Aetherflux ReservoirAetherflux Reservoir | Art by Cliff Childs

I was a slow adopter of infinite combos. I hated them, initially. It felt like cheating. Especially when it was early in the game, with your commander and one other card. It just felt like there was no point in playing if it was all futile.

The more I played high power, the more I realized that infinite combos can also be a little escape hatch when someone locks you out of your initial strategy. I learned to appreciate the usefulness and the flexibility of an infinite combo. It was how and when a combo was played that bothered me, not the combo itself.

Here at EDHREC, writers have shared their favorite combos and how they work. Let's explore what Josh Nelson calls "Crimes against Commander": infinite combos.

Josh Nelson

"(A combo) I love to run in my mono-blue deck led by The Reality ChipThe Reality Chip is Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle + Thought LashThought Lash. (Starting off super strong!) I love that I can respond to the Thassa’s trigger by exiling my entire library at which point it's really only stopped by a Stifle effect or a full board wipe. If those don’t occur then I simply win!"

I love how tenuous this win is. A well-timed Tishana's TidebinderTishana's Tidebinder or Spider-SenseSpider-Sense after exiling the library is brutal. It's also the sort of combo where all the pieces are useful outside of the combo, in a deck that wants to manipulate the top of the library.

Brian Cain

"Ratadrabik of UrborgRatadrabik of Urborg goes infinite with any creature that Ring-tempts when it enters or leaves the battlefield. Samwise the StoutheartedSamwise the Stouthearted is a great example. Sacrifice Sam, Ratadrabik makes a token copy, which can Ring-tempt itself making it legendary again. Now sac the token Sam and repeat.

"You can do a bunch of things like infinite surveil if your sac outlet is Umbral Collar ZealotUmbral Collar Zealot, you can tap the token before you sac it to make infinite mana with Relic of LegendsRelic of Legends, or simply win the game with Blasting StationBlasting Station or Altar of DementiaAltar of Dementia."

I also run this combo. I love how at instant speed you can put your win on top of anything trying to stop it. It's very versatile and requires a lot set-up. You need to think about something that tempts and is legendary, Ratadrabik, and the repeatable mill effect. It's still really cool though.

Alex Wicker

"Alright...from my Kozilek, the Great DistortionKozilek, the Great Distortion list. First up is Rings of BrighthearthRings of Brighthearth, Deserted TempleDeserted Temple, and Scorched RuinsScorched Ruins. Tap ruins for 4 colorless, activate temple targeting ruins, pay for rings to copy temple targeting itself, and you've netted 1 colorless mana. It's pretty fun because most people I've played with anticipate Rings to be followed by Basalt MonolithBasalt Monolith, only to be surprised that my lands are additionally an infinite mana engine."

I love how many pieces you need to make this work. It's also hard to tutor in this color (or lack of color). It's fun and hard to interact with because of the fact that the combo requires lands.

Chris Guest

"As a Premodern player, I have to mention my beloved combo of AlurenAluren, PandemoniumPandemonium, and your choice of bounce creature (Shrieking DrakeShrieking Drake, Cavern HarpyCavern Harpy, Fleetfoot PantherFleetfoot Panther, etc.) There are multiple variants that work, but I've had the most fun surprising folks in my Terra, Magical AdeptTerra, Magical Adept deck with this finicky, dated combo, though any Enchantress commander would work (so long as the colors line up)."

This is such an interesting combo, allowing for flash-speed interaction, bouncing and burn. It's such a weird interaction that requires a decent amount of mana to make work.

Kara Blinebry

"Kiki-Jiki, Mirror BreakerKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Corridor MonitorCorridor Monitor is my Bracket 4 Malcolm, the Eyes tempo deck's combo finish, evoking the dominant play pattern from Modern in 2015. It's incredibly simple, just tap Kiki-Jiki, making a copy of Corridor that then enters and untaps Kiki-Jiki, repeat an infinite number of times and make infinite hasty 1/4s. This is easily the combo I've resolved the most, and it plays better with my deck's suite of tutors (namely Imperial RecruiterImperial Recruiter and Whir of InventionWhir of Invention) than the Splinter TwinSplinter Twin-based variations. My first ever 60 to 100 article was building a Jeskai deck that aimed to do the same thing!"

This is a very versatile combo because of how simple it is. Kiki-Jiki is the king of combos though. It's a fairly inexpensive combo too and only requires a few cards. It's very decisive.

Jesse Barker Plotkin

"From my Zimone, Quandrix ProdigyZimone, Quandrix Prodigy deck, I loved going infinite with Retreat to CoralhelmRetreat to Coralhelm and any creature that can tap to put a land into play like Sakura-Tribe ScoutSakura-Tribe Scout. With a bounce land like Simic Growth ChamberSimic Growth Chamber that generates infinite landfall, and Amulet of VigorAmulet of Vigor turns it into infinite mana as well. There are a lot of pieces needed, but they're already good cards in the deck and there's good redundancy for a lot of them. I enjoyed emulating the play patterns of the Amulet Titan decks in Modern, but with dorky little creatures and way too many moving pieces."

"Infinite landfall triggers" is a good finisher with something like Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar or Scute SwarmScute Swarm. Or even Ob Nixilis, the FallenOb Nixilis, the Fallen in a Sultai deck. It's a fun little combo.

DougY

"The combo that took Iron Man, Titan of InnovationIron Man, Titan of Innovation to the next level is actually the one that I missed in my article on the subject: Esoteric DuplicatorEsoteric Duplicator, Krark-Clan IronworksKrark-Clan Ironworks, and Ugin's NexusUgin's Nexus.

"The most important part of the combo is the card that you're re-reading right now, Esoteric DuplicatorEsoteric Duplicator, as it makes a copy of an artifact you sacrifice at end step, if you pay two mana. With Iron Man specifically, this means you can do something rather ludicrous here, and Pod your way up from Duplicator to Krark-Clan IronworksKrark-Clan Ironworks with Iron Man. If you can then get to your end step, you enter a world where you can sacrifice and bring back any artifact you control (including Iron Man) at each end step, for free as the Ironworks mana pays for the Duplicator trigger.

"This makes it much easier to get to your next turn, where you can then Pod Ironworks with Iron Man to go get Ugin's NexusUgin's Nexus, bring it back at end step with Duplicator, and while in your end step, sacrifice Ugin's NexusUgin's Nexus to take an extra turn, paying the two with the Ironworks mana to make another copy at your next end step, getting around the pesky "don't take extra turns" rider of Ugin's NexusUgin's Nexus to instead take infinite extra turns."

Infinite turns is definitely a difficult thing to let resolve. It's got a lot of moving parts and decent mana cost. Krark-Clan IronworksKrark-Clan Ironworks is definitely a good way to meet that mana requirement if the deck is an artifact deck.

John Sherwood

"My favorite is in my Rhys the RedeemedRhys the Redeemed, 1-drops only, Elf typal deck. I can make infinite mana and infinite Elf Warrior tokens with Rhys, Seedcradle WitchSeedcradle Witch and Birchlore RangersBirchlore Rangers. It takes 20 Elf tokens to start the sequence. Tap the tokens with Birchlore to make 10 mana. Activate Rhys to double the number of tokens. Activate the Witch to untap Rhys. Rinse and repeat, doubling tokens and mana produced each time. In addition to Elf-balling to a combat win, the deck has mana sinks that can close the game, like Viridian LongbowViridian Longbow and Helix PinnacleHelix Pinnacle."

I love a combo that requires a little infinite mana. Tapping and untapping is so goated. This combo needs a lot of pieces but is very resilient and instant speed. It is susceptible to a little interaction though.

Cas Hinds (me)

My favorite combo in all of my decks would probably have to be Ratadrabik of UrborgRatadrabik of Urborg; Boromir, Warden of the TowerBoromir, Warden of the Tower; and Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim in my Dihada, Binder of WillsDihada, Binder of Wills Legendary Reanimator deck. I like this combo because it's expensive to make happen, has lots of moving parts, but is the sort of thing I could make happen with a Living DeathLiving Death and all my pieces in the graveyard. Brian Cain stole my thunder on how it works so I'll share one more.

In my Prosper, Tome-BoundProsper, Tome-Bound deck I play Sensei's Divining TopSensei's Divining Top, Bolas's CitadelBolas's Citadel, and Aetherflux ReservoirAetherflux Reservoir. It's a sorcery speed infinite combo with a lot of room to dismantle. A well-timed AbradeAbrade could stop it in its tracks, but I like that this combo requires a lot of mana and set-up.

I cast Sensei's Divining TopSensei's Divining Top, increasing my storm count for Aetherflux ReservoirAetherflux Reservoir, gaining the life necessary to put it back on top and casting it again with Bolas's CitadelBolas's Citadel. I repeat that until I have enough life to shoot each player to death with Aetherflux ReservoirAetherflux Reservoir.

Conclusion

Infinite combos aren't for everyone, but it's important to consider what they do for a game. Most times they're very decisive. They end a game. A lot of the combos in this list are very interesting and powerful, but require a decent amount of set-up.

Do these get a pass? Let us know which ones are your favorites or if you play them at all. I'm @strixhavendropout on everything.