Puschkin

A deck like infect is different: Making it faster will translate into more wins because they dynamic is different: You only need to deal 10 infect damage, so if you add a pump spell that does 2 more damage and nothing else is a tradeoff you can make because it deals 20% of the damage you need to win. But in this deck you need to deal 20 and a shuffler will deal 2 damage per Probe which is hard to calculate but I think having more than one in play is rarer than having none, so if we say you do 2 damage per shuffler we are being optimistic here. But you need to deal 20, so that's just 10% of your goal. => *You will run out of cards before you reached that goal!* THAT's why I don't recommend making it faster in this particular setting!

About the Surgery: I didn't mention it because it doesn't affect board position either. Whatever hit play already is about to stay. If you have a Surgery instead of a Probe you don't deal any damage (so can't win a damage race) but it also doesn't help losing the damage race because it only affects future draws. Surgery is actually another reason to get rid of Remembrance and Journey: if you have reuseable defensive shufflers, then Surgery is a mean way of control and will win the game in the long run. Gamazoa & Co affect board position. This would be control.

And speaking of that, you always speak of "budget combo" yet your deck title says "budget CONTROL", maybe this is where the confusion started. Even then, what I am saying is: This deck would work better and win more often if it was a slower control deck rather than a combo deck that tries to be fast but runs out of steam or gets steamrolled before it is able to kill. Have you actually played it so far? Maybe only playtesting can tell.

But that means a lot of fragile creatures have to be in play (everybody runs all sorts of mass removal). In EDH, nothing lasts for long (everybody runs all sorts of mass removal). Moreover, your scenario doesn't even name Darien ;)

As I tried to tell me in my post, you don't really employ Darien, you just built a token deck and focussed on other cards that produce tokens or make them stronger. What you need instead is ways to redirect to yourself (or even damage yourself!) to produce lots of tokens at once and when you need it with Darien (and consequently ways to get life back).
Have you checked out my deck? You need cards likes Jade Monolith: It redirects damage that your creatures would get to yourself. This way you do not only protect your key creatures, you can also creative massive amounts of tokens in a short period of time (the latter is important!). Add creatures like Personal Incarnation and Shaman En-Kor and then you can freely distribute damage as you want, getting tokens almost at will. If you include cards that damage yourself you CAN produce tokens at will. Then cards like Sun Droplet and Angleheart Vial to get lost life back. Boom - you now have a Darien EDH deck that is more explosive and even safer because of the lifegain and protection your creatures get. As Agoldenberg explained, creating 2 tokens per turn and slowly amassing pumpers isn't a promising plan in EDH because a mass sweeper hits play frequently (and if opponents see you amassing troops slowly, they use their resources to tutor for the next sweeper). But with my way you only need Darien, maybe a single pumper like Field Marshal and one card like Jade Monolith: People won't even block your dudes anymore because if they do, you will get massive amounts of tokens.

Yes, but this "combo" isn't a very strong or fast one. Adding Remembrance and Journey makes it a bit faster at the expense of stability and endurance, yet it still isn't fast enough (for a combo deck). I seriously wonder what kind of meta you are playing in if you can away with this.
I have to admit, though, that this assertion also stems from my dislike of "do or die" type of decks. It's not only that you run so few defense that you get killed pretty fast, it' also that most of your cards are just dead if you don't draw the Probe (or if the Probe gets destroyed). A Loaming Shaman might not save you from aggro decks but it buys you time, does shuffle if you have the Probe and is also able to deal damage on it's own in the case you don't have Probe but your opponent isn't aggressive.

I am saying playing Serene remembrance and Memory's Journey just to get a single shuffle isn't worth wasting a card slot on. I would prefer having other cards in that slot that might cost a bit more mana but do something else on top of forcing a shuffle, preferably something that keeps you alive. For example Gamazoa, Void Walker, Loaming Shaman, Thada Adel.
Think about it, Serene Remembrance is just a Shock that can't kill creatures if you have one Psychogenic Probe in play. Yes, with more than one Probe you do okay to decent damage, but chances are you'll have no Probe at all and then it does nothing.

I think Master Warcraft and Growing Ranks aren't allowed in this due to their colour identity.

You might want to check out my Darien deck which isn't EDH but could give you some ideas. Your deck focusses so much on doing stuff with tokens but thats only the last step. What's missing is getting tokens in the first place and surviving all the damage you receive. That's why my version runs Jade Monolith, Sun Droplet, Angelheart Vial and Convalescent Care which you are all missing. I also think Shaman en-Kor is a must in this. But check out yourself how I did it:
http://www.mtgvault.com/puschkin/decks/occ-the-darien-crusades/

I made a deck around Darien a while ago. It's not EDH, however, you might still get some ideas out of it. It's running a lot of cards I thought I would find in here, too, but they are apparently missing.
http://www.mtgvault.com/puschkin/decks/occ-the-darien-crusades/

Still wouldn't include either Serene Remembrance nor Memory's Journey.

* I don't think Chaotic Backlash belongs in this deck. For one, at five mana it is way off the mana curve. Secondly, you don't want wait for your opponent to amass any bigger number of permanents, do you? You'll blast them right away with your other spells.

* Now that we removed the most expensive card of this deck I think you can go down with the lands or even cut Birds of Paradise, opening up yet more card slots.

* What this deck lacks, though, is card draw. I suggest Ohran Viper since you should be able to clear a path for it to get through. With the Viper in mind you should probably NOT cut the BoPs then ;) The Viper has another advantage: It can stand on it's own when you don't have a Servant in play (the rest of your deck just folds if the opponent can kill it or keep it off the table)

* I don't know if this is for 1-on-1 only or if you plan to play it in multiplayer, but if you aim for the latter once in a while, a couple of Gaea's Blessing would go a long way of keeping you in the game (just keep on shuffling your Servants, Blasts and Blessings back into your library).

You might want to check out this deck that runs on a similar idea:
http://www.mtgvault.com/puschkin/decks/blast-from-the-past-30/

Ugh? How so? They have a total of 2 cards in common. And the deck you linked is hardly original either, in fact it is much much closer to what typical Isochron decks look like. It does have Oblivion Ring, though, a solution to artifacts/enchantments (although I would prefer something that I can put on a stick - the Ring can't be imprinted on Isochron).

EDIT: And, the deck you linked was created after this one ... :P

Too much focus on creatures, zero artifact and enchantment removal. There are numerous problematic permanents out there you can't handle and numerous ways to win without dealing regular damage. You should run some Disenchant type of card at the very least in the sideboard. Most of your sideboard cards are useless anyway since they basically do the same as the cards you would switch them in for.

Someone make the math if adding a single Manipulate Fate will speed this up or not. Or 2.

Maniac getting shot is one problem. The other one is that if you play Mana Severance on turn 2, you will typically still have 3 more in your libary plus the Maniac. It doesn't matter if the Maniac is on top or bottom, you will still have to draw all 4 remaining cards and then get another draw. This means, unless you got lucky and drew multiple Mana Severances in your opening hand you will win no earlier than turn 7 ...

Still a fun concept. I wouldn't play this more than once, though ;)
( I mean until I win once)

He hasn't replied to you, he just spammed dozens of decks again.

Maybe post a challenge thread similar to mine, only just this time I am feeding you with ideas to go for. I certainly have some ideas I don't want to explore myself for various reasons so I might as well throw them at you. And who knows, maybe others will join, too?

* While the idea is fun, I doubt it would succeed as a control deck. To my mind it runs too much shuffling related effects and too less actual control. You will get overrun and killed before your opponent succumbs to Probe damage. I especially question cards like Serene Remembrance: It does nothing but forcing a single shuffle and is situational on top of it (if the opponent has nothing in his grave, he won't shuffle). As it is, the deck is more of a combo deck.

* For this reason, I would cut all copies of Serene Remembrance and Memory's Journey and look for more cards like Vortex Elemental (and up Vortex Elemental to 4 copies). It causes a shuffle AND protects your brittle ass. Check out his cousins, Gamazoa and Void Stalker. I would also rather play Loaming Shaman than Serene Remebrance - he does the same but also gives you a warm body to block. Thada Adel is a highly annoying creature for any blue opponent.

* Bribery would be a killer in this deck but certainly isn't budget anymore. However, Acquire does the same for artifacts while being a lot cheaper. You could also employ Grinning Totem instead or additionally. It will never be dead because at the very least you could always snag a land if you don't find anything else. Mimeofracture would also work very well!

* Counterbore and Quash are counterspells that also cause your opponent to shuffle (and exiling cards in the process). Similarily, Splinter gets rid of artifacts in the same way.

Too bad you are aiming for modern. Rootwater Thief, Noble Benefactor and Veteran Explorer are VERY good creatures for this deck! You would also have access to Temporal Spring and Portent.

EDIT:
Heck, I think I am all out making my own version of this with full card pool available. Would be fun in my playgroup.

Both the buff and the card draw isn't that impressive with Ordeal of Thassa. Furthermore, it requires the creature you slap it on to survive at least 2 attacks.

" I believe Undying will be awesome in this deck, because if the creature has a +1/+1 on it, it will still come back because of Marchesa, unless I am missing something."
You don't miss anything, my entire analysis was just made with what you said: That you cannot and want not rely on Marchesa too much.

No time right now for a second review.

EDIT:
You currently run 2 Mysticals ;)

* Solemn Simulacrum is painfully missing. With all those ways to sacrifice creatures (and ways to get it back), this is a must, especially since it stands on it's own pretty well.

* I would prefer Sheoldred over Butcher of Malakir - less flashy but the free Resurrection part of it makes up for that.

* You said you don't want to focus on your commander too much because he'll end up buried somewhere anyway. I understand that notion all too well and can imagine your typical games. However, having said that, your current deck focusses a lot on it. As long as those cards are generally useful and can stand on their own, that's not problem. But we are 8 cards above 100 and there are always so many good cards to add that we should get rid of those cards that are mostly specialized on your commander and not that efficient to start with. I am mostly looking at Unspeakable Symbol here but since we have to more cutting:
- Unspeakable Symbol: Too conditional and only worth the life if coupled with your Commander.
- Fleshbag Marauder: I would prefer a Syphon Flesh over this guy. 5 mana instead of 3 but gives you more bodies and doesn't depend on your Commander.
- Keldon Champion: Hardly worth the trouble even if the Commander is present. Let me utter another concern at this point: Your main trick involves getting your guys back. This not only assumes you have your commander in play, it also means you have to attack AND it has to be the guy leading in life. That's not only a lot of conditions to meet, it also means you have to play aggressive all the time and whoever has currently the most life will atomatically feel threatened by you. Reducing the number of creatures that depend on sacrifice and being reanimated will not only make you less dependent on your commander, it will also make you less prone to graveyard hate AND less of a target!
- In the same vein I would cut down on the number of "everybody has to sacrifice" type of cards such as Braids. Braids may be too good as a commander if the deck is based around it, but as a regular card ... the opponent can choose what to sacrifice. Since most if not all EDH decks reanimate stuff in one way or another, you might as well HELP your opponent by giving him a universal sacrifice outlet!
- Ring of Valkas should still be the regular Lightning Greaves/Swiftwind Boots.

* From this deck and your description of the metagame and rules I take it that the decks of your pals are quite advanced. Which means they will all have considerable amounts of recurring and recycling cards. Your deck, however, lacks any kind of graveyard hate as of yet. You'll need something at least against creatures!
- Crypt Incursion: One of my new favourites, it screws a single player *at instant speed* and you gain massive amounts of life on top of it! The latter means you can always cast it for the life in times of need, so this will rarely be a dead card!
- Relic of Progenitus: This is your emergency kill switch. It hits everyone including you, however, you will most likely suffer the least since you mostly revive what got destroyed during your own attacks. And Relic cantrips when you pop it for the big effect, so it won't ever be useless, either.
- Withered Wretch: Reuseable pin-point exiling! It comes on a fragile 2/2, though.

* Mystical Tutor is generally superior to Merchant Scroll. I have never seen someone adding Scroll but no Mystical before. Yes, you get the card immediately with Scroll, but usually the broader options you have with Mystical will make up for it (especially since most of your possible picks will generate card advantage). You don't run Vampiric Tutor either, for that matter, which is usually added before Mystical :)

* Goblin Wardrums is another candidate to cut. I like this card and not just out of nostalgia, however, you have enough other cards with similar or better effects, only that the Wardrums don't do anything else besides making your creatures harder to block. Which is useless half of the times when you are not able to attack anyway or redundant when you have other cards like Sun Quan in play, and of "win-more" nature lots of the remaining times.

* Bitterblossom, while not a bad card, is probably also not good enough in this to keep it's spot. You'll get early blockers and tokens to sacrifice for your various Abyss-effects in case you don't have your Commander out. On the other hand it costs you life every turn, 1/1 blockers only get you that far in EDH where everything tramples and you can't opt to not create a token, even when you are down in life and don't need more tokens.

* Reins of Power: I consider this card such a gamebreaker that I would add it to ANY Commander deck that runs blue, regardless of the actual gameplan or strategy! At worst this will be a Fog for one turn, saving your ass when you play it after someone declared an attack on you. But this has so much potential, especially with your sacrifce outlets!

* Anger would probably be better in this than the Oger Battledriver.

* Entomber Exarch looks weak to me. For one more mana you get Puppeteer Clique! Please note how well persist works with your Commander (+1/+1 and -1/-1 counters actually cancel each other out) !

* While Persist works well with your commander shelling out +1/+1 counters, undying does not! Mikaeus & Co are probably still worth adding but keeping this in mind may force you to re-evaluate the choices you made.

* It's maybe not an issue in your metagame but you run a total of just 5 basic lands. Does nobody in your group play stuff like Back to Basics, Blood Moon or Price of Progress? I would consider to cut some of the lesser non-basics in favour of upping every basic land to 3. Combined with the fetchies this would give you a fighting chance if someone drops a Ruination or Back to Basics. Otoh ...

* ... if nobody plays these type of cards, probably because they all want to go heywire with non-basics themselves, then wouldn't it be a smart move to include something like Anathemancer in this?

* It's maybe because of your restriction rules regarding mass removal but I wouldn't want to play a EDH deck that has zero ways to handle enchantments and you only got a single spot removal for atifacts as far as I can tell. You run Reduce to Dreams but that isn't a permanent solution either. I'd certainly feel naked without a Disk-like effect.

* Fervor should be upgraded to Hammer of Porphoros.

Everything quite for weeks and now I get so many requests ... I'll check it out later, promised!

Ah, and I love it if somebody gives me so precise instructions! I have some chores to do right now but will check it out soon.

You are roght about Masques, too. It went under the radar because it came after the "power block" Urza, players felt it was toned down, and it was, but the powerlevel was more homogeneous. Also, it lacked dual lands or any sorts, so you couldn't do that much within the block. That's why the cards grew up players later.