On Monday, the Final Fantasy Commander decks were all revealed in their entirety. As usual, each of these precons brings a unique theme and mechanical focus. For the Final Fantasy Commander decks in particular, each one also focuses on a different game. Whether you’re a fan of Equipment decks or a +1/+1 counter focus, there’s something for everyone.
Interestingly, though, the Final Fantasy X Precon, Counter Blitz, which focuses on counters, has something a little extra packed into it. While most Precons are designed to be quite casual, this one actually features a three-card infinite combo. Not only that, but if you’re fortunate enough to curve out nicely with the three cards, you can win the game as early as turn three! Let’s take a look at how the combo works.
Walking Ballista Combos With Everything
The centerpiece of this Commander deck combo is, unsurprisingly, Walking Ballista. Walking Ballista is a card that lends itself to a boatload of different infinite damage combos. The card is even banned in Pioneer, in part due to its synergy with Heliod, Sun-Crowned.
In this Precon, though, the other two cards that enable you to put infinite counters on your Walking Ballista are Hardened Scales and Gatta and Luzzu. Gatta and Luzzu is a new Final Fantasy MTG Commander legend with a sweet enters effect. This card lets you prevent all damage that would be dealt to one of your Creatures for a turn, netting +1/+1 counters on that Creature equal to the amount of damage prevented.
The goal is to Flash in Gatta and Luzzu, targeting Walking Ballista. As long as Walking Ballista is a 2/2 or bigger, you’re free to remove a +1/+1 counter from it, targeting itself. Thanks to Gatta and Luzzu’s ability, instead of being dealt one damage, Walking Ballista will instead get a +/+1 counter.
By itself, this is a neutral exchange. With Hardened Scales in the picture, though, Walking Ballista will actually get two +1/+1 counters for each point of damage prevented. As such, you simply repeat the process of removing +1/+1 counters from Walking Ballista to ping itself, and you’ll end up with an infinitely large damage-spewing machine.
Theoretically, you can play Hardened Scales turn one, Walking Ballista as a 2/2 turn two, and Gatta and Luzzu turn three for a turn-three kill. This is pretty brutal for a Precon, even if it is rather difficult to set up without major. The good news is that the Precon lacks tutors, so you shouldn’t need to worry if you want to bring the deck to a low-powered pod.
Not Done Yet
Funnily enough, Walking Ballista is only one piece away from going infinite alongside Yuna, Grand Summoner, as well. By tapping Yuna, you net one mana and your next Creature spell enters with two additional +1/+1 counters.
By enchanting Yuna with Freed from the Real or Pemmin’s Aura, that floating mana can be used to untap Yuna. Repeating this process over and over ensures that the next Creature you cast will enter with as many +1/+1 counters as you want. If that Creature happens to be Walking Ballista, you’ll win the game on the spot.
Freed from the Real and Pemmin’s Aura are not in the Precon currently. Nonetheless, they could be worthy additions if you’re looking to upgrade the deck, especially if you choose to utilize Yuna as your Commander of choice. This just goes to show how easy it is to go infinite with Walking Ballista, and why it’s a bit surprising to see its inclusion in the Precon to begin with.
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