List of Compact Combos

[Koby]

Double Sharuum the Hegemon worked before as well. Before it went:

Sharuum A out.
Sharuum B enters the battlefield. Trigger.
Legend rule kills both before anything else happens.
Put trigger on the stack.
Trigger resolves, brings back A. Trigger.
Trigger resolves, brings back B.
Repeat.

Now with the new rule only one dies, but again, before the trigger can resolve. So:

Sharuum A out.
Sharuum B enters the battlefield. Trigger.
Legend rule kills one of your choice before anything else happens.
Put trigger on the stack.
Trigger resolves, brings the dead one back. Trigger.
Repeat.

Fixed for rules clarification. State based actions happen before anyone gains priority to put triggers on the stack.

[PirateKing]

Koby

Thanks

[Crysthorn]

Here's some another combo using the new rules:

Sharuum the Hegemonx2+Disciple of the Vault

It's a very popular EDH combo. Under current rules you need three cards: Sharuum the Hegemon + Phyrexian Metamorph // Sculpting Steel + Disciple of the Vault // Blood Artist. Under new rules you can replace the second part with any clone (i.e. Phantasmal Image).

[Malchar]

Scapeshift looks pretty promising now. As MaximumC pointed out, it is now a one-card combo. It costs 4 mana, which is rather slow, but you can cast it with ancient tomb or other fast mana on turn 3 or even sooner. Since you don't need to worry about assembling multiple pieces, you can afford to play a little defense in the early game to make up for the slower speed.

You can also play it as a two-card combo with amulet of vigor, which lets you go off a turn sooner.

In fact, if you have amulet of vigor and scapeshift 5 lands, you can get this pile:
1. Dark Depths
2. Thespian's Stage
3. Boros Garrison
4. Slayers' Stronghold
5. (any 2 mana land)

You can just tap the boros garrison for mana in response to it's bounce ability and then have it bounce itself. Unfortunately, this combo doesn't really save you any time, but it does let you go off all at once if you happen to get to 5 lands.

If you have extra lands, you can also scapeshift for extra thespian's stages to use the ability in response to an opposing wasteland or other land removal spell. Of course, this only makes sense if you're using amulet of vigor, otherwise they could just destroy your stuff while you're tapped. You can also grab some dryad arbors or manlands to play around edicts.

[MaximumC]

M14 has brought with it a few new combos:

1) Life and Limb + Sporemound = Infinite loop.

Sporemound makes a Saproling when a Forest enters the battlefield, and Life and Limb makes all Saprolings enter the battlefield as Forests. If no one can stop the loop, this draws the game. You can turn that into a win in a variety of ways, such as:

Removing one of the enchantments for profit, with something beneficial like Perilous Research, or something generally useful like Echoing Truth. This leaves you with an arbitrarily large number of Saprolings.

Acting on the stack using abilities like Altar of Dementia, Blasting Station, or Goblin Bombardment to win during the combo.

Giving the Saprolings Haste with Concordant Crossroads or something, and using the infinite mana they now produce to win at instant speed with something like Stroke of Genius or Rocket Launcher or something.

2) Strionic Resonator + Sands of Time // Mist of Stagnation = Infinite tap / untaps, partial lockdown

This one is super cute. With either Sands or Mist in play, during your upkeep, put the triggered ability on the stack. Activate Resonator to copy the ability, and let the copy resolve. The copy will (usually) untap your Resonator, lands you used to activate it, and more permanents besides, allowing you to continue an arbitrarily large amount of times. Wins with any ping effect, any instant speed sink for infinite mana, etc.

If you double up Sands on your opponent's turn, they will tap/untap once, then have to do it again. If they can tap untapped permanents at instant speed (such as lands) they can use this to untap all of those permanents. But other permanents, such as big dumb creatures (Goyf?) will remain either tapped or untapped depending on how they started that turn. Since you can choose not to double up the Sands to get them tapped in the first place, this is a pretty effective lockdown on any card that can't tap at instant speed.

Don't double Mist on your opponent's turn, however, since it looks like the ability does not target but instead allows the active player to choose the effect on resolution. The upshot of that is that you just give them twice the untaps.

[ahg113]

Now with tags

1) Life and Limb + Sporemound Perilous Research, or Echoing Truth

Altar of Dementia, Blasting Station, or Goblin Bombardment

Concordant Crossroads or Stroke of Genius or Rocket Launcher

2) Strionic Resonator + Sands of Time // Mist of Stagnation

[MaximumC]

Has anyone found anything good combos in Theros? I'm something of a loss. There are some synergies that Legacy doesn't care about, like Baconator + [card]Ratchet Bomb[/card], but the mechanics they use in the set seem custom-made to screw over any attempt at combos.

I guess the Heroic dude who draws cards, and the one who casts [card]Diabolic Edict[/card] both work pretty well with cheap Rebound and Flashback spells. But, other than that....?

[rufus]

Has anyone found anything good combos in Theros? I'm something of a loss. There are some synergies that Legacy doesn't care about, like Baconator + [card]Ratchet Bomb[/card], but the mechanics they use in the set seem custom-made to screw over any attempt at combos.

I guess the Heroic dude who draws cards, and the one who casts [card]Diabolic Edict[/card] both work pretty well with cheap Rebound and Flashback spells. But, other than that....?

Medomai the Ageless can work as a combo element in something like full english breakfast, but there are typically superior choices. Gift of Immortality has potential in principle, but seems quite limited in practice, and there are a couple of other extreme fringe plausible combo elements.

[cherub_daemon]

Has anyone found anything good combos in Theros? I'm something of a loss. There are some synergies that Legacy doesn't care about, like Baconator + Ratchet Bomb, but the mechanics they use in the set seem custom-made to screw over any attempt at combos.

I guess the Heroic dude who draws cards, and the one who casts Diabolic Edict both work pretty well with cheap Rebound and Flashback spells. But, other than that....?

Edict-with-a-body (Agent of the Fates) can go nuts with Toshiro Umezawa. But that's a lot of mana to not win the game, even if it is mono-black. On the other hand, they're not super-terrible alone, and both want similar supporting cards. I guess it would be called a synergy rather than a combo. BG Infect, maybe?

[danbuster35]

Devoted Druid turn 1
Melira, Sylvok Outcast turn 2
then Helix Pinnacle for win on upkeep of turn 3
or attack with Bramblesnap on turn 4

[apple713]

Devoted Druid
Melira, Sylvok Outcast
Helix Pinnacle.

this doesn't work

putting a counter on devoted druid is part of the cost. Since they can't have counters placed on them you cannot pay the cost and cannot activate the ability.

[danbuster35]

this doesn't work

putting a counter on devoted druid is part of the cost. Since they can't have counters placed on them you cannot pay the cost and cannot activate the ability.

With Melira, Sylvok Outcast in play you should still be able to untap Devoted Druid for infinite mana, right? This should work the same way as persist ability would work with Melira in play

[apple713]

With Melira, Sylvok Outcast in play you should still be able to untap Devoted Druid for infinite mana, right? This should work the same way as persist ability would work with Melira in play

no, persist adds a counter as part of resolution of a triggered ability.

adding a counter to druid is paying a cost. You cannot pay the cost because you cannot add a counter.

[danbuster35]

Thanks for the clarification.

no, persist adds a counter as part of resolution of a triggered ability.

adding a counter to druid is paying a cost. You cannot pay the cost because you cannot add a counter.

[FTW]

Since the thread is getting pretty large, I figured I'd go through and make a list for easy reference. For now, I have only included 2-card combos, and I didn't bother writing down anything that costs 6 mana or more.

I'll present the combos using the standard notation: mana/cards/chaff. Let me know if there are any errors or other things that I should add.

Nice list! Thanks for compiling. I found a few things to edit...


The original for this one was buggy. While there are plenty of wins for Cephalid Breakfast, one that involves an arbitrary amount of Ooze self-milling to get +1/+1 counters doesn't really work... Fixed:
3:1+2/2/7 cephalid illusionist + shuko, (3x narcomoeba, dread return, The Mimeoplasm, Lord of Extinction, Murderous Redcap).

Same problem with this... lack of library left means lack of +1/+1 counters for Ooze combo. Sharuum + Blasting Station + Emrakul was the old kill, but that is now "time wasting". Mimeoplasm or other 3-card combos (Kiki-Jiki + Pestermite + Karmic Guide / Angel of Glory's Rise + Laboratory Maniac + Azami, Lady of Scrolls) also work here.
5:2+3/2/7 basalt monolith + mesmeric orb, (3x narcomoeba, dread return, necrotic ooze, phyrexian devourer, triskelion).


You don't need to fetch the 2nd recruiter here. Recruiter for Dreamstalker, returning recruiter. Recruiter for Cavern Harpy, returning Dream Stalker. Stalker again returning Recruiter. Recruiter for Slinger. Mo Harpy Mo Madness etc etc.
-1 to chaff.
4/2/4 aluren + imperial recruiter, (imperial recruiter, dream stalker, cavern harpy, ghitu slinger).


While strictly "compact", this Doomsday pile with Conjurer's Bauble and Second Sunrise is probably the least efficient pile to build. I don't want to go into how the "Doomsday deck" effectively makes Doomsday itself a 1-card combo since most of the pieces used in the pile are useful 4-ofs and not chaff, because I get that you are just listing things that require 2 specific cards cast and under 6 mana total invested, and that does legitimately exclude most of the common Doomsday piles. However, the Sunrise-Bauble one is full of chaff. There are still much less chaffy winning pass-the-turn piles for 2 cards and 5 mana (BBB+1U):
5:3+2/2/2 doomsday + Brainstorm, (Sensei's Divining Top, Lion's Eye Diamond, lion's eye diamond, Ill-Gotten Gains, Burning Wish).
That pile works with actually any of those non-Doomsday cards in place of Brainstorm (even IGG or Wish) and the other 5 in the pile, so IMO super flexible and non-chaffy compared to sunrise-bauble.

The Lab Man version can also make a 5-mana 2-card pass-the-turn pile win:
5:3+2/2/3 doomsday + Gitaxian Probe, (Gitaxian Probe, Mental Note, Laboratory Maniac, Squire, Unearth).
I'd argue it is strictly superior to all other pass-the-turn piles, not only because it beats even 4 Leyline of Sanctity + Gaddock Teeg + infinite life, but because Squire!!!!!!


Other compact combos:
2:1+1/2/1 Entomb + Reanimate, (???). (not an immediate win like with Shallow Grave, but often grabbing Iona or Griselbees or Blazing Archon is good enough)
4:2+2/2/0 Devoted Druid + Quillspike --> infinitely large creature with 0 chaff ... technically 2+3, but Druid's first tap effectively reduces the cost of Quillspike by 1.
4:3+1/2/5 Entomb+Necromancy, (Protean Hulk, Body Double, Reveillark, Carrion Feeder, Mogg Fanatic)

[jamis]

Has anyone figured out a three card combo with Arbiter of the Ideal? Maybe something with Umbral Mantle?

Edit: 4 card combo: Arbiter of the Ideal + Umbral Mantle + Paradise Mantle + Power Artifact

Edit 2: That won't work, actually. Umbral Mantle gives the untap ability to the equipped creature, and Arbiter of the Ideal isn't an artifact. Training Grounds might be okay. Still not ideal because Arbiter of the Ideal only wants artifacts, creatures and lands in the deck.

[FTW]

With any infinite mana combo it's easy. You can get infinite mana off several 2-card combos. Once you have infinite mana, you can use:
Aura of Dominion

OR

Aggravated Assault OR Freed From the Real OR Crab Umbra + anything that can repeatedly tap your creature (e.g. a cost like Opposition or Paradise Mantle)

Including the infinite mana, those are all 4 or 5 card combos.


Those are boring. Without infinite mana, here's a silly 5-card one:
Life and Limb + Xenograft + Jinx + Earthcraft LOLOLOLOLOLOL.

Another silly one:
Freed from the Real + Mycosynth Lattice + Grand Architect


The most compact one I can think of is 3 cards (including Sphinx):
Paradise Mantle + Pemmin's Aura/Freed from the Real

But the Jinx one is so much cooler.

[Malchar]

The Lab Man version can also make a 5-mana 2-card pass-the-turn pile win:
5:3+2/2/3 doomsday + Gitaxian Probe, (Gitaxian Probe, Mental Note, Laboratory Maniac, Squire, Unearth).
I'd argue it is strictly superior to all other pass-the-turn piles, not only because it beats even 4 Leyline of Sanctity + Gaddock Teeg + infinite life, but because Squire!!!!!!

If you use Squire then they can Misdirection your Unearth onto it. Personally, I think that a nice Doomsday Specter would be the most swag card to mill.

[MaximumC]

EDIT: Updated for more combo goodness!

New set, new combo.

Karametra's Favor + Puresight Merrow

When Favor ETB attached to Merrow, respond by digging for whatever you need by tapping and untapping Merrow. Then let the ETB triggered ability resolve, drawing a card. Congrats, you demonic tutored and now have total control over your topdeck. A safe bet might be to tutor a Thoughtseize to protect your combo. Other saucy targets include:

Get a Polymorph and have Emrakul left in your deck.
Get a Judge of Currents.
Get Erratic Explosion and have a fattie in the deck.
Get Mana Reflection for infinite mana.
Get Think Twice or Deep Analysis with a Laboratory Maniac left in your deck ftw
Get a Lim Duls Vault and to craft a topdeck with brainstorm and combo cards within dig distance.

And more I'm sure I have not considered!

Perplexing Sphinx + Strionic Resonator

You can copy the Sphinx' triggered ability with Resonator. This means the "exchange" effect will happen twice, and you will choose new targets for the spell that set off the Sphinx trigger each time. Assuming nothing else happens, you will end up controlling your Sphinx again and the enemy will control their spell, but you will have chosen its targets. Essentially, it means you get: "2, T: Sphinx becomes summoning sick. Change the targets of target spell."

Sunbond + Spike Feeder

This combo gives you infinite life and an infinitely large Spike Feeder. This works the same way as Spike Feeder's prior combo with [card]Archangel of Thune[/card], but is now one mana cheaper. It is also potentially faster, since the infinitely large dude can swing immediately upon dropping your second combo piece, with no other support. Using Archangel, your Feeder never gets bigger because each life gain only drops 1 counter instead of 2. The Angel gets huge, but she's sick initially. On the flip side, Archangel has flying so it's a better creature to be arbitrarily large.

Pain Seer + Aura of Domination

The only real advantage Pain Seer has over Bob is 1 point of toughness and the possibility that you can use the ability more than once in a turn. With these two cards working together, you can pay to reveal your top card, lose life, and put it in your hand. Is 4 mana and two cards too much for on-demand Ad Naseum? We'll see...

Arbiter of the Ideal can work with the same idea as with Pain Seer, except now you're winning the game instead of drawing cards. Oh, and you're spending 8 mana to do it. A possibility in Tron, maybe...? Servant of Tryd works pretty well too, as drain life for 1 untap is pretty brutal in a ramp deck.

Aurelia, the Warleader + Felhide Spiritbinder

Attack with Aurelia and get a second combat step. Pay :1R: to Spiritbinder to copy Aurelia. Legend Rule away the original, keeping the copy, which then attacks. It is the first time the copy attacked this turn, so you get another attack step. Repeat. The upshot is you get :1R: : You get another attack step.

And here's some from Theros:

Karametra's Acolyte + Umbral Mantle

Acolyte joins the ranks of creatures who can tap for 3 or more mana. Once you can tap for 3, Mantle makes you an arbitrarily large Acoltye. If you can tap Acolyte for more than 3 mana, now you also are generating infinite green mana. You can use this to re-quip mantle to any creatures you have with tap abilities to make them all arbitrarily large.

Previously we had [cards]Elvish Archdruid, Bloom Tender, Wirewood Channeler, Priest of Titana[cards] and some others I'm sure I am neglecting. The only ones that are modern legal are the Tender and the Archduid. Like them, Acolyte requires you to hop through hoops in order to ramp it up, but unlike Tender, the hoop is very reasonable. There's enough overlap between Archdruid and Acolyte to make me think that an Elf deck focused on abusing Staff of Domination and Mantle might be a funny thing in Modern.

Elite Arcanist+Triton Tactics+Zhur-taa Druid

Cast Triton Tactics targeting Arcanist and Druid. With it still on the stack, use Druid for mana (pinging opponent) to activate Arcanist and copy the Tactics. Let the copy resolve and you're right back where you started. Repeat 20 times and a winnar is you.

[MaximumC]

Here's another combo that had missed my attention earlier. I take no credit, DubDub over at TheManaDrain pointed it out to me:

Guttersnipe + Curiosity or Keen Sense or Ophidan's Eye

A Guttersnipe enchanted with one of these auras will cause every spell you cast to cantrip. Pretty sweet!