Even though I felt this would be the easiest blog to write for during my [4x Blog] 2016 A to Z Challenge participation, I found myself ill-prepared. I left it for last, knowing I own tens of thousands of cards, believing I could just easily pull a selection.

In my scurrying for a card to feature in this entry, I almost went with Aether Vial. I like it a lot, but I've never actually played with it beyond playtesting a potential deck I wanted to try at a local Grand Prix tournament. I had them pulled out when I happened upon Altar of Dementia and was hit with some nostalgic feels. I'm not sure why my Altar of Dementias were in the more expensive section, but it's likely because I haven't updated my collection in some time. Maybe they were worth more a few years back? Maybe they hold more personal value?!

This was once one of my brother's favorite cards. May still be. I believe a mutual friend of ours bought a lithograph of the artwork, which is really awesome! I'm not sure I ever viewed it as a favorite or not, but I've always really liked it. To be honest, throughout this A to Z Challenge,  you may find many featured cards revolving around the "Mill" mechanic (where a player places a number of cards from the top of their deck into their graveyard). Not gonna lie, I love Mill!

Be that as it may, despite some very lazy, but well-intentioned efforts, my brother and I never really played much Mill outside of casual games and/or the random Friday Night Magic (FNM) event. Zombie Mill won me a game once, just saying...

Once.

Anyhow, Altar of Dementia is definitely a card I was excited about being reprinted in Magic's Conspiracy set. The main reason being I could finally get my hands on some foils, which weren't a thing back when the original was printed (Tempest). Again, spoiler alert, this A to Z may be full of foils as well... Unfortunately, to this day, I haven't purchased any foil Altar of Dementias. I better get on that!

While the card may never be high-end, though I'd imagine it's used a bit in Commander (a Magic format), I will always enjoy using it in casual brews just for the fun factor. That is, until Mill eventually explodes and dominates the competitive scene! dun Dun DUN!

Have you ever played with Altar of Dementia? Do you own any official Magic: The Gathering art? Is Mill a lost cause for competitive Magic? Do you have a favorite Mill card?