Lost Jitte + Karn's Bastion + Cryptic Trilobite + Crystalline Crawler + Gemstone Array
5-card combo · C
Verdict
Yes — this 5-piece colorless loop generates infinite proliferate triggers off Karn's Bastion, making it a viable win condition in any counter-based artifact shell.
- Cards required
- 5
- Cheapest stack total
- $28.16
- Color identity
- C
- Popularity
- 21 decks
- Format
- Commander
Karn's Bastion's proliferate loads counters onto all five pieces simultaneously; Cryptic Trilobite and Crystalline Crawler convert those counters into the mana needed to pay Bastion's 4-cost, while Gemstone Array covers the remaining gap and Lost Jitte untaps Bastion to restart the loop. The combo asks nothing of a color identity, so it slots into colorless commanders like Karn, Silver Golem or Emrakul shell builds without any concession to the mana base.
Recipe
How it works
01
Prerequisites
Lost Jitte and Gemstone Array have at least one charge counter on them. Cryptic Trilobite and Crystalline Crawler have at least one +1/+1 counter on them.
02
Steps
- Activate Karn's Bastion by paying
, putting a charge counter on Lost Jitte and Gemstone Array, and a +1/+1 counter on Cryptic Trilobite and Crystalline Crawler. - Activate Cryptic Trilobite's first ability by removing a +1/+1 counter from it, adding
that can only be spent to activate abilities. - Activate Crystalline Crawler's first ability by removing a +1/+1 counter from it, adding
. - Activate Gemstone Array's second ability by removing a charge counter from it, adding .
- Activate Lost Jitte by removing a charge counter from it, untapping Karn's Bastion.
- Repeat.
03
Result
Infinite proliferate
Variations
Cheaper, tighter, alternate lines
The setup requirement is the real friction — each piece needs at least one counter before the loop begins, so Resourceful Defense or Hardened Scales accelerate the opening state. Once proliferate goes infinite, Atraxa counters, Darksteel Reactor, or Spike Weaver become game-ending permanents; the loop itself is the engine, and the kill depends entirely on what else is on the battlefield.
Related
Other combos sharing these cards
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Cryptic Trilobite + Skullclamp
Infinite card draw; Infinite draw triggers; Near-infinite colorless mana that can only be spent to activate abilities; Near-infinite death t
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus + Magistrate's Scepter + Lithoform Engine + Karn's Bastion
Infinite turns; Lock
Verified on Commander Spellbook · Combo ID cryptic-trilobite-karns-bastion-lost-jitte-3
Updated . Data from Commander Spellbook, Scryfall, and EDHREC.