Avatar spoilers continue to come out in full force, and there’s a multitude of strong printings to look forward to. From spells that steal your opponent’s turn to artifact engines that let you cast spells for free, this set isn’t holding back on the creativity of its designs.
Beyond just the individual power of a lot of the new cards, many of them open the door for sweet new two and three-card combos. For EDH enthusiasts that are looking for some sweet synergies to build around, look no further.
Infinite Combat Steps
One of the most interesting mechanics in Avatar that provides a wealth of combo opportunities is Firebending. Many Firebending cards are capable of providing a huge burst of mana, and while the mana doesn’t spill over to your second main phase, mid-combat mana sinks like Hellkite Charger become scary threats alongside the new mechanic.
Charger in particular enables you to take infinite combat steps as long as your Firebending creatures collectively produce seven or more mana when they attack (and your creatures don’t get blocked down, of course). Fire Lord Zuko has the potential to net you seven mana by itself if you buff its power first. Otherwise, Sozin’s Comet performs a similar task with any two attackers that can get through.
Once you add other effects into the mix that let your mana spill over from combat to your second main phase, such as Ashling, Flame Dancer, the world is your oyster. Taking infinite combat steps with Aggravated Assault from there becomes trivial despite its sorcery speed activation restriction.
Infinite +1/+1 Counters
Beyond taking infinite combat steps, another way to deal a limitless amount of damage to the opponent is to grow one of your creatures infinitely large. This is exactly what Farmstead Gleaner is able to accomplish alongside Badgermole Cub and Paradise Mantle.
All you need to do is equip Mantle to Gleaner and tap it for mana. Thanks to Cub, you’ll produce two mana in the process instead of one. Conveniently, this is just enough mana to activate Gleaner’s untap ability, buffing itself and letting you tap for mana all over again. Eventually, you’ll be able to attack at least one opponent for lethal damage.
Notably, there are a variety of cards that fill a similar role as Paradise Mantle and can thus replace the equipment in these combo lines. Any card that allows Gleaner to tap for mana, including Cryptolith Rite and Enduring Vitality, will do the trick. Given how well these cards pair with Badgermole Cub even outside of combo draws, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this combo pop up in go-wide green EDH decks moving forward.
Infinite Damage
Moving on to an infinite damage combo that doesn’t require you to enter combat at all, we have the potent synergy between Fire Nation Archers and Mana Echoes. Archers’ activated ability isn’t that strong on its own, but it does make the creature the perfect win condition as long as you can generate a boatload of mana.
Luckily, as long as you have four Soldiers in play alongside Echoes, a single Archers activation will net you enough mana via Echoes’ trigger to activate Archers again. By repeating this process over and over, you’ll build out a board of infinite tokens while dealing infinite damage to each opponent. Consider adding this combo to your Commander Mustard decks for some surprise late-game power.
Infinite Turns
If dealing tons of damage isn’t your style, you can always take a page out of Avatar Kuruk’s book. The Legend of Kuruk is a powerful value engine, and once you manage to transform it, there are some cool shenanigans to be had with Quicksilver Elemental.
Normally Avatar’s Exhaust ability can only be activated one time during the course of the game, but you can get around this by having the Elemental gain the ability to take extra turns. This way, as long as you have enough mana and/or permanents in play to pay the Waterbend cost, you’re free to take all the turns in a row you want! Quicksilver Elemental is already a staple in Vivi Ornitier Commander shells, so adding The Legend of Kuruk for more combo opportunities feels like a slam dunk.
Infinite Mana
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss one of the primary enablers for infinite mana combos in White Lotus Tile. White Lotus Tile has insane upside, and once you’re able to reliably tap it for five or more mana, you’ll have no problem turning that into infinite mana in conjunction with Mind Over Matter and Tasigur, the Golden Fang.
In order to execute the combo, start by tapping Tile for five blue or green mana. Then, use four of that mana to activate Tasigur’s ability to Mill two cards and return a card from your graveyard to your hand. This extra card can then be discarded to Mind, allowing you to untap Tile. By repeating this process over and over, you’ll Mill your whole deck and generate infinite mana. As long as you have an infinite mana sink like Walking Ballista to return with Tasigur at the end of the chain, you’re golden.
Interestingly, if you replace Tasigur with Whispers of the Muse, you can complete an entirely different three-card combo. In this case, you need tile to tap for six or more mana so that you’re able to cast Whispers with Buyback. This card advantage once again fuels Mind, letting you untap Tile and recast Whispers repeatedly. Looting through your whole deck and building up Storm count along the way should be enough to win the game with the right setup.
Ultimately, these combos are pretty difficult to pull off given the sheer number of prerequisites. Nonetheless, no task is too daunting for Commander players. Keep these combos in mind if you’re looking to build some new decks once MTG Avatar releases.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!