MTG - Startled Awake or Archive Trap: Which is Better for Mill Decks?

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Startled Awake is one of the more flavorful mill cards ever printed. But it seems that Archive Trap is simply better in most respects. The fact that you can cast it for free when an opponent searches their library. That happens quite a bit. But people have been brewing with the full four copies of Archive Trap, plus a couple copies of Startled Awake. In Standard, where you don’t have Startled Awake, it's a decent way to speed up the Sphinx's Tutelage kill by completely depleting your opponent’s deck. Albeit, it’s a bit slow. People are trying it, though. In Standard, there is no Archive Trap, so in that format, it’s the next best thing.

Persistent Nightmare is Startled Awake's flipside. It costs 3UU - 5 mana - to bring it back from the graveyard. You can also only put in on the battlefield during your turn, so you have to commit to it taking most of your turn. Then it needs another turn in order to attack. It's pretty slow. However, the recursion, regardless of how slow or is,  is a feature and not a drawback of the card.

Obviously, if you’re not worried about playing Standard, Glimpse the Unthinkable is better, milling 10 cards for only 2 mana. But it's also expensive moneywise - $30 a copy! So if anything, Archive Trap won't be replaced. It would be Glimpse the Unthinkable for those that can't afford it. Alongside popular Mill cards like Mind Funeral and Mind Grind, having a couple of copies to replace Glimpse or less efficient mill cards may be worth it.

Yes, Archive Trap is better from a pure efficiency standpoint. But it wouldn't be replaced in the decks that want it anyhow. Startled awake was designed to be a limited bomb that players who love mill would gravitate too. It may actually make the entry cost of mill decks a bit lower, too.

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