If you’ve been avidly watching the Magic: the Gathering World Championship this weekend, then you might have seen that the deck “Temur Otters” is getting results. This archetype makes up two of the top eight decks, making it second only to Izzet Lessons in terms of popularity among high ranking players. One of the tricks behind this Otter offensive is an infinite combo that’s capable of closing out games in a flood of furious semiaquatic mammals. Let’s break down just how it works…
The combo relies on using Stormchaser’s Talent and Boomerang Basics to endlessly recur one another. Stormchaser’s Talent can be bounced by Boomerang Basics, which will draw a card, then Stormchaser’s Talent can be replayed and levelled up in order to return Boomerang Basics to the hand. You can then cast Boomerang Basics again, repeating the sequence, generating infinite Otters with prowess and providing infinite card draw.
Having read that, you might feel a little underwhelmed. After all, this loop costs 6 mana every time you repeat it; that sounds far too expensive to be practical.
Well, with the help of some additional cards in the deck, you’ll also be able to generate all of the mana that you could ever require.
To set the combo up, you need to have Enduring Vitality in play. This will enable you to tap your creatures down to generate mana. If you’ve got a Badgermole Cub out as well, that’s fantastic, since the cub will permit your creatures to generate an additional green when you use them to make mana.
You’ll also need a Valley Floodcaller, since not only can that card untap all of your mana dorks (so long as they are the correct creature type), but it also provides a wide-ranging +1/+1 buff whenever you cast a noncreature spell, meaning that you’ll also be buffing up your board every time you repeat the loop.
Is this the most reliable infinite in the world? Certainly not, there are a huge number of moving pieces here that can potentially be disrupted or destroyed in some way. The strength of Temur Otters is that the deck is also versatile and powerful enough that it can keep going even when the game doesn’t unfold exactly as anticipated.
If you’re looking to talk about some of your favorite MTG combos, you’re always welcome to join the discussion on the Wargamer Discord.