Brewer's Minute: Five Infinite Mana Combos for Modern
Hey, everyone. It's time for another Brewer's Minute. Last week, we talked about some infinite combos for Modern, and the response was great. You all sent in a ton of sweet deck ideas and synergies, but one of the most common comments was, "What about combo X, Y, or Z?" While it's true that there are way too many combos for one short video, the good news is we can always make more videos! So today, we have infinite combos in modern part two, this time featuring five two-card infinite combos that do one thing: make infinite mana! Like last time, if you have some sweet ideas about how to abuse these combos, make sure to let me know in the comments, and maybe we can brew up some spicy lists for Budget Magic or Against the Odds!
Don't forget: if you enjoy the series (and haven't already), make sure to subscribe to the MTGGoldfish YouTube Channel!
Combo #1: Grand Architect and Pili-Pala
This one is pretty well known—we've played it on Budget Magic before (a long time ago), and it even shows up in competitive decks on rare occasions, which makes it one of the more established combos on our list. The basic idea is to use Grand Architect to make Pili-Pala blue, which allows it to tap for two mana (that can only be spent on artifacts or the abilities of artifacts). This means that we can tap Pili-Pala to make the two mana needed to untap Pili-Pala and make one "real" mana of any color. At this point, we can simply tap and untap Pili-Pala an infinite number of times, making one extra mana of any color each time we go through the loop!
Combo #2: Astral Cornucopia and Filigree Sages
This one is pretty simple. Filigree Sages untaps an artifact for three mana, Astral Cornucopia is an artifact that can potentially tap for more than three mana, which allows us to gain a mana every time we tap and untap the Astral Cornucopia. Of course, the challenging part is getting enough counters on Astral Cornucopia to go infinite, because to have it enter the battlefield with four counters, we'd need to spend twelve mana on the triple-X mana cost. One possibility is to dip into the proliferate mechanic and use cards like Steady Progress or Contagion Clasp to increase the numbers of counters on Astral Cornucopia.
Combo #3: Intruder Alarm, Kiora's Follower, and Forbidden Orchard
I cheated a little on this one, because technically we need three cards, but since one of those cards is a land (and the opportunity cost of running lands is so low), it's more like a 2.5-card combo. The loop is pretty interesting: with an Intruder Alarm and Kiora's Follower (or any creature that can untap a land, like Voyaging Satyr, for example), you tap a Forbidden Orchard for a mana of any color. This gives your opponent a 1/1 Spirit token, which in turn triggers Intruder Alarm to untap all creatures. This untaps Kiora's Follower, which can untap Forbidden Orchard, which makes another 1/1 Spirit for the opponent, and the process repeats itself. The good news is that this combo can make infinite mana of any color. The bad news is that the opponent will end up with an infinite number of 1/1 Spirit tokens (well, not technically infinite, but a number equal to the amount of mana you make). Because of this, you need to make sure you win the game before you pass the turn, because if your opponent gets to untap, they will kill you with the Spirit tokens.
Combo #4: Nivix Guildmage and Channel the Suns
This one is pretty straightforward but requires a lot of mana to get going. The plan is to get a Nivix Guildmage on the battlefield and get enough mana that you can cast a Channel the Suns and activate the second ability of Nivix Guildmage in the same turn (so, eight mana in all). Then, Nivix Guildmage copies Channel the Suns, making a mana of each color (five in total), and from the Channel the Suns mana, you pay 2UR to activate Nivix Guildmage again, then copy Channel the Suns a second time, and repeat the process over, and over, and over again. In the end, you'll have infinite mana that is some combination of black, white, or green (but not blue or red, so make sure to plan ahead when you are choosing your finisher).
Combo #5: Bloom Tender and Freed from the Real
Bloom Tender and Freed from the Real strikes me as one of the most competitive combos on our list—essentially the Splinter Twin of infinite mana combos. If we can get a Freed from the Real on a Bloom Tender, we can keep using Freed from the Real to untap Bloom Tender after tapping Bloom Tender for two mana—one blue and one green—gaining an additional green mana each time we tap and untap it. The part that makes this combo scary is how fast it can be. We can cast Bloom Tender on Turn 2, enchant it with Freed from the Real on Turn 3, and immediately combo off without having to wait to untap or anything like that. The downside is we only get green mana, but there are some great finishers in green, including Genesis Wave, Genesis Hydra, and Craterhoof Behemoth.
Conclusion
Anyway, that's all for today. If you have some ideas for lists or even just cards that would work with these comments, make sure to let me know in the comments, and hopefully we'll end up with some fun (and maybe even competitive) decks! As always, you can reach me on Twitter @SaffronOlive or at SaffronOlive@MTGGoldfish.com.
