Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher + Ghave, Guru of Spores + Ashnod's Altar

Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher

Ghave, Guru of Spores

Ashnod's Altar

How it works

1. Activate Ghave's first ability by paying 1 and removing a +1/+1 counter from a creature you control, creating a 1/1 Saproling creature token.
2. Activate Ashnod's Altar by sacrificing the Saproling, adding CC.
3. Carmen's first ability triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on it and causing you to gain 1 life.
4. Repeat.

This clever loop transforms Ghave, Guru of Spores and Ashnod's Altar into a self-sustaining engine by bleeding counters to continuously spin out and consume Saproling tokens. As each token hits the altar, Ashnod's Altar yields a surplus of colorless mana while triggering Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher's passive ability to continuously grow larger and pad your life total. That growth is what makes the whole system thrive, letting Carmen pump herself with every sacrifice so you can eventually leverage her attack trigger to resurrect fallen permanents.