Pointed Discussion

Its back! All mill enthusiasts rejoice!

use this for yourself then psychic spiral

It always seems like there should be some way to totally abuse this card. However, like Tupperware, it bends, but won't break.

Duskmantle Guildmage gives this a whole new meaning.

A great big middle finger to anybody on the receiving end of it.

Yep, it's Traumatize.

Listen up y'all this is Traumatize.

This needs a combo piece like the mill version of Curse of Bloodletting. Something like; if an opponent would put a card into his or her graveyard from his or her library, he or she puts two cards into his or her graveyard instead.

I mean red has Malignus + Curse of Bloodletting and other instant win combos, why can't blue join in the fun?

This just begs for a Psychic Spiral retaliation.

Traumatize yourself while while playing a Battle of Wits deck, THEN cast Psychic Spiral.

This is a solid card for mil, but despite my best efforts, it never makes the final cut for my deck. Probably the high cost compared to a lot of little guys who can combo faster for the same effect.
Here's an example of how my mill deck plays:

Turn one: Island, Hedron Crab
Turn two: Drowned Catacomb, Breaking or Glimpse the Unthinkable
Turn three: Swamp, Mind Funeral
Turn four: Demonic Tutor for another Hedron Crab. Then, which works surprisingly well, drop Terramorphic Expanse, sac it, get another land into play. That combo'd with the two Hedron Crabs gives you some good mill.
Turn five: Swamp, Haunting Echoes
Now it's possible you took a beating, so I always hold on to something like Damnation to wipe the field now that you've milled the shizz out of your opponent. Then you can start getting your important stuff out to go for the win and to defend yourself. The point of all this, is that I would rather draw a hand with cheap, combo stuff, then a five drop that'll leave you feeling mana screwed your first few turns if you draw it.

Truly obnoxious in EDH, mostly because counting 40+ cards takes forever.

On no, Traumatize is back...

WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?!

This card is broken, WotC.
Face it, you are addicted to making broken mill cards. YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.

Can this card be cancelled by using 'Pay no Heed'?

Most players forget that the fastest way to figure out how many cards are being milled is to:
First, count cards in hand.
Add the number of cards in play (owned by that player)
Add the cards in the graveyard and in exile.

Subtract this total from 60 (100 if you're in commander).
Divide the remaining number by 2, and round appropriately.

Easy example
Player being milled has 7 cards in play, 3 in hand, 5 in grave, 2 in exile - that's 17 total. Their library should then have 43 cards left in it, so you mill by 21.

Of course, this only works in formatted games and assumes no wishes were made, but it's a lot faster than scooping up their library and counting the cards off one by one, ESPECIALLY in EDH.

The quickest way I've found to count eschews mathematics entirely for a simpler method: just take the top bit off their deck, set it next to the bottom half, and keep taking cards off the top until they don't 'slide' (the tops are flush and cards can't slide from one pile to the other). Takes a flat surface, of course, but it takes seconds and requires zero thought beyond remembering not to accidentally shuffle.

Of course, I don't see anyone list Consuming Aberration! No no...

Or, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind!

Or, goodness me, Living Death!

The possibilities!

The number one card I want in my opening hand in my Lazav EDH. Nothing like playing it turn 5 and getting a hexproof Avacyn. Before my opponent conceded, he showed me his hand. He put down a Wrath of God and said "I can deal with Lazav..." then he put down a Swords to Plowshares and said "and I can deal with Avacyn... but I can't deal with Lazavacyn."

This card, Meletis Charlatan, and one or more Illusionist's Bracers. With two Bracer's, if it were possible to shoot off that combo turn 1, it would reduce a 60 card deck to the 7 in your opponent's hand, and 3 in their library.

Use it in a The Mimeoplasm or Bruna, Light of Alabaster EDH/Commander deck.

Wild Ricochet is my favorite response to this.

This card may destroy many friendships.

This card is not broken. If it were broken that would basically mean that if someone can get this card out once or twice that they must win. That is not the case. You can have four of these in a deck and still easily lose a game. Not broken.

The main problem with this card is that it is at its most powerful at the time of the game when it can't be cast, and significantly less powerful by the time it can be cast (especially if you're a good player and also require leaving enough mana untapped for counter). The exception to that (in current Standard anyway) is that Elixir of Immortality is seeing a lot of use, and so it is possible to mill a large number of cards even later in the game (Ideally you get their elixir as well). I can see room for making this a 1-of in some control/mill decks.

It costs zero mana to walk in on yer grandma gettin' dressed. That's a cheap traumatize. Just sayin'.

its good card

Poor old Snoop

And this is why I love using blue decks.

This card's only place is in self-mill as a safe grave-filler. Sadly self-mill generally doesn't need an expensive graveyard enabler that does nothing else.

Probably the most overrated and least fun mill card. I am sad to see it back. First issue is that it is tedious. Counting out the cards is a huge pain. When I used to play this, way back when I was first starting mill, people would groan when I dropped this, and it dragged on forever. The bigger issue is that its a bad card. True, its not abysmal like some recent mill cards (Dreadwaters and Mind Grind come to mind, I wish I could mill away those thoughts.) but it is pretty bad none the less. Early game its a waste in your hand, costing too much to use. Late game its a dead draw as you look to finish off your opponent or stall them.

If you are looking for a 5 drop mill spell, consider Archive Trap. Its a spell that always has a fixed mill, and can trigger for free. It can win you games, it always takes out a 4th of your opponent's starting library, so if you have them more than half-way to death it is actually bigger than traumatize. At three mana, Sanity Grinding is another potent choice. (Also, it can eat affinity decks and one-shot some dredge builds.) Both are more fun for your opponent and faster than this card. Your best bet for mill is to treat it like a burn deck. Hit fast and hard, you have little to no room for any expensive cards. Carry disruption to keep yourself alive and draw to keep the ammo coming. Having several re-usable mill sources like Hedron Crab or the less potent Jace's Erasure can let you focus mana on counterspell and boomerang hile still finishing your opponents off.

This card destroys friendships and causes mass depression, and is fun to use on your opponent, what's not to like besides the drop?

The only reason this card is balanced because of sorcery speed. 5 mana cost means you have to commit your entire turn most likely to this, leaving them with ample time and opportunity to respond, if they didnt counter.

This card is so johnny tho and can win you the game very easily.

Actually this card could be used very early on if you use Culling The Weak on a 1 mana creature then use whatever remaining blue mana to use Traumatize.