Decklist

https://moxfield.com/decks/DoU6se0q_EW7CgF-jELNvA

Credit: JollyCasual

Primer

https://moxfield.com/decks/iud_U_X_gEuWC64866SeMQ/primer

The Strategy

Due to the nature of The Wise Mothman each instance of mill (even if it is milling multiple players) will only ever give any single creature a +1/+1 counter. Therefore it is generally better to have smaller bursts of mill than single mill effects that turn over a large number of cards all at once. Unfortunately, this is the worst kind of mill, and you can easily group-hug an opponent’s graveyard deck into the win. Be cautious about what other decks at the table are trying to do, it might be better to only mill yourself until you have a solid grave hate piece in play first. Regardless, you are better off prioritizing your damage to any graveyard player and attempting to knock them out first if you can.

Combos

-> Zellix, Sanity Flayer or (Scurry Oak + The Wise Mothman) + Altar of the Brood or Altar of Dementia

This is the traditional Zellix combo, though it is rarely an infinite one. Your opponent mills a creature which triggers Zellix to make a creature. Because a creature entered your battlefield, the Altar of the Brood makes everyone mill a card which then has a pretty high likelihood of being a creature, and you make a ton of 1/1’s while hopefully also milling your opponents for a significant amount. If you hit a whiff then you can sacrifice the tokens you have made to the Altar of Dementia and hopefully kickstart the process again. (The Altar of Dementia can be used as a substitute for the Altar of the Brood, however it is less efficient since it only mills one player at a time. Luckily that player can be you!) The Wise Mothman helps here because he will also be generating +1/+1 counters to make your tokens more valuable when you cash them in at your Altar of Dementia, but he also makes Scurry Oak into a more consistent Zellix. As Mothman sees all non-land cards instead of only creatures, he will keep putting +1/+1 counters on your Scurry Oak which will keep generating 1/1s for your altars.

-> Syr Konrad, the Grim + Mindcrank

Another classic in a Zellix deck, Mindcrank makes every opponent mill cards as they take damage, and Syr Konrad makes everyone take damage when they mill cards. This combo, like the previous one is almost never actually infinite, but it is a great way to get a lot of mileage out of cards you were probably going to use anyway!

-> Bloodchief Ascension + Mindcrank

Use combat or rads to get the damage or mill started and then kill your opponent and gain a ton of life. Unless you give everyone rads this only kills one opponent at a time and you need to be able to start it off with getting damage through or milling your opponents to get the party started.

-> The Wise Mothman + Fathom Mage or Generous Patron + Psychic Corrosion

Here is our first original-to-Mothman combo! Fathom Mage lets us draw cards when it gets +1/+1 counters, the enchantments here make our opponents mill cards when we draw, then Mothman gives out +1/+1 counters when people mill! Fathom Mage is even a may ability so you don’t have to worry about drawing yourself out. With Generous Patron you have the same loop as long as an opponent has a creature you can put +1/+1 counters on.

-> Glen Elendra Archmage + The Great Henge + Altar of Dementia

Infinite mill and infinite card draw. Sacrifice Glen Elendra Archmage to the Altar of Dementia to mill someone for 2, Archmage’s persist trigger returns them to the battlefield, The Henge gives them a +1/+1 counter to remove the -1/-1 they got from persist and draws you a card. Then you are free to sacrifice then to the Altar again and repeat. This will also give you infinite counterspells as long as you can pay 1 blue mana.

-> The Wise Mothman + Walking Balista + Mindcrank

Remove a counter from the Walking Balista to damage a player, Mindcrank mills them a card, if it is a non-land Mothman puts a +1/+1 counter back onto the Balista. This is even more efficient with a counter doubler like Hardened Scales in play.

-> The Wise Mothman + The Gitrog Monster + Evolution Witness + Psychic Corrosion

This one is a little tricky and henges around a fairly well-known mechanic with the Gitrog Monster, lands, and discarding to hand size. The idea is to end your turn with an oversized hand with some land in it. When you discard down make sure you discard 1 land during the cleanup phase. This will activate Gitrog’s ability to draw a card forcing you back into your endstep. When you draw a card, Psychic Corrosion will trigger and make each opponent mill 2 cards. Mothman will likely see a non-land milled and distribute some +1/+1 counters. Put one of those counters on Evolution Witness and return a land card from your graveyard to your hand. Proceed with your endstep and when you get back to the cleanup step discard the land that you put back in your hand with the Evolution Witness. Repeat until everyone is milled out or you have infinitely huge creatures. When your library is getting thin, just discard your Eldrazi Shuffle Titan and reshuffle your graveyard into your library.

-> Combat as a combo?

Yes, I know that combat isn’t a combo, but something else that makes The Wise Mothman stand out from Zellix is that +1/+1 counters are actually pretty good at ending the game when your creatures are turning sideways. While a Zellix deck is often only able to hope for a mill win, Mothman can end the game through combat as efficiently as he can through mill. Again unlocking more options for you to close out the game.

Tips and Tricks

-> Mikokoro, Center of The Sea

When you are using a mill strategy opponent’s upkeeps can be a tricky thing. There is a surprising number of things an opponent can do to ruin your day during their upkeep before they draw and lose the game. Therefore, let’s just skip all that on your turn by milling everyone out and then activating this land to force a draw and corresponding loss trigger for all of those opponents who no longer have a library and now won’t even have an upkeep for shenanigans either.

-> Leyline of the Void

Milling into exile is still milling and still triggers The Wise Mothman so this card lets you have your cake and eat it too!