Royal Herbalist + Heliod, Sun-Crowned + Cryptic Trilobite

Royal Herbalist

Heliod, Sun-Crowned

Cryptic Trilobite

How it works

1. Activate Royal Herbalist by paying 2 and exiling the top card of your library, causing you to gain 1 life.
2. Heliod triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Cryptic Trilobite.
3. Activate Cryptic Trilobite by removing a +1/+1 counter from it, adding CC that can only be spent to activate abilities.
4. Repeat.

This loop turns a simple life-gain activation into an engine by letting Heliod, Sun-Crowned translate the life you gain from Royal Herbalist into the exact fuel Cryptic Trilobite needs to keep the cycle going. Each iteration of Royal Herbalist's ability triggers Heliod to place a +1/+1 counter back onto Cryptic Trilobite, replenishing the counter you just removed to generate the colorless mana needed to pay for the herbalist's cost. Because Cryptic Trilobite's mana can be spent to activate abilities, it seamlessly covers the activation fee, allowing you to repeat the process until your entire library is safely in exile.