Chthonian Nightmare + Patron of the Arts + Helm of Awakening

Chthonian Nightmare

Patron of the Arts

Helm of Awakening

How it works

1. Activate Chthonian Nightmare by paying at most EEE, sacrificing Patron of the Arts and returning Chthonian Nightmare from the battlefield to your hand.
2. When Patron of the Arts dies, it triggers, creating a Treasure token.
3. Resolve the Chthonian Nightmare ability, returning another creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
4. Activate the Treasure by tapping and sacrificing it, adding .
5. Cast Chthonian Nightmare by paying .
6. When Chthonian Nightmare enters the battlefield, it triggers, causing you to get EEE.
7. Activate Chthonian Nightmare by paying EEE, sacrificing another creature and returning Chthonian Nightmare from the battlefield to your hand, returning Patron of the Arts from your graveyard to the battlefield.
8. When Patron of the Arts enters the battlefield, it triggers, creating a Treasure token.
9. Activate the Treasure by tapping and sacrificing it, adding .
10. Cast Chthonian Nightmare by paying .
11. When Chthonian Nightmare enters the battlefield, it triggers, causing you to get EEE.
12. Repeat.

This clever recursion loop centers on Chthonian Nightmare, which funds its own return to your hand by sacrificing creatures and spending the energy it generates upon entering the battlefield. Patron of the Arts acts as the engine's vital fuel source, generating a Treasure token both when it enters and when it dies to comfortably pay for the enchantment's re-casting. Meanwhile, Helm of Awakening quietly makes this continuous cycle mana-positive by reducing Chthonian Nightmare's casting cost to just a single black mana, allowing you to endlessly loop your graveyard threats while generating a storm of triggers.