Breath of Fury | Art by Kev Walker 

Infinite Possibilities

Greetings everyone, and welcome to a new article series of truly infinite proportions: Wombo Combo! In this series, we will explore the top cards in each color identity as they relate to EDH combos, using a collection of data from EDHREC and Commander Spellbook. For our first installment of Wombo Combo, it seems only fitting to start off hot by looking at the top 10 mono-red combo cards. While some people contend that red may be the weakest individual color, it certainly has no shortage of unique and useful cards to help you combo off and win games.

Red cards are useful for providing several game-ending results, such as infinite damage or infinite combat phases, while also enabling plenty of shenanigans with creatures and magecraft. Just like the other colors, red has its share of cards for monkeying around that could be considered overpowered, as well as its fair share of jank (Soulgorger Orgg, for example). Beyond this, there's a solid core of combo-worthy cards that makes red a spicy option for winning your next EDH game. Let’s jump directly into the fire, shall we?

 

#10: Elemental Mastery

Number of Combos: 112
Deck Inclusions: 7,700 (0.53%)

Elemental Mastery is a very interesting card, which turns any creature you desire into a token generator. This allows for a solid go-wide scenario, where you can take an 8/8 creature into eight 1/1 creatures. It also works great for defender creatures (like Colossus of Akros), as you can then take a 10/10 creature that cannot attack and get ten 1/1s that can. In a combo scenario, cards commonly used with Elemental Mastery include Intruder Alarm, Midnight Guard and Sunstrike Legionnaire, with the idea to create the tokens and then use them to untap the creature with Elemental Mastery attached.

 

#9: Breath of Fury

Number of Combos: 152
Deck Inclusions: 9,893 (0.68%)

The aptly-named Breath of Fury is an excellent card for getting infinite combat phases and combat damage by extension. Breath of Fury is generally paired with a card that can generate tokens each combat phase, such as Legion Warboss, Daring Piracy, or Goblin Rabblemaster. It also enables some simple two-card commander combos, such as with Lagomos, Hand of Hatred or Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, which can lead to a quick and fiery end for your opponents.

 

#8: Aggravated Assault

Number of Combos: 102
Deck Inclusions: 33,518 (2.32%)

It seems pretty ironic that a card named Aggravated Assault can lead to you beating your opponents (figuratively), yet here we are. Another card whose sole purpose is to get you infinite combat phases, Aggravated Assault can accomplish this in a variety of ways. The first way is to generate the mana from a card such as Savage Ventmaw or to make tokens of a mana-generating card, such as with Dockside Extortionist. Another way to accomplish this is to make tokens that can be sacrificed for mana, like with Krenko, Mob Boss + Skirk Prospector.

 

#7: Mana Echoes

Number of Combos: 220
Deck Inclusions: 19,109 (1.32%)

Another unique red card, Mana Echoes is an excellent resource for creature typal decks like Goblins or Dinosaurs. While in play, it acts similar to a "rebate", where you pay mana to put creatures onto the battlefield, and get some (if not all) of that mana back. Mana Echoes allows for easy combo potential with token generators like Sliver Queen, as well as blinkers such as Emiel the Blessed. It can also be used for self-bouncing creatures, such as Rootha, Mercurial Artist to rack up an infinite storm count. After all, who doesn’t want to have an infinitely large Chatterstorm?

 

#6: Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh

Number of Combos: 119

Deck Inclusions (as commander): 13,826 (#15 overall)
Deck Inclusions (as card): 20,099 (1.39%)

Our very first creature of the list is none other than everyone’s favorite Kobold, Rograkh. Rograkh has a trait that only seven other creatures in EDH have: a {0} mana cost, which makes it a completely free creature to get onto the battlefield. What Rograkh has that the other seven don’t, however, is the eligibility to be a commander, either by itself or with your choice of partners. This command zone eligibility makes it a unique combo candidate with Myth Unbound, as well as the other 0-drop options using Cloudstone Curio or Enduring Renewal. From here, you can rack up an infinite storm count and end the game with a simple Grapeshot.

 

#5: Storm-Kiln Artist / Birgi, God of Storytelling 

Number of Combos: 138 (Storm-Kiln Artist); 93 (Birgi)

Deck Inclusions (Birgi): 1,808 as commander (#481 overall), 97,360 as card (6.74%)
Deck Inclusions (Storm-Kiln Artist): 136,152 (9.42%)

 

Here we have a double header with two similar cards that provide immense benefits for storm and/or magecraft decks. Similar to Mana Echoes, Birgi and Storm-Kiln Artist act as rebates of sorts, except this time for instants/sorceries in the case of Storm-Kiln Artist and all spells for Birgi. In the case of instants and sorceries, both cards can generally be used interchangeably but have nuanced differences. Birgi is perfect for mono-red decks, because it’s unlikely you’d need any mana outside of red. Storm-Kiln Artist works great for Izzet or other 2+ color decks to ensure that you get the correct color of mana from casting your spells, as well as decks making several copies of spells. Adding in a Goldspan Dragon or Xorn also helps Storm-Kiln Artist excel even further.

Both Birgi and Storm-Kiln Artist are typically used in infinite combos to cover mana needed to infinitely cast spells (generally instants and/or sorceries). Cards such as Grinning Ignus, Haze of Rage, and Searing Touch can benefit greatly from their effects. It is worth mentioning that Birgi, God of Storytelling's back side also has its own set of uses, primarily with Sensei’s Divining Top, allowing you to draw your library to easily end the game.

 

#4: Dualcaster Mage

Number of Combos: 133
Deck Inclusions: 85,901 (5.95%)

Yet another storm/magecraft card, but with a unique twist, Dualcaster Mage allows you to easily copy instants and/or sorceries while also affording you a 2/2 creature. The fact that Dualcaster Mage is a creature allows it to be far more exploitable versus other copy spells like Fork or Twincast. A very common use of Dualcaster Mage is to use blinking spells, such as Ghostly Flicker, to blink Dualcaster Mage, allowing it to re-enter the battlefield and copy the spell again, causing an infinite loop. You can also use copy spells like Saw in Half to achieve a similar effect while also getting infinite creature tokens. This makes it a perfect pair with the next card(s) in our list.

 

#3: Sacrifice Outlets

Number of Combos: 275 (Thermopod); 274 (Goblin Bombardment); 55 (Skirk Prospector)
Deck Inclusions: 7,465 (Thermopod, 0.52%); 103,539 (Goblin Bombardment - 7.17%); 45,150 (Skirk Prospector - 3.12%)

Sacrifice outlets are the single most useful group in Magic when it comes to combo potential, and mono-red has some excellent options. Goblin Bombardment immediately ends the game with enough tokens (perfect for the Dualcaster Mage combo mentioned previously), while Thermopod and Skirk Prospector can provide lots of mana for you to Crackle with Power and win the game. Besides acting as an outlet for infinite results, sacrifice outlets also enable combos to be infinite, by providing much-needed mana and/or a way to kill your creatures for a greater purpose. If you don’t believe me, just ask Dargo, the Shipwrecker, or perhaps even Jaxis, the Troublemaker. Goblin Bombardment also provides unique Enrage opportunities with cards like Polyraptor. If you're looking for a quick and easy way to end the game, sacrifice outlets can generally get the job done with most infinite combos.

 

#2: Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker / Splinter Twin

Number of Combos: 327 (Kiki-Jiki); 86 (Splinter Twin)

Deck Inclusions (Kiki-Jiki): 759 as commander (#858 overall); 65,202 as card (4.51%)

Deck Inclusions (Splinter Twin): 12,092 (0.84%)

There may be a superstition that breaking mirrors is bad luck, but Kiki-Jiki does not care, and even scowls while doing so. Kiki-Jiki and Splinter Twin are two of the easiest options available if you need multiple copies of a non-legendary creature. The general point of Kiki-Jiki and Splinter Twin combos is to create infinite tokens of a creature to then use those creatures to untap and continue the combo. Some creatures such as Village Bell-Ringer do this directly, and are generally the easiest combos with Kiki-Jiki and/or Splinter Twin. There are plenty of indirect options too, such as Thornbite Staff with a sacrifice outlet or Intruder Alarm. Another huge bonus is that both cards give the tokens haste, allowing you for an easy win via combat damage should you not have another outlet available. With both cards having almost 400 combos on Commander Spellbook, they are an excellent option for any go-wide decks to end the game on the spot. However, there may just be one card that beats them…

 

#1: Dockside Extortionist

Number of Combos: 316
Deck Inclusions: 257,875 (17.85%)

Cue the surprised Pikachu face! Possibly the most widely discussed and contentious mono-red card in EDH currently, Dockside Extortionist has the potential to create massive upside for you at a very low mana cost. Dockside Extortionist has the very strong property of being a mana-positive creature, meaning that it generates more mana (typically) than it costs to cast it. Not only do you get a 2/1 creature, you can come out ahead of mana very early in the game, especially playing against enchantment and/or artifact-heavy decks. There is a clear reason why almost 250,000 decks run Dockside Extortionist, as it provides a benefit to basically any deck.

In addition to every advantage mentioned above, Dockside Extortionist has massive combo potential. From being paired with bounce cards like Temur Sabertooth, recursion cards like Nim Deathmantle and simple ability-copiers like Strionic Resonator, Dockside Extortionist can bring a simple infinite combo to any deck. Take advantage while you can, because who knows, it may not be around much longer.

 

Honorable Mentions

Mono-red has plenty of other combo cards that didn’t quite make the list, but are still worth considering for your next or current deck. Below is a list of some other notable mono-red combo cards, in no particular order:

• Kobolds of Kher Keep / Crookshank Kobolds / Crimson Kobolds - These can be used as a substitute for Rograkh in most combos, outside of those that care about Rograkh being your commander.
• Surly Badgersaur - A great combo piece for decks who care about dredge, madness and/or discarding cards.

• Dargo, the Shipwrecker - A perfect combo card if you are looking for a simple, commander combo engine. The added partner ability allows you easy access to up to 2 additional colors to make combos even easier.

• Priest of Urabrask - Another card that can be used as a Dockside Extortionist substitute at times. As it is mana-neutral (generates mana equal to its mana cost), it provides easy opportunities for bouncing and/or blinking.

• Magda, Brazen Outlaw - Another commander-eligible card that can win you the game in both EDH and cEDH. If you don’t believe me, check out this insane cEDH line!

With that folks, this concludes our journey through mono-red’s EDH combo offerings. Be sure to check out Commander Spellbook for more EDH combos, and join our Discord to submit your own combos! Thank you so much for reading, and be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments section, as well as what color identity you’d like to see covered next!