Thermopod + Trapjaw Kelpie + Hardened Academic

Thermopod

Trapjaw Kelpie

Hardened Academic

How it works

1. Activate Thermopod by sacrificing Trapjaw Kelpie.
2. When Trapjaw Kelpie dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
3. Hardened Academic triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Trapjaw Kelpie.
4. Repeat.

This clever loop centers around the sacrifice outlet provided by Thermopod, which turns our creatures into a steady stream of red mana. When Trapjaw Kelpie is fed to the altar, its persist ability brings it right back with a -1/-1 counter, normally spelling the end of its recursive journey. However, the presence of Hardened Academic completely bypasses this limitation: every time the Kelpie leaves the graveyard, the Academic swoops in with a +1/+1 counter that immediately cancels out the -1/-1 counter upon the creature's return. This clever counter-cancellation resets the persist loop indefinitely, giving you boundless sacrifices, mana, and enter-the-battlefield triggers.