Playing niche, obscure cards that pop off with your Commander synergies can be one of the most thrilling things that the format offers. Even though your opponent has picked up and read your bizarre inclusion, its power only becomes apparent once you start popping off. Pentavus, a rather underwhelming-looking seven-drop, could be the next crazy combo engine that catches your opponents unawares.
MTG Pentavus
While Pentavus’s mana value is intensive, maximizing it is easy in artifact, +1/+1 counter, and token decks. Since it can essentially put a +1/+1 counter on itself for two mana, Pentavus is a great way to retrigger cards like Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate and All Will be One. Taking things further, Hardened Scales and Doubling Season turn Pentavus into a scaling machine that can pump out creatures and counters.
Outside of +1/+1 counter decks, using cards that care about token creation with Pentavus might be even stronger. Enchanting Pentavus with Moonlit Meditation, for example, allows you to create an extra Pentavus each turn for just one mana. This can set up some absolutely ridiculous plays with Esix, Fractal Bloom, or Multiversal Incursion.
While this can create a lot of value with Pentavus, just going wide with 1/1’s can also be strong in the right strategy. Commanders like Graz, Unstoppable Juggernaut can make each and every token a problem, while Pentavus itself will enter as a 10/8.
An Incredible Combo Machine
Thanks to how easy it is to loop Pentavus’s abilities, it can create infinite mana with Dross Scorpion and a mana rock that taps for two mana, like Sol Ring. Just tap the Ring for two, and use one mana to create a Pentavite. This will cause Dross Scorpion to untap the Ring, putting you up to three mana. You can then use one to sacrifice the Pentavite, untapping your Sol Ring again for an infinite mana-fuelled Walking Ballista win.
Additionally, by using a sacrifice outlet like Krark-Clan Ironworks and Long Feng, Grand Secretariat, Pentavus can create infinite colorless mana, tokens, and counters. By creating a token with Pentavus and sacrificing it to the Ironworks, Long Feng triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Pentavus. You’ll be netting one colorless mana each time you do this, allowing you to build up infinite mana.
Once that’s done, Pentavus can start creating and sacrificing Pentavites, netting an extra +1/+1 counter from Long Feng each time. With infinite mana and counters, you can build out a Pentavite army and use Long Feng to grow them. There’s even a lot of redundancy in this combo with cards like Rosie Cotton of South Lane and Ashnod’s Altar.
Catch Your Opponents Off Guard
Whether you choose to use Pentavus in an artifact, token, or +1/+1 counter deck, the Construct should easily be able to pull its weight with a few payoffs. Considering this, Pentavus’s low play rate is somewhat surprising. With only about 10,100 decks using Pentavus according to EDHREC, many players are unlikely to be aware of its potential.
Fortunately, thanks to this and some timely reprints, acquiring Pentavus is extremely cheap. Available for just $0.50, Pentavus is the perfect budget win condition to add to your Commander deck. So long as you can synergize with it, this construct should easily impress.
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