What are the top ten combo spells from Magic the Gathering?
Magic: The Gathering has a vast array of combo spells that players have utilized over the years to create powerful and synergistic strategies. While opinions on the "top ten" combo spells may vary depending on the format, meta, and personal preferences, here are ten notable combo spells that have made a significant impact in various Magic formats:
1. Splinter Twin + Deceiver Exarch/Pestermite
This combo revolves around the interaction between Splinter Twin, an enchantment that can create token copies of creatures, and Deceiver Exarch or Pestermite, creatures that can untap permanents.
By enchanting either of these creatures with Splinter Twin, you can tap the enchanted creature to create a token copy of it, which triggers its ability to untap a permanent. This allows you to repeat the process infinitely, generating an army of hasty creatures. This combo saw play in Modern format primarily in decks like UR Twin and UR Kiki-Jiki.
2. Ad Nauseam + Angel's Grace + Lightning Storm
Ad Nauseam is a sorcery that allows you to reveal and put cards from your deck into your hand, but you lose life equal to the converted mana cost of all cards drawn this way. Phyrexian Unlife is an enchantment that prevents you from losing the game due to having zero or less life, instead accumulating poison counters if damage would be dealt to you. Angel's Grace is an instant that prevents you from losing the game this turn and prevents damage from being dealt to you this turn.
By casting Ad Nauseam with Phyrexian Unlife on the battlefield and/or casting Angel's Grace, you can draw your entire deck without losing the game due to life loss, setting up a win condition with cards like Laboratory Maniac or Thassa's Oracle. This combo is a centerpiece of the Ad Nauseam deck archetype in Modern.
3. Melira, Sylvok Outcast + Kitchen Finks + Viscera Seer
This combo involves the interaction between Melira, Sylvok Outcast, a creature that prevents -1/-1 counters from being placed on creatures you control, and Kitchen Finks, a creature with persist that returns to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter when it dies if it had none. With Melira on the battlefield, Kitchen Finks will return without a -1/-1 counter each time it dies, effectively gaining you 2 life each iteration.
By sacrificing Kitchen Finks to Viscera Seer and then returning it to the battlefield with persist, you can gain infinite life and scry through your entire deck. This combo is often seen in Modern decks like Abzan Company and Devoted Company.
4. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Restoration Angel
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker is a creature that has the ability to create a token copy of another creature you control. Restoration Angel is a creature with flash that allows you to exile another creature you control and return it to the battlefield under your control.
By targeting Restoration Angel with Kiki-Jiki's ability, you can create a token copy of Restoration Angel. When the token enters the battlefield, you can exile Kiki-Jiki with Restoration Angel's ability, returning Kiki-Jiki to the battlefield untapped. You can then repeat this process indefinitely, generating an army of hasty creatures. This combo saw play in Modern format, particularly in decks like Kiki-Chord and Jeskai Saheeli.
5. Devoted Druid + Vizier of Remedies
Devoted Druid is a creature that has the ability to tap for one green mana, but also has the ability to put a -1/-1 counter on itself to untap it. Vizier of Remedies is a creature that prevents -1/-1 counters from being placed on creatures you control.
With Vizier on the battlefield, Devoted Druid can tap for infinite green mana without the need to put -1/-1 counters on itself, enabling powerful combo finishes in decks like Devoted Druid Combo. This combo saw play primarily in Modern.
6. Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek
Thopter Foundry is an artifact that allows you to sacrifice a noncreature artifact to create a 1/1 colorless Thopter artifact creature token and gain 1 life. Sword of the Meek is an equipment that, when a 1/1 creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may return Sword of the Meek from your graveyard to the battlefield attached to that creature.
By sacrificing Sword of the Meek to Thopter Foundry, it triggers Sword of the Meek's ability to return it to the battlefield, attached to a 1/1 Thopter token. This creates an infinite loop where you can sacrifice Sword of the Meek to Thopter Foundry, gain 1 life, and create a 1/1 Thopter token each iteration. This combo was a key part of the Thopter-Sword archetype in Modern.
7. Hive Mind + Pact Spells
Hive Mind is an enchantment that creates a copy of any instant or sorcery spell cast by a player for each other player. Pact spells are a cycle of instants that have a powerful effect but must be paid for during your next upkeep, or you lose the game.
By casting a Pact spell when Hive Mind is on the battlefield, you force your opponents to cast copies of that Pact spell, potentially causing them to lose the game if they can't pay the mana cost during their next upkeep. This combo was often seen in Modern and Legacy formats.
8. Painter's Servant + Grindstone
Painter's Servant is a creature that allows you to choose a color when it enters the battlefield, making all cards the color you chose. Grindstone is an artifact that, when activated, continues milling cards from an opponent's library as long as they share the same color.
By choosing a color with Painter's Servant and activating Grindstone, you can mill your opponent's entire library, since the top two cards of their deck will always share the chosen color, setting up a win condition via deck out. This combo saw play primarily in the Legacy format.
9. Scapeshift + Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Scapeshift is a sorcery that allows you to sacrifice any number of lands you control and search your library for that many land cards, putting them onto the battlefield tapped. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle is a legendary land that enters the battlefield tapped and deals 3 damage to any target whenever five or more other Mountains are on the battlefield.
By sacrificing enough lands with Scapeshift to put multiple copies of Valakut onto the battlefield along with a sufficient number of Mountains, you can trigger Valakut's ability multiple times for each Mountain that enters, potentially dealing lethal damage to your opponent. This combo is a cornerstone of decks like TitanShift in Modern.
10. Dark Depths + Thespian's Stage or Vampire Hexmage
Dark Depths is a land that enters the battlefield with ten ice counters on it. By removing all ice counters, you create a legendary 20/20 black Avatar creature token with flying and indestructible named Marit Lage. Thespian's Stage can copy Dark Depths, and because it enters the battlefield as a copy of Dark Depths, it doesn't have any ice counters.
Alternatively, Vampire Hexmage can remove all ice counters from Dark Depths by sacrificing itself, allowing you to get Marit Lage immediately. This combo can quickly generate a powerful and difficult-to-answer threat, often seen in decks like Turbo Depths in Legacy format.
These combos represent just a fraction of the many intricate interactions possible in Magic: The Gathering, showcasing the game's depth and complexity.
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