Funky MTG Fight Commander Unlocks Infinite Damage And Token Combos

Though green is probably Magic’s weakest color overall in terms of creature removal, Wizards does throw it the occasional bone in the form of fight effects. Typically, such effects don’t translate well into Commander due to their single-use nature, but every rule has its exception. In this case, that exception comes in the form of Wayta, Trainer Prodigy: a unique MTG Commander that turns fighting into a regular event in your pod.

Wayta, Trainer Prodigy MTG

Wayta’s first ability gives you access to repeatable, instant-speed fights, which is fantastic for controlling the board in Commander. It’s particularly nice when paired with cheap Deathtouch creatures like Virulent Emissary Virulent Emissary Deathtouch
Whenever another creature you control enters, you gain 1 life. , or those that don’t care about damage like Phyrexian Vindicator Phyrexian Vindicator Flying
If damage would be dealt to this creature, prevent that damage. When damage is prevented this way, this creature deals that much damage to any other target. . Alongside ability doublers like Illusionist’s Bracers Illusionist’s Bracers Whenever an ability of equipped creature is activated, if it isn't a mana ability, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Equip {3} , and untappers like Seedborn Muse Seedborn Muse Untap all permanents you control during each other player's untap step. , this ability can put in a ton of work each turn cycle.

Strong as this ability is, it gets even stronger when you lean into the self-fighting playstyle that the rest of Wayta’s text encourages. Not only do you get cheaper fight activations if you do this, but you can also take advantage of Wayta’s unique 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. effect for damage triggers. Suddenly, cards like Screaming Nemesis Screaming Nemesis Haste
Whenever this creature is dealt damage, it deals that much damage to any other target. If a player is dealt damage this way, they can't gain life for the rest of the game. can shut down lifegain for two players at once, and Silverclad Ferocidons Silverclad Ferocidons Enrage — Whenever this creature is dealt damage, each opponent sacrifices a permanent of their choice. can take out two permanents per opponent.

Appropriately enough, given Wayta’s Ixalan home and visual theming, many of the best damage synergy creatures happen to be Dinosaurs. You can use bangers like Trapjaw Tyrant Trapjaw Tyrant Enrage — Whenever this creature is dealt damage, exile target creature an opponent controls until this creature leaves the battlefield. for more repeatable removal, for example, or make your board extra-sticky with Temple Altisaur Temple Altisaur If a source would deal damage to another Dinosaur you control, prevent all but 1 of that damage. . This makes a full-on Typal list, leveraging cards 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. and Otepec Huntmaster Otepec Huntmaster Dinosaur spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
{T}: Target Dinosaur gains haste until end of turn. , a very strong possibility here.

There’s a ton of value to be gained with Wayta’s ability, but it does pose the problem of potentially killing two of your creatures each time. To get around that, protection effects, like Mithril Coat Mithril Coat Flash
Indestructible
When Mithril Coat enters, attach it to target legendary creature you control.
Equipped creature has indestructible.
Equip {3} and Heroic Intervention Heroic Intervention Permanents you control gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. , will let your creatures fight with no worries. Alternatively you can dip into repeatable graveyard recursion with cards like Emeritus of Abundance Emeritus of Abundance Vigilance
This creature enters prepared.
Whenever this creature attacks, if you control eight or more lands, this creature becomes prepared. , and offset your lost creatures that way.

Cutthroat Combo Carnage

While you can get a long way just using Wayta’s abilities fairly, it gets far scarier when you factor in its myriad infinite combo lines. With Cacophodon Cacophodon Enrage — Whenever this creature is dealt damage, untap target permanent. and a creature that can tap for damage like Cunning Sparkmage Cunning Sparkmage Haste
{T}: This creature deals 1 damage to any target. , for example, you can generate infinite mana. Simply grant Cacophodon Indestructible with something like Boros Charm Boros Charm Choose one —
• Boros Charm deals 4 damage to target player or planeswalker.
• Permanents you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
• Target creature gains double strike until end of turn. , then tap Sparkmage to deal it one damage. You’ll then get two untap triggers, letting you untap a land as well as Sparkmage to keep the loop going.

In a similar vein, Wayta can leverage an Indestructible Cacophodon alongside Polyraptor Polyraptor Enrage — Whenever this creature is dealt damage, create a token that's a copy of this creature. to generate infinite 5/5 Polyraptor tokens. Wayta can make the two creatures fight for one green, which will net you two Polyraptor tokens and two untaps. Untap Wayta and a green source, and you can rinse and repeat, also generating infinite creature deaths if you keep making the same Polyraptors fight each time. This lets you win via combat, or through something like Impact Tremors Impact Tremors Whenever a creature you control enters, this enchantment deals 1 damage to each opponent. .

If you’d rather get straight to the point, Wayta can also just deal infinite damage to all of your opponents when paired with an Indestructible Boros Reckoner Boros Reckoner Whenever this creature is dealt damage, it deals that much damage to any target.
{R/W}: This creature gains first strike until end of turn. . As soon as Reckoner takes damage, you’ll get to dish out two instances of damage yourself thanks to its ability. Direct one at an opponent, then one back at Reckoner to keep the loop going. This combo also works with Screaming Nemesis, Spitemare Spitemare Whenever this creature is dealt damage, it deals that much damage to any target. , and any creature equipped with Blazing Sunsteel Blazing Sunsteel Equipped creature gets +1/+0 for each opponent you have.
Whenever equipped creature is dealt damage, it deals that much damage to any target.
Equip {4} , so there’s plenty of redundancy available.

Cheap and Cheerful

Wayta, Trainer Prodigy is not only a very powerful MTG Commander, but it’s extremely unique, too. Repeatable fighting is rare enough on its own, but doubling your damage triggers just straight-up doesn’t exist outside of this legend. This makes the various shenanigans Wayta can pull off unique, which in turn means most pods won’t be prepared to deal with them in advance.

Despite the considerable advantages of running a Wayta deck, the card isn’t as popular a Commander as you’d think. According to EDHREC data, in fact, just 6,936 players run this Naya legend in the command zone. It fares a little better in the 99, showing up in around 9,310 decks there, but it’s still far more niche than you’d expect for such a potent effect.

Fortunately, this low popularity also translates into a low price for Wayta right now, meaning you can pick up copies on the cheap. Near-mint base copies are currently available on TCGplayer for just $0.25, and even the fancy extended-art foil will only set you back $1.99 if you want to bling out. At these prices, Wayta is a fantastic pickup for everything from a dangerous Dinosaur Typal deck to an offbeat Naya Combo brew.

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!