Kenrith, the Returned King + Smothering Tithe + Xorn + Elspeth, Storm Slayer

4-card combo · WUBRG

Verdict

Yes — this 4-card loop decks out any opponent who can't pay Smothering Tithe's trigger one card at a time, at zero net mana cost.

Cards required

Cheapest stack total

$8.82

Color identity

WUBRG

Popularity

13 decks

Format

Commander

Buy required cards on TCGplayer

Kenrith, the Returned King's 3U activated ability makes an opponent draw; Smothering Tithe triggers off that draw, and with both Xorn and Elspeth, Storm Slayer on the battlefield the trigger creates four Treasures instead of one — exactly enough to pay for the next activation. The combo requires an opponent to be either tapped out or unwilling to pay the 2 for Smothering Tithe, which in a game with three opponents is almost always at least one person at any given moment.

How it works

Prerequisites

An opponent cannot pay for Smothering Tithe's trigger. Eventually the opponent will lose the game due to drawing from an empty library. You can repeat this loop with other opponents that also cannot pay for Smothering Tithe's trigger.

Steps

Activate Kenrith's fourth ability by paying , causing an opponent who cannot pay for Smothering Tithe's trigger to draw a card.
Smothering Tithe triggers, causing you to create four Treasure tokens due to Elspeth, Storm Slayer and Xorn.
Activate the Treasures by tapping and sacrificing them, adding .
Repeat.

Result

Infinite draw triggers for any number of opponents; Infinite card draw for any number of opponents

Cheaper, tighter, alternate lines

The loop is narrow by design — Xorn and Elspeth, Storm Slayer both need to be in play to hit the four-Treasure threshold that makes the activation self-funding, so losing either piece stalls the engine. In lists that want redundancy, Goldspan Dragon replaces Xorn to double Treasure mana instead of Treasure count, but it shifts the math; verify the activation cost still resolves cleanly before cutting Xorn.

Kenrith, the Returned King + Smothering Tithe + Xorn + Elspeth, Storm Slayer

How it works

Cheaper, tighter, alternate lines

Other combos sharing these cards