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Commander Nexus
  1. Commander Nexus
  2. Archetypes
  3. Combo
Combo artwork

Combo

decks hunt for a few specific cards that win the game on the spot once they are all together. Many repeat an action over and over without end, which players call an ; the rest of the deck searches for the pieces and protects them.

  • KindArchetype
  • Cards73

An archetype is a whole game plan: the way a deck tries to win.

Find these cards in the app Commanders with this archetype

How it plays

You look for two or three specific cards that win the game once they are together, and you spend most of the game finding and protecting them. , cards that search your deck for a named card, and get you there; and keep the pieces safe.

How it wins

On the spot. Once the pieces are together, the repeats an action without end (an ): infinite damage, infinite , infinite turns. The game ends that turn.

What beats it

One piece of or one at the right moment. Cards that stop players from searching their decks, or stop abilities from triggering, make the pieces hard to find or useless once found.

If this is your first deck

Not a first deck. You need to know exactly how your works, in rules terms, and be able to explain it to the table when you win. Build it once combat and the make sense.

Commanders to Start With

The most played commanders where Combo is one of their two main plans, in order from EDHREC, a site that counts the Commander decks players post online.

Example Cards

Infinite ComboTwo or more cards that, put together, can repeat an action endlessly for as much mana, damage or value as you want. The official bracket rules treat one that can come together early in the game as far stronger than one that needs a lot of setup first.Open the full glossaryComboTwo or more cards that, put together, do something far bigger than either of them does alone, often ending the game on the spot. Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood are a well-known pair: together they drain every opponent to zero.Exquisite BloodOpen the full glossaryTutorA card that searches your library for another specific card, making your deck far more consistent.Open the full glossaryCounterspellA spell whose job is to counter another spell: it stops that spell while it is still on the stack, so it does nothing and goes to the graveyard. The name comes from the card Counterspell, the classic example.CounterspellOpen the full glossaryHexproofA permanent with hexproof cannot be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control. It can still be hit by effects that do not target, such as a board wipe or an edict.Open the full glossaryCard DrawCards that put more options into your hand from your deck.Open the full glossaryTokenA permanent that is not a card. Tokens are made by other cards' effects, and a token that leaves the battlefield stops existing. Creature tokens, Treasures and Clues are all tokens.Secure the WastesOpen the full glossaryRemovalSpells or abilities that destroy, exile, or bounce your opponents' cards.Open the full glossaryStackThe zone where spells and abilities wait to resolve. The last thing added is the first to resolve, so responses resolve before what they answer.Open the full glossary