We're in the midst of the Modern Horizons 3 spoiler storm and every day we are flooded by new previews of what is the most awaited set of the year. Unlike a regular set, here the power level of the cards is much higher, with the aim of shaking up Modern, the MTG Arena formats where it will be legal: Historic, Timeless and Brawl, and, who knows, even the eternal formats. Wherever we look, we find strong or very interesting cards and, with so much discussion material, we are spoiled for choice where to start.
Let's begin from the fun part, shall we? Everybody loves infinite combos, so let's take a look at the best ones found among the spoilered cards so far!
Warren Soultrader
As a Goblin lover, there couldn't have been a better start than with Warren Soultrader! At any time it allows you to swap creatures for treasures at the cost of 1 life, excellent for ramping Muxus, fizzling enemy removals and getting mana to rebuild from a mass removal. If already it seems good, wait until you see the best part, since it's possible to exploit its ability as a combo engine. Look what she can do together with her Goblin siblings!
Soultrader kicks off the combo by sacrificing a creature for a treasure. Take R mana from it, Krenko triggers, and create a Goblin token which will serve to repeat the process. Pashalik Mons is the finisher, pinging the opponent until death if our life total is greater than them or controlling the board by hitting creatures.
I know, I lied! Because of Pashalik the combo is not actually infinite, but you just need to replace it with something drains life, like Blood Artist, to repeat it as many time as you want. However, I believe this combo is more exploitable if played in a deck with only Goblins and that's why I preferred to leave it like this.
Oh true, Warren Soultrader is also a Zombie! Well, let's see what we can do with the other tribe too:
By sacrificing Gravecrawler, we can cast it back from the graveyard with the treasure and repeat the process. In the meantime Blood Artist give us back the 1 life spent for each loop and it works as a finisher. It's sweet, right? But the best part is that, without enemy interactions, this is actually a turn 3 combo kill:
T1. Gravecrawler
T2. Blood Artist
Sadly we don't have Gravecrawler on MTG Arena currently, therefore it's a combo intended only for Modern or general Paper Magic but, don't worry, there's already an alternative:
Just replace Gravecrawler with Forsaken Miner and the combo will work as well as seen before, but be careful, there are a couple of things you need to know:
- The turn 3 win doesn't work here! By sacrificing Miner, Blood Artist's triggered ability will overlap with Soultrader's. This way the crime will be committed before the treasure is created and we won't have the mana needed to bring Miner back.
- Since you have to commit a crime, you need a finisher that targets, like Blood Artist, while it wouldn't work with cards like Zulaport Cutthroat or the new Marionette Apprentice.
Personally I'm curious to try out this combo in Historic, where Forsaken Miner already goes off with Goblin Bombardment. Instead of Blood Artist I would consider Mayhem Devil, that's not infinite for the combo, but can be more appropriate for the type of deck and because it triggers with the sacrificed treasures too.
Lastly I just mention Soultrader can be used as a sacrifice engine for the already known Samwise-Cat combo, taking the place of Bartolomé del Presidio or Woe Strider. The 1 life paid is returned by Familiar, so the loop is infinite.
Basking Broodscale
The next combo engine is the Eldrazi version of Basking Rootwalla, iconic card of the old Madness deck. Just like Scurry Oak, it creates creature tokens whenever it gets at least one +1/+1 counter and consequently it can make combo in the same way with Rosie Cotton of South Lane or Heliod, Sun-Crowned.
Just cast Rosie Cotton with Broodscale already on the battlefield to get the job done: Rosie triggers by itself creating the Food token and she puts a +1/+1 counter on the Broodscale. A 0/1 Eldrazi Spawn token is generated, which triggers Rosie again, repeating the process.
This is potentially a turn 3 win, as it's possible to curve out with Broodscale on turn 2 and Rosie on turn 3, ending up with a lizard large enough to attack for lethal!
The combo with Heliod works in a similar way, but a third piece is needed, giving us life for each creature enters. I showed Case of the Uneaten Feast because as non-creature it's more difficult to remove, but Soul Warden or the new Guide of Souls are equally valid alternatives.
Sadly, unlike Scurry Oak, Brooscale generates infinite 0/1 tokens and not 1/1 ones, which, even if they give us infinite colorless mana, cannot attack for lethal the following turn if the lizard is chumpblocked and then killed. For this reason I believe Broodscale, despite having a lower mana value, is not better than Scurry Oak and will not end up replacing it, but at the most they can be played together.
However, Broodscale is not just a bad copy of Scurry Oak because there are things this little lizard can do that the Treefolk can't!
This is another combo exclusive to Paper Magic. Blade of the Boodchief puts +1/+1 counters when a creature dies, but Eldrazi Spawn can sacrifice itself for mana, so it ends up with a massive Broodscale, besides infinite colorless mana. Like with Rosie, this is also a potential turn 3 win:
T3. Equip + Adapt 1
It's incredible, right, what just a common can do? Wait a minute! Since it's a common, let's check what's up for the Pauper format!
Sadistic Glee is an Aura does exactly what the vampiric blade does! The fact we are in a weaker format doesn't stop our mighty lizard because, once again, you can win the game by comboing on turn 3:
T1. —
T2. Basking Brooscale
T3. Sadistic Glee + Adapt 1
Of course, Broodscale by its own could not be enough since it can be chumpblocked for days, so you probably better get value from those infinite Eldrazi Spawns. You could just add to the mix Lampad of Death's Vigil or Falkenrath Noble as a finisher, or Sylvok Lifestaff to gain infinite life on the spot (because of the infinite mana) as most of the time it's enough to win in Pauper!
Primal Prayers
I left the best for last, because today's last combo enabler is maybe the strongest one and will probably see play in both Historic and Modern.
Primal Prayers is the new and fixed version of Aluren! Same mana cost, same creature size and same flash as a bonus. The difference is that it's not symmetrical for the opponent, but moreover it uses the energy mechanic.
Thanks to Guide of Souls, we gain 1 energy every time Acererak enters, and we use it to cast it again once it's back in our hand. In fact, the important thing is just to never enter the "Tomb of Annihilation" dungeon, preferring instead "Dungeon of the Mad Mage" but even more "Lost Mine of Phandelver" which contains the drain 1 life option, allowing us to ping the opponent until death.
Side note: Since this can become a long process on MTG Arena, requiring several clicks, it's possible to consider Ominous Traveler as an alternative to Acererak to save time, but be aware it has a very small chance to fizzle! In fact, of the 15 cards in their spellbook, there are 3 with a mana value of 4 or higher and therefore there's a possibility all 3 together are proposed as choices to draft from, but they can't be casted with Primal Prayers.
Greenbelt Rampager is another piece goes in combo with the new Aluren, given that, if we don't have already 2 energies we are forced to pay, it will continuously return to our hand providing us with 1 energy for the next cast.
There can be various ways to abuse this loop: with Satoru, the Infiltrator you can draw the entire library; cast Rogue Refiner or any similar creature to accumulate energy and go deep; cast Witty Roastmaster or Corpse Knight pinging the opponent; or just take advantage of the storm count generated by the elephant using Chatterstorm or Grapeshot.
That's all for today! Modern Horizons 3 spoilers are still ongoing and we've only scratched the surface. I'm sure many more combos and strong synergies will come out or maybe are already there, ready to be discovered by someone. And, who knows, that one could be you!
