In MTG, there’s a wide variety of different combos that can win the game instantly. Whether you make infinite mana, tokens, or take infinite turns, there’s lots of ways to win. That said, doing all of this at once is rather difficult. Should you want to do this, however, Cayth, Famed Mechanist has got your back.
MTG Cayth, Famed Mechanist
At its core, Cayth, Famed Mechanist is designed to maximize two specific abilities: Populate and Proliferate. While these two mechanics don’t naturally synergize, Fabricate gives them an interesting intersection. Amplify Fabricate with entry doublers like Panharmonicon, and you’ve got a solid base.
Right away, in order to make Populate as threatening as possible, you’ll want to include more threatening token makers. Urza, Lord High Artificer and Urza’s Saga can give you Constructs, which synergize with the Servos created by Fabricate. Similarly, effects that make token copies of your biggest bombs, like Rite of Replication and Saheeli, the Sun’s Brilliance, are elite inclusions in a Cayth deck.
As you continue generating lots of tokens via Populate and Fabricate, go-wide payoffs become strong ways to close the game. This includes token doublers, card advantage engines like Losheel, Clockwork Scholar, and sources of damage like Impact Tremors. Even mass pump effects like Steel Overseer can mount damage while setting up Proliferate triggers.
Once you’ve distributed a bunch of counters, Cayth’s Proliferate ability becomes much more appealing. Thanks to this, sticking a Counters-theme payoff like Lux Artillery helps cement your advantage. You can even dig deeper by adding in Insight Engine, Aetherworks Marvel and other cards built around alternate Counters.
Generating Infinite Mana, Card Draw, Tokens, and Turns
If Cayth’s wide range of general synergies weren’t enough, this Dwarf Artificer also sets up tons of combos. This Commander’s Fabricate ability, for example, can generate infinite mana with Phyrexian Altar and a Persist creature.
Any Persist creature can, essentially, have its -1/-1 counter canceled out by Cayth’s Fabricate effect, allowing you to sacrifice them infinitely. Not only will this generate infinite mana, but Glen Elendra Archmage can counter noncreature spells on the way. Notably, if you replace Glen with River Kelpie specifically, you’ll be able to draw your entire deck instead.
Beyond Persist, there are also a variety of combos focused on this Cayth’s activated ability. For example, by combining Cayth, Mana Echoes, and Umbral Mantle, you’ll be able to generate infinite tokens. To start, you’ll need to equip your Commander with Umbral Mantle, and you’ll also need at least four of the same token in play. From there, all you need to do is activate Cayth’s final ability, copying one of the tokens and triggering Mana Echoes in the process. This will trigger Mana Echoes, netting you at least five mana, letting you untap and reuse Cayth infinitely.
If these combos weren’t enough, you can even take infinite turns with Cayth, Baboon Spirit, and a flipped copy of The Legend of Kuruk. After activating Avatar Kuruk’s Exhaust ability, you can blink it back to Saga form. Then, during your extra turn, Cayth’s Proliferate ability can add the third counter needed to flip The Legend of Kuruk, setting up another Exhaust activation. This combo requires a lot of resources, but Fabricate can go a long way to feed the Waterbending cost.
A Cool, Cheap Commander
Between Cayth’s utility as a value engine and as a combo enabler, the legend easily makes for a fun and powerful Commander. Despite its potential, however, the Dwarf Artificer only appears as the Commander in 4,704 decks according to EDHREC. Considering how much play Cayth sees in the 99 of other decks, we’re shocked that more players don’t want access to this in the command zone.
On top of being extremely strong, Cayth is very budget-friendly. With a price tag of under $0.40, now’s the perfect opportunity to pick up this Modern Horizons 3 legend. So, if you’re a combo fanatic that wants to attack on unique axes, consider giving Cayth a try.
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