The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Introduce 4 New MTG Death Combos for EDH!

Every time new cards from upcoming premier sets are revealed, there are a few things that players look for. Some players want to improve their Constructed decks in various formats. Other players are searching for unique EDH upgrades. One thing that almost all players look forward to, though, with the release of new sets is being able to try out various combos. From simple two-card infinite combos to more convoluted death combos, finding cool ways to utilize new cards in an unsuspecting manner is something many MTG players love.

Fortunately, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is nearly on the horizon, and with it, a bunch of combo pieces are being introduced to the game. For Constructed, Commander, and casual play alike, these combos are ready to be exploited. There’s tons of room for brewing potential, the key is simply knowing what combos are available to build around. Today, we will be going over a handful of some of the more intriguing combos available with the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. We’ve recently gone over a sweet combo involving Amalia Benavides Aguirre Amalia Benavides Aguirre Ward—Pay 3 life.
Whenever you gain life, Amalia Benavides Aguirre explores. Then destroy all other creatures if its power is exactly 20. (To have this creature explore, reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.) and Wildgrowth Walker Wildgrowth Walker Whenever a creature you control explores, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature and you gain 3 life. , but there are plenty more to talk about. To start things off, let’s take a look at a neat Commander option and ways to abuse it.

Winning with The Mycotyrant

The Mycotyrant is likely to be one of the more interesting legendary Creatures for Commander players to build around. For only three mana, you get a Creature that spits out Fungi on your end step for each time you Descended this turn. Notably, this means that if an effect puts multiple permanents into your graveyard, you should end up getting multiple Fungi out of the deal. As a result, the goal is to find a way to generate a bunch of tokens on your end step.

Well, Hermit Druid Hermit Druid {G}, {T}: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a basic land card. Put that card into your hand and all other cards revealed this way into your graveyard. pairs exceptionally nicely here. If you have no basic Land cards in your deck, activating Hermit Druid will result in you milling your entire deck at once. In Commander where you are playing with 100 cards, this is sure to create a ton of tokens on your end step. While you will end up losing via decking on your next draw step, there are cards that could let you win immediately before even passing the turn.

Once you produce your massive army, if you have Zulaport Cutthroat Zulaport Cutthroat Whenever this creature or another creature you control dies, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. and any free, repeatable sacrifice outlet in play, you can simply sacrifice your Fungi one by one and drain each opponent of all of their life. This isn’t technically infinite, but as long as you get 40 tokens out of the deal and your opponents didn’t gain a ton of life, this is an easy way to win a Commander game. Additionally, Hermit Druid and Zulaport Cutthroat are on-color with The Mycotyrant, making this a more realistic combo to set up with The Mycotyrant as your Commander.

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Deeproot Pilgrimage Infinite Combos

While The Mycotyrant combo above does not produce infinite Fungi, Deeproot Pilgrimage is capable of generating infinite Merfolk tokens in a number of ways. The key is using Kiora’s Follower Kiora’s Follower {T}: Untap another target permanent. in conjunction with Deeproot Pilgrimage. Kiora’s Follower can tap to untap another permanent, which will cause you to make a 1/1 Merfolk token from Pilgrimage. However, if you have two copies of Kiora’s Follower in play, you can simply use one to untap the other repeatedly, netting infinite Merfolk tokens. In Commander, you can use any Clone Clone You may have this creature enter as a copy of any creature on the battlefield. effect to get the second copy of Kiora’s Follower. Otherwise, use another untapping effect to untap the Follower. You only need one.

Beyond using Clones, there’s another way to generate infinite Merfolk tokens with Deeproot Pilgrimage. If you have Kiora’s Follower, Deeproot Pilgrimage, and Intruder Alarm Intruder Alarm Creatures don't untap during their controllers' untap steps.
Whenever a creature enters, untap all creatures. in play, you can tap Kiora’s Follower to generate a 1/1 token. This will untap Kiora’s Follower, letting you make another token, and so on.

Now, if you have a way to make all your Creatures into Merfolk, such as with Maskwood Nexus Maskwood Nexus Creatures you control are every creature type. The same is true for creature spells you control and creature cards you own that aren't on the battlefield.
{3}, {T}: Create a 2/2 blue Shapeshifter creature token with changeling. (It is every creature type.) , you can pair any mana dork with Intruder Alarm for the same result. These combos with Intruder Alarm don’t just provide infinite tokens. They also give you infinite mana in the process, potentially helping you win on the same turn.

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Wrathful Raptors+Polyraptor Combos

For those who have played with Polyraptor Polyraptor Enrage — Whenever this creature is dealt damage, create a token that's a copy of this creature. , it’s no surprise that the card goes infinite with a lot of different cards. The issue is that, in some instances, the game may end in a draw. For example, if you play Polyraptor with a copy of Marauding Raptor Marauding Raptor Creature spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Whenever another creature you control enters, this creature deals 2 damage to it. If a Dinosaur is dealt damage this way, this creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn. in play, your Polyraptor will take two damage. This will cause a copy of Polyraptor to be created, which will also take two damage. You will end up with infinite copies of Polyraptor, but without a way to stop the chain, such as killing Marauring Raptor, the game will end in a draw due to the continuous loop created.

Luckily, Wrathful Raptors is here to save the day. With Wrathful Raptors in play, every time one of your Polyraptor copies is dealt damage, you get to deal damage to an opponent, effectively winning you the game rather than forcing a draw. Wrathful Raptors helps with other Polyraptor combos besides simply using Marauding Raptor, too. For instance, if you have Goblin Bombardment Goblin Bombardment Sacrifice a creature: This enchantment deals 1 damage to any target. and another Creature to sacrifice in play, you can sacrifice a Creature, targeting Polyraptor. This will result in another Polyraptor being created and Wrathful Raptors dealing an opponent one damage. Then, you can sacrifice the original Polyraptor, dealing a damage to the new Polyraptor. Keep doing this, and you will end up dealing infinite damage to your opponents.

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Abusing Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might

While this next combo may not outright win the game without some additional work, it is still rather cool. Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might allows your small red burn spells to deal damage equal to Ojer Axonil’s power rather than their normal amounts. Ojer Axonil may start at only four power, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to pump it.

Let’s say you suit it up with Colossification Colossification Enchant creature
When this Aura enters, tap enchanted creature.
Enchanted creature gets +20/+20. . Now, all your red burn spells will deal an opponent 24 damage. From there, using cards like Flames of the Firebrand Flames of the Firebrand Flames of the Firebrand deals 3 damage divided as you choose among one, two, or three targets. and Arc Lightning Arc Lightning Arc Lightning deals 3 damage divided as you choose among one, two, or three targets. that target multiple opponents at once can help you deal a ton of damage in multi-player Commander games. This particular combo is certainly a bit tough to pull off, but pairing burn spells with ways to buff Ojer Axonil’s power is an easy recipe for success.

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan have brought a lot of combos to the table. While these are a handful of some of the more interesting combos available, there’s plenty more at your disposal. If you enjoy brewing around funky synergies, this set has a lot to offer.

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