Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient + Magistrate's Scepter + Karn's Bastion
3-card combo · R
Verdict
Yes — this 3-card loop locks the table into infinite extra turns from a mono-red shell that has no business doing it.
- Cards required
- 3
- Cheapest stack total
- $0.26
- Color identity
- R
- Popularity
- 118 decks
- Format
- Commander
Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient copies activated artifact abilities for a single red mana, which means tapping Magistrate's Scepter to add counters becomes two counters for the cost of one activation, and firing the Scepter's removal trigger becomes two extra turns instead of one. Karn's Bastion handles the proliferate step to top up Magistrate's Scepter before each firing cycle, keeping the chain self-sustaining across turns. Red artifact commanders — Daretti, Scrap Savant chief among them — can tutor or recur all three pieces and have the mana rocks to hit 4R reliably.
Recipe
How it works
01
Prerequisites
Magistate's Scepter has at least two charge counters on it.
02
Steps
- Activate Karn's Bastion's second ability by paying
and tapping it, putting a charge counter on Magistrate's Scepter. - Activate Magistrate's Scepter's second ability by tapping it and removing three charge counters from it.
- Kurkesh triggers, causing you to pay
to copy Magistrate's Scepter's ability. - Resolve both Magistrate Scepter abilities, causing you to take two extra turns after this one.
- Move to your next turn.
- Activate Magistrate's Scepter's first ability by paying and tapping it.
- Kurkesh triggers, causing you to pay to copy Magistrate's Scepter's ability.
- Resolve both Magistrate Scepter abilities, putting two charge counters on it.
- Move to your next turn.
- Repeat.
03
Result
Infinite turns; Lock
Variations
Cheaper, tighter, alternate lines
Any other proliferate source — Volt Charge, Contagion Clasp, or Inexorable Tide — can substitute for Karn's Bastion if the land slot is needed elsewhere, though Karn's Bastion is the cleanest because it's already a land. The loop requires 5 mana per cycle across two turns, so the deck wants dedicated mana acceleration; Thran Dynamo and Basalt Monolith cover the colorless load while keeping Kurkesh's red pip affordable.
Related
Other combos sharing these cards
Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus + Magistrate's Scepter + Lithoform Engine + Karn's Bastion
Infinite turns; Lock
Verified on Commander Spellbook · Combo ID karns-bastion-kurkesh-onakke-ancient-magistrates-scepter
Updated . Data from Commander Spellbook, Scryfall, and EDHREC.