Mairsil, the Pretender + Quicksilver Elemental + Nyx Lotus + Horseshoe Crab

Mairsil, the Pretender

Quicksilver Elemental

Nyx Lotus

Horseshoe Crab

How it works

1. Activate Mairsil using Nyx Lotus' ability by tapping it, adding at least .
2. Activate Mairsil using Horseshoe Crab's ability by paying , untapping it.
3. Activate Mairsil using Quicksilver Elemental's ability by paying , causing it to gain all activated abilities of itself until end of turn.
4. Repeat.

To pull off this engine, you must first cage your key pieces using Mairsil, the Pretender, loading it up with the activated abilities of Nyx Lotus, Horseshoe Crab, and Quicksilver Elemental. Once the setup is complete, you tap Mairsil using the mana-producing ability gained from Nyx Lotus to generate a massive surge of colored mana, which is then fueled by Quicksilver Elemental's color-fixing allowance. You use a fraction of that floating mana to pay Horseshoe Crab's untap cost, freeing Mairsil to tap for mana all over again. By weaving in Quicksilver Elemental's text-changing ability to reset your once-per-turn activation restrictions, you can loop these borrowed powers infinitely to generate boundless mana.