If you've been playing the Arena ladder at all since the Pro Tour, you've probably seen a rise in the mid-range and control decks. It's not just the Domain decks that are popping off, but decks like Control and Golgari are starting to see an uptick. Sure, the Red decks and Pixie decks are still around, but they don't seem to be as numerous as they were prior to the Pro Tour. The format seems poised for another strategy to rise up and fins some time in the sun. I've been advocating for graveyard decks, due to the decrease in graveyard hate in sideboards as decks are pressed to fight a higher variety of strategies on the ladder (and I still stand behind those decks being well placed at the moment), but it might be that there is another way...

Look, I'm a Green Mage at heart, have been since the beginning, when I first peeped that sweet, sweet Beta Craw Wurm art. Most of the decks that I brew default to having Forests in the land slot. But, I've also always had an inclination toward decks that focus on an alternative means of winning the game.

I love smashing creatures into each other, but sometimes, I want a little treat.

I built a The Cheese Stands Alone deck almost three decades ago. I've dabbled with Stasis. I've killed opponents with 10 poison counters... from a Swamp Mosquito. I don't say this to point out that I'm older that dirt, but to illustrate my love for winning in weird ways.

Of all these alternative means, the one I've returned to the most (because it's usually the one that's the best supported) is mill. I've won, and lost, games to the original Millstone. I've dropped three Archive Traps on an opponent who popped a fetchland on turn one. I once registered a PTQ deck that used Through the Breech to dump a Protean Hulk onto the battlefield, so that when it was sacrificed at the end of turn, I could fetch 4x Hedron Crab and 4x Dryad Arbor to mill my opponent out (a deck I lovingly called, "The Hulk Gets Crabs").

With that in mind, and with the shape of the current format, I think there might be a place for a Mill deck in Standard right now.

My Mill Deck Brings all the Cards to the 'Yard | DFT Standard | Travis Hall

• Creatures (2)
• 2 Beza, the Bounding Spring

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 4 Jace, the Perfected Mind

• Instants (12)
• 1 No More Lies
• 3 Ride's End
• 4 Get Lost
• 4 Opt

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Exorcise
• 1 Sunfall
• 3 Day of Judgment
• 4 Stock Up

• Enchantments (3)
• 3 Founding the Third Path

• Artifacts (5)
• 1 Realmbreaker the Invasion Tree
• 4 Riverchurn Monument

• Lands (25)
• 3 Island
• 5 Plains
• 1 Blast Zone
• 1 Demolition Field
• 1 Meticulous Archive
• 2 Adarkar Wastes
• 2 Fountainport
• 3 Restless Anchorage
• 3 Seachrome Coast
• 4 Floodfarm Verge

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Beza, the Bounding Spring
• 1 Day of Judgment
• 1 No More Lies
• 2 Devout Decreee
• 2 Exorcise
• 2 Ghost Vacuum
• 2 Overlord of the Mistmoors
• 2 Tishana's Tidebinder
• 2 Wilt-Leaf Leige

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This deck plays like a control deck that wins with a combo, and once you get going it can end the game very quickly. Jace, the Perfected Mind comes down early, either to control the board or instantly mill your opponent for 15 cards. You can then play Riverchurn Monument and mill them to the point where its Exhaust ability ends the game. Many decks will have a handful of creature removal spells that don't do anything against you, and will watch helplessly as their library slowly slips away.

Some quick tips on playing with the deck:

Stock Up is the unsung hero of the deck, digging deep enough to find what you're looking for, whether it be that turn four Day of Judgment to reset the board, or additional lands. Every time I play this card I love it a little more.

In Game 1, I'll often drop a Riverchurn Monument on turn two. Very few people are playing artifact removal in the main deck. But, games 2/3 I will often hold it until I can activate it.

Founding the Third Path is probably the worst card in the deck, but don't underestimate the card's utility. There are many games where I just use this as a makeshift Snapcaster Mage, and cast it to flashback a sweeper.

Jace, the Perfected Mind might be the most important card in the deck, and make sure you play him when you can maximize his abilities the most. Sometimes, you just need to draw a card.

You have a lot of lands that affect the game in some way. Blast Zone has saved me many times from an aggressive Pixie player. Fountainport has drawn me out of some rough game states. Pay attention to your land drops.

Overall, this deck has been a fun divergence from the decks I've been playing lately. It provides a different way to attack the metagame and many opponents are not prepared to against a dedicated Mill deck.

You can find more of my Magic musings on Twitter/X @travishall456 and on Bluesky.