Ethan has been an avid EDH player since 2014 with the release of Core Set 2015. In 2021, he joined the Commander Spellbook project as an editor, and later a head-editor and moderator, and has assisted in the curation, updating and/or uploading of over 10,000 unique EDH combos. In his spare time, Ethan loves coming up with new jank EDH lines, playing video games, and going for long walks. These are some of the most common MTG combos that you’ll run into at a high-power table, and some of the best Commander combos available, but it’s far from all of the powerful combos available in Commander. Godo, Bandit Warlord and Helm of the Host, Razaketh, Foul-Blooded alongside reanimation tactics, and multiple other powerful combos await players willing to use them.
Slimefoot and SqueeSlimefoot and Squee takes elements from both Slimefoot, the StowawaySlimefoot, the Stowaway and Squee, Dubious MonarchSquee, Dubious Monarch into one very strong card. Slimefoot and Squee has very strong combo potential by returning token generators or mana generators to reciprocate the base combo alongside a sacrifice outlet. Cards like Sprouting Thrinax, Dockside ExtortionistDockside Extortionist, Golgari GerminationGolgari Germination, Pitiless PlundererPitiless Plunderer and more enable these combos with ease. Slimefoot and Squee also harmonizes great with the original Slimefoot as an easy way to end the game.
Built as the cornerstone of the Abzan deck in the first batch of Commander decks, Ghave has two abilities, both of which are 1 for 1 until you find a way to double either the input or output. You can make infinite mana, infinite ETB triggers, LTB triggers, life, death triggers or +1/+1 counters on lots and lots of creatures, most of which are very unfair. Ghave turns counters into creatures and creatures into counters and all you need to do is find a way to turn one of those things into mana and you have yourself a deck. Ghave was printed long before creatures with the Undying ability but pairs very nicely with a lot of them, allowing you to turn a durdly loop into damage with cards like Zulaport Cutthroat and Corpse Knight. Black is very useful in these combos as Black plays a similar role as Red does in other combo decks, giving us a way to turn an advantage engine into a damage engine.
This Week in Magic: Friday, March 21st
Both Xiang Yu and William deal great AoE damage so they are great against large groups of opponents in KvK and Canyon. How funny would it be if I did 9 of these in a row and then wrote about a random creature from New Capenna? It’s a little too close to prop comedy for my comfort, so I guess I’d better just play it straight and talk about combos, this time in Naya decks. All of these abilities make this commander stronger than normal, and a more aggressive deck compared to the possible archetypes for Pauper EDH. Again, the player’s posture in front of the deck must be aggressive; guarding the removals and trying to protect the hand, with the potential to end the game quickly. Bruenor Battlehammer is a perfect commander for a game plan focused on equipment and all the possibilities it can offer.
In this case, Beck will replenish the card you discard to allow you to continue. Truthfully, if we’re up against a deck that can win on turn six, we’re not going to be able to hang on anyway, so we may as well have fun. We also have a Reliquary Tower as a backup Thought Vessel, a couple of sacrifice outlets like High Market and Hostile Hostel, and Halimar Depths as a way to stack the top of our Library. Castles Locthwain and Vantress are both great; I basically jam them in any deck which runs those colors now, because card advantage on a Land is so good it’s almost unfair. Port of Karfell is kind of a last-ditch way of getting Hidetsugu and Kairi back without paying the Commander tax; it’s costly, but it could be just the thing at some point.
This is great value, especially for token decks who could easily multiply those three tokens for even more value. It also works amazingly for combos, such as using a mana sacrifice outlet and Nim DeathmantleNim Deathmantle. The most popular combo card to pair with Sprouting Thrinax is by far Slimefoot and SqueeSlimefoot and Squee, accounting for over half of decks containing Sprouting Thrinax. We’ve covered our fair share of largely unused cards with great combo potential, and Dragon AppeasementDragon Appeasement fits that bill. Being able to draw a card whenever you sacrifice a creature is a strong upside to tack onto your existing sac outlet.
Since its original printing in Throne of Eldraine, Chulane, Teller of TalesChulane, Teller of Tales has been a controversial card, with some believing that it should have never been printed in the first place. A card that lets you draw a card and play a land when you cast a creature spell provides enormous amounts of value and ramp, and the secondary ability to bounce creatures also helps facilitate combos in this fashion. From combos with Intruder AlarmIntruder Alarm, to self-bouncing creatures like Shrieking DrakeShrieking Drake, to land bouncers like Mana BreachMana Breach, there are a multitude of ways to utilize Chulane to win the game. Chulane provides such strong value to any deck focusing on creatures that it should be automatically considered based on this value alone, even outside of infinite combos. While not everyone may like seeing Chulane, you can certainly easily reap the rewards of his presence.
Wombo Combo – Best Five-Color Combos in EDH
Notice I didn’t say “Reanimator” because that’s not quite exactly what Abzan does. We aren’t discarding cards early to spend a bunch of life reanimating one big creature before they can deal with it – this isn’t Legacy where that will fly. Instead, we create loops of creatures dying and being reanimated to trigger cards like Blood Artist and Suture Priest. A lot of the classifications I list here will feel like they tie into this theme a lot, and it’s Abzan’s main asset, with life total shenanigans being a distant second. I feel like we can’t classify Abzan decks without getting that out of the way – these may all feel like variations of the “creature dies and comes right back a lot” approach and that’s a good thing, I think. Let’s start with the most popular troublemaker in Abzan, Myrkul, Lord of Bones.
You can also use Roon of the Hidden Realm to remove a problematic creature, at least temporarily. This reduction can also make other combos viable, such as one involving Grinning IgnusGrinning Ignus or Worldheart PhoenixWorldheart Phoenix. Morophon also has high synergy with Jodah, Archmage EternalJodah, Archmage Eternal, allowing any creature of the chosen type to cost zero regardless of their true mana cost. A strong kindred deck piece, alongside a strong combo piece, makes Morophon a great option for any kindred focused deck. If the creature is both a token generator and a sacrifice outlet, like Marrow-GnawerMarrow-Gnawer, then you can have a simple two card combo providing many useful results.
Welcome back to Wombo Combo, the article series where we look at EDH’s best combo cards using data from Commander Spellbook and EDHREC. Previously, we went through all of Magic‘s color identities to find their best combo cards, and wrapped up 2024 with a Best of 2024 article. For just three mana and two cards, Thassa’s Oracle and Demonic Consultation win the game on the spot. Underworld Breach and Lion’s Eye Diamond allow you to ramp up to Breach as early as turn one, and re-cast the Diamond for more mana.
Five-color cards can be very powerful, especially in EDH where a five-color strategy is more viable than other formats. The natural progression would be to do four-color cards, but there simply are not that may to choose from. There are only 14 EDH legal 4-color cards, and not all of them are combo worthy. As another Archer Commander, Artemisia brings further buffs to these Troops and some heavy offensive damage. This really is a dynamic duo who are great for the majority of content in the game with great Archer defense and attack buffs, along with an increase to march speed. Both Nebu and Artemisia made it to our list of the Best Legendary Commanders in meta mtg the entire game!
#8: Dragon Appeasement
Even without other Slivers, two mana for a token is very strong with cards like Ashnod’s AltarAshnod’s Altar and Mana EchoesMana Echoes. Basal SliverBasal Sliver allows the Slivers to sacrifice themselves for more mana to make another. Five-color takes all the colors that Magic has to offer and puts them into a delicious and eclectic color pie.
Umbral MantleUmbral Mantle also untaps the creature it is attached to, similar to Sword of the Paruns. First, it costs to equip, allowing it to have the same combo usage as Lightning Greaves, but also making it cheaper to attach and move. He second way Lightning Greaves can contribute to combos is that it costs to equip it to a creature. This creates a free option to help facilitate Koll, the ForgemasterKoll, the Forgemaster combos, removing a potential need to cover mana costs.