New MTG Mono-Blue Uncommon Legend is a Ridiculous Infinite Combo Enabler

Reality Fracture is really pushing MTG’s boundaries, exploring some interesting and powerful design spaces. While the Empower Jace mechanic is perhaps the most potent example, many of MTG’s reimagined legends also have incredibly powerful abilities. Arni, Humble Scribe, for example, offers players a looter that goes infinite far too easily, making it a kill-on-sight card in Commander.

MTG Arni, Humble Scribe

Untapping after another nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, Arni, Humble Scribe goes infinite with a ham sandwich. Frankly, the number of infinites this card enables is so startlingly large that we can’t fit them all here, but this should at least give you an idea of what to expect.

As a baseline, if you can bounce any zero-mana creatures, Arni, Humble Scribe can draw through your deck, setting up a Thassa’s Oracle Thassa’s Oracle When this creature enters, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put up to one of them on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. (Each {U} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.) win. You can do this in a bunch of different ways, with Ornithopter Ornithopter Flying , Cloudstone Curio Cloudstone Curio Whenever a nonartifact permanent you control enters, you may return another permanent you control that shares a permanent type with it to its owner's hand. , and another zero-mana artifact being just one example. Throw Relic of Legends Relic of Legends {T}: Add one mana of any color.
Tap an untapped legendary creature you control: Add one mana of any color. in here, and this combo even creates infinite mana. Notably, Relic otherwise lets you loop Shrieking Drake Shrieking Drake Flying
When this creature enters, return a creature you control to its owner's hand. from your hand infinitely.

Perhaps the easiest way to set up infinite combos with Arni is by targeting him with Retraction Helix Retraction Helix Until end of turn, target creature gains "{T}: Return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand." or Banishing Knack Banishing Knack Until end of turn, target creature gains "{T}: Return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand." . This allows Arni to bounce a zero-drop creature like Memnite Memnite , or any mana-neutral creature like Palinchron Palinchron Flying
When this creature enters, untap up to seven lands.
{2}{U}{U}: Return this creature to its owner's hand. , to your hand infinitely. Entry effects like Altar of the Brood Altar of the Brood Whenever another permanent you control enters, each opponent mills a card. can easily win the game here, while trigger doublers like Roaming Throne Roaming Throne Ward {2}
As this creature enters, choose a creature type.
This creature is the chosen type in addition to its other types.
If a triggered ability of another creature you control of the chosen type triggers, it triggers an additional time. let Arni loot infinitely with the extra untaps.

Notably, since Arni’s trigger occurs when a creature enters the battlefield, cards like Panharmonicon Panharmonicon If an artifact or creature entering causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time. will actually double it, opening up more infinite combo lines. This makes the Relic of Legends and Shrieking Drake combo lethal, since Arni’s extra untaps can both generate infinite mana and draw your deck.

Heck, some of Arni’s combos can bypass his untap clause entirely. Pair a draw-doubler like Teferi’s Ageless Insight Teferi’s Ageless Insight If you would draw a card except the first one you draw in each of your draw steps, draw two cards instead. with Mind Over Matter Mind Over Matter Discard a card: You may tap or untap target artifact, creature, or land. , and Arni can draw through your entire library. Free creatures are just more cards here, letting you grow your hand size even further.

Throw in using Arni as a win condition for Blink infinites like Felidar Guardian Felidar Guardian When this creature enters, you may exile another target permanent you control, then return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control. and Restoration Angel Restoration Angel Flash
Flying
When this creature enters, you may exile target non-Angel creature you control, then return that card to the battlefield under your control. , and Arni will see a ton of Commander play while almost never being used fairly. While Arni’s floor of a few loots here is a bit low, it’s too easy to break this card, so kill it immediately if you see it at your Commander table.

Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew, and our brand new MTG Rocks Podcast!