http://www.gatheringmagic.com/markwischkaemper-112814-26-decks-in-a-year-episode-7-dimir/

If there’s one thing I hope this column has shown, it’s that on a budget doesn’t mean “bad.” I also hope it shows there is great variety to be found even with shallow pockets, that putting your own personality into a deck is often better than just building a pile of good cards, and that Commander isn’t just about winning. But mostly, I want to demonstrate an inexpensive deck can stand up at a table and challenge a group of opponents. Today’s Dimir deck will—I hope—do that, but it will also challenge the pilot. Decision trees and difficult choices will resonate through the game.
Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker
In my playgroup, Dimir means mill. We have a couple of Phenax, God of Deception decks running around (including my own) and a few other random ones attempting to make mill work. When I asked my group who they thought I should do for Dimir, the resounding answer was, “Not mill.” I countered that I think it’s just our playgroup—I don’t think mill is threatening to take over the format—and if I didn’t do it with U/B, I’d never really be able to do it well in the column. Then, I played a game against that guy up there, and I saw a new way to look at mill. So let’s build a deck that mills a little and makes our enemies wish they’d never put that Blightsteel Colossus in their ninety-nine.
Reliquary TowerMana in this deck is pretty traditional. We have all the duals we can afford as well as a few of the less expensive, five-color lands like Transguild Promenade. There are a few utility lands, including a regular inclusion in this series, Reliquary Tower, a Mystifying Maze for those times when Akroma, Angel of Wrath will just be fatal, and an Encroaching Wastes to keep people off Kessig Wolf Run/Inkmoth Nexus shenanigans. There are also 5-mana accelerants, all of which tap for a color. Fellwar Stone is the only one not a guarantee, but at most tables, we’ll have at least one of our colors. One quick note: This is forty-four mana sources. I’m certain that is the minimum we can run, so don’t skimp as you alter the deck to suit your tastes. However, if you want to run more lands or artifact mana, I don’t think it will hurt anything.
Blue is king of card-draw, and black isn’t far behind, but in Commander, little effects like Divination and Brainstorm just aren’t going to do it. We need big piles of cards or extra spells each turn. So we have some doozies, designed to make sure we’re always ahead of our opponents. Bloodgift Demon is a Phyrexian Arena on a pretty big stick (which happens to fly around), but more than that, we can target who draws. Believe it or not, this can matter—sometimes, an opponent will be at 1 life, and that card will spell his or her doom. Other times, we might be at 1 and could gain some favor by gifting it to another player. Mulldrifter is the weakest option, but still very strong, especially when we have it on a Mimic Vat. Blue Sun’s Zenith comes back for more later, Recurring Insight takes advantage of our opponent’s draw, and Mind Unbound is absurd. If you’ve ever played against someone who’s running Rhystic Study, you know how awesome it is (here’s a tip: Always pay the {1}), and Syphon Mind is, to me, among the very best spells in the format.
Vesuvan ShapeshifterWhen we want to start threatening the table, though, is when things start to get really fun here. Rather than run our own, we’re going to steal everyone else’s best dudes and spells! There is a massive suite of cards ranging from Corrupted Conscience to Take Possession, from Enslave to Blatant Thievery, from Stolen Identity to Telemin Performance. Evil Twin not only gives us one, but kills someone else’s. Rite of Replication can give us five. Vesuvan Shapeshifter lets us switch around. Ooh, is that Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite? Thanks! How about I copy your Sword of Feast and Famine with Stolen Identity and then cipher on to this here Elesh Norn, equip, swing, and make, I dunno, another Sword of Feast and Famine? Sweet! And we’re not limited to creatures—we can grab instants and sorceries with Diluvian Primordial and Chancellor of the Spires. We can steal spells on the stack with Spelljack or Kheru Spellsnatcher (though it is the only morph in the deck, so people will eventually be on to you). And we can grab things right out of people’s graveyards (put there by Mirko Vosk perhaps) with Sepulchral Primordial, Chainer, Dementia Master, or Ashen Powder. Fated Return makes it indestructible. Grave Betrayal gives us everything that dies, and Rise of the Dark Realms, played correctly, will end the game. The sky—or really, our opponent’s choices—is our only limit.
I want to make a special comment about Gather Specimens. Anyone who’s played some Commander has come across the player who has to pick an arbitrary number of tokens he or she is creating with some crazy combo. Wait until the player has put all the triggers on the stack, and then respond with this bad boy. Let’s hope the player said seven billion. Do dice go that high?
Avatar of WoeWhen we don’t know what we’re running into, though, it’s always a good idea to have plenty of answers. Various pieces of spot removal like Tragic Slip, Betrayal of Flesh, and the new delve card Murderous Cut will destroy troublesome creatures. Ashes to Ashes hurts, but exiling two dudes for one card is well worth the 5 life. Spiteful Blow does double-duty, more than making up for its sorcery speed by taking out someone else’s only white source or whatever. Avatar of Woe will almost always only cost {B}{B} and will hold off an opposing commander all on its own. And sometimes, we’ll get lucky with Nemesis Trap! We also have a great selection of Wrath effects, including the excellent (and now cheaper, thanks to C14) Black Sun’s Zenith (Gods deserve to die, too), Life’s Finale (we can pick what’s in their graveyard! Sign me up!), and In Garruk’s Wake, which will take care of ’Walkers cramping our style. Decree of Pain is . . . well, Decree of Pain. (Combine with Rise of the Dark Realms the following turn for extra fun!) Dregs of Sorrow is almost as good, serving as spot removal early and a one-sided Wrath later on. Nezumi Graverobber will help keep other graveyard shenanigans down, and it’s worth the slight nonbo with our recursion. We also have a few Counterspells, including Counterspell, to manage really difficult problems, such as Cathars’ Crusade, or stop someone from going off with Omniscience.
One of the neatest things about a deck like this is everything works really well together. We have just a few ways to bring sorceries or instants back from our own ’yard—Archaeomancer, Mnemonic Wall, and Pull from the Deep—and a Mimic Vat, which is hilarious both with our Clones and with anything of our opponents. Deadeye Navigator makes an appearance as a more limited Mimic Vat number two.
Playing this deck is an exercise in patience and careful thought. It has a high converted mana cost overall (4.75 on average), and we have Limited Resources because most of our stuff will only work once. A lot of the time, we’re just going to want to draw our card, play a land, and say go. Always wait until the very last possible minute to do everything, and don’t be afraid to let your life total be a resource—and by that, I mean go ahead and take a hit if you think something worse (or better to steal) is still coming. Also, be ready to play some politics (I’ll steal that guy’s dude if you don’t attack me!), and always choose carefully—if you kill the player whose stuff you’ve taken, you’ll lose all those things.
Creeping Tar PitThe budget on this one was very tight, so there was no room for additional lands. A few more, however, would definitely be an upgrade; Creeping Tar Pit, especially, would be really good. Feel free to add any and all extra duals you have.
After creating a mana base, I’d take any extra cash I wanted to spend and use it on a few upgrades. Mind’s Eye would be fantastic in this build. Sculpting Steel and Vedalken Shackles are always amazing, as is Duplicant. Scion of Darkness is worth thinking about, and Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is awesome. Dread Cacodemon would be a solid add as well. If I’m honest, this deck wants a Sol Ring—something I think isn’t always true. If you cracked a copy of Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, definitely jam it. If your group has a lot of annoying activated abilities (that’s anything with a colon), consider Voidmage Husher. Finally, Leyline of Anticipation is so great I almost cut a ton of other cards to slot it in.
Enchantments and artifacts are going to be something of a problem. Time your Counterspells well, and always think about the value you can generate from each move you make.
I’m curious about everyone’s thought on board wipes. Do you run them? Does your group? Does this deck need fewer? More?
One of the coolest things about a deck like this is how it plays with 75% deck-building principles—it scales based on your opponents. Whether you wind up against a couple people playing decks they’ve cobbled together out of a couple Drafts or against a group with tight, tuned, and pricey stacks, you’ll be able to grab the best of the best of what’s available.
Total cost: $74.94