The MindskinnerThe Mindskinner | Art by Abz J Harding

Do you like milling cards? if so, you'll love this week's edition of Fire and Ice! This is the data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks, and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity.

I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article!

EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. We'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

Today, after some reminiscing on Duskmourn, we'll be examining one of the coolest commanders from Magic's journey into the horror genre. The MindskinnerThe Mindskinner is an interesting take on mono- mill, and has some fantastic artwork to boot.

Let's see which cards are Fiery and Icy for this mind-melting horror!

The MindskinnerThe Mindskinner

What's Hot and What's Not for The Mindskinner?

For , we get an unblockable 10/1. That sounds insane, but this Nightmare's next ability tempers its statline. The Mindskinner also turns every point of damage that we deal to an opponent into a card milled from each opponent. For example, when we smack an opponent with our commander, each opponent will mill a whopping 10 cards!

We're aiming to whittle down our opponents' libraries over time, and occasionally take a big chunk out of them with a copy of Cut Your LossesCut Your Losses or similar.

Among the most popular cards for this deck are Ruin CrabRuin Crab (included in 73% of lists), FireshriekerFireshrieker (included in 68% of lists), and The Water CrystalThe Water Crystal (in 66% of decks). These cards paint a pretty clear picture: We want to hit our hard opponents with our commander, and make sure that they're putting tons of cards into their graveyards.

What's Fiery for The MindskinnerThe Mindskinner Decks?

Kitsune's TechniqueKitsune's Technique - Fire Score of 7.59

Cards that mill half of an opponents library will always be staples of mill decks. Cut Your LossesCut Your Losses and TraumatizeTraumatize are among the most popular cards for this archetype already, and this instant will surely join them.

It can be cast with more timing flexibility than its peers, and regularly costs just . I thought we were years away from a version of this effect that's this pushed! Kitsune's Technique is fantastic, and should find a home in every Mindskinner list.

MirrorformMirrorform - Fire Score of 5.51

We sadly can't make everything into a copy of our commander, because we'd need to sacrifice our copies to the legend rule. But using this spell to copy Psychic CorrosionPsychic Corrosion or Rhystic StudyRhystic Study can pave an easy path to victory for us.

Mirrorform creates memorable game states, and I see it becoming played often in casual Commander pods. It's hard to resist turning all of our nonland permanents into copies of our (or someone else's) biggest threat!

Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves - Fire Score of 3.23

The Mindskinner is the centerpiece of our deck and thus has a big target on its back. This Equipment can handle some of the removal our opponents may throw at it. The Greaves also let us attack with our commander the turn it hits the battlefield, forcing each opponent to mill 10 cards immediately.

It's hard to overstate just how powerful this card is, even in a deck laden with counterspells.

Aquitect's DefensesAquitect's Defenses and Octopus FormOctopus Form - Fire Scores of 3.08 and 2.10, Respectively

These are more temporary ways to protect our commander (or any other valuable permanents we may have). They also provide a small bump to power and toughness, which may be relevant for pilots looking to play a more voltron-focused game.

Notably, these spells don't save The Mindskinner from destruction. If an opponent casts a Brotherhood's EndBrotherhood's End, we're still screwed! For that reason, I might play An Offer You Can't RefuseAn Offer You Can't Refuse or Arcane DenialArcane Denial in place of these protection pieces, but they are powerful cards nonetheless.

Wan Shi Tong, LibrarianWan Shi Tong, Librarian - Fire Score of 2.81

This Bird is one of the best draw engines that Commander has ever seen. Even if we cast this creature for just , it'll still draw us cards over the course of the game while acting as an evasive threat.

Wan Shi Tong is the latest in a long line of flying creatures that provide card advantage. Faerie MastermindFaerie Mastermind, Ledger ShredderLedger Shredder, and even Duelist of the MindDuelist of the Mind are some recent examples. But this Avatar card blows all of those other chumps out of the water.

Grafdigger's CageGrafdigger's Cage - Fire Score of 2.69

We're giving our opponents access to a lot of cards. Many decks make heavy use of the graveyard these days, and most decks have at least a few ways to bring things back from the bin. While this artifact isn't quite as good as Rest in PeaceRest in Peace, it is among the best graveyard hate options that mono- decks have access to.

I might run this alongside Soul-Guide LanternSoul-Guide Lantern in my own build of The Mindskinner, if I wanted to go all-in on denying my opponents extra resources.

MindcrankMindcrank - Fire Score of 2.24

While our commander turns the damage that we deal to our opponents into mill, this artifact turns all damage and life loss into mill. This accelerates our game plan, and makes our opponents mill each other while they hit each other in combat.

Mindcrank is a great fit for any mill deck, but it's especially thematic in a deck that's so focused on converting combat steps to cards in the 'yard.

PropagandaPropaganda and RiddlekeeperRiddlekeeper - Fire Scores of 2.17 and 2.16, Respectively

While these cards are slightly different, they both discourage our opponents from attacking us. They even have the same mana cost!

This deck doesn't run a ton of creatures, and milling our opponents out tends to put a pretty big target on our life total. In this deck specifically, we want as many defensive tools as we can get our hands on.

What's Icy for The MindskinnerThe Mindskinner Decks?

Noggle the MindNoggle the Mind - Ice Score of -4.66

This card is only in 10 Mindskinner decks, but we're still going to chat about it! One of the ways that can remove creatures is to "humble" them by removing their abilities and making them into 1/1s. This effect is fun, and very flavorful, but it's not the best way to deal with our opponents' threats.

We can CounterspellCounterspell them before they hit the board, remove them with ResculptResculpt, and even bounce a whole board of threats with EvacuationEvacuation! Point is, there's much better ways to deal with an opponent's runaway board.

Rapid HybridizationRapid Hybridization and PongifyPongify- Ice Scores of -2.90 and -2.27, Respectively

These two cards happen to be some of the best removal spells in Commander. I have to admit, I am puzzled at their declining popularity.

The best explanation that I can come up with is that these cards are too good for the casual tables that The Mindskinner often sits at. Beyond that, I'm stumped! Let me know in the comments if you've got an explanation.

Vantress GargoyleVantress Gargoyle - Ice Score of -2.60

In theory, the Gargoyle is a great fit in this deck. It mills each opponent for one per turn in the early game, and then mills them for five per turn in the mid/late game (assuming we've got our commander on the board).

But it has some tension with graveyard hate effects (like Agatha's Soul CauldronAgatha's Soul Cauldron) that remove cards from our opponents' bins. It's still a great card, but it doesn't synergize with some of the best hate pieces that The Mindskinner pilots have access to.

FabricateFabricate - Ice Score of -2.40

There's some great artifacts in the average Mindskinner deck. Commander's PlateCommander's Plate can buff our commander and protect it from removal, the aforementioned Grafdigger's CageGrafdigger's Cage can hate out our graveyard-focused opponents, and Mesmeric OrbMesmeric Orb can mill even more cards. But tutors are limited in casual decks thanks to the Bracket system. This spell's declining popularity is likely because The Mindskinner does best in Bracket 3 and below, where cards like Mystical TutorMystical Tutor may outclass it.

It's often better to search up a Kitsune's TechniqueKitsune's Technique than it is to search for almost any artifact we've got in our 99.

What's in a The Mindskinner Deck?

Here's a deck list, with all of our commander's hot cards included and all of its cold cards excluded. I'm particularly pleased with the inclusion of Giggling SkitterspikeGiggling Skitterspike, another Duskmourn card that outperformed my expectations.

Conclusion

Is The Mindskinner as good as Bruvac the GrandiloquentBruvac the Grandiloquent? No, probably not. Bruvac can turn a copy of TraumatizeTraumatize into a Baron Von CountBaron Von Count trigger, if you'll pardon the awkward metaphor. There's better ways to mill our opponents out in Commander, but this enchantment creature is an interesting take on the theme.

Duskmourn played in some interesting design space, and we got some super cool commanders as a result. Marvin, Murderous MimicMarvin, Murderous Mimic and The Jolly Balloon ManThe Jolly Balloon Man are great cards, and the format is richer for having had them printed.

What's your favorite commander from the haunted house? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll be back next week with more Fire and Ice!