Nine LivesNine Lives | Art by Paul Scott Canavan

Welcome to Combo Week here on EDHREC! Combo voting is live from April 8th to 12th. So go vote on combos to tell us where you think they should fall in the Bracket System.

When it comes to combos in the Commander format, some people like them, and some people never want to set eyes on them. They can range from the simple A+B combo, dealing with cards like Basalt MonolithBasalt Monolith and Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy to create infinite mana, to an immediate game ender if there isn't interaction, such as Splinter TwinSplinter Twin and Deceiver ExarchDeceiver Exarch.

Then there's what we're talking about today: convoluted Commander combos. Combos that take four cards at a minimum and a myriad of steps to reach the end of the line. All of these combos do something, because what fun would it be to have a convoluted combo and have nothing to show for it?

Let's jump into the combos and see how convoluted we can get.

Super Combo

Nine LivesNine Lives + Fractured IdentityFractured Identity + Austere CommandAustere Command + The Golden ThroneThe Golden Throne

We'll start with the key piece of the combo, something that a decent amount of players have interacted with: Nine LivesNine Lives. Usually this card is part of a combo to help you not lose the game. But this time, instead it will cause all of our opponents to lose the game. Since this is just the beginning of the list, the combo is relatively simple, and the remaining cards needed are below.

One thing to note is that, since Magic has been around for 30+ years, some combo pieces are interchangeable. So why these three cards? Well, Fractured IdentityFractured Identity needs to see more play in general, but mainly this is the one piece that can't be swapped out.

The Golden ThroneThe Golden Throne allows us not to lose the game once our Nine Lives get exiled, and Austere CommandAustere Command clears the table of the remaining Nine Lives controlled by the opposition.

Easy as one, two, three, and I guess four to win the game.

Hyper Combo

Mana SeveranceMana Severance + Recross the PathsRecross the Paths + Collected CompanyCollected Company + Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle + Undercity InformerUndercity Informer

Increasing the difficulty, we have a combo that uses a familiar win condition in Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle, but in an unfamiliar way. Important to note, with this combo, only Mana SeveranceMana Severance and Recross the PathsRecross the Paths can be in your hand, while the rest of the pieces need to be in the library to begin. The prerequisites of the combo are that you need any way to draw a card, and open, then you do the following.

Start by casting the Mana SeveranceMana Severance to remove all lands from your library. Then cast Recross the PathsRecross the Paths, stacking your library in this order: Collected CompanyCollected Company, Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle, then Undercity InformerUndercity Informer. Then it's time to draw that card we talked about earlier.

Now we cast the Collected Company, so our only two remaining creatures hit the board. The oracle triggers, and we activate Undercity Informer in response. This will mill whatever remains in the library, allowing us to win the game.

As you can see, this takes many more steps than the average Thassa's Oracle and Tainted PactTainted Pact combo, but you get to use an entire extra color. Isn't that neat?

Brutal Combo

Wild PairWild Pair + Vizier of the MenagerieVizier of the Menagerie + Horned KavuHorned Kavu + The Cauldron of EternityThe Cauldron of Eternity + Luminous BroodmothLuminous Broodmoth + ThermopodThermopod

"Too easy!" I hear you say. Well, try this one on for size. The prerequisites are Horned KavuHorned Kavu in hand, ThermopodThermopod in the library, and everything else on the board with two mana open. The key to this combo is the card Wild PairWild Pair, as once we cast the Horned KavuHorned Kavu, we get to search out ThermopodThermopod and put it straight onto the battlefield.

Before that search is undertaken, we bounce the Horned Kavu back to the hand with its own effect. We don't need to worry about colors thanks to the Vizier of the MenagerieVizier of the Menagerie letting us cast the Kavu for just . Once Thermopod is out, we do some sacrificial shenanigans netting mana and a free return of the card thanks to the Luminous BroodmothLuminous Broodmoth and then a re-tucking into the deck with The Cauldron of EternityThe Cauldron of Eternity.

Does this combo win the game? Not alone, but if we add something as simple as a Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat, suddenly everyone dies.

Master Combo

DoomsdayDoomsday + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror BreakerKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Grenzo, Dungeon WardenGrenzo, Dungeon Warden + Priest of GixPriest of Gix + Metallic MimicMetallic Mimic + Skirk ProspectorSkirk Prospector + Murderous RedcapMurderous Redcap

Still too easy? Ok, you asked for it. Next up is a combo that uses one of the most skill-intensive cards out there: DoomsdayDoomsday. Here's what you need to start: Doomsday in hand, Grenzo, Dungeon WardenGrenzo, Dungeon Warden on the battlefield, and everything else in the deck or in the graveyard. You need to make sure you have at least two life so that you can resolve Doomsday and available.

Start by casting Doomsday. Make your five-card deck with all the non-Grenzo creatures listed above in the following order: Metallic MimicMetallic Mimic, Murderous RedcapMurderous Redcap, Skirk ProspectorSkirk Prospector, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror BreakerKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, and Priest of GixPriest of Gix on the bottom. Then activate Grenzo, returning the Priest of GixPriest of Gix to the battlefield and netting . Activate Grenzo again, this time returning Kiki-Jiki, Mirror BreakerKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, allowing you to make a copy of Priest of Gix.

Another two activations get us the pesky little Skirk ProspectorSkirk Prospector and a Goblin friend in Murderous RedcapMurderous Redcap. Kiki-Jiki and the Redcap will bite the dust to fuel the Prospector and give us some mana. Before the Murderous Redcap comes back thanks to persist, we use that mana floating to activate Grenzo one last time, getting Metallic MimicMetallic Mimic.

The Mimic allows the -1/-1 counter to get cancelled out, and the Prospector lets us repeat the step of sacrificing our Murderous Redcap for infinite damage.

Blaster Combo

Magda, Brazen OutlawMagda, Brazen Outlaw + Sculpting SteelSculpting Steel + Clown CarClown Car + Academy ManufactorAcademy Manufactor + Elixir of ImmortalityElixir of Immortality + Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus + Dwarven ScorcherDwarven Scorcher + Cursed MirrorCursed Mirror + XornXorn

If you still find yourself wanting to be a regular ol' Johnny, Combo PlayerJohnny, Combo Player, then boy, do I have one last combo for you.

I could go into an explanation as I did with the combos above, but with 21 steps to pull it off and 15 different results (13 of which are some form of an infinite), I'd better let the experts take care of it. Those experts are the friends linked throughout the article over at Commander Spellbook.

Before diving into this combo, I will say make sure that Magda, Brazen OutlawMagda, Brazen Outlaw, and Clown CarClown Car are on the board. You have at least ten Treasures at your disposal and another Dwarf with power two or greater - might I suggest Seven DwarvesSeven Dwarves? Then follow the steps in the handy-dandy link below.

Combo Breaker

To wrap up, we will break the combos here with a question: How do you feel about combos in Commander? For myself, I like them enough that I often put some form of combo in my decks for when the night is getting long and the game has to end. I try to avoid two-card combos that win the game with low effort, especially if they include the Commander as one of the pieces.

Something akin to Sword of the MeekSword of the Meek and Thopter FoundryThopter Foundry, paired with Krark-Clan IronworksKrark-Clan Ironworks.

What's your favorite combo? How do you feel about two-card combos in Commander? Do you know of any other convoluted combos? Let me know over on Bluesky or Instagram by searching for nicnax96. Or down below in the comments. Till next time, good luck comboing off in your games, and hopefully you don't run into a combo breaker.