Skeleton Ship + Thornbite Staff + Nest of Scarabs

Skeleton Ship

Thornbite Staff

Nest of Scarabs

How it works

1. Activate Skeleton Ship by tapping it, putting a -1/-1 counter on target creature with toughness equal to 1.
2. The creature dies as a state-based action due to having zero or less toughness, triggering Nest of Scarabs and Skeleton Ship.
3. Resolve the Nest of Scarabs trigger, creating a creature token.
4. Resolve the Skeleton Ship trigger, untapping it.
5. Repeat.

This ingenious loop centers on turning our favorite nautical vessel into a relentless plague machine by outfitting it with Thornbite Staff, granting Skeleton Ship the ability to ping targets and untap itself whenever a creature perishes. Every time that ping places a -1/-1 counter, Nest of Scarabs swoops in to spawn a fresh 1/1 Insect token off the freshly doomed victim, keeping the death count climbing ever upward. As long as you keep your mana flowing and manage your Island count so Skeleton Ship doesn't sink itself to its own upkeep clause, you can repeat this cycle indefinitely for an endless stream of triggers.