The Watcher in the Water + Skullclamp + Leonin Shikari + Phyrexian Altar
4-card combo · WU
Verdict
Yes — this 4-card loop draws the library on an opponent's turn by recycling Tentacle tokens through Skullclamp indefinitely.
- Cards required
- 4
- Cheapest stack total
- $87.01
- Color identity
- WU
- Popularity
- 0 decks
- Format
- Commander
The Watcher in the Water creates two 1/1 Tentacle tokens whenever a non-Tentacle creature dies, and Skullclamp kills any 1-toughness creature for 1 mana to draw two cards. Phyrexian Altar converts one of those Tentacles into the 1 mana to re-equip, while Leonin Shikari makes equip activations instant-speed — the restriction to opponent turns is the price of that interaction. The whole engine runs in Azorius Kraken or Voltron shells that naturally want Leonin Shikari already.
Recipe
How it works
01
Prerequisites
It is an opponent's turn. You control another creature with toughness equal to 1.
02
Steps
- During an opponent's turn, activate Skullclamp's equip ability by paying
, attaching it to another creature with toughness equal to 1. - The creature dies as a state-based action due to having 0 toughness. The Watcher's second ability triggers if the creature was a Tentacle, and Skullclamp triggers.
- Resolve the Watcher trigger, if applicable, untapping a Kraken and putting a stun counter on a permanent.
- Resolve the Skullclamp trigger, causing you to draw two card.
- The Watcher's first ability triggers twice, creating two 1/1 Tentacle creature tokens.
- Activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing a Tentacle, adding .
- Repeat.
03
Result
Infinite card draw; Infinite draw triggers; Near-infinite ETB; Near-infinite LTB; Near-infinite death triggers; Near-infinite sacrifice triggers
Variations
Cheaper, tighter, alternate lines
The loop needs a non-Tentacle 1-toughness creature to start the chain; any cheap token producer like Anointed Procession accelerates Tentacle output but the combo doesn't need it to loop. Once the library is drawn, Laboratory Maniac or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries closes the game — the engine generates no direct damage on its own, so a win condition has to be in hand by the time the library empties.
Related
Other combos sharing these cards
Living Death + Eternal Witness + Phyrexian Altar
Infinite blinking; Infinite colored mana; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers
The Locust God + Skullclamp + Ashnod's Altar
Infinite card draw; Near-infinite colorless mana; Near-infinite creature tokens with haste; Near-infinite death triggers; Near-infinite ETB;
The Locust God + Skullclamp + Cryptolith Rite
Infinite card draw; Infinite draw triggers; Near-infinite colored mana; Near-infinite creature tokens with haste; Near-infinite death trigge
Rise of the Dark Realms + Phyrexian Altar + Eternal Witness
Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite colored mana; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite death triggers; Infinite storm count; Infinite mage
Eternal Witness + Phyrexian Altar + Unearth
Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite storm count; Infinite magecraft triggers
Verified on Commander Spellbook · Combo ID leonin-shikari-phyrexian-altar-skullclamp
Updated . Data from Commander Spellbook, Scryfall, and EDHREC.