Weirdly Pesky MTG Combos and Interactions of Recent Standard

Non-interactive decks that simply do their own thing. Control decks that ultimately just waste more than thirty minutes of your precious time. Card combos that end matches before they even start doing anything for you. We've all been there. Annoying decks and annoying card interactions kind of ruin what is supposed to be a relaxing digital game session away from your hectic schedule.

But lesser-nerve-wracking card combos and interactions are also quite disturbing in their own unique way. If not breaking the tempo of your deck, it breaks your own mental tempo, turning that very minor misplay into a huge problem several turns later on.

1. Breach the Multiverse + Etali, Primal Conqueror or Hidetsugu and Kairi

Atraxa, Grand Unifier may have been the prime cheat reanimation candidate due to pure card advantage and keyword abilities. But the fact that Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness dunks the cards for free means it is no slouch when it comes to suddenly taking over games. Thankfully, a single counterspell foils it the effect is random, so the opponent can still pray that no key cards from both sides are hit.

But what if Etali takes off with an unexpected Breach the Multiverse? The advantages catastrophically snowball to the point that your win condition becomes largely met at that point. If not, then you could have at least stolen your opponent's win condition instead. What's worse is that, similar to Djeru and Hazoret, the combo is reversible. Meaning, Breach can take off with Etali, and vice versa. There is no shortage of opportunities to just cheat anything into play on both sides if ever given the slight chance.

On a lesser degree of potency, Hidetsugu and Kairi also manages to achieve the same effect with Breach the Multiverse. Only this time, the legend rule applies gracefully to trigger the Kamigawa duo once again, if you so wish to cast another copy of them. Become lucky enough, you might even achieve a fake Explosive Singularity effect... if you don't completely mill out your opponent first.

And to the very few unlucky ones that to had to sit through a perfect turn six-to-seven mana curve on a Chandra, Hope's Beacon and Breach, our deepest condolences to you.

2. Lier, Disciple of the Drowned + Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia

There's a million other combos that eventually get out of hand should a second, more expensive spell comes into play. But, within the recent environment of Standard, Lier with a transformed Invasion of Segovia // Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia is probably one of the most threatening. So much so, that if successfully done, and the opposing board state is not developed enough for an immediate response, your opponent has effectively lost.

It is already one thing to gain access to all of the annoying counterspells on-hand with a universal convoke. But being able to cast them both on your hand and graveyard at will? Without being countered? No Sunfall, Depopulate, Farewell, or even Path of Peril could ever erase your tokens on field.

Oh yeah, in case it is not obvious enough, combining them requires a specific build-around that focuses on tokens. Something along the level of being able to abuse a Protect the Negotiators to its utmost limit. Invasion of New Phyrexia // Teferi Akosa of Zhalfir usually works too, but Teferi is hardly required for any perceived strategies this two-card combo would typically use.

Because the first four crucial turns are dedicated only to token generation, getting poised to execute the combo might be slightly more challenging than just directly dropping a Narset, Enlightened Exile a turn early.

3. Metropolis Reformer + Errant and Giada

Not your everyday combo (or probably even efficient, for that matter), but this interaction probably stupefied me more times than I can count recently. The strategy is simple. Leave enough mana for a top-decked Metropolis Reformer while Errant and Giada is in play. Wait for something like a Siphon Insight, Venerated Rotpriest, or even the now-banned Invoke Despair, and voila! Bait and cast, complete.

Now, contending with just a Metropolis Reformer is pretty easy, even if it is much easier to use than Enduring Angel // Angelic Enforcer. It is not even a considerable threat unless you throw something like a Sigarda, Font of Blessings into the tribal mix. But the surprise factor with Errant and Giada can definitely annoy opponents seeing it for the first time.

Worse, it is not a common enough combo to see regular play, so you end up being surprised again sometime later. Yet another reason for mono-red to hate angels apart from lifegain shenanigans, I guess.

4. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben + Coppercoat Vanguard

As I have explained prior, these two cards create a prickly synergy on both sides. First, you are taxed quite more significantly, effectively doubling the required mana just to eliminate Thalia. With two Coppercoat Vanguards, the cost is tripled and both Vanguards now cover each other. Throw an Anointed Peacekeeper or an Invasion of Gobakhan // Lightshield Array into the mix, and the opponent is eventually forced to sit through a pseudo death and taxes revival, should any removal or bounce spells be the hand majority.

Second, every single Vanguard copy on the field makes it that much more painful to take out Thalia in combat, which we presume is the only way at that point if board wipes and edicts are still not on the table. After all, a +1/+0 is still more than good enough of a pump given her main combat ability.

It is not in any way overpowered. But the easy setup of both cards presents a pesky situation that, when played right, disrupts any opposing hand well enough that it opens the way for other synergistic Humans like Guardian of New Benalia to lead the setup or offensive.

5. Sigarda, Font of Blessings + Skrelv, Defector Mite

Board-wide hexproof enablers always have the inherent Lord-like limitation of not including themselves. It's natural. They would have been too busted if they didn't have such restrictions. But, tradition always dictates that a simple protection effect from another eligible permanent allows both to hide their weaknesses, and to each become a much more potent resource investment.

We see this play out once again with Sigarda's latest incarnation and Skrelv. Our stalwart "rebel" mite has already been a staple of many decks due to its universal protection capability and nigh-negligible mana cost. In particular, it thrives very well in mono-white and Azorius Human decks and is featured in superfriends builds, decks that also happen to welcome Sigarda, Font of Blessings' ability set.

Again, there isn't anything special or unique about this tried and tested combo type. It's just that this time, the specific coverage that each card provides (Humans, Angels, Selesnya colors, etc.) tilts the balance quite considerably into the pesky category. Shame that it isn't as popular as it should be right now, since (creature) hexproof isn't exactly the hottest keyword ability in Standard right now.

6. Cacophony Scamp + Antagonize

Is it as potent as equipping it with a comically huge hammer? No, but it kind of works. At the very least, it is an effortless combo to set up, and you have the initial element of surprise. It gives a small "aha" moment that stings your opponent just well enough to realize the mistake and vow never to fall to the same cheap trick again. Blazing Crescendo works too, and is probably the more meta variant that meshes well with this Scamp's more Prowess-tilted friends.

And that's it. A fun little combat party trick to both amuse and annoy. Especially since mana (curve) wise, it potentially deals far more damage for that one crucial early turn where it is designed to be optimally used. It does get super predictable after showcasing it once. But isn't BO1 the haven of mono-red anyway?

7. Phyrexian Censor + Any Battle Card

This is not a combo, but more specifically an interaction. There's nothing too complicated, or even new about this. I would simply like to remind players once again, that transforming a battle card counts as casting. As such, if you ever cast anything before flipping a battle, or if you cast that battle on the same turn, it will not transform and just fizzle if Phyrexian Censor is in play.

Reversely, that also means that should you decide to transform any battle for that turn, you will no longer be able to cast any non-Phyrexian spells until your opponent's turn. Probably the worst matchup with Censor would be an Invasion of Segovia // Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia. Not only does it make transforming the battle complicated, but the convoke-able instants are restricted to just a single cast, even during the opponent's turn.