Stalwart Successor + Ashnod's Altar + Safehold Elite

Stalwart Successor

Ashnod's Altar

Safehold Elite

How it works

1. Activate Ashnod's Altar by sacrificing Safehold Elite
2. When Safehold Elite dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
3. When Safehold Elite enters, Stalwart Successor triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Safehold Elite
4. Repeat.

This clever loop turns Safehold Elite into a self-sustaining sacrifice engine with the help of Ashnod's Altar to fuel infinite colorless mana and death triggers. The true alchemy of the combo, however, lies in Stalwart Successor: its triggered ability senses the -1/-1 counter from persist as the first counters put on the creature that turn, instantly answering it with a +1/+1 counter. Because +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters annihilate each other as a state-based action, Safehold Elite enters the graveyard with a clean slate each time, ready to persist again and again.