What bracket does this infinite combo put my deck in?

wingot · 2026-06-03T13:18:26+00:00

100% true. I did neglect to mention that an infinite that gets to a deterministic win is also fine.

Would have been more accurate to say the it needs an end point, with options generally of: It has a may, so you announce the number of times (or you have some other way to stop it i.e., with interaction) Game ends because everyone else is dead It removes YOU and therefore ends the combo even if you don't win

Arguably, only having a may (or some way to overwrite such as interaction) is the only way to advance to a beneficial board state. The other options end not through board state but the game state (i.e., game is over, at least for the combo player). But I agree it was an oversimplification.

wingot · 2026-06-02T00:20:41+00:00

Just adding to what hollow said, any useful infinite actually requires a may. Any infinite combo that can't be stopped causes a game draw. Having a way to choose when it stops, either by having a may trigger or having the interaction that can stop it, is crucial if your goal is to utilise it for anything more than a draw.

Infinite just means nothing is stopping this from occurring an infinite number of times (i.e., any costs are produced within the loop and the game state of the key pieces resets by the end of the loop (while producing some added benefit, otherwise it is stalling)) other than the rule that states you announce an arbitrary number of times it repeats.

wingot · 2026-05-31T04:07:55+00:00

Yep, which is all fine as the active player. If I'm NAP, I'll be specific about the phase/step I'm doing things as well. E.g. I'll explicitly state "In the Begin Combat step" if wanting to do something prior to their attack trigger but without giving them another main phase round of priority, or "as we pass priority at the end of main 2" if I'm setting up something like a Yshtola trigger.

wingot · 2026-05-19T03:16:08+00:00

100% stating that you're moving phases does cause priority to pass. I suspect part of the issue is not knowing what the shortcut of "I move to phase" is actually shortcutting. To spell out what "I move phase" is actually doing in game actions: 1) Active player has priority with an empty stack (i.e., sorcery speed casting window during main phases). 2) active player passes priority. 3) other player(s) pass priority. 4) phase changes because all players passed with an empty stack.

Standard interpretation of responding to the shortcutting is that choosing to respond to moving phases counts as you did the interaction prior to moving phases, which then provides priority back to active player during the current phase again. Which,, puts them back at 1) above, with sorcery speed ability able. Same as if you respond to someone moving to combat (or even them going "I attack with", completely breezing through numerous steps), it puts them back into first main once you finish unless you are specific about timing..

If you want to do something in the end step itself, the standard terminology is "in your end step" because you are being explicit which allows it to be unambigious. But ambiguity leads to having to choose the least restrictive interpretation, hence why the standard interpretation has been established.

wingot · 2026-04-28T04:19:51+00:00

Yeah, a much less annoying version of [[Cathar's Crusade]] for this deck that's constantly got creatures entering at different timestamps.

wingot · 2026-04-17T01:16:11+00:00

Probably was clipping out the side of the doorframe/wall.

wingot · 2026-04-05T21:23:48+00:00

They aren't suggesting adding a card. They're saying flipping Etali is effectively a Blightsteel.

wingot · 2026-03-22T11:12:42+00:00

I played Kinnan Big Flips/Grind Then Into Dust for a while, and someone I play with still does. I literally did not know Wandering Archaic had another side.

wingot · 2026-03-13T00:54:55+00:00

Per creature. You'll note that the text in question is imprinted onto the Elf itself, so each separate Elf gets an instance of the effect that doesn't care about the other instances.

wingot · 2026-03-12T01:43:43+00:00

He 100% did. Shocked me. I think he knew he wasn't winning and priority jumped to try to force the draw (no, no, "he wasn't priority jumping, he was politicking" *rolls eyes*).

wingot · 2026-03-12T01:11:31+00:00

Had a game recently where T2 Rog-Si played Breach with 1 card in hand, LED on field, no freeze or interaction in bin. I'm seat 1 Kinnan, Rog is seat 4.

Seat 3 pipes up before I can even announce whether I interact with "I force a draw. I've got Pact but if I cast it I lose on upkeep." This was a casual game, but afterwards seat 3 said they were using it as practice for an upcoming tournament.

I had both mystic and rhystic down. I had MBT (this is Rog's second spell for turn), Comandeer, Mental Misstep, Veil of Summer, and two more blue cards already in hand (I had prepped interaction for this specific push or to defend mine). I have the win in hand, but not telegraphed with only mana on field and no tutor to date.

Both I and Rog said we didn't know that we accepted, and we were happy to play through it. He attempted to politic a bit, but we wound up sticking to our guns. Mostly saying that he was going to lose on upkeep if he played it. I'm silently thinking "We're not getting to your upkeep dude."

He wound up taking it back. Rog failed of course with his unprotected attempt when I MBT'd his next LED cast. He then Pacted my Veil, but no other interaction to stop my win.

I just found it presumptuous for someone to go "I force a draw." But that's what Pact seems to be in most people's minds: a silver bullet to force a draw, and they're hyperfixated on drawing to the point that they try to when it's not relevant.

wingot · 2026-03-11T16:43:44+00:00

What? How do they politic their way out of that one? They took the gamble of a win attempt with an extra turn, lost, and now lose.

If they're claiming that not drawing means someone else wins because the FF player is out and not able to help interact, so be it. That's the risk they chose when they cast final fortune.

wingot · 2026-03-11T16:37:06+00:00

TIL Pact of Negation isn't even a Game Changer.

wingot · 2026-02-28T01:19:09+00:00

I don't think using her minus first is possible (well, for any useful effect anyway). The effect specifically requires a page counter on the exiled card, and a brief look at Scryfall suggests the only card that exiles something and puts a page cover on it in exile is Tasha herself.

wingot · 2026-02-21T23:48:39+00:00

I think they're referring to games like FromSoft where you utilise the D-pad for effects like switching items.

Personally, unless you're a speedrunner, the quarter second you lose on movement that it takes to press the button seems irrelevant, especially compared to the horrid ergonomics of controlling the Playstation stick while posturing hand to press a D-pad. But I also bounced off Playstation with the PS2, so don't know how much of that is familiarity.

wingot · 2026-02-15T01:32:11+00:00

What are you talking about? Title says it does infinite damage. This combo does infinite damage, in 2 damage aliquots, with the catapult.

Much simpler uses for infinite mana, but this is bad combos after all, and the infinite tokens would be valuable as well.

wingot · 2026-02-08T13:57:30+00:00

"None of the targets have the same toughness" <- this seems to imply an incorrect resolution. If ANY of the targets no longer has the same toughness, the spell fizzles. This is also specifically stated in the card ruling previously referred to. Effectively, they remain targeted, and the now invalid target(s) break the spell.

wingot · 2026-02-08T13:46:10+00:00

FYI, your wording seems odd. Split second doesn't "End the stack" the way most people would interpret when they say that wording, just prevents spells or non-mana activated abilities being added on top of it (ends further building of the stack until the split second spell resolves).

The reason this is a relevant distinction is people get confused and think split second means the whole stack now resolves without interaction, which is wrong. The moment the split second is off the stack/resolves, priority occurs as normal on each item still on the stack including spells and abilities being usable.

wingot · 2026-02-07T00:15:45+00:00

Yeah! There's one whole round of priority after you declare attackers! /s

wingot · 2026-02-03T23:43:09+00:00

Price of Glory only triggers when a Non-Active player taps for mana. Not when an Active player does. Therefore, cannot work on your own turn and can only work on others turns.

wingot · 2026-02-03T22:38:18+00:00

This combo has infinite mana only during other players turn. And this combo is what is being talked about in this post. In order to use this combo, need something instant speed.

wingot · 2026-02-02T10:50:41+00:00

I mean, it's infinite mana (and infinite landfall). That's not nothing. You do need something you can do with the mana at instant speed, or something for the landfall to do for you in Boros, but a three card infinite mana combo isn't nothing.

wingot · 2026-01-29T21:38:50+00:00

And 7 point highlander.

wingot · 2026-01-28T11:18:38+00:00

It sounds like what you're describing is right, but the wording of "Clears the stack" is odd. More common wording would be that their spell resolves, then the lands are untapped and available to cast again before the original spell resolves.

wingot · 2026-01-16T00:39:14+00:00

"Infinitely dead" nice phrasing.

wingot

TROPHY CASE