Why aren't infinite combos unstoppable?
Asked by Genderfluidia 5 years ago
So, suppose an artifact and an enchantment infinite combo together, and someone Disenchant's one of them- I was thinking, theoretically, that the disenchant could just get buried in the stack, under the infinite combo's triggers, and never resolve, and I know it doesn't work like that, but my question is: why not?
Genderfluidia says... #2
Hi, sorry for the confusion. I guess I was mostly wondering about combos where both factors are triggered abilities, so say Niv-Mizzet, Parun and Curiosity
April 21, 2020 4:59 a.m.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun and Curiosity is very similar. Responding to any of the triggers and removing either permanent will stop the infinite combo, unless the opponent can respond by drawing a card in any way to keep the combo going in response.
Plus that combo is limited by the size of your library, so it is not really an infinite one.
April 21, 2020 6:11 a.m.
While it's possible to interrupt Niv-Mizzet, Parun, it is a harder scenario because you'll need to do it without casting any instant or sorcery spells. You can add to the stack an ability that will remove either Mizzet or Curiosity, and this would interrupt the combo if it were to resolve. But if anybody casts a single instant or sorcery spell while that's still on the stack, then Mizzet's controller will draw another card and restart the combo, with the removal then getting buried underneath it in the stack.
April 21, 2020 7:50 a.m.
Tylord2894 says... #5
Like Yesterday said, this combo is not unbeatable. Commonly played EDH cards like Reclamation Sage would stop you from drawing your library (but not at instant speed), but even common, troublesome removal spells like Krosan Grip can't stop this combo.
Tylord2894 says... #1
Since you didn't often a specific combo, I can't help you with specifics. That said, the vast major of combos have key points where they can be stopped. The trick is to find this point. Now, not all combos have this magical point, but most do. If at any point you're confused, ask your opponent to explain the combo better.
Let's take the Mesmeric Orb and Basalt Monolith combo as an example. The goal is to use the orb to mill yourself as much as you'd like. The spets of this are as follows. Use the monolith to generate . You then spend this mana to untap the monolith. This triggers the orb. Mill and repeat.
So, how can you interaction with it? Well, you can't respond to the Mana ability, but you can respond to them activating the untap ability. At this point, you can destroy either artifact; however, if they have 3 more mana, they can activate the untap ability again and continue. After they untap, you can respond to the orb trigger, but if you do, they can respond by doing the loop again. So, you're only way to stop it is after they activate the untap ability.
Depending on the format you play, there are likely deck techs, primers, or even articles you can read about most major combos, but to really understand what's going on, you need to have a working knowledge of how the stack works.
Hope this helps!
April 20, 2020 8:26 p.m.