wickeddarkman

Heh! If you are playing legacy or modern, then I just got the advice for you...

Use lantern of insight or anything else tha allows you to see the top of your opponent's library.
With pyxis and all the other 1cc mill-artifacts you can control their draw for the rest of the game.

Take a look and write if there was anything usefull, otherwise I might have some other ideas for you...
http://www.mtgvault.com/wickeddarkman/decks/wdm-stranglemill-legacy/

Mesmeric orb will make your creatures grow!

Surgical extraction or remand would be pretty fun with talrand. Especially remand.

Comercial for my own stuff:
http://www.mtgvault.com/wickeddarkman/decks/fast-reliable-modern-mill/

No problem.

I took a look at what's out there costing 1 mana and drawing a card. There's plenty more if you're not scared of diversing into other colors, though it might all fall appart then :(

That you have lots of counterspells in sideboard against combo :D

leap, cloak of feathers, insist, repeal.

1: Sometimes there is an actual mathematical reason for playing more than 60 cards, this is usually to fix some mana-percentages. Stuff like that is mainly theoretical to the ordinary players though some math-geniouses have proven this to be true and used it as well. Sometimes pro-players use 1-3 cards above 60 but usually can't explain why it works with their design. I can actually supply you with a primitive way to test if your deck needs more than 60 cards. Have a sleeve ready when testing your deck and a notebook. play some testgames where you draw 6 cards instead of 7. During the game, note if you could actually have needed the blank card to be mana or a creature. Play about 10-20 testgames and if there is a clear favorable pattern towards 1 type put the choice in the sleeve and you have 61 cards. Repeat until you reach a stable "solution" I usually tend to have a rule that first card to have 5 strikes more than the other card gets a slot. If you end up in 40-50 tests on a single card you have probably reached a balance.

2: This same method can be used to fix mana.

3: Regarding 4-off each. There are two other strategies than that. 1: versatility. 2: tools. both uses less than 4 cards for different reasons.

4: You need to start the "strategy" section by explaining aggro combo and control.

5: I have various decktestes that I can describe, some advanced, some primitive.

I usually recommend beginners to start out with 24 lands because most beginners wan't to experiment with mana and learn the hard way from this, which means that 24 lands cover most of their toying :D

For the more advanced I recommend 22 mana, and I use 22 mana in about 80-90% of my decks.

A few other options.

assault strobe (doublestrike for R)
tainted strike (infect for B)
srorm entity (can replace grapeshot if needed, since swansong is gaining in popularity!)
immolating souleater (with assult strobe or tainted strike and some simian spirit guide it's a turn 1 combo)

I know, from the description you gave. This is to throw of your brother if he's spying :D

Test it against the most agressive beatdown in your meta that you own or know about.
I'm thinking -2erayo and -2kaijin then +4 orb.
If the orb fails the test just switch back :) Best way to test is find someone familiar with aggro as some players may figure out how to slow down their attack just enough to not be milled. Test extensively.

Only if you don't want to pay the life! So watery grave is a go.

Darkslick shore is go as well to a certain point of view, but depends on how your deck plays out. My own linked deck usually kills at turn 4-5 which happens mainly with 3-4 lands, so if my 4th land is a darkslick shore I lock myself down at a vital time. I need to use every mana at all time...

I have been thinking quite a bit on adding forbidden orchard because it can be fun if I get mesmeric orb in play, but this would demand that I might also use leyline of singularity in main.

Okay, it's rather simple. Your goal is to empty your library. And the leveler is okay for that, but you need a backup-plan in case your opponent does some wild stuff.

Mesmeric orb disrupts the strategy of the ordinary deck, so by playing the orb you first of all disrupts their strategy.

Second part of it is, how much does the orb disrupt yourself?

The orb actually lets you get think twice into the grave, meaning that it's an almost free draw (only cost is needed) which gives you cardadvantage. It may also put some rune snags in the grave which will boost any early runesnags you play.

With fabricate, reshape and muddle the mixture you will be able to get 2-3 online very very fast, which will be devastating to most aggro-decks.

Consider the following scenario:
Turn 1 your opponent plays a land, tap and cast a 1/1.
Turn 2 your opponent plays a land, tap two and cast a 2/2. and attacks with 1/1.
you play mesmeric orb.
Turn 3 your opponent untaps 2 lands and a 1/1, MILLS 3. play a land, tap 3 play a 3/3, attack with a 1/1 and 2/2.
Turn 4 your opponent untaps 3 lands, a 1/1 and a 2/2, MILLS 5. play land, tap 4 play 4/4, attack with 1, 2 & 3.
Turn 5 your opponent untaps 4 lands, and 3 crt, MILLS 7, then swings with lethal damage, you are dead.

Now how many cards are milled away?
15 cards with a single orb. That's a third of your opponent's deck.

Turn these facts around.

You will be milling almost the same amount of cards during your own part of the game, and with your spells the game is likely to last a lot longer than 5 turns, so imagine how many cards will be milled by two orbs during a game? (Answer is, almost double, and this game only lasted 5 turns, longer games mill more!)

I hope all this explains why you should play mesmeric orb ;D

No problem.

I know from testing my mana extensively that with 24 lands the maximum amount of taplands preferrable is 2.
So you have too many taplands for your own good.

By the way, if you want to beat your brothers elf-combodeck there are three simple things you can do.
1: Play with mesmeric orb.
2: play with 4 darkblast.
3: Play with 4 surgical extirpate.
If your deck mills fast enough these three changes are likely to win you the victory.

If he changes it's nature towards more aggro add 4 perish :D

Mesmeric orb also disrupts your opponents strategy while working towards one of your gamegoals...

Shelldock isle is not based on mill alone. If they draw enough you wont need mill, so in long games shelldock isle is selfevident. If you've taken a look at the linked deck you can see that I play with 20 lands and 2 shelldock isle. You will be drawing enough to get at least one in hand during a game, and you can play it when you have enough of the other lands. It's a lategame card (In my case I usually activate it at turn 4-5 which is my lategame)

Mesmeric orb is a lock if you have drawengines in place. If your opponent draws cards, they will either have to play them or discard them. Mesmeric orb will make them think twice about casting stuff.
If you fear orbing yourself then play with a single autoreshuffler like emrakul. (remember that if you draw it, you will likely be able to discard it).

Thought so...
Erhm. you are supposed to run 1 edge of autumn in mainboard, and never ever any more than one. It's function is to make your deck a 59 card deck, and it only works with 1. You never cast it, you simply just cycle it because your aim is to kill at turn 1, so you can let your land be eaten to draw one more vital keycard.

For sideboard, why not pyromancer and akroan? both would love to be targeted by all your effects and you could swarm with 1/1 tokens if the deck doesn't kill enough with it's combo...

They do. I play 2 in a 20 land deck.
The difficult part is the walls as most of them are green, which would mean a heavy rebuild if you go there.
Kederekt leviathan is fun when it sees play, but it's tricky to get it there.

I have been thinking on how to improve the "wall" aspect without breaking colors, and the closest thing is to use wall of omens and phyrexian metamorph, which gives you 8 usefull cards that will allow you to turn omniscience into a draw engine. The metamorph may also copy wall of denial, making for an awesome defence. It can also copy the leviathan setting up a loop for you (if you draw into a second metamorph) where you can get to draw a lot of cards each turn.

In general I think there is a lot of cards you can cut away in this deck.

One aspect you might want to consider is to add noxious revival, which goes well with the draw concepts, and can let you reuse whatever it is that you need the most.

Your millpart could take advantage of long games against aggro, so using increasing confusion and dream twist might also be an idea. If you take that approach your sb should be counterheavy against combo.

Yeah, if exiles a creature you can "reanimate" it, if it doesn't aberration might get fed by other mill. win/win.
I thought I had looked if this was modern. Guess I missed one :(

I have had plenty of time messing with mill and 24 lands, so I can recommend that the absolute maximum number of taplands you can play with without having "bad side effects" is exactly 2. so with your manabase you are seriously dragged down. I think I would recommend that the 2 taplands you use are temple of deceit, because you can scry away excessive lands when needed.