Shelob, Child of Ungoliant + Cauldron Familiar + Maskwood Nexus + Psionic Sliver + Lightning Greaves

5-card combo · BGU

Verdict

Yes — this 5-card loop kills the table through infinite life drain, but the assembly cost is steep enough to demand dedicated tutor support.

Cards required: 5
Cheapest stack total: $7.73
Color identity: BGU
Popularity: 0 decks
Format: Commander

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Maskwood Nexus makes Cauldron Familiar a Sliver, which activates Psionic Sliver's ability to deal 2 damage and self-inflict 3, killing it; Shelob then prints a Food-typed token copy that Cauldron Familiar sacrifices on re-entry to return itself from the graveyard. Lightning Greaves is the enabler that grants haste and shroud so the Familiar can activate immediately and dodge spot removal mid-loop. Every iteration drains each opponent for 1 life and triggers anything watching death, ETB, or sacrifice events.

Recipe

How it works

Prerequisites

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Steps

Activate Lightning Greaves' equip ability by paying , attaching it to Cauldron Familiar.
Activate Cauldron Familiar by tapping it, dealing 2 damage to any target and three damage to itself.
Cauldron Familiar dies as a state-based action due to having zero or less toughness.
Shelob triggers, creating a token copy of Cauldron Familiar that is a Food artifact.
Activate the nontoken Cauldron Familiar by sacrificing the Cauldron Familiar token, returning the nontoken Cauldron Familiar from your graveyard to the battlefield.
When Cauldron Familiar enters the battlefield, it triggers, causing each opponent to lose 1 life and you to gain one life.
Repeat.

Result

Infinite damage; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite lifegain; Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite lifeloss; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers

Variations

Cheaper, tighter, alternate lines

Swiftfoot Boots replaces Lightning Greaves if hexproof is preferable over shroud, though it costs 1 to equip instead of 0 — the loop still functions. Any Sliver with a relevant damage-dealing tap ability can replace Psionic Sliver if the creature suite shifts, but Psionic Sliver is the cleanest hit since it deals damage directly to the Familiar to satisfy the death condition. The loop is self-contained as a win, but Zulaport Cutthroat or Blood Artist converts the infinite death triggers into redundant drain vectors if Cauldron Familiar's life-loss trigger is somehow disrupted.