The release of Murders at Karlov Manor is on the horizon, and there have been a ton of intriguing spoilers revealed. Between the Murders at Karlov Manor main set and Ravnica: Clue Edition set to release soon after, we already have a multitude of powerful EDH cards to look forward to. This doesn’t even include the Karlov Manor Commander Precons which are sure to be a blast.
Recently, we covered a few exciting EDH-focused cards, such as Teysa, Opulent Oligarch and Anzrag, the Quake-Mole. With regards to Ravnica: Clue Edition, we also discussed a handful of new infinite combos associated with Lonis, Genetics Expert.
Well, there are going to be more infinite combos to look out for within your EDH play group, as Yarus, Roar of the Gods leads to some pretty wild shenanigans in conjunction with an underutilized Phoenix. Let’s start by taking a look at exactly how this combo works.
Yarus, Ashcloud Phoenix, and a Sacrifice Outlet
Yarus is a powerful card with a lot of text. Giving all of your other Creatures Haste in EDH is strong, and if you play with a lot of Creatures with Morph, Megamorph, and Disguise, you can start connecting in combat and drawing cards. Where the combo aspect of this card lies, however, is with its last ability.
First, you need to play Ashcloud Phoenix face-down. Then, you need to assemble a free sacrifice outlet, such as Goblin Bombardment. With Yarus in play, you can now sacrifice the face-down copy of Ashcloud Phoenix to Bombardment, triggering Yarus. Ashcloud Phoenix will then return to play face-down, then turn face-up.
Because Ashcloud Phoenix was turned face-up, it will deal two damage to each player. From there, you can simply sacrifice Ashcloud Phoenix to Bombardment, allowing it to return to play face-down thanks to its own ability. You are now back to step one and can repeat the process over and over. The net result is every player taking two damage repeatedly. If you have at least two more life than each of your opponents when the loop starts, you will end up winning the game with any free sacrifice outlet, though Goblin Bombardment’s ability to ping your opponents can come in handy here if necessary.
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Yarus, Aschloud Phoenix, and Marauding Raptor
Interestingly, this combo also works in a very similar fashion with Marauding Raptor. If you control Marauding Raptor and Yarus, you can follow up by playing Ashcloud Phoenix face-down. Marauding Raptor will deal two damage to it, which is enough to kill it. Thanks to Yarus, it will come back to play.
The way Yarus is worded, even though Ashcloud Phoenix returns to play face-down, which would trigger Marauding Raptor, Ashcloud Phoenix should still be able to turn face-up, as this is all part of one ability. As a result, Ashcloud Phoenix will still be able to deal two damage to each player after turning face-up before dying to Marauding Raptor. Now, Ashcloud Phoenix will just return to play face-down once more like before, die to Marauding Raptor again, and the cycle continues.
It should be noted, though, that Marauding Raptor doesn’t synergize well with other Morph Creatures, so its inclusion might not be the best in a Yarus shell. Still, the combo aspect is quite interesting and worth considering, nonetheless.
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Ways to Break the Stalemate
The only major downside of the combo as currently described is that you are dependent on your life total being high enough to win the game off of Ashcloud Phoenix triggers. Fortunately, there are a few neat ways to turn things in your favor even if you don’t have the highest life total at the table. The easiest and most reliable way to do so is with an effect that gains you life whenever a Creature enters the battlefield, such as Essence Warden.
With Essence Warden in play, when you play Ashcloud Phoenix face-down, you gain one life. Then, when you sacrifice the face-down Phoenix or it dies to Raptor, it comes back to play ready to turn face-up, gaining you one life yet again. Each player will now take two damage, but you’ve already gained two life. As a result, your life total stay neutral throughout the combo, allowing you to keep going until your opponents run out of life.
In a similar vein, Verdant Sun’s Avatar actually lets you gain infinite life in the process. This usually isn’t needed, but can be helpful in corner case scenarios, such as if an opponent has Platinum Angel on board.
Even if you don’t have access to a life gain effect to make things easy, cards like Warstorm Surge can also help completely break the symmetry. Phyrexian Alter and Ashnod’s Alter are perfect sacrifice outlets because, even if you can’t outright win the game with the combo alone, you may be able to generate a ton of mana in the process and win some other way.
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Karlov Manor Combos Galore!
Yarus adds itself to a long list of unique combos that have been created thanks to new Karlov Manor cards. We’ve already discussed multiple different combos, such as the ability for Crime Novelist to net infinite +1/+1 counters in conjunction with Animation Module and Ravenous Intruder.
Anzrag, the Quake-Mole is a very funky card that works extremely well with ways to grant Indestructible, but also can create some combos of its own. If your opponents have blockers at the ready, you can activate Anzrag’s seven-mana ability to force it to be blocked, cast Fog, and net infinite combat steps as a result. Throw in a copy of Hellrider and you can win the game outright!
Even beyond an EDH environment, Forensic Researcher has opened the door for players to have the opportunity to create infinite Merfolk tokens in Standard. With two copies of Forensic Researcher and Deeproot Pilgrimage in play, you can keep using one copy of Forensic Researcher to untap the other, alternating between them and generating as many 1/1s as you desire. There are just a ton of combos to be on the lookout for, and Yarus adds its name to the list of Karlov Manor spoilers that can go infinite in the right circumstance.
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