Escape Protocol + Fluctuator + Bone Miser + Eternal Witness + Smoldering Crater

5-card combo · UBRG

Verdict

Yes — this 5-card loop generates infinite black mana, infinite card draw, and infinite ETB triggers as long as all pieces stay on the battlefield.

Cards required

Cheapest stack total

$34.19

Color identity

UBRG

Popularity

17 decks

Format

Commander

Buy required cards on TCGplayer

Fluctuator drops Smoldering Crater's cycling cost to zero, which lets Bone Miser add two black mana on every cycle while Smoldering Crater's own draw trigger replaces itself in hand via Eternal Witness. Escape Protocol blinks Eternal Witness for one colorless each loop — paid from Bone Miser's black mana — resetting the recursion engine so Smoldering Crater never stays in the graveyard. The combo sits in UBRG, making Anikthea, Sultai, or any four-color shell that tutors enchantments and creatures a natural home.

How it works

Prerequisites

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Steps

Activate Smoldering Crater's cycling ability by paying and discarding it.
Bone Miser, Smoldering Crater, and Escape Protocol trigger.
Resolve the Bone Miser trigger, adding .
Resolve the Smoldering Crater trigger, drawing a card.
Resolve the Escape Protocol trigger, causing you to pay to blink Eternal Witness.
Eternal Witness enters the battlefield, returning Smoldering Crater from your graveyard to your hand.
Repeat.

Result

Infinite black mana; Infinite card draw; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB

Cheaper, tighter, alternate lines

Any cycling land with a basic land type can replace Smoldering Crater if the draw-on-cycle trigger is present; Ash Barrens works in a pinch but requires the basic land rider to net the card. If Escape Protocol is removed, the blink chain collapses — Conjurer's Closet is a slower replacement but doesn't interact with the cycling trigger the same way. Pair the infinite black mana with a drain outlet like Zulaport Cutthroat or Blood Artist, both of which also benefit from the infinite LTB triggers the loop produces.

Escape Protocol + Fluctuator + Bone Miser + Eternal Witness + Smoldering Crater

How it works

Cheaper, tighter, alternate lines

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