Combo creatures with counters

Commander / EDH Four Color GWUB Infinite Combo Multiplayer Theme/Gimmick

strongwalker

Land (36)

• 1x Alchemist's Refuge
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 4x Forest
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Grim Backwoods
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x High Market
• 3x Island
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 3x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Vault of the Archangel
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Bring to Light
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Duneblast
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Tezzeret's Gambit
• 1x Unburial Rites
• 1x Wargate

Creature (26)

• 1x Archangel of Thune
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Chasm Skulker
• 1x Corpsejack Menace
• 1x Crystalline Crawler
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Fathom Mage
• 1x Fertilid
• 1x Forgotten Ancient
• 1x Ghave, Guru of Spores
• 1x Glen Elendra Archmage
• 1x Gyre Sage
• 1x Hangarback Walker
• 1x Horizon Chimera
• 1x Kalonian Hydra
• 1x Kitchen Finks
• 1x Master Biomancer
• 1x Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
• 1x Prime Speaker Zegana
• 1x Sage of Hours
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Varolz, the Scar-Striped
• 1x Walking Archive
• 1x Winding Constrictor
• 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
• 1x Zameck Guildmage

Artifact (11)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Golgari Signet
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Selesnya Signet
• 1x Simic Signet
• 1x Sol Ring

Commanders (2)

Instant (12)

• 1x Abzan Charm
• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Bant Charm
• 1x Chord of Calling
• 1x Disdainful Stroke
• 1x Golgari Charm
• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Inspiring Call
• 1x Slaughter Pact
• 1x Sultai Charm
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Utter End

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Cathars' Crusade
• 1x Doubling Season
• 1x Evolutionary Leap
• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Retribution of the Ancients

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Maybeboard

Creature (47)

• 1x Altered Ego
• 1x Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
• 1x Armorcraft Judge
• 1x Bloodflow Connoisseur
• 1x Bloodspore Thrinax
• 1x Cartel Aristocrat
• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Cold-Eyed Selkie
• 1x Devoted Druid
• 1x Drogskol Reaver
• 1x Enduring Scalelord
• 1x Etched Oracle
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Experiment One
• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Genesis Hydra
• 1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
• 1x Hooded Hydra
• 1x Ivorytusk Fortress
• 1x Juniper Order Ranger
• 1x Knight of the Reliquary
• 1x Lumberknot
• 1x Managorger Hydra
• 1x Necropolis Regent
• 1x Oracle of Mul Daya
• 1x Pentavus
• 1x Phantom Nantuko
• 1x Phantom Nishoba
• 1x Phantom Nomad
• 1x Plaxcaster Frogling
• 1x Predator Ooze
• 1x Progenitor Mimic
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Renegade Krasis
• 1x Selvala, Explorer Returned
• 1x Sigil Captain
• 1x Simic Manipulator
• 1x Spike Feeder
• 1x Sporeback Troll
• 1x Triskelion
• 1x Trygon Predator
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
• 1x Vizier of Remedies
• 1x Vizier of the Menagerie
• 1x Vorel of the Hull Clade
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Instant (10)

• 1x Azorius Charm
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dimir Charm
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Fuel for the Cause
• 1x Simic Charm
• 1x Sphinx's Revelation
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Sylvan Reclamation
• 1x Unmake

Land (9)

• 1x Llanowar Reborn
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Temple of Deceit
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Temple of Mystery
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Temple of Silence

Artifact (6)

• 1x Astral Cornucopia
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thought Vessel

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Beck / Call
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Explosive Vegetation
• 1x Give / Take
• 1x Glimpse of Nature
• 1x Jarad's Orders
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Rout
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Treasure Cruise

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Bred for the Hunt
• 1x Burgeoning
• 1x Cryptolith Rite
• 1x Death's Presence
• 1x Fanatical Devotion
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Inexorable Tide
• 1x Unspeakable Symbol

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This is my new project: a +1/+1 counters themed combo deck incorporating a pseudo "modular" effect (see Arcbound Worker) and several favorite combos from past standard and commander decks.

Aside from giving access to four colors, the commanders are pure on-theme value. Reyhan, Last of the Abzan should be on the table as often as possible, as he makes the +1/+1 counters from creatures stick around even if the creature is removed or sacrificed. Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker provides additional +1/+1 counters for this engine.

There are several core categories of cards:

1) +1/+1 counter increasers: Corpsejack Menace, Hardened Scales, Winding Constrictor , and Doubling Season all increase the quantity of any +1/+1 counters added to my creatures. Archangel of Thune, Cathars' Crusade, Master Biomancer, Bloodspore Thrinax , and to some degree Inexorable Tide, Gavony Township, Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, and Juniper Order Ranger all add lots of +1/+1 counters to creatures in play.

2) +1/+1 counter abusers: creatures that benefit in ways other than power and toughness. Fathom Mage is great here, and Crystalline Crawler, Fertilid, Gyre Sage, Sage of Hours, Triskelion , and Walking Archive also add effects of varying significance. Retribution of the Ancients fits this role also.

3) sacrifice outlets: Reyhan does not trigger if the creature is unsummoned or exiled, so occasionally we will need to sacrifice our own creatures to be sure it gets to the graveyard. Sacrificing is also a key part in several of the combo wins. Varolz, the Scar-Striped, Yahenni, Undying Partisan, Greater Good , and Ashnod's Altar allow for sacrificing repeatedly at any time. High Market and Westvale Abbey   help to dodge removal.

A few cards can be mixed in with these to complete some nice combos/synergies:

Archangel of Thune + Fathom Mage + Horizon Chimera form an optional loop that combines the effects of Sphinx's Revelation and Overrun. The first two cards are in the core groups above, so Chimera is an easy addition.

While we're at it, Drogskol Reaver + Horizon Chimera form a not optional loop of card draw and life gain. We will definitely need one of the sacrifice outlets above to break this loop after we draw enough cards. This is really risky and only marginally improves the deck, but it's exactly the kind of crazy that Commander MTG is all about.

Kitchen Finks combos with any repeatable sacrifice outlet and one of the following Archangel of Thune, Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, Vizier of Remedies , Master Biomancer, Bloodspore Thrinax , Cathars' Crusade, or Juniper Order Ranger. This gains infinite life, and easily adds on the +1/+1 counter increasers and/or Reyhan for +1/+1 counters everywhere.

In a much less infinite way, Reyhan also works with the sacrifice outlets to dump +1/+1 counters on Triskelion or Walking Archive. Then you win by damage or milling (sort of) every remaining opponent. I'm dying to see the Walking Archive plan work out, but we'll have to wait and see if it is really feasible or not.

Sage of Hours can be a semi-infinite combo with Reyhan and Managorger Hydra, or with Forgotten Ancient. Or perhaps Cathars' Crusade. It really depends on how many increasers like Doubling Season are in play.

And then we get to Ghave, Guru of Spores, the king of accidental combos. With Cathars' Crusade + Crystalline Crawler he can make infinite tokens. With Ashnod's Altar and pretty much anything else, we get infinite mana and/or tokens. It is going to take a lot of puzzling out which arrangements of Hardened Scales and/or Reyhan, etc. make infinite loops with Ghave.

Unrelated to combos, we have several cards to prevent board wipes (Heroic Intervention and Inspiring Call) or power through them ( Chasm Skulker , Hangarback Walker, and Hooded Hydra).

The rest is a mix of ramp, tutors, card draw, counterspells, and spot removal. It needs a lot of tuning (as do the lands) and the "maybe-board" is long. Help is appreciated since this is a continual work in progress!

Date added	6 years
Last updated	6 years
Key combos	Archangel of Thune + Fathom Mage + Horizon Chimera Drogskol Reaver + Horizon Chimera Cathars' Crusade + Crystalline Crawler
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 50 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.00
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Saproling 1/1 G, Squid 1/1 U, Thopter 1/1 C
Folders	Current decks