Stalwart Successor + Trapjaw Kelpie + Phantom Train

Stalwart Successor

Trapjaw Kelpie

Phantom Train

How it works

1. Activate Phantom Train 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. When Trapjaw Kelpie enters, Stalwart Successor triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Trapjaw Kelpie
4. Resolve the Phantom Train ability.
5. Repeat.

This loop transforms your graveyard and battlefield into an engine of endless growth, centered around Trapjaw Kelpie's remarkable knack for cheating death. Whenever you sacrifice Trapjaw Kelpie to fuel Phantom Train's activation cost, its persist ability brings it right back with a -1/-1 counter, which instantly triggers Stalwart Successor to drop a +1/+1 counter on it for the first time that turn. Because the +1/+1 counter and the existing -1/-1 counter naturally annihilate each other through state-based actions, Trapjaw Kelpie is left totally clean and ready to be sacrificed all over again. Meanwhile, Phantom Train gets permanently larger with every iteration, turning this endless cycle into a mountain of power.