Exquisite BloodExquisite Blood | Art by Cynthia Sheppard | Sanguine BondSanguine Bond | Art by Jaime Jones
Welcome to Combo Week here on EDHREC! Combo voting is live from April 8th to 12th. So go vote on combos to tell us where you think they should fall in the Bracket System.
With over 30,600 unique cards legal in the Commander format, there are sure to be some combinations that have special interactions when brought together. Today, we're focusing on simple combos that are possible with just two cards and within a single color identity.
Let's use Commander Spellbook to find popular monocolored combos and look into Magic history to see just how we got here.
White
Ever since Healing SalveHealing Salve, white has cared about gaining life.
In Commander, this penchant for lifegain has led to a combo that can grant its controller infinite life and the potential to deal infinite damage: Heliod, Sun-CrownedHeliod, Sun-Crowned combined with Walking BallistaWalking Ballista or TriskelionTriskelion.
Heliod, Sun-CrownedHeliod, Sun-Crowned and Walking BallistaWalking Ballista – 44,894 decks
Just use Heliod to give the Ballista (or Triskelion) lifelink, remove a +1/+1 counter to deal one damage, use Heliod to put a counter back on the artifact creature, and repeat forever! And if you're okay only having access to white and colorless cards, Heliod can even be your commander.
Blue
Ever since TwiddleTwiddle, blue has cared about untapping permanents.
Urza's block introduced players to cards that untapped lands equal to their mana costs, which is ripe for combo potential. And finally, after had begun sharing the "flicker" ability with in cards like Momentary BlinkMomentary Blink and Turn to MistTurn to Mist, Avacyn Restored marked the first set with a devoted array of mono-blue cards that could blink permanents.
As a result, Peregrine DrakePeregrine Drake found a perfect partner in Deadeye NavigatorDeadeye Navigator, leading to a very popular Commander combo.
Peregrine DrakePeregrine Drake and Deadeye NavigatorDeadeye Navigator – 40,216 decks
Once you have both these creatures on the battlefield and soulbonded together, you just need to spend to start the chain. Blinking the Drake will unlock five lands, allowing you to continue blinking – but getting more and more mana each time.
Importantly, once you have infinite mana, you can blink the Deadeye and attach it to a different creature that cares about entering the battlefield – maybe something like MulldrifterMulldrifter or ArchaeomancerArchaeomancer. With access to infinite mana alongside every card in your deck or infinite casts of an instant or sorcery, you should be able to find a way to win.
Black
Ever since Drain LifeDrain Life, black has harmed opponents while gaining life at the same time.
Beginning with Sanguine BondSanguine Bond in Magic 2010, more and more black abilities started triggering off of lifegain. Many of these cards also cause opponents to lose life when this happens.
A few years after this enchantment was printed, Avacyn Restored introduced it to a new friend: Exquisite BloodExquisite Blood.
Sanguine BondSanguine Bond and Exquisite BloodExquisite Blood – 127,793 decks
When combined together, these black enchantments complement each other perfectly: life gain for you leads to life loss for an opponent and life loss for an opponent leads to life gain for you. The end result: infinite life gain for you, infinite life loss for opponents.
The perfectly symbiotic and simple relationship between these two cards has made them the second most popular two-card combo in the format, only behind cEDH special Demonic ConsultationDemonic Consultation + Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle.
While there are many ways to trigger the Bond half of the combo (including Vito, Thorn of the Dusk RoseVito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose in the command zone), there is only one other stand-in for the Blood half: Bloodthirsty ConquerorBloodthirsty Conqueror.
Red
Ever since ForkFork, red has copied spells.
Beginning with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror BreakerKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and expanding in following years with Heat ShimmerHeat Shimmer and Splinter TwinSplinter Twin, this color gained the ability to copy creatures as well.
While blue cards like Deceiver ExarchDeceiver Exarch and PestermitePestermite provide a well-known infinite combo with Kiki-Jiki/Twin, there are also fitting options in mono-red like Zealous ConscriptsZealous Conscripts, Combat CelebrantCombat Celebrant, Port RazerPort Razer, and Fear of Missing OutFear of Missing Out. Each of these creatures allows you to untap the Goblin Shaman, leading to infinite creatures and/or infinite combat steps.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror BreakerKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous ConscriptsZealous Conscripts – 27,079 decks
Green
Ever since Llanowar ElvesLlanowar Elves, green creatures have tapped for mana.
An Elf tapping for just isn't going to enable any sorts of broken combos anytime soon. But with Urza's Saga, a super-charged version of this effect got printed in Priest of TitaniaPriest of Titania. Now, a single creature has the potential to create boatloads of mana – but how can we best use it?
A few years later, Fifth Dawn introduced the ultimate mana sink: Staff of DominationStaff of Domination. With five Elves on the battlefield, this combo allows you to first tap the Priest for , then use to untap it with the Staff, then use to untap the Staff itself. Now you're in the same starting position, but you have netted .
This means infinite mana, and with the Staff available, it also means infinite life, taps, untaps, and draws as well. That should be enough to win.
Priest of TitaniaPriest of Titania and Staff of DominationStaff of Domination – 29,299 decks
Over the years, there are plenty of cards to add to the Priest half of the combo, whether they are creatures that care about defendersdefenders, devotiondevotion, creatures in generalcreatures in general, or powerpower. Meanwhile, Umbral MantleUmbral Mantle is a fitting replacement for the Staff. You won't get to draw your deck, but you'll still have infinite mana with the added bonus of infinitely powerful creatures.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading along! Do you have any devoted combos in your monocolored decks? What about simple combos that only require a single color that you think are under the radar? Let the EDHREC community know in the comments below, and see you next time.
Ezra Sassaman
Based in Maine, Ezra started playing Magic around when Ravnica: City of Guilds came out and hasn't looked back since! Besides Commander, he enjoys any format where you can look across the whole history of the game, so Cube drafting has a special place in his heart!
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