
Explorer
best of 3
4 mythic
4 rare
29 uncommon
23 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (4)
Creatures (8)
4
Ruin Crab
$5.96
Instants (16)
4
Spell Pierce
$3.16
4
Fading Hope
$5.96
4
Into the Story
$1.40
Sorceries (4)
Enchantments (8)
Lands (20)
15
Island
$5.25
2
Field of Ruin
$0.98
3
Ipnu Rivulet
$1.17
60 Cards
$90.12

This deck is budget-friendly as is. However, I think you can further trim on Tasha’s Hideous Laughter and tick up the number of Teferi's Tutelageand Founding the Third Path. I cut Otawara, Soaring City, as it’s not necessary by any means.

Don’t ever cut Jace, the Perfected Mind though!


Matchups and Sideboard Guide

Ruin Crab Art by Simon Dominic
Ruin Crab Art by Simon Dominic

As it’s a monoblue deck, the options are naturally quite limited. I composed a very focused sideboard with clear intentions of what comes in when.

Mono White Humans

INOUT
+3 Callous Dismissal-3 Spell Pierce

Against Humans, we have to assume more of a controlly role. Blocking with creatures is highly recommended. Callous Dismissal is my bounce effect of choice as it both removes a creature and leaves a chump blocker behind. Tasha's Hideous Laughter is great as the converter mana cost in Humans deck is pretty low.

If postboard you see some scary noncreature spells, feel free to keep Spell Pierce in and cut Maddening Cacophony or a single copy of Into the Story.

Green Devotion

INOUT
+4 Disdainful Stroke-4 Tasha's Hideous Laughter
+2 Callous Dismissal-2 Founding the Third Path

We are cutting Tasha's Hideous Laughter as it won’t exile much in the face of Storm the Festival or Cavalier of Thorns. Quad Disdainful Stroke comes in to really ensure that no powerful threat is resolved. Between it, Spell Pierce, and a couple of bounce effects, we can really keep them at bay. The absolute best strategy is to have Ruin Crabs so you can keep milling them whilst interacting.

Rakdos Midrange

INOUT
+4 Narset, Parter of Veils-4 Merfolk Secretkeeper

Narset, Parter of Veils is our card advantage effect of choice that also stops some Blood or second chapter of Fable of the Mirror-Breaker shenanigans. If their creatures focus her down, that’s fine by us.

The scariest thing they can do is play Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger that we have fueled. However, a single Fading Hope gets the job done and forces them to again spend their entire turn four to replay it.

Try to keep Spell Pierce up for the key turn three when they can deploy either Liliana of the Veil or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker.

Mono Blue Spirits

INOUT
+4 Mystical Dispute-4 Merfolk Secretkeeper
+3 Callous Dismissal-3 Maddening Cacophony

We further increase the amount of interaction we have and cut cards that don’t do much. Merfolk Secretkeeper doesn’t even block and Maddening Cacophony doesn’t cut it as it’s just a mill eight.

In this matchup, you are sure to keep Ruin Crab on the board, so the more copies you have, the better. In general, sticking something in play almost ensures it staying there so use Mystical Dispute and Spell Pierce to force Jace, the Perfected Mind through.

Mono Blue Mill Mirror

INOUT
+4 Mystical Dispute-4 Tasha's Hideous Laughter
+4 Narset, Parter of Veils-4 Maddening Cacophony

This is a truly weird matchup. We cut Tasha's Hideous Laughter, as it’s more than suboptimal against a deck with four Into the Story. Don’t slam stuff into open mana as both players will have plenty of on-stack interaction. Focus on long-term advantage like keeping Ruin Crab alive or resolving Teferi's Tutelage Narset can both find more interaction and blanks opposing Into the Story. It’s also supremely unlikely that the opponent will have a way of removing Narset from the board.


Tips and Tricks

Maddening Cacophony Art by Magali Villeneuve
Maddening Cacophony Art by Magali Villeneuve
  • Always count the number of cards in the opposing player’s library and graveyard! You have to be aware of it so that you know when you meet certain thresholds like for Into the Story or Jace, the Perfected Mind‘s -2.
  • Sometimes it may be better not to kick Maddening Cacophony. You have to see whether half of the library is greater than 8 or if that mana would be better used elsewhere.
  • If you’re playing against a deck that has a few very expensive spells, you can wait with Tasha's Hideous Laughter for when you’ve milled them in some other way.
  • If you don’t have a good spell to flashback with Founding the Third Path, use the second chapter to mill yourself so that you potentially hit one.
  • Technically, Jace, the Perfected Mind‘s -2 looks at both graveyards, so if you have 20 or more but the opponent does not, you will still get to draw three.

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Skura
Skura

Also known as Skura or IslandsInFront on Twitter and YouTube, Filip started his career upon the release of Gatecrash and has been passing the turn in all formats ever since. He coaches and creates written and video content, mainly centered around the control archetype. He is passionate about Magic game theory and countering spells. Outside of Magic, he is a fan of snooker/pool, chess and Project Management.

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